While the main draw of every week at Sun ‘n Fun is the awesome air displays, there’s still plenty to take in just milling around. Every year brings out a different crop of static displays, from classic warbirds and golden age aircraft to special mission gear you’d only see on base.
This year’s Warbird Ramp has a good mix of recognizable classics, like the AV-8B Harrier courtesy of VMA-231, the F-16 Falcon, A-10C Thunderbolt II, T-6 Texan II, and F-14 Tomcat. On the heavy side, the C-17 Globemaster is joined by the C-130J Super Hercules and KC-135 Stratotanker.
The CASA C-212 Aviocar is an unusual addition to the lineup, alongside an E-9, a Boeing P-8 Poseidon, and a U.S. Customs & Border Patrol King Air 350ER that’s bristling with ISR equipment. It’s not every day they can take their Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft off the job for a little vacation, so check it out while you can!
Today’s cutting edge F-35A Lightning II is on hand too, giving audiences a close-up look at the stars of the show. Kids looking forward to USAF training can take a gander at their TG-16 Glider and imagine themselves working their way up to the bigger, brawnier metal next door.
Fans of rotary wing flight aren’t left out, either. The TH-73A Thrasher, Boeing AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and HH-60 Pave Hawk; and Hughes MD-530 all made an appearance. Straddling the awkward split between rotary and fixed wing is the CMV-22B Osprey, too.
FMI: www.flysnf.org
