What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Sun 'n Fun 2016 Trip Write-up

bullojm1

Well Known Member
My buddy Peter and I have talked about going to Sun 'n Fun for the last few months. Originally our plan was to go down on Thursday and come back on Sunday. The weather didn't work out for that plan, so we needed to take off a day early. Oh darn...another day in FL! To make it down to SNF before the airshow started at 2:30pm, we needed to take off at Dark-o-thirty. On this particular day it was downright cold outside - my car registered 25 degrees on the drive to the airport. I made sure to get to the airport early to turn on the hangar heater before Peter showed up. I didn't want a moody passenger from he get-go of the day!
DSCN4840.JPG


All loaded up and ready to go. The last time Peter and I went together to a show was Oshkosh 2014. For that show we decided to share a 3-man tent. This time around we opted for separate quarters.
DSCN4841.JPG


The daily rate for covered parking at this airport can't be beat.
DSCN4842.JPG


The route down is fairly straightforward - go west around the DC airspace, avoid some restricted airspaces and stop for fuel in Baxley, GA ($3.00/G!). After we get fuel and food, it's a quick 1.5 hour trip down to Lakeland, FL.
DSCN4843.JPG


The EFIS agreed with my car. 29 degrees OAT once we pulled the RV out of the hangar.
DSCN4844.JPG


Even though it was chilly out, we had a dynamite destination to go to and both of us were psyched...and a little tired.
DSCN4845.JPG


The scenic mountains of western Virginia made for a pretty flight.
DSCN4846.JPG


However, no matter how pretty the scenery was, both of us would of preferred a lesser headwind.
DSCN4847.JPG

DSCN4848.JPG


We scratched out heads for a little bit trying to figure out what some structures were off in the distance in the mountains. After using the powers of our Zoom lenses, we figured it needed to be the SnowShoe skiing resort.
DSCN4849.JPG
 
Day 1 (continued)

I had no clue the James River went this far West. Very pretty country out here.
DSCN4850.JPG


Good things come to those that wait...and use WeatherMeister! Just as predicted, the headwinds were dying down.
DSCN4851.JPG

DSCN4852.JPG

DSCN4853.JPG


This is an epic trip for the RV...before today the furthest south my RV has been was Charlotte, NC. Here we are crossing into South Carolina.
DSCN4854.JPG


We are both pretty pumped...Peter more than me since he spent 4 years in SC at The Citadel.
DSCN4855.JPG

DSCN4856.JPG


WooHoo! Tailwind finally!
DSCN4857.JPG


This is Darlington Raceway.
DSCN4858.JPG


Crossing Over Lake Marion.
DSCN4859.JPG
 
Last edited:
Day 1 (continued)

Tailwind is picking up!
DSCN4860.JPG

DSCN4861.JPG


Back when we were bucking the headwind, it was questionable if we would have enough fuel to get to Baxley. With this new tailwind friend of ours, we easily had enough fuel.
DSCN4862.JPG


Without any terrain or weather to deal with on the way down, we got pretty bored and found great interest in the simplest things...such as the new construction of an interstate cloverleaf.
DSCN4863.JPG


Boom....20 MPG!
DSCN4864.JPG


Can't complain about $3.00/G fuel.
DSCN4865.JPG

DSCN4866.JPG


However, you can complain when you think you left your wallet in the car back in MD! As soon as we landed in Baxley, Peter got a little frantic as the search for his wallet in the airplane was coming up empty.
DSCN4867.JPG


After a thorough search search of the RV, we were able to find his wallet. Darn...I was sort of looking forward to being his Sugar-Daddy all weekend.
DSCN4868.JPG

DSCN4869.JPG
 
Last edited:
Day 1 (continued)

DSCN4870.JPG


The Baxley FBO was recently rebuild and contained two bedrooms. One bedroom had a queen bed, the other two twins for pilots that need to spend the night. Top notch facility.
DSCN4871.JPG

DSCN4872.JPG

DSCN4873.JPG

DSCN4874.JPG


Not to be out-done by top-notch amenities, the fine people of the Baxley airport also provided free hot dogs and burgers during the week of Sun 'n Fun.
DSCN4875.JPG


Back in the air, next stop Lakeland (KLAL)!
DSCN4876.JPG

DSCN4877.JPG


Since this is the furthest south either of us have ever been, we quickly realized our route could of been planned a little better in FL as we flew over a fairly large swamp. Neither of us did much talking during that time, as we noticed all of the ADS-B traffic clearly avoiding the swamp.
DSCN4878.JPG

DSCN4879.JPG
 
Last edited:
Day 1 (continued)

Heading over Ocala, FL you couldn't help but notice all of the private horse rings. This is big time horse country.
DSCN4880.JPG


We decided to give the GoPro's a try. In the past we have had terrible luck with recording technology when going into big events.
DSCN4881.JPG


We got bounced around a little in low-to-moderate turbulence.
DSCN4882.JPG


Once last review of the NOTAM before we headed into Lakeland.
DSCN4883.JPG


Jumbolair just south of Ocala had a runway you couldn't miss!
DSCN4884.JPG


Ever since I re-wired my ADS-B traffic input to my GRT EFIS's, my traffic has been marginal at best. I get traffic for the brief moment, and then it disappears. It looks as if the port I have it wired to might be overloaded as I get a lot of Frame and CRC errors according the the report on the GRT EFIS.
DSCN4885.JPG


However, the Garmin Pilot App worked perfectly to display ADS-B traffic. This is a screen capture of all of the airplanes in front of me flying into SNF.
DSCN4886.JPG


I think the GoPro case had some humidity in it because the video turned out very hazy. This is our approach into SNF for Runway 9L.
DSCN4887.JPG


Parked in Row 4 at Homebuilders Camping (HBC). No sooner did we turn off the engine than did a bunch of volunteers come over to help us push the airplane into its parking spot and check we had tiedowns. A few minutes later a SUV came over and sold us our admission and camping passes. It seriously could not of been easier. Entirely different from Oshkosh.
DSCN4888.JPG


My abode for the next few nights.
DSCN4889.JPG
 
Last edited:
Day 1 (continued)

DSCN4890.JPG


And Peter's new tent all setup.
DSCN4891.JPG


One tent per person is definitely the way to go.
DSCN4892.JPG


So after flying all day and getting the camp all setup, what else is there to do other than enjoy a well-deserved beer?
DSCN4893.JPG


We started to walk around the show to get our bearings. We quickly found the Rotac powered rotary RV-8R. The craftsmanship on this airplane is amazing. What a huge feat for the builder.
DSCN4894.JPG

DSCN4895.JPG

DSCN4896.JPG

DSCN4897.JPG

DSCN4898.JPG

DSCN4899.JPG
 
Day 1 (continued)

DSCN4900.JPG

DSCN4901.JPG


We didn't spend too much time at the show today as we were both pretty tired from our early morning. We headed back to HBC for some Hot Dogs and beer from Mary Jane and her incredible staff.
DSCN4902.JPG


We spend the early evening making new RV friends in HBC and enjoying a wonderful sunset. What a great first day at Sun 'n Fun!
DSCN4903.JPG
 
Day 2

Wednesday evening and Thursday morning brought some rain. I didn't mind too much because I came properly equipped. However, Peter thought my $550 Arc'Teryx jacket was a bit overpriced as he sent this picture to his wife. Clearly some people have no appreciation for quality!
DSCN4904.JPG


The rain cleared out early and we marched on towards the show. We checked out Chip Lock's RV-14.
DSCN4905.JPG

DSCN4906.JPG


It was heard to ignore the two F-22 Raptor's arriving at Osh!
DSCN4907.JPG


Ladies and Gentlemen...I present Blue Steel.
DSCN4908.JPG


Peter is in the middle of his RV-8 build and was eager to check out what was new in Avionics. Garmin's G5 EFIS is really well done for it's price point. Super user interface.
DSCN4909.JPG


Tough not to love this panel....if you don't love your savings account!
DSCN4910.JPG


Chad Jensen and I have been great friends for over 10 years now. It's always good to run into him at the shows.
DSCN4911.JPG

DSCN4912.JPG


Vertical Power had a really neat display of a DIY panel powered by some Raspberry PI's and other X86/ARM processors. I believe Chad said this is a Student Project their company is sponsoring.
DSCN4913.JPG
 
Day 2 (continued)

DSCN4914.JPG

DSCN4915.JPG


GRT released a Touch version of their HXr. It was extremely well done...but I am somewhat biased since I still beleive GRT makes the best EFIS's on the market.
DSCN4916.JPG

DSCN4917.JPG


GRT had a LPV GPS receiver on display which they claimed will meet all TSO specs - all for $3500.
DSCN4918.JPG


We ended up back at the SNF bar for a great seat in the shade to watch the afternoon airshow. We also met up with some new RV buddies from West Virginia.
DSCN4919.JPG


Back at HBC I ran into my great friend Jim who is building an RV-9A in Bel Air, MD. Can you believe he just stoke my beer before this picture was shot??? And he wants me to do an inspection of his airplane!
DSCN4920.JPG


All of the action at SNF happens on the south end of the airport. My friend Peter went to University of MD's business school with a friend who ran the restaurant in the FBO on the north end of the field. We were able to grab an Uber car about 100' from HBC and $8.00 later we were at the FBO and at Hallback's bar and grill. The staff here was about as friendly as I have ever met, and the BBQ food was out of this world. It was undoubtedly the best BBQ Brisket I have ever had, and super large portions.
DSCN4921.JPG
 
Day 3

We watched Patty Wagstaff's show on Wednesday and Peter absolutely loved the way the paint scheme of her Extra 300 looked. Our mission today was to track down the airplane so Peter could take notes.
DSCN4922.JPG


As we were dissecting the paint scheme, none other than Patty herself walked up and allowed us to snap a picture with her.
DSCN4923.JPG


Peter's day has officially been made.
DSCN4924.JPG


This AirCam has about the best FL themed paint job there can be.
DSCN4925.JPG


It's impossible to pass by the Heavens Landing booth without getting a picture with the lovely angels. Next time I will have to remember to kick out one of my knees.
DSCN4926.JPG


Swag was tough to find at SNF...I am used to Oshkosh vendors handing out more t-shirts than I can wear in a week. Luckily I have some reliable sources who will pay me off in swag for me to leave them alone!
DSCN4927.JPG


The only untouched part of SNF for us was the warbird area.
DSCN4928.JPG

DSCN4929.JPG

DSCN4930.JPG

DSCN4931.JPG
 
Day 3 (continued)

DSCN4932.JPG

DSCN4933.JPG

DSCN4934.JPG


This marks the 10th year of of the ICON A5 being on display at an airshow I have attended.
DSCN4935.JPG


The previous night Peter and I were out with Chad into the wee hours of the morning raising ****. We both decided to take a Siesta and watch the airshow from HBC.
DSCN4936.JPG


Peter's shoe made for an excellent beer holder.
DSCN4937.JPG


Oshkosh....It can't get here fast enough!
DSCN4938.JPG


ugh....I can't take him anywhere!
DSCN4939.JPG


The ground transportation at SNF is second to none. We were picked up daily no more than 10 steps from our campsite on the SNF trolley.
DSCN4940.JPG


Crusing through the light sport/ultralight area.
DSCN4941.JPG
 
Day 3 (continued)

Back to HBC for Friday Night Steak, Chicken and Salmon. For $15 you get to choose one. Waiting in line were a number of characters. This was one of the better T-shirts I've seen, and I approve of his beverage of choice. His identity is concealed to protect the innocent!
DSCN4942.JPG


The steak was HUGE and out of this world. It was overflowing the plate.
DSCN4943.JPG


The XtremeAir XA42 Aircraft Wraps plane showed up just after dinner and got a lot of attention. The quality of this wrap is amazing...as it should be since it's owned by the owner of Aircraft Wraps!
DSCN4944.JPG

DSCN4945.JPG


This is my favorite picture of SNF.
DSCN4946.JPG
 
Day 4

Saturday started of very calm. There were a number of hot air balloons out on the runway.
DSCN4947.JPG


We were planning on starting our journey home today. As we were tearing down camp, my friend Bill Repucci showed up in his RV-9A. He showed off some really innovative tie-down stakes names Orange Screw
DSCN4948.JPG


We couldn't leave without saying goodbye to our lovely and gracious host, Mary-Jane. He and her great team really set Sun 'n Fun's HBC apart from Oshkosh. There really isn't any comparison.
DSCN4949.JPG


Our destination today was Gainsville, GA - just north of Atlanta. Peter went to The Citadel with a friend who lives up there, and he was willing to take in us for the night.
DSCN4950.JPG


The Taxi out to the runway was a little frustrating because they just switched runways and the ground crew was disorganized.
DSCN4951.JPG


A B17 snuck out in front of us and we needed to wait for it to do its run-up. No complaints on my behalf - it was amazing to be so close to such an amazing aircraft.
DSCN4952.JPG


Cleared for takeoff!
DSCN4953.JPG

DSCN4954.JPG


We knew a headwind was in our future.
DSCN4955.JPG

DSCN4956.JPG
 
Day 4 (continued)

Frowny faces for the headwind.
DSCN4957.JPG


We were being absolutely beaten up with the moderate-to-severe turbulence at 4,500'. We thought we would duck down lower to find lower headwinds and less turbulence. We did find lower headwinds, but the ride was down right uncomfortable down lower.
DSCN4958.JPG


Back over Ocala.
DSCN4959.JPG


Passing by Gainsville, FL and the University of FL off to our left.
DSCN4960.JPG


The ride was really intolerable down at 3,500'. We went up to 5,500 which was OK, but still not great. We took a slight penalty with a bigger headwind, but it was worth it for the better ride.
DSCN4961.JPG


Some traffic off to our east.
DSCN4962.JPG


Recognize this spread? We did another fuel stop in Baxley on the way home. This place can't be beat!!
DSCN4963.JPG

DSCN4964.JPG


Next stop was Gainsville, GA - KGVL. On the way we saw a fire in the distance. You can see how strong the winds were today with how the smoke was being blown.
DSCN4965.JPG


Baldwin County Airport (KMLJ) had a sweet runway which abutted the lake.
DSCN4966.JPG
 
Day 4 (continued)

The turbulence was no joke today. A C172 driver reported the ride "REALLY Bumpy it SUCKED".
DSCN4967.JPG


On the ground Peter's friend Justin picked us up in no time. We went off to the marina he kept his boat at to swing back a couple of Bud Heavy's, then it was off to the liquor store for some adult beverages and then Mexicen food. The placement of the Mad Dog 20/20 and Castrol Oil was TIGHT! I think the Castrol cost more money...but in all honesty for anyone who has ever had the disservice of consuming MD 2020, Castrol tastes better!
DSCN4968.JPG


The evening was full of new friends, great food, some cocktails and reading children's books.
DSCN4969.JPG
 
Day 5

The temps this morning were chilly - 50 degrees outside, but the windchill made it seem 20 degrees cooler. It's amazing how fast Peter and I got accustomed the the wonderful FL weather!
DSCN4970.JPG


Our gracious host for the past night, Justin.
DSCN4971.JPG


Todays trip was straight forward. About 3 hours in flight with a slight tailwind.
DSCN4972.JPG


The lakes around Northern Atlanta looked like a lot of fun in the summer! We might have to come back and make use of Justin's boat in the summer!
DSCN4973.JPG


2.5 hours expected in flight at 7,500' with 7 kts on the tail.
DSCN4974.JPG


The views over the Smokey Mountains were spectacular.
DSCN4975.JPG

DSCN4976.JPG


Crossing over Ashville, NC.
DSCN4977.JPG


The hills were getting high, so we did too - we shot up to 9,500'.
DSCN4978.JPG

DSCN4979.JPG
 
Day 5 (continued)

Zoomin' at 183 kts (210 MPH).
DSCN4980.JPG

DSCN4981.JPG


We needed to duck down as the clouds were getting lowers.
DSCN4982.JPG

DSCN4983.JPG


Snow covered mountains to our east. Locals in MD said Saturday consisted of rain, snow, wind, thunder and lightening. It took all my willpower not to turn around and head for the FL Keys!
DSCN4984.JPG

DSCN4985.JPG


We stepped down to 5,500' as the clouds were coming down.
DSCN4986.JPG


We ran into some very light precip.
DSCN4987.JPG


We ran up the Shenandoah valley which made for a nice view. The ride home was completely different from the ride down in terms of scenery and terrain. It was great we took an excursion to Atlanta to split the trip up and get a more scenic ride home.
DSCN4988.JPG


The last 20 minutes were bumpy at 5,500', but nothing compared to yesterday. However, I didn't bother to check the PIREPS's to see how the Cessna drivers thought it was! Great SNF! Can't wait for next year!!!
DSCN4989.JPG
 
Great report

Enjoyed you pirep of SNF. Haven't been for a number of years but recognized the place from you photos. You might give Vlad a run for his money on trip reports.
 
thanks one of the best trip write ups i have ever seen! :cool:
this is a lot of work and well appreciated to all.
for sure one of the best snf ever.
nice to put a face to your avatar.
come on back any time. :) see you in the keys.
P1020219.jpg
 
Great Write Up!

Great to see you at Sun N Fun....I will return your beer (or maybe even 2) pending the progress inspection of my 9A!
 
Nice post

Enjoyed the write up. Have not flown to sun n fun in a couple years, need to get there again.

That Baxley airport looks great. Might have to amend my route to the bahamas and try that stop. Love supporting small airports that go above and beyond like that place.
 
Mike and Peter it was nice to met you guys and be camping neighbors. S N F was great as always. Trip home to S. Texas was a bit brutal from N Florida to Lousianna. Hope you'll had a better ride north. See ya next year. Peter get that 8 done so you can make it a formation flight down. Ted
 
Nice report! Started looking for you after we walked by your plane in HBC on Thursday, no joy. Should have stopped at the beer garden and waited.

And thanks for the reminder on Baxley, could not pull that one out of the brain cells a couple months ago when I needed it.
 
It was great meeting you two! HBC is a fantastic place for finding people who suffer from the same incurable affliction as you do!
 
What? No running while you were there? :p

I have been thru Baxley several times. Always the cheapest gas around and never anyone there.

Looks like they have made a major upgrade to the FBO building since I was there!
 
A model for all write ups

Really enjoyed reading your debrief of SnF Mike. About the best write up I've ever seen. Can't wait for your Oshkosh report.:D
 
Mike, thanks for an excellent SnF trip report! Hope to see you at OSH or SnF next year!
 
STOP RUBBING IT IN, ALREADY! I'm pounding as fast as I can...

GREAT writeup! Thanks so much for sharing. OK, back to pounding....

(and I want some of that steak... mmmmmmm)
 
Wow, what a great write-up.

Wish I had made it if only by car, HBC at Sun N Fun is aways a blast
 
WOW, Mike! I agree with what others have been saying... that's one of the best write-ups I've ever seen! Thanks so much for sharing all of it. Hope to catch up with you again sometime soon! :)
 
Great trip report!

It was for sure a pleasure meeting you two (and all the other great people) at SNF..

You guys were very helpful to me in sharing knowledge.. more than you know!

I'm an hour (car) west of Asheville, if you ever run this way...you're welcome here.

Looking forward to the next event(s)

/Andy
 
Mike
That is the best trip report that I have ever seen! At my age pics are much better than words. I also departed HBC in Smilin 1 on Saturday. I flew to St. Augustine for lunch with friends and then on to Atlanta Saturday afternoon.
The turbulence was brutal so I tried going up to 7500 for a while. The headwind up there was 60 MPH with no crosswind at all!

Special thanks to Mary Jane and crew for they make HBC worth it in spite of the location.:)

John Morgan
 
Great write up!

Agree with everyone else great write up. Matches your great write ups during your build and maintenance! These are extremely useful to those of us building. I made it to SNF but it was 21 hours driving one way. Can't wait to fly my RV-7A and save the time.
Bob
 
You should probably get your Master's Degree after this post. That must have taken a huge amount of time. Thanks for the time investment on your side. That is as close as I will ever get to being there. CA is a long ways away.
 
Thanks

Mike,
Great write up.
Just wanted to say I have a favorites folder RV links with many links of course but another sub folder ..best builders websites
You are in that folder.
I have gleaned heaps from your website over the years.
Perfect opportunity to say...
Thanks for sharing and thanks for your cyber help!
From Oz.
 
AWESOME Write-up Mike. Look out Vlad. :D

On another note, I wish the HBC wasn't out in the middle of nowhere. No one is ever hanging around the times I have gone to check it out.

I went to the show Saturday and would have camped if it was closer to the action, like it used to be. I had my camping gear just in case of an airport/runway shutdown and I couldn't get out between the day show and the night show.
 
Back
Top