Latest news with #SUN'nFUN
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Blue Angels aim to inspire excellence at SUN ‘n FUN in Lakeland
LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — The Blue Angels soared into Lakeland Thursday with a mission of inspiring excellence in the people who watch their gravity-defying skills. 'We just want whatever folks choose to do with their lives to do it really well and to do it with focus and excellence,' Lt. Connor O'Donnell said. Lakeland man caught hosting illegal poker games, trying to hide $800K: deputies O'Donnell said he was first moved by the Blue Angels as a kid in Maine. 'That's when I saw them first when I was about 10 years old, and that will stick with you as a kid, and that's really what we're hoping to do here,' he said. He now flies Blue Angel #6 all over the country and, this weekend, at SUN 'n FUN in Lakeland. 'I've heard it's huge, and there's tents,' O'Donnell said. 'I've been looking for them. I've heard people camp out here on the fields.' Flying at speeds over 500 miles per hour in tight formations requires months of practice and intense focus during the demonstration. 'You're just focused on what you're doing at that moment. Not really worried about the next thing, stay in the moment, trust the training,' O'Donnell said. 'This is not a place you want to have a bad day. We're all about not only practicing the demo itself but preparing our bodies so good rest, good hydration.' At certain times in the demonstration, the F/A-18 jets come close to 18 inches from each other. The planes are unique in that they can fly at high speeds while also maintaining maneuverability. 'You see the high speed stuff, that's what excites us. But I think a lot of the aviation people around here understand that one of these planes can fly as slow as some of the prop aircraft around here,' said Cdr. Adam Bryan, commanding officer and flight leader for the Blue Angels. This is Bryan's first visit to SUN 'n FUN. 'With an air show that's essentially already begun, it makes it quite a unique place to come into. Seeing all the aircraft on the ground excited me a lot when I came in to land,' he said. Bryan said his favorite move is the 'Diamond 360,' which is the quintessential, tight maneuver that kicks off the Blue Angels' demonstration. Training begins in Pensacola, Florida, in November and then the teams spend 2.5 months in El Centro, California, practicing over the desert. 'We practice by doing a lot, a lot of repetition. You can think about it like being in the gym. It's a lot of reps and sets over and over again,' Bryan said. It's all an effort to display excellence. 'Our job is to inspire those that are watching us to kind of reach for their highest potential,' he said. The Blue Angels' demonstrations are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday during the daily air shows. To see the schedule, visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lakeland business, airport prepare for hundreds of thousands of visitors for SUN ‘n FUN
LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — The SUN 'n FUN Aerospace Expo, which kicked off Tuesday, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Lakeland and contributes tens of millions of dollars to the local economy. 'It's something we look forward to every year,' said Manuel Meza, general manager at Harry's Seafood Bar and Grille in downtown Lakeland. Florida man buys $10 scratch-off ticket at convenience store, wins $2 million He said busy season in Lakeland starts around Christmastime. 'Then the [Detroit] Tigers come to town. That's always really busy with them being right down the street, and then it's followed up by SUN 'n FUN, which is typically our last big hoorah for our busy season,' Meza said. Early Tuesday, Meza was preparing for what he knows will be a unique, week-long crowd. 'Typically, restaurants start to die out after 9 but because of the air shows being during the day, you get a lot of stuff coming in later at night,' he said. 'There's always groups that are coming in every year. They tend to make it a habit of coming to the local restaurants on certain days of the week.' One hotel manager said it's like the Super Bowl for Lakeland. But as Amy Wiggins, the president and CEO of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce, pointed out, it's better since the host city never changes. 'We've already made the investment in our airport and have done for that a long time. We get it every year. So again, for 51 years, to say that we're having a Super Bowl here in Lakeland is pretty remarkable,' Wiggins said. SUN 'n FUN is Florida's largest convention and the second largest aerospace expo in the world. 'We are considered the world's busiest airport this week of SUN 'n FUN. We typically have an airplane landing about every minute. Sometimes that can go down to about every 30 seconds,' said Adam Lunn, assistant director at Lakeland Linder International Airport. He said this year they're planning had to involve Avelo, the commercial airline that began flying out of Lakeland in June 2024. 'As far as the aircraft themselves and moving them on the northside of the airport, it's business as usual. They'll be able to land and taxi over here to our terminal while all the SUN 'n FUN traffic continues to head down to the south side,' Lunn said. The FAA provided 63 air traffic controllers from all corners of the country to help coordinate the takeoffs and landings. Wiggins said she wants to remind residents to expect restaurants will be busier and traffic will be slower because of all the visitors. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
