Sun n’ Fun or Rain n’ Pain?
Sun n’ Fun or Rain n’ Pain?
Usually I take so many photos of the daily events at Sun n’ Fun that I’m up into the early morning hours deciding which to use and then attempting to write some clever copy about it. Opening day of Sun ‘n Fun 2018 did not create any such problem for reasons you will soon understand.
The morning dawned overcast with low fog typical of a close temperature and dew point. As the early morning Sun worked it’s magic burning off the fog it began to look like the day would turn out well. But the reprieve was short lived. By 11am the skies over Lakeland opened into a deluge of water, wind, thunder and lightning. (For those of us who were in the static display during the Sun ‘n Fun tornado of March 2011 there were certainly some moments of deja vu.) Though the radar imagery showed a strong line of storms it looked as if the balance of the weather would pass north. This happy thought was soon proven to be just wishful thinking. Behind this initial line were several other cells that continued to dump rain and lightning over Lakeland for most of the afternoon. 
With only the most dedicated air show goers wandering around (meaning those who could only get a one day pass or those who were totally oblivious to their surroundings) there was nothing to do but shut down the aircraft and watch the events outside from the relative comfort inside the Daher trailer. By 4pm most all of the static displays had shut down giving up the fight with Mother Nature.
Every morning during Sun ‘n Fun the AeroShell team takes a few lucky enthusiasts through several of the maneuvers that they use during their air show performance. The AeroShell team were the only performers to fly today which makes me wonder, were they just trying to escape the weather…
The weather for the balance of the week looks good with plenty of sun. Hopefully, it will dry out the ground enough to keep the mud down to a tolerable level (it sure makes the inside of an aircraft look less attractive).
On a much sadder note, as most of you already know, their was a tragic accident last week involving two of the US Air Force Thunderbird aircraft leading to the death of one of their pilots. The thoughts of the entire aviation community are with these fine airman and their families.
Until tomorrow, fly safe.
Ken
