This was my first SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo since 2019. It was great to be back in Florida, especially after a long, cold, and wet winter in the Pacific Northwest.
And since 1999, it was my first time at the show where I didn’t have the responsibility of publishing the show’s daily newspaper, SUN ‘n FUN Today.
But the more leisurely pace didn’t mean it wasn’t any less intense…or fun.
Following are some of my notes from the first three days of SUN ‘n FUN 2025:
Gene Conrad, SNF President & CEO, started SNF25 with a media briefing on Tuesday, April 1, with a flurry of announcements.
Two piqued my interest:
The Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) will host 13 summer camps for kids of all ages. All are sold out. Bravo for building an educational powerhouse.
Over the next 10-plus years, the SNF campus will change dramatically. The airport, Lakeland Linder International, will add a second east-west runway, parallel to the existing Runway 8-26. It will be south of the existing runway and will result in SNF’s grounds being squeezed further south as well. SUN ‘n FUN officials have created a Strategic Site Plan video if you are interested.
Other news that caught my interest:
Cirrus Aircraft took the wraps off its updated Cirrus IQ app.
Cirrus’s Seneca Giese took me through the updates. The iOS-based app allows for remote aircraft management of 2020 and newer SR aircraft or 2023 and newer Vision Jets. The app will let owners remotely check the status of fuel, fluids, battery health, flight hours, and more. A PRO version is included with the app update.
Among other features I found interesting is Approach Score. Currently in beta testing, Approach Score does just that — it scores your approach. The intent is to encourage repeated stabilized approaches for one of the most critical phases of flight, approach and landing.
The big takeaway from an opening day presentation on MOSAIC was the expectation of the rule being released by the FAA in August 2025.
Panelists at the presentation were Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA) President Scott Severen, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) President Darren Pleasance, Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) President Jack Pelton, and ASTM F37 Committee Vice Chair Adam Morrison.
The original draft of the rule included a clean stall speed of 54 knots. EAA appealed to the FAA to increase that to 58 knots. Pelton expressed his belief the final rule will include the higher stall speed and, if that happens, he said that “probably close to 70% of every current certified single-engine piston aircraft in the fleet today would qualify to be flown as a light sport aircraft.”
Many questions will remain unanswered when the rule is released, such as: Can LSA repairmen maintain a Cessna 172, for example? But the migration to performance-based regulations will make it easier for changes to the rules based on experience.
Donald Frano hosted a forum about airports starting to use ADS-B to collect airport usage fees. According the Frano, general aviation aircraft owners spent $500 million to equip their aircraft under the guise of safety. And now some airports have starting using the technology to collect users fees.
Frano did note that airport owners do have the right to collect fees.
He handed out cards with links to two websites: Stop ADS-B Abuse and a Change.org petition.
I briefly met Ingemars Butkevics, the CEO of Tarragon Aircraft. Based in Latvia, the company’s tandem two-seater is stunning. He said the planes are being used in Ukraine to identify Russian drones and deactivate them. I’m sure there’s more to the story, but that’s all I got in the few minutes I had.
Vulcanair Aircraft had its single-engine V1 on display. My conversation with Director of Communications Stephen Pope filled me in on a few things I hadn’t heard. The company broke ground on a 36,000-square-foot factory in January 2025 that will eventually produce up to 100 aircraft a year. Hiring will start in May and will prioritize military veterans.
DeltaHawk is continuing to adapt its DHK180 jet-fueled piston engine for the V1. FAA and EASA certification for the DeltaHawk are progressing.
And one of the more intriguing bits of information will be the ability for flight schools to lease a V1 for $5,900 per month (which is $79 per hour based on 80 hours on the Hobbs meter). Oh, and engine and propeller overhaul costs will be part of the lease agreement.
George Braly and Tim Roehl of General Aviation Modifications Inc. (GAMI) hosted a forum on the company’s unleaded fuel, G100UL.
The widely discussed leaks of some early G100UL users were discussed, of course.
My takeaway: George didn’t dispute the leaks. He did dispute the claim that G100UL was the problem. He showed pictures of aircraft with blue stains near fuel tanks and said that’s 100LL. G100UL is tinted brown.
Whatever side of the discussion you fall on, George passed along AOPA President Darren Pleasance’s statement that Innospec will stop producing the lead additive TEL in 2029 or 2030. So, we have a much firmer deadline now for the end of 100LL.
Do you own an aircraft you’d be willing to let a few select fellow pilots fly? If so, you might want to check out Flight Club.
Launched in 2020 in Canada, the service is now available in the United States.
Pilots apply to fly specific aircraft via the Flight Club website. Owners can approve or not.
By way of example, a Piper Cherokee 140 is available in Snohomish, Washington, for $66 an hour, dry.
As I write this there are 146 aircraft in the system.
Whether you are an owner who would like to backfill some of the costs of ownership or are a pilot looking for an aircraft to fly at a more affordable price, Flight Club is worth a look.
Standing in the shade of a turbine-powered Comp Air 6.2, Ron Lueck, CEO of Comp Air Aviation told me the company has sold 500 kits and he’s designed 18 aircraft. Both numbers are impressive.
In a tent outside one of the main buildings was Sean “Skeeter” Sherman, who was displaying his Stadia AGL altimeters. The original Stadia uses a laser to measure the height above ground and report that data back to the pilot’s mobile device. Audio tones are then broadcast to a headset via Bluetooth.
The newer Stadia Neptune uses radar to accomplish the same. Sherman reported it works great on glassy water.
Even better (for me), Sherman is a fellow University of North Dakota alum. He graduated in this century, while I graduated in the last century.
It was a fun three days. And I’m already excited for the 2026 edition, slated for April 14-19.
