Sun 'n Fun Fly-In enjoyed strong finish

The Sun 'n Fun Fly-In is officially over, and the event is proving to be a study in extremes. The 37th annual Fly-In got off to a wet start which prevented many pilots from even making it to the early days of the aviation event.

"Early on this year we were low on admissions, especially with the aircraft, because the weather to the north of Florida was preventing aircraft from flying in from other parts of the country," said Sun 'n Fun President and Convention Chairman John Burton.

He said the Fly-In typically sees upwards of 45,000 take-offs and landings over the course of the weeklong event. This year wasn't like that though, and by Thursday, when heavy rains, 75 mph winds and a tornado touched down at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, it looked like the entire Fly-In might be a wash.

But Mother Nature had other plans, and when the skies cleared by Friday morning Sun 'n Fun was back in business.

"People must have rallied around Sun 'n Fun because Friday we had a huge crowd. Saturday, I believe, was the largest crowd we've ever had in the history of Sun 'n Fun," Burton said.

Sun 'n Fun officials still don't have an exact attendance count, but many vendors say they too saw a dramatic increase in sales and traffic on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Terry Schmidt who co-owns Flightline Services, one of Sun 'n Fun's major meal providers, the weekend exceeded expectations.

"Friday, Saturday, Sunday did real well. We kind of hoped that the people that did not come the previous days would come on the weekend, and I think for us the last two days were our record days we ever had," Schmidt said.

Some of the aircraft that were damaged during Thursday's strong line of storms remained on Sun 'n Fun property even as clean-up crews were taking down tents and clearing the rest of the airport.

"We'll have to work with the owners as to how we're going to remove those or what's going to be done," Burton said.

In the meantime, dates have already been set for next year's Fly-In which will be held March 27-April 1.