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The Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) is celebrating a banner year at last April’s Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo after canceling the 2020 event due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. ACE president John “Lites” Leenhouts announced at AirVenture that almost 200,000 people attended Sun ‘n Fun 2021, beating out previous show records. Net revenue was up by about 5 percent in spite of travel restrictions that kept international attendance down and a 15 percent reduction in the number of exhibitors present.
Leenhouts also announced that construction has wrapped up on ACE’s Skylab, a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning center aimed at offering hands-on activities for young people interested in aviation. The project has added 8,000 square feet of convertible space for educational use, events and exhibits, a new lobby and entrance for the Florida Air Museum, a state-of-the-art simulator training lab, holographic theater and planet
- April 28, 2021, 11:36 AM
Florida s Lakeland Linder International Airport, home to the annual Sun N Fun Fly-in, will receive a new FBO starting at the end of May with the opening of Aero Center Lakeland s temporary facility. The permanent terminal, shown here in an artist s rendering, is expected to open along with two new hangars by the end of the year. (Image: Marathon FBO Partners)
Florida’s Lakeland Linder International Airport (KLAL) will receive a second FBO late next month with the opening of Aero Center Lakeland’s temporary facility. The company, headed by industry veterans including former Signature Flight Support president Michael Scheeringa, broke ground in February at KLAL on its $7 million permanent home. With a planned debut in the fourth quarter, the FBO located midfield on Runway 9/27 will include an 11,000-sq-ft terminal, along with 15,000-sq-ft and 10,000-sq-ft hangars.
SUN n’ FUN starts the 2021 American Air Show Season
SUN n’ FUN starts the 2021 American Air Show Season
The Blue Angels performing at Sun n Fun 2021. (All images: Author)
The United States Navy Blue Angels 75th anniversary season kicks off with their “new” F/A-18E/F Super Hornets at SUN n’ FUN 2021.
Officially known as the SUN n’ FUN Aerospace Expo, the famous airshow held annually at Florida’s Lakeland-Linder International Airport, Florida, this year took place over a six day period, from April 13 to 18, 2021. As the second largest air show in the world, after the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, this aviation extravaganza is a mixture of general aviation convention, camping, fly-in, spring break for pilots, and yes an air show.
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Aerospace Center for Excellence and Sun ân Fun President John âLitesâ Leenhouts officially opened the organizationâs new mobile airshow command center on Tuesday. The three-story modular facility can simultaneously serve as a control tower, airshow announcersâ box and air-ground safety center. Sun ân Fun also plans to rent out the building, which was constructed from shipping containers.
âThis is ⦠the highest technology airshow control facility ever made and this was all a brainstorming idea put together by our team,â said Leenhouts. âAnd all of it comes together so we can use this not only here but anywhere we can get it to.â
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Following last yearâs cancellation due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the annual Sun ân Fun Aerospace Expo opened its doors to high ticket sales and sizable crowds on Tuesday. According to Sun ân Fun and Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) president John âLitesâ Leenhouts, event ticket sales had reached around $1.2 million by Tuesday morning, surpassing the previous average of $900,000 in ticket sales at the opening of the show. In addition, 385 exhibitors are in attendance, a less significant drop than expected for one of the first in-person aviation events since the onset of COVID-19.
âWe worked with our county officials, our city officials, our state leaders and the national CDC and we came up with what we figured is a really good set of protocols that gives everybody a chance to feel safe,â said Leenhouts. âHaving said all that, the world is ready for an aviation event.â