Sun ‘N Fun

Like every other aircraft manufacturer, Tecnam has heard complaints about the high cost of new airplanes and its Tecnam North America arm has developed new programs to attack the problem. According to Tecnam North America’s Phil Solomon, one new program would offer an affordable five-year lease on the company’s basic-priced Echo Classic Light light sport […]

With new aircraft prices closer to the million dollar mark than not, many would-be owners pass on purchases not because they can’t afford it, but because they can’t justify the large investment for minimal yearly usage. At least that’s the theory behind DiamondShare, an innovative marketing plan developed by Diamond dealer John Armstrong. He told […]

Wounded military veterans — even those with wounds that aren’t visible — get far less attention than they deserve and their families get even less. Jack Howell, a retired Marine colonel, is actively doing something about that. He’s established a non-profit called Teens-N-Flight whose sole goal is to offer cost-free flight training to the children […]

The weather in Lakeland wasn’t perfect every day during Sun ‘n Fun — Friday was blustery, keeping most aircraft on the ground, and a few clouds and showers passed by — but it was close, with temperatures in the breezy 80s and no tornadoes or mud-storms, and on Sunday morning CEO John Leenhouts was enthused […]

As everyone packs up and prepares to head home from Sun ‘n Fun, we serve up a few last photos snapped during AVweb contributor Mariano Rosales’s air-to-air sessions yesterday. Special thanks to Mariano for all the great shots this week. Be sure to check out more of his work at 12OClockLevel.com. This image gallery requires […]

We can’t think of many high-performance retractable kits on the market these days — really any — but that’s where a Brazilian company called Wega wants to go with its products. The company made a surprise appearance at Sun ‘n Fun with a pair of Wega 180s whose performance (and looks) are real head-turners. These […]

You can custom retrofit an aircraft instrument panel, so why not do the same with a table-top flight simulator? That’s the idea behind the new Flight Training Panel Advanced Cockpit from PilotMall.com. Using a clean-sheet, 14-gauge steel instrument panel that accommodates the Saitek flight simulator flight instruments, avionics and hand controls, the training panel allows […]

No visit to Sun ‘n Fun is complete without a day trip to take in everything floats have to offer at the show’s seaplane base. This image gallery requires JavaScript. Lake Renegade. [ original size ] Air show pilot John Mohr water taxis his rare Piaggio gullwing seaplane. [ original size ] Air show pilot […]

No matter how fascinating the exhibits and products at Sun ‘n Fun, nothing gets the blood pumping like an aerial exhibition. This image gallery requires JavaScript. John Mohr performs in his stock Stearman biplane. [ original size ] John Mohr masterfully flies his Stearman in a full slip down the Sun ‘n Fun flightline. [ […]

One of the few new designs introduced at Sun ‘n Fun likely looks slightly familiar, but Zenair’s new 750 Cruzer has a different mission from its well-known predecessors. Rather than emphasize the short-field capabilities of its ancestors, the CH-701 and CH-750, the 750 Cruzer is designed for comfortable conventional field and cross-country operations. “We’ve optimized […]