SUN 'n FUN Misses Canadians
By Ian Brown, Editor, Bits and Pieces, EAA 657159
May 2021 – I was one of the few Canadians able to visit SUN 'n FUN. Generally considered the start of the flying season for a lot of Canadian snowbirds, this year was an exception. All my friends had to stay home but, with an American bride, I was able to spend my winter in Florida. Having had both vaccination shots myself a while back, I felt fairly secure going without a mask when I was outside and a safe distance from other people, but visitors were strongly encouraged to wear masks while walking around in close proximity to others.
Attendance was lower than normal but it did seem that all of the typical events were happening, including the daily air show. The big theme this year was celebrating the 75th anniversary of the formation of the Blue Angels. This was their first show using their new F/A-18 Super Hornets. A stroll around hangars A through D indicated that many exhibitors had shown up in force but there were some gaps. Lakeland's Medical Intensive Care unit manager Regina Wilkins stood out among her peers and was honored with a flight with the Angels and 19 other health workers were honoured with special recognition at the event.
Van's Aircraft staffed a very busy booth, at least at the time I was passing by. Like many of their customers, I always like to swing by and say hello and check out what's new.
Van's Aircraft booth always busy.
I learned how to make that special knot by observing a young lady demonstrate rib stitching.
This nice young lady was demonstrating rib stitching.
The cool 2020 logo on the wristbands would have been history, but they apparently recycled last year's unused wristbands.
The 2020 wristbands had never been used!
There weren't many kids visible to use this space shuttle slide, but this shot was taken fairly early in the day.
For entertaining the kids — how about a space shuttle?
Of course, no major air show would be complete without the presence of EAA. This was the booth with an interesting walkway.
EAA's booth – the runway with the Green Dot!
