Sun-n-Fun Fly-In

On Friday, I was provided with a great opportunity to attend the Sun-n-Fun Fly-in that is having its annual run at the Lakeland, FL, airport.  Not only was I granted VIP access to the flight line, I was able to share the experience with three of my friends.  The main motivator behind attending was the fact that I was being offered the chance to be up close to show central while the USAF Thunderbirds performed.  Naturally, I leapt at the chance.  Three quick phone calls had the other three slots filled and off we went to the airport.

I will keep the text short and let the photographs do all the talking.  Being at "show center" I was able to snag some really good shots of all the action that transpired during my visit.  A special word of thanks to Boyd (one of my three invited guests) for loaning me his Canon 200 mm L-Series, Image Stabilized, telephoto lens; it really made a big difference in the quality of shots that I was able to take, as you will see below:

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Walking from the VIP parking area to our viewing spot brought us near to the Thunderbirds' staging area:

There were many amazing warbirds parked all around us:

 

It wasn't long before the warbirds started moving as they prepared for the afternoon fly-bys:

While the vintage warbirds were getting into position, this jet was busy doing passes:

Once the Red Knight jet finished its passes, the older warbirds were in the air:

 

After the vintage warbirds did their thing, it was time for the Thunderbirds to put on their show...and what a show!!!  Awesome in every respect is the best way to describe what the Thunderbirds do. If you haven't seen this performance in person, you owe it to yourself to do so as soon as possible.  For now, enjoy the show as I captured it through the camera lens:

 

 

Once the Thunderbirds finished their show, we walked around "Fighter Town" for a few minutes:

Boyd and I ran into an "old friend" in Fighter Town, the Panchito, which you will recall from an earlier posting we flew in last year:

That's my report on the 2008 Sun-n-Fun.  I know there were a lot of photos to look at, but you have to bear in mind that I whittled these down from the 900(!!!) photos I shot during our visit to the fly-in.  Don't you just love digital cameras?