Sun N Fun, Day Three

The next morning had better weather, so Dave and I were up pretty early to grab breakfast and drive back to Lakeland. There were more airplanes to see!

I've always wanted my own airport...this is certainly more affordable than buying a big chunk of land!

We spent some time wandering through the Vintage area. This C140 could have been my plane's twin (except for the flaps, of course). The dew on the cowling reminded me of the flight back to the East Coast when I bought mine.  :)

John P.'s friend, Paul, built this beautiful RV. I spent a good chunk of time picking his brain the previous afternoon, so it was neat to get to see his plane up close. He did a really nice job!

Dave and I eventually grabbed lunch, stopped by to say hi to the DOAV people, then went to the AOPA tent for an ice cream social before heading out to see the airshow.

The Yaks flew formation...

...and the B-25 did a few flybys, too. This one actually came out to HWY a couple years ago and the pilot let us climb all over it, which was awesome.

Gene Soucy flew...

 ...and I managed to catch up with another buddy I hadn't seen in a while...Glenn! He used to work in my area at Potomac and had to retire when he turned 56. He was a great controller and great to work with...if it was up to us he'd still be working in the area. It was really nice to get to catch up with him for a bit!   :)

Kirby Chambliss and Mike Goulian flew a Red Bull Air Race demo, which was really cool. They had pylons set up all down the runway and the actual announcer from the races explaining each run.

It looked like a lot of fun. Mike Goulian wound up winning.

The Aeroshell team performed again toward the end of the show...

...then the F-22 did a demo. It was insane. I've never seen a plane, let along a fighter, do the crazy stuff that pilot did.

They followed up the demo with a Heritage Flight with a P-51.

Kirby Chambliss flew his routine...

...then the Breitling Jet Team wrapped up the airshow for the day.

It was pretty cool to see so many L-39s flying together.

The fireworks in the flight breakup at the end were especially nice!

Dave and I made our way back to Orlando as soon as the airshow ended. He spent the evening with his son's family, while I used the extra time to catch up on a few things on my computer and get a little extra sleep. The next day was our last full day in Florida, so I wanted to be ready to go!