Altitude Unfiltered
Altitude Unfiltered is a raw, real, and unfiltered aviation podcast that dives deep into the lives, stories, and mindsets of aviators from every corner of the sky. Hosted from a custom-built mobile studio, we travel to meet our guests which include pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers, and aviation enthusiasts where they are most comfortable, bringing you authentic conversations that go beyond the cockpit. Whether it’s learning from hard lessons, celebrating career milestones, or just laughing over hangar tales, we keep it honest and grounded. No corporate polish just real people, real flying, and real talk. Altitude Unfiltered is here to inspire, educate, and connect the aviation community with the voices that make it fly. If you’re passionate about aviation and want more than surface-level stories, tune in and take off with us.
Altitude Unfiltered
2026 Sun N Fun Recap: The Good, The Bad, and Everything After Dark
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We’re back from Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo 2026 and… yeah, we’ve got some thoughts.
In this episode, we break down the good, the bad, and the “what were they thinking?” moments from one of the biggest aviation events of the year. From standout aircraft and must-see booths to the stuff that completely missed the mark, we’re calling it exactly how we saw it.
We also hand out our “Best of Show” picks, highlight some new and emerging aviation companies that actually impressed us, and give you a behind-the-scenes look at what really goes down after hours at Sun ‘n Fun (because let’s be honest… that’s where some of the best stories come from).
And of course, it wouldn’t be us without a few unfiltered off-topic rants sprinkled in, because aviation isn’t the only thing we’ve got opinions on.
Whether you were there in person or just living it through social media, this is the recap you actually want to hear.
Strap in, because this isn't your typical aviation podcast. No scripts, no filters, no holding shorts. From the ramp to the cockpit, the stories they don't teach you in flight school. You're listening to Altitude Unfiltered.
SPEAKER_02All right, welcome back to Altitude Unfiltered. I'm your host, Kenny, joined with our brand new co-host, Joe. How are you doing, Joe?
SPEAKER_03Good. How are you?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we're here to recap the 2026 Sun and Fun Air Venture. Oh, yeah. It's gonna be great. Yeah, it was uh definitely a very interesting seven days, five days?
SPEAKER_03I think it was eight for me total.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, eight days. Yeah, I did three of them, and it was definitely hot.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, it was hot, but there was so much cool stuff to see, so many cool vendors and just conversations that were had. The plans were just absolutely gnarly, all the different aircraft that were there. So it was definitely sick.
SPEAKER_02Definitely, yeah. I work uh the first day I was there, I walked around the corner, ran into the Kings, you know, Kings Flight School, got a picture with them the first day I was there, and uh that day we ended up walking over seven miles just trying to see what Sun and Fun had to offer, all the booths and um vendors that they had.
SPEAKER_03Uh oh yeah, I mean, I think we did on average like 22,000 steps a day. It was ridiculous.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, if you needed a workout and you wanted to see cool airplanes, Sun and Fun 2026 was where it was at. Oh, that's the place to go.
SPEAKER_03We lose some pounds and you see cool planes.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. All right, what's some things that stood out to you today?
SPEAKER_03Oh man, I mean, I think the number one thing that stood out to me this year was definitely the super constellation. That was my like total nerd out moment with seeing that plane. I got to talk with uh his name was JD, I believe, similar to Jack Daniels. And um, he was awesome. He was the pilot, he was also the mechanic, and that's like a total dream of mine to work on that one day. Now that didn't come until a couple days into the show, right? Correct. Yeah, I think it got there. I want to say on Thursday or Friday, um, and it was there for the remainder of the weekend.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and you're a little uh you nerded out about this. I've seen the videos of it, and uh totally acceptable being a mechanic like you are. Why don't you tell people what engines are on that constellation, what makes it very unique from any other aircraft that uh that exists today, and why we don't use some of the technology that they have anymore.
SPEAKER_03I mean, really, it's like the the biggest thing with the super constellation that I think is awesome is first of all, it does have the big old radials on it, and it's just a beast of a plane for the time that it was built. And also you got to think it's all this polished aluminum. And I've talked with guys, I have a buddy that flies a 150 that's all polished aluminum, and he's telling me it takes that takes about two full days to polish a 150. And could you imagine an airplane the size of practically a 737 and you polish the whole airplane?
SPEAKER_02So I mean, yeah, we're talking what, 150-foot wingspan, 130-foot wingspan, something like that.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, absolutely. So polishing that, I mean you're looking at like pro I would guess at least two weeks of everyday labor just to make it look like a nice airplane.
SPEAKER_02Tons of square footage. Oh, yeah. Tons of square footage. You know, it's very misleading. What was the vibe of the crowd? I noticed a lot of younger kids running around um the two days I was there. Uh younger generation, I should say, not so much the older hanger crowd that just sits around and drinks coffee and trades war stories. It was more of a younger, how do I say it influencer crowd that I saw?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, and I agree definitely. Um, you know, like we were talking about earlier, you're seeing all the stuff on Instagram that is like pilot coachella. And honestly, this year it definitely had a younger crowd to it, which is super exciting because you know, generally in the past, when we go to air shows, you see you do see that older crowd, and now we're seeing these younger group of aviators coming in. Um, and it's super cool to see that general aviation is getting the attention it finally deserves.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it definitely is. And and I saw a lot of the younger crowds drawn to some of the newer technologies in aviation. They were a lot of them were down in the ultralight area, the more affordable gyrocopters and you know, trike wings, stuff like that, the light sports, because it's still affordable and it's easy for them to get into and learn how to fly versus getting into a certified aircraft which costs more money than most people could ever produce. And it's just not the ownership cost of it's not not effective to a younger pilot coming in out of school after they spend a hundred thousand dollars getting their license.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, exactly. And I think that's mainly you know, one of the big draws we're seeing with the younger crowd is that and I think we talked about this on the last podcast as well, is uh under the new mosaic and under all these new aircraft that are being manufactured, general aviation is actually achievable right now for even college students that want to just fly on the weekends because of what mosaics done, the wider variety of airplanes that are now available to them, uh obviously less hours of flight training, which is um debatable. But at the end of the day, you are able to have you know the pilot experience at a lower cost of entry. And also, I think you know, to jump into what what social media has done for the industry as well, is I think now people are seeing what general aviation is on a broader scale. They're not just hearing it from their grandpa who flew an old bonanza, they're actually seeing it on you know TikTok and Instagram and stuff.
SPEAKER_02So used to you have to go to a airport little grass trip somewhere, sit in a hangar to see some of these ultralights. There, their grandpa wasn't videotaping off his iPhone showing you the real cool little engine he's got on his airplane with a handmade prop. You know, it it was one of those things where now we've exposed it to the younger crowd and they are finding a niche in social media to be able to push this, become viral, and actually become an Instagram pilot, basically. Yeah. Where people are well known for being a pilot because they film and they do all this content.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, exactly, exactly. And you know, at the end of the day, too, there's so much cool stuff that I think as you know, people are coming into the industry, they're finding different things that are are interesting to them. I know we were looking at that, you were trying to give it a go up in that that weight shift uh little kite with the anger thing. Yeah. Which that thing, I mean, to anybody, you're gonna look at it and you're just gonna be questioning what exactly this thing is. But to someone like me and uh, you know, a younger man, I'm like, that that sounds like a good time.
SPEAKER_02You know, it's basically a side-by-side with a wing on it. Uh you can take off in 300 feet and go back back country flying. You can, you know, low and slow over a lake, they even make them with floats on them. You know, uh the signet is made here in Florida, and it it had popularity about 10 years ago and it kind of let off. But the signet is a pontoon trike that you can take lake hopping all over the state of Florida for less than a hundred thousand dollars. You can own one and fly it whenever you wanted to and hop it right off a lake and put the wheels down, land on a grass strip. It's one of those things that draws the younger crowd because it's different and it's just unique and put you in the outdoors and backwoods.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, exactly. I definitely agree. And there was so much. I mean, if you really think about it, you know, it's it's been a couple weeks now, and if you just think back on everything that we saw, it is pretty wild the vast majority of aircraft that were at Stone and Fun this year.
SPEAKER_02What were some of the aircraft that you saw that were kind of underrated? Uh not so much out there for the public to see, but they're kind of a cool airplane. You know, I saw that one that uh the guy flew from what, Colorado? Oh little polished airplane with the tiny little prop on it. Yeah, I mean like a small child could only fit in it.
SPEAKER_03Yes, that thing was absolutely ridiculous. So I saw him actually at uh the affordable flying expo, which was actually, I think, put on by Aerospace Center of Excellence, who also puts on Sun and Fun. Um and he, yes, I mean I I honestly it's almost difficult to describe, but uh this this aircraft, the wings fold in via a string, and you pull the string and it makes uh yeah, you just said a string, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Fold the wings in? No, okay. Yes, a string.
SPEAKER_03It is it is absolutely absurd, and it definitely looks like it could fit a small toddler inside of it, not a uh uh probably 65-grown man who flew it all the way from Colorado to Florida, and it has uh I believe it's a two-stroke two-cylinder engine.
SPEAKER_02That's a very uh interesting aircraft to fly across country. Yeah, especially being two-stroke.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, it's it's absolutely absurd, but uh for whatever reason he does it, and um it it's just stuff like that. It's just stuff that you don't see really anywhere else. Uh, even at Oshkosh last year, you know, one thing I've noticed is I feel like Sun and Fun had a lot more of the experimental stuff this year than Oshkosh did last year. So it'll be interesting to see what Airventure does this year.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'm very curious to see which way the trend's gonna go because as of right now, I see the trend going more towards the GA Light Sport mosaic realm because certified aircraft have that whole industry has gotten so expensive and almost out of reach for the average pilot. These older pilots just can't afford it anymore, unfortunately. And I wish that there was a way that the aviation industry could bring it back to you know, even 40 years ago, I have pilots that come to me all the time. They're like, you know what? I used to pay for a 172 to go fly? Like $12 an hour wet. And I'm like, well, now times that by $100 and $20 plus, you know, depending on where you're at, how much you're gonna pay for a $172 to rent for an hour.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no doubt. And I mean, even just the cost of the aircraft overall. I mean, I could tell you a brand new 172 fresh off the factory right now. You were looking at about $675,000. Uh these light sports, like we were just talking about, you're under $100K.
SPEAKER_02Well, look at the Aero Pratt we looked at. You know, that the high wing Aero Pratt, it looks like a 152. Um, we're looking at $110,000, brand new. And then you and I sat in it. I'm not a small guy, I'm six foot three. We both sat in it together, closed the doors, and still had enough room as a 172 between us. Oh, yeah, no doubt. The plane does 90 knots. Why wouldn't you go to that versus you know the the 172 where you have to pay for all of the certified stuff on it as well? You know, as long as you've got a good mechanic and you're keeping good records, pretty much the same thing.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, absolutely. And the cool part too that um that I'm really stoked about is like that, like that aircraft we're talking about, is uh all the SLSAs, so certified light sports. So it's not necessarily uh it's it's not actually a home built, it's not experimental. It is a certified light sports where you can do flight training in that aircraft. So that's a great opportunity too for the smaller mom and pop flight schools, FBOs that are looking to you know expand what they have. You don't have to go out and buy a brand new $700,000 172. You can get a certified light sport, flight train in it, and you're gonna have a growing clientele because let's be honest, the economy is rough, but people still want to fly planes. So it's a great opportunity for everybody in the local community to actually really start growing.
SPEAKER_02No, I agree with you 100%. And you know, I I feel like some people look at the light sport industry and they see mom and pop airplane built in their barn with fabric wings and a airspeed indicator, which is a tube that has a straw that blows air into it. You know, let's talk a little more about the technology you saw at SunInfun that's now going into these light sports in these home built. I mean, they're running full glass cockpits now, they're running redundant systems, they're running all kinds of cool things that make them just as good as these certified aircraft, if not better.
SPEAKER_03No, and absolutely. I mean, I've even think of the the R V12 that I have on my fleet here at Atlas. Um, and we're one of our one of our CFIs, our our R V12s at our Plant City location. She just got moved to our uh Tampa location here, and uh she was like, Man, these these G1000s on a 172. Uh, I like the R V12 more. So I just got a Garmin G3X touch. So perfect example. You know, it's a full glass cockpit, it's touch screen, uh, RoTAX 912 IS. This this engine has an ECU, it's like a car where you literally plug in a dongle and it reads codes for you. And this is a light sport aircraft we're talking about here for under $200,000.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it it just does it makes more sense to go that direction if it's just you and your wife or somebody flying around, and you're not trying to put four people in an aircraft. Yeah, exactly. Let's talk a little bit about the best stuff versus the worst stuff at Sun and Fun. I know some people would agree with us on some things and disagree with us on most, but uh that's why we're here, right? Oh, yeah. We're gonna stir the pot a little bit. Yeah. What's the best thing you saw? Booth, aircraft.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02You were there a lot longer than I was. I was only there for three days, so yeah.
SPEAKER_03I was I was roughing it. Um, I was at Sun and Fun for eight days. I showered maybe two of those days. So if you smelled me, I apologize. But um, anyways, yeah, the uh the greatest booth, you know, shout out Liam. Shout out Liam with the Mooney Anomaly. Definitely Liam.
SPEAKER_02You you blew it out of the water, Liam.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, you absolutely killed it. Um, that was that was just the craziest experience that I would have never thought we would have had at Sun and Fun. Everything from we had a karaoke night one night, uh, you had an EDM DJ there one night. It was just absolute chaos. And it was kind of out by uh, if you know where the soul competition was and where the island is, it was kind of right in between there, so it wasn't on the main drag, which made it even more fun because you kind of had to take a stroll out to get there. So it was just super cool.
SPEAKER_02It was almost it felt almost like a um a speakeasy, like you had to know where it was and you had to kind of like wander out there.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, no, no doubt, no doubt. And it at night, you know, you would think that everybody would be going to bed. Oh no, the Mooney Anomaly tent was packed. Oh yeah, we were having a great time.
SPEAKER_02So people who don't know uh what the moonie anomaly is, can you explain that to them? What it what kind of aircraft it is, why?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. And um, I'll tell you, so I've spoken with Liam Malov, I've gotten to know him pretty good over the past few years, and um essentially it is a Mooney that he really wanted to just restore, but he wanted it to be different. So if you can imagine a bunch of different shapes painted all different colors on an airplane, that is what makes the Mooney Anomaly an anomaly. Is it quite literally just looks absolutely insane? It's a super cool plan, um, and just kind of the vibe that Liam brings with it. His whole mission is to just bring art and uh individuality into aviation, especially into general aviation. And of course, he also has smoke on it too, which is just crazy. A Mooney that can, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he's already turned heads over St. Pete Beach with that. Oh, yeah. Yeah, the FA's probably contact him once or twice over that one. Oh, no doubt. Let's move on to the night show. Okay, we've got to talk about the night show. Yeah, this was the most intense night show that Sun in Fun has ever put on.
SPEAKER_03Oh, for sure.
SPEAKER_02By far.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so it was you know, the night show was cool this year. So you had Wednesday night and Saturday night, two very different shows. So Wednesday night we had uh what what was called, they called it a composite uh night show. So the air show started at I want to say five o'clock and it bled straight into the night show, but that's not necessarily what was crazy. What was crazy is there was a live DJ, his name's Moonlight. You've probably heard him on TikTok. He has like the free bird cover and a few others, and he quite literally DJ'd the night show. And then when the night show is over, they had that main stage there, and um, it was literally an EDM concert.
SPEAKER_02I mean, just so people understand this night show, there's airplanes flying around with fireworks on the wingtips, uh, lights like you've never seen before, looks like a bunch of flying UFOs, they're doing acrobatics, they're doing all kinds of crazy stuff. It is probably the most intense air show you've ever seen. They do uh explosions like demonstrated bombings at night, so it's just big fireballs. Oh, yeah. Absolutely just the craziest thing you've ever seen. And even if you're not into airplanes or aviation, it is just something to go experience.
SPEAKER_03Oh, no doubt. And I'll tell you some of my really good buddies, Randy. Um, he just did a discovery flight uh about a month ago. No idea about aviation. Uh I took him out Saturday night for just the standard night show, and his mouth was just wide open the whole time. He looks over at me, he goes, you know, this this is like a religious experience almost. That's the thing with GA community.
SPEAKER_02Everybody's family, everybody, there was no one doesn't get along. We all support each other. It's it's just one of those things that you can't duplicate.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, no doubt. And I'll I'll sell you the the highlight for me on Saturday night show was Red Bull Air Force. So they had Aaron Fitzgerald, he was flying the helicopter, uh flipping helicopter upside down, which is just does not make sense, but he does it, and it's insane. And then also the the craziest, coolest thing to me was uh uh the drone show. So the drones they made a Red Bull can, and then one of the uh Red Bull Air Force um wingsuit guys, there was, I believe, four of them, they flew through the middle of the drone Red Bull can with fireworks strapped to their shoes.
SPEAKER_02Now, mind you, this is at night. They are skydiving in wingsuits at night, flying through drones, and to make these pictures, there's probably hundreds of drones in the air.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, oh no doubt. At least a lot of obstacles there to avoid. Yeah, no, I mean it was this this year's night show was the best yet. You know, there's this ongoing war, if you will, between Oshkosh and Sun and Fun with their night shows. And uh Oshkosh, you're you're gonna have a tough one to beat this year.
SPEAKER_02They're gonna have to step their game up.
SPEAKER_03Oh, big time, big time.
SPEAKER_02But it was just well when we go to Oshkosh this year and we cover that, we're gonna have to see how that turns out for us. Oh, yeah, yeah. We'll have to compare and contrast, 100%. Overcrowding. Oh, yeah. I will tell you, after the night show, the next day, that's when the crowds start because that's usually the midpoint of the show. Everybody starts coming on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Um definitely gets very packed. There's a lot of people, it was hot. It's it's one of those, one of those things.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, no doubt. So if if you guys haven't been to Sun and Fun, generally the first half of the week is kind of the real true aviators. It's all the older guys, the people that have been doing this for 30, 40 years, and then usually around Thursday, uh the the the more just I want to see what this is about crowd rolls in. And Saturday is hectic. Saturday is family day, everybody under the sun shows up. And this year on Saturday, not only was it feels like if it had to be at least 100 degrees, but they actually went to capacity and stopped people from coming in.
SPEAKER_02So it was a yeah, it's sold out, and I think that's the first time I've ever seen Sun and Fun sell out. Yeah, we've never really shut the gates that I know of, and I've been going for five years now.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, it was absolutely absurd. Um, we actually decided midday on Saturday to go back to our camper. We we camped out this year just based on the heat and the vast amount of people. I mean, if you even wanted to get a hot dog, you were waiting for 45 minutes on Saturday.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and and you know, same thing goes for water. I mean, we we walked around and looked for water for a while. They do have some water trucks and stuff like that. You just gotta make sure when you do go to Sun and Fun, especially if you're not from Florida and your body's not acclimated to this kind of heat over the tarmac, you know, sunscreen, lots of water, make sure you got you know some covering on, you know, hat or sunglasses, stuff like that. It's it's one of those things where you just gotta be safe about it. You don't want to go to Sun and Fun, you know, and leave in an ambulance.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no doubt. And it happens, it does happen. I mean, I every year. Yeah, I saw multiple people this year uh from heat stroke and other things. You are in Lakeland, Florida, which is pretty much central Florida. Um, and in the springtime, it it's deceiving because the mornings and nights, oh yeah, it's 65, it's beautiful. Oh, but you wait till one o'clock in the afternoon. You're gonna get fried.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you'll be you'll be looking purple when you come out of there.
SPEAKER_03Oh, no doubt.
SPEAKER_02You'll be so red that you're purple and it's not fun the next day. There's a lot of aloe that goes on there, a lot of refrigerated aloe out of the to keep the burn.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah, no, it's it's tough. And this year was the first year uh that I camped the whole week. We had a booth out there in an aircraft, so I just ended up staying. I was there, got there Sunday, left the following Sunday, and um, it is the definition of roughing it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And you were in a camper too.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Let's talk about the campground. Oh, campground has stories.
SPEAKER_03The campground has so many stories. Um, just to the most interesting group of people you'll ever meet, the Sun and Fun Campground. Uh, one night in particular, we'll bring up uh we were out, got back from the air show, and we went uh they have a uh it's it's kind of like a fire pit, but there's a fire ban actually in Lakeland right now. So uh we did not end up having a fire, but we went to the fire pit and there was a gentleman in a cape. And uh this cape he wore. And was it an American flag cape?
SPEAKER_02Did he go all the way, or was it just a cape?
SPEAKER_03It was a red cape, and funny enough, Kenny, on the back of his cape it said Vodcommand.
SPEAKER_02Vodcommand.
SPEAKER_03Vodcommand.
SPEAKER_02That sounds like the the head of the party.
SPEAKER_03Oh, he was absolutely the head of the party. He turned around and just like a uh classic hero does, he had Tito's shooters strapped to his belt and like in a shotgun hole shell holder around his belt? Yes, quite a bit.
SPEAKER_02We're just trying to paint this picture.
SPEAKER_03Yes, cowboy hat, maybe? No hat. I think he had already had a few of his own uh ammunition before we arrived. Um, but he was uh he was just just quite the experience of the Sun and Fun campground hanging out with Vod Command.
SPEAKER_02If anybody knows who Vodka man is, please tag them in our podcast. Yes, because we'd love to meet Vod Command and maybe get him on the show.
SPEAKER_03Yes, we need to have some words with Vodcommand. Um, but no, the campground's awesome, it's so fun. It's just an absolute wild part of the show. Uh Sarasota Avionics, uh, shout out to those guys. They're they're good friends of mine. They had a uh camper not too far from ours. So throughout the show, every night we'd come back and you know mess around in the campground. They had Honda ruckuses. So we were they were all cruising around on ruckuses, a bunch of growing men on scooters.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we're having mini bike races in the campground.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, no, it's it's absolutely nuts. It really is. Sun and Fun is just such an interesting experience because it's not just an air show, it quite literally is a vacation for pilots and and aviators in general. And uh the campground to me, if you've been to Sun and Fun, but you have not camped at Sun and Fun, please do it because it is a game-changing experience.
SPEAKER_02Oh, and it's you know, it's a game-changing experience. You get to meet all these cool people, it's it's basically networking at a very personal level. You're just sitting around a campfire, shoes off, just talking to these guys, and you never know who you're gonna meet. You might meet guys that'll help you in your professional career. You everybody's there to help everybody. I've not yet meet somebody that uh doesn't want to help you.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no doubt. And that that that brings up a great topic of just the networking at these air shows. Um, just prime example. I mean, even when when I was talking with JD with the superconnie, and I told him, Man, you know, I just I would do anything to touch this airplane and and again. him my business card and he's you know I'm hoping he's gonna reach out to me um and just just opportunities like that to meet people you never thought you would meet. Um we talked with uh uh I don't know if I even told you this Kenny but I got to hang out with uh the pilot of the super guppy for a little bit.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah yeah see I tried to meet him and you know why I tried to meet him because I'm the viral Pilates pilot oh yeah that went viral for actually getting ATC to tell me where the super guppy was and we actually got to fly within a thousand feet of it as it passed directly underneath of us in Tampa as I was coming in on an approach.
SPEAKER_03Tell me what did it look like from the sky?
SPEAKER_02It doesn't look like it should be able to fly it it really doesn't even look like an airplane. It's like a chunk of metal with two little you it's so large I can't even explain to you it's so large you can barely see the wings on it from above.
SPEAKER_03No I can't imagine you're looking down in this thing and you're going is that on the ground or in the air because if it's in the air I don't know how no it does not whoever engineered the super guppy hats off to you sir kudos kudos 100% yeah I can't imagine I mean it's that was it in a humorous way was the most ridiculous thing to see because you'd walk out on that warbird ramp and you're just like what is this thing doing here? It was just absolutely absurd. It makes zero sense in the laws of aerodynamics but you know what for whatever reason that engineer what he knew what he was doing and uh it somehow flies. And it flies uh space shuttle parts around and satellite parts correct yeah yeah so it flies the the space shuttle parts around and then also and forgive me I could be wrong too the T5 or the X5 uh it's NASA's trainers for astronauts now the their their jet trainers and they can fit them inside the super guppy. If you guys haven't seen it look up the super guppy nose opening uh that's another thing I got to see is them opening and closing the nose and it just it's it's absurd. Did you notice it only has one hinge?
SPEAKER_02Yes literally one C clamp hinge.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm no it's absolutely nuts um but that that was a super cool experience they let you go up in there and we got to kind of see you know the inside of it.
SPEAKER_02Now here's a really cool thing about super guppy there was five of them correct I think there was five at one point I believe yes and this is the only one in the in the world that's flying anymore. Yes and it's the only turbine one. The rest of them were radial when they first made them yeah yep yep so you think about that you had four radial engines out there pushing this big chunk of metal through the air. Oh yeah no doubt and it it's built really cool to the fact that the cockpit is actually built separate from the aircraft and then installed it's a separate room yep from the rest of the aircraft it's actually a pretty neat deal if you can get be able to see some pictures of it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah no it's nuts and that and that brings up a good point too this year something super cool and um another reason that that I just can't stress enough to go to these air shows aviation's changing and that goes for general aviation commercial military all aspects I don't know if did you see the the Harriers that were there.
SPEAKER_02Yes and you don't see a lot of Harriers anymore I know the Marines fly them but you don't it's very rare to see them.
SPEAKER_03Correct correct so what what I found out sadly on Saturday I believe it was either Saturday or Sunday we were walking around talking with some guys and that was the last air show. This is the last air show season I apologize that the Harriers will be seen at so if you don't see the Harriers this year you might not ever see them again and that's what makes these air shows so special. Are they discontinuing the Harrier completely? Yes they're doing they're gonna put them in the boneyard correct unfortunately yep they're gonna be going out to the boneyard and um you know that's just that's just the kind of thing that you're gonna see at these air shows uh the super constellation as well just such a rare airplane I'm pretty sure I did some research on it when I was there because I was nerding out the the super constellation that was at Sun and Fun this year that is the only currently flying super constellation.
SPEAKER_02There's others that I think are down for heavy maintenance right now but there's only a handful and during Sun and Fun week that is the only aircraft in the world the only super constellation that was flying similar to the super guppy and that's the thing these air shows people you guys if you want to see things that you'll never see before or never see again because they are phasing out they're aircraft are only going to last so long before they start wearing out parts that they can't get anymore or they can't even produce anymore because either they lost the molds and the wars or wherever engineering just doesn't exist for it anymore. It's not worth their time or money to make parts for it. They're gonna go away they're gonna end up in a boneyard and you're never going to see them fly again. So it it is a good point to go out to an air show and see these things.
SPEAKER_03Yeah yeah and the cool parts here that I loved about Sun and Fun is uh they do all of their their um they're they're hands-on training exercises essentially but for for things that we generally don't do they have oxyacetylene welding uh fabric wood all these things that uh you don't really see on modern aircraft and they're trying to get the younger generation to to do this stuff to remember where aviation started at uh shout out to Tom Black he has a course in uh in clear water that's where I got my my IA at actually and he's who sponsors all of those courses there's uh your eight hours if you're an IA you can do your eight hours of uh renewal training at Sun and Fun which is a huge blessing and it's it's quite literally an excuse to go to the air show for a couple days but definitely recommend it and it's it's super cool to see how Sun and Fun is bringing in the older uh ways of doing things and making sure that people are aware of how this all started exactly they they focus towards the kids a lot I noticed there's a couple booths where you can bring your kids and they'll actually let them do a piece of fabric on a wing spar or they'll let them cut out a wingspar and I even saw a guy who was cutting a prop by hand in a booth it was actually almost across from your guys's booth yeah uh over there by the hangers but they were over there he was he had a saw and he was literally cutting a wooden prop by hand.
SPEAKER_02Took him three days but he had a full prop by the time he was done and it just brings back that old workmanship of before we had computers before we had CNC machines before we had any of that stuff.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah no doubt there's and there's so much cool stuff to see that that relates to that and then modern stuff as well uh two things that stood out to me you know that that that I thought were super cool is I saw I believe it was a Mirage with a seven blade prop on it which that was crazy and then they have the Dynahawks out there which is uh they had an experimental SR20 Dynahawk which is a diesel engine in a Cirrus.
SPEAKER_02Yes let's talk about that because it's a two stroke diesel engine which most diesel engines would be two stroke you know from a mechanical standpoint how they work but absolutely the craziest thing to see because that engine's also mounted upside down. Correct yeah so the pistons go towards the ground and back up instead of horizontally yeah no and it is nuts.
SPEAKER_03Uh and and then and the cool thing about that is you're able to run it on Jet A. It's definitely a lot more efficient and uh we're we're gonna see a lot more of that I think in the coming years. Uh something we can talk about as well is uh not I'm not sure if you're aware if I've spoken about this with you Kenny but they're gonna be phasing out possibly so the FAA says um Avgas by 2030. So 100 low lead is going to be banned is what they're saying now by 2030. And I think that's why we're seeing this big push for the rotax stuff that can run on Mogas, the Dinahawks running on Jedi and things of that nature.
SPEAKER_02And to think about that though we switched cars from low-leaded fuel years ago and when we're going to regular gasoline it's more readily available for sure. We just have to have the FAA put their certification stamp of approval on it. These engines will run on it. Yes you can get 100 octane no lead unleaded and the airplane won't know the difference. Correct what we have to figure out is the lubrication properties that come from the lead yes with these engines and they're gonna have to add an additive or some kind of upgrade to the fuel to be able to do this.
SPEAKER_03Yeah yeah exactly so essentially with the the the main issue that we're seeing is there's a company called Inospec. They're based in the UK and uh what what is in 100 low lead is called tetraethyl lead. InnoSpec is the only manufacturer in the world that produces tetraethyl lead and they have came behind the FAA and said hey we agree with you guys by 2030 we're stopping production so I want to say it was in January the FAA released a kind of preliminary report and they're just now taking comments back on their transition plan to move and phase into a different fuel. So it'll be interesting to see if they do come up with an additive because you're right 70 I believe it's 70% of the current GA fleet could run on just standard Mogas given the proper STC.
SPEAKER_02If I remember correctly the STC is literally just a piece of paper it's no actual modification of the air it's an FAA approval it's just somebody saying we tested this made sure that it's not going to cause a hazard in flight and it's good.
SPEAKER_03Yeah absolutely absolutely and you when you look at the Rotax engines even um they they prefer MOGAS leaded fuel in a Rotax engine just destroys it and it's gonna actually help increase your your productivity for your aircraft as well because if you were running on low lead technically speaking rotax wants you to change your oil every 25 hours if you're running on MOGAS it's every 50. So it's less maintenance downtime as well it's gonna be really interesting to see if the FAA comes out with an additive or if they're just going to say you know what you guys just run it on normal you know MOGAS. Right because you're not getting the lead deposits and all that stuff with the regular gasoline like you would with the low lead correct exactly and that's that's a big valves and all that yeah yeah so it'll be interesting to see and that's that's another reason why we're seeing this light sport push really happen. I think mosaic absolutely changed the game. I think what they did last year that's gonna be insane this year.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Or the upcoming years I shouldn't say this year but upcoming years this changes the game in the FAA and for pilots in general the mosaic thing is probably the best thing that could ever have happened to GA I know some people look at it as a safety issue because of the whole medical situation with how you your medical different now.
SPEAKER_03Yeah I wouldn't say it's quite different but it just has different rules and it just makes flying more obtainable is what I'm trying to get at yeah no absolutely absolutely and it's it's gonna be awesome to see what different aircraft also get added into mosaic over time. I think we're gonna see a big push for light sport aircraft. We're already seeing it right now it's gonna be insane to think in the next three years you gotta think it's only been one year with the mosaic in what we're seeing now. I mean imagine three to five years even from now it's gonna be a whole different world for general aviation.
SPEAKER_02Now you're speaking on the topic of the fuel change at an event coming up I believe correct?
SPEAKER_03Yes yeah so we have our uh Florida Aviation Business Association we have our annual conference at Tampa International Airport it's uh next week I want to say it's May 12th and 13th and uh yeah I'll be speaking there on this exact uh topic of changing from low lead uh to MOGAS there's also going to be a few other representatives from cool companies out there Hans from Vans Aircraft is going to be out there Garmin uh the Sarasota avionics guys will be out there as well so a lot of a lot of good opportunities uh if you guys are interested definitely check it out I'll be out there and um yeah it's super cool to see you know local business local aviation businesses pushing forward these ideas to representatives at the Capitol so that we the the the whole point is we want to stay in front of that curve. We don't want this this change to happen in local small mom and pop airports to be affected because they're not available or have the means to have they don't have their infrastructure in place. Correct exactly so that's really the main push we're going for at the conference this year is just letting all the local uh you know aviation uh companies and authorities letting them know that we need to make sure that the state impl uh implements some sort of infrastructure so that we can have regulated Mogas because most airports do have a MOGAS tank but it probably hasn't been checked or cleaned and uh probably since it was put in the ground.
SPEAKER_02Right. So hopefully the filters have been changed. Yeah yeah I think we'd be surprised if we actually looked at that so I I bet you're probably right. You know I've been to some pretty sketchy airports where you look at their filters and you go I don't know if we should fuel here. We might want to just jump the airplane over to another airport.
SPEAKER_03Exactly exactly so it'll it'll be interesting to see what pushes we make there and just um you know it's it's a great opportunity it's a great event so I'm really looking forward to that that'll be a fun one.
SPEAKER_02While we're on the topic of maintenance we met a really cool company uh Easy Tracker Air.
SPEAKER_03Yeah yeah yep yep they're a basically a mobile app that helps you track your maintenance and all of your times everything you need uh maintenance wise you want to talk a little more on that yeah so the cool part of the of this company is what you're able to do is you're able to to not have to stress about manually tracking your flight hours based on your inspections and also maintenance tracking in general so if you have an issue with the aircraft instead of you know word of mouth or handwritten squawk sheets or things of that nature you're able to use the app to actually communicate with your maintenance department or with your pilot of what uh the issue is and what the corrective action was. And the maintenance tracking for scheduling is a huge push as well. You want to be able to have reliable maintenance tracking. You don't want to rely on pen and paper or an Excel spreadsheet. You want to have something that you know is trustworthy.
SPEAKER_02So coming from an IA point of view when people bring you their aircraft and it's they open their logbook and it's full of post-it notes and I got a card here that says I did this and nothing's written down and you have to go through and sort through that what is how much longer does that take you especially when you're doing their annual what what kind of time does that put on you on their timeline to get it done?
SPEAKER_03Exactly and I'll tell you it about doubles it and that's not an exaggeration. Anytime there's a logbook that's just all over the place unorganized, you got to understand when when an annual inspection is being accomplished we don't just go through what is currently applicable to the aircraft we're going through everything that was done to it previously and making sure those previous uh uh work or corrective action was done in proper compliance and when you have to dig through a crusty logbook that has you know pages ripped out or it's got water on one of them and there's you know a date from 2024 next to one from 1990 it's just a hot mess. And it it generally if I have an if I have an annual with a logbook like that it's going to take me a solid two days of going through it to really wrap my head around it.
SPEAKER_02So if someone came in with easy tracker error on their phone they sent you the sheet the status sheet and was like hey here we go there's there's the login or whatever to my app and you pull that up and everything's in order how much easier does that make your job?
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh, ridiculously easier your mechanic will appreciate it and you'll appreciate it as well because you're gonna be able to have a much quicker turnaround time on your inspections and on your maintenance. And also it's just going to create a safer environment for you as a pilot as well. You're gonna be able to have reliable information at your fingertips. You're gonna be able to transmit that information to your mechanic and and have a a sense of trust in the fact that what is being seen is easily accessible instead of maybe hey they maybe they missed that section of my paper log book from 1995. Now you have this whole document that's right in front of you at your fingertips much simpler and definitely a time saver.
SPEAKER_02And you would think a program like this would cost four or five hundred dollars a year no it costs $99 a year. Yes which $99 what's your what's your annual worth when you're two weeks extra on your annual because your maintenance guy has to go through your logbooks.
SPEAKER_03I mean if you compare that I mean general shop rate at least for a GA shop in the area is just shy of about $200 an hour. So you are paying a half hour shop rate to save tens of hours of time over the years and that calculates to thousands of dollars you're saving in the end. Exactly so if you guys are interested in this go check it out easytrackerair.com they will get you set up get you on the app and we can start getting your maintenance just right yeah definitely check it out 100% what are some other cool companies you saw that yeah I mean there was you know a few companies that stood out to me I know we were talking about this earlier I loved the fireboss I thought that thing was absolutely insane um another company that stood out to me you know there's a lot of a lot of people that really showed out this year um I know Lockwood was out there Sarasota Avionics Bold Aviation which is they make super cool shirts and hats and stuff they had a really cool booth as well this year um just just so many different things to see the cool part of summon fun too is it's not even just aviation humorously enough my favorite booth was they had the little swings the like fancy swings so it was like super hot out one day and we just went and sat in the swings for a while there are a ton of people that are not aviation related for booths out there.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah just craziest stuff oh yeah it was ridiculous keel and uh keel and curly in plant city their winery and they were everywhere yeah and it was amazing that's awesome we we saw a lot of um a lot of influencers too you see a lot of influencers walking around um always shooting video you you never know whose video you're gonna show up on at Sun and Fun because there are literally so many influencers walking around and the gadgets that they carry you could probably speak on this too that the gadgets they carry these long sticks with cameras and microphones they look like a walking media center.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah no it's ridiculous um there is definitely this huge influx right now of uh social media aviators if you will um and sun and fun did not have any shortage of them you know it's different you see you always see the guys with the you know 10 foot long cameras and they get the crazy shots of the the F-16 pilot picking their nose um but these guys are a different breed these guys are running around vlogging all day trying to be the next next big thing and there was no shortage of that this year at Sun and Fun um which is a good thing and a bad thing.
SPEAKER_02I think there's pros and cons to both sides and I think we could speak on that a little bit more but I do feel like it brings uh people who don't fly into the cockpit it really does it shows them what it's like in the life of a pilot sitting up front going through clouds making really cool approaches into airports and seeing things like that but there's also a downside to that as well.
SPEAKER_03You agree? Yeah no doubt I mean you do get the cool side of you know you're getting to inspire people that might not know what general aviation is but there is the safety aspect of it as well you know one thing me as a student pilot we always talk about is keeping the cockpit sterile right making sure that there's nothing distracting me that there's nothing that I'm gonna you know maybe if I'm I'm I'm banking hard I don't want to hit my my arm out of water bottle and if you've got 10 cameras all around the cockpit as a student pilot I think that's probably not the greatest idea.
SPEAKER_02Well and you don't even have just cameras you've got wires hanging everywhere extra batteries things that could float around the cockpit and I don't know if you've ever been hit by some pretty good unexpected turbulence but uh I've had my headset blown off my head I've had things fly through the cockpit that I didn't even know weren't tied down. Um it it could be a a hazard to flight you know your camera stops recording and you're like oh why'd that stop recording and you start pushing a button trying to get the perfect content for your social media now you're you know in a 15 degree bank nose down because you're not paying attention to actually flying the aircraft you know it it there is a safety aspect to it and I I don't know if the FAA should step in on this or at least put some regulations to it. I know the USPA the U uh US Parachuting Association they have put regulations against that against this and you have to have at least 200 jumps 200 jumps before you can put a camera on your helmet or on your arm or wherever. If if someone stepped in and said hey you need 200 flight hours before you can put a camera in your airplane I mean that could not only ruin the industry but it also would on the positive side it could help with safety aspects of pilot uh induced issues. You know runway incursions, uh pilot deviations, things like that. It would definitely help with that for sure.
SPEAKER_03Yeah I agree and I mean you got to look at the other aspect of it too is there are uh I'm not gonna name drop but there was a certain individual who I think you probably know of as well a few years ago uh decided he was going to fake an emergency and jump out of his airplane and it was all found out that it was all a ploy to get uh famous on YouTube. So you want to have you know one thing you know your I'm safe checklist and everything and you want to be able to fly the aircraft especially as a student pilot uh with a mindset of safety being your priority and you want to be able to be there to learn. If you are doing this to learn to fly an aircraft you're not doing it to uh get cloud or get famous and uh I think there comes a point just like we're talking about the skydiving where you can do this safely however I think there should be some level of caution around it just because as a student pilot you are learning so many different things and there's so many different things you're looking at. I think even just from my own standpoint as a uh I'm learning and I'm flying there's just so many different aspects of what you need to pay attention to at one time which I'd bargain to say and you're you're the pilot in the room but it's probably the hardest part in my opinion.
SPEAKER_02I fly single pilot and I fly a Pilates uh PC twelve NG a lot goes on in that cockpit at one time especially if you're flying maybe IMC or you're taking off at a low Viz takeoff something like that. It's it's all hands on deck and you only have two hands and one brain. So uh last thing you need to be doing is trying to touch something that isn't even attached to the aircraft. Oh yeah. I'm not saying that to say we need more regulation. I just think we need to have a little more caution around it. Yeah a lot more caution around it I think because uh I've seen where cameras can become a huge distraction and emergencies happen without notice they just happen yeah and you have to be ready for them at any given time and if you have a camera in your hand taking the best sunset picture off of your wing and that emergency happens at that point that may be the second or two that you have to save yourself.
SPEAKER_03No and absolutely um you know to just to speak on it slightly uh we we did have an incident at the airfield a few weeks ago and luckily to the success of the uh the pilot that was piloting the aircraft nobody was injured now the aircraft was totaled however I would like to say that had that been somebody that was not paying attention when that accident occurred because it was a split second accident I think that would have been a much more tragic situation. And it is very true that things can happen in an aircraft where you have to make that split second decision and that decision chooses between life or death. That is the thing about aviation that I think uh needs to have a larger emphasis on it is I think with the this new push of social media and aviation and uh all that going on, that this is a safety sensitive industry. This is the type of industry where one wrong move can cause a very tragic accident to happen. And we need to always have that mindset for all aviators from the maintenance side to the pilot side even ATC that everything you do does count. And Tanaki complacency complacency is the number one killer in our industry.
SPEAKER_02Right because it's not the accidents don't happen because of one decision it happens because of 15 decisions. Correct that that snowballed throughout the day correct my favorite
SPEAKER_03Model that we learned in school was the Swiss cheese model.
SPEAKER_02It is Swiss cheese. Yes. You woke up late, you did this wrong, you you didn't fuel enough. You know, and that's what causes the accident.
SPEAKER_03Yep, exactly, no doubt. One thing that I definitely want to this is a good transition point for us, too, is well, speaking of all the different things that go on in the cockpit. What'd you think of the stole competition? Because that was nuts.
SPEAKER_02Well, you and me share a uh vast interest on this because I absolutely love stole competitions. There's nothing more impressive or piloting skills as a stole competition. And if you don't know what that means, it's a short field takeoff and landing competition. Your goal is basically to take off and land within the shortest amount of distance, and you're judged on both that the distance of the takeoff and the landing. Um, there are some big players in the field that do this professionally, they're sponsored. They uh it has become a huge sport, almost as big as NASCAR in this industry. Not to the actual public, but to this industry. It's almost as big as NASCAR. But these guys have these uh highly modified uh aircraft. Most of them are super stolls, um, but they do range from Cessna 150s to uh the the pure modified super stalls that have 310 horsepower supercharged on nitrous to make these airplanes fly within six to ten feet.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, it is absolutely absurd as a fellow redneck myself. It is definitely the country boy of aviation. Uh it's it's you know, this year I love it. Every year it's that same announcer. He's got a cowboy hat, he's got a huge coat on, he's got the accent. It's just it is a whole different experience at Son and Fun. My favorite guy was there. He's there every year, and forgive me, I can't remember his name, but he has that, it's called a Chinook, just like the helicopter. And uh, it is the strangest looking contraption you'll ever see. It looks like he hovers, but he does not, and it has to weigh. I think I could pick it up with one hand.
SPEAKER_02I think it runs the Rotax uh 582 as well, right? Yes, it does. So it runs an engine that's not the most reliable in the world, correct. But he does uh some crazy things with that airplane, three, four feet landings. Yes.
SPEAKER_03So I I got to speak with him not this year, but last year. You were showing me some videos, and his his whole uh well, what would you call it, his his big ploy, if you will, and he has a video of it. He's actually from Alaska, and he landed that plane on his barn roof in Alaska and then took off.
SPEAKER_02Well, you know, some people have no fear in life.
SPEAKER_03Yes, no, that's he had a lot of trust in that roof. Oh, he did, he had a lot of trust. So they definitely had some, you know, the the trust was in the trusses of the roof, 100%. And um, you know, at the end of the day, too, these guys are are some freaking cowboys, man.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, nuts. It's almost like the rodeo of the aviation world. Oh, 100%. The announcers and everything. It's a it's a whole sport, it's really, really cool. And one day I hope that we can get us an airplane, and you know, not only with the podcast, but all that, we could you could be a mechanic, you know, pilot as well. We'll we'll get sponsored like everybody else does, and go out and travel the US. They uh they have a whole series of these things, they go from Valdez, uh Alaska all the way down here to Florida, Tennessee, all over, correct? Yeah, it's like it's like a whole series that they follow.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and how how Seoul started was and and in the backcountry of Alaska. These pilots they were picking up, you know, hunters, uh, all these different people that were way out there in the wilderness, and they needed to land on these really small plateaus in the mountains. And in order to land and take off on these such small plateaus, they had to modify their aircraft to have a short takeoff and landing. And that's how Seoul was kind of birthed was in the backcountry of Alaska, and then it kind of got wind throughout the US and now across the world, and it has turned into this whole awesome thing, just the craziest event. It's always at a sunset at Sun and Fun 2, which just adds the ambiance to all of it. It's just absolutely insane.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it really is. It's truly impressive to watch these airplanes go vertical, and everything you learn in flight school, you're like, why is that not stalled yet? Yeah, it's because they're acting like a helicopter, they have so much power. The prop is basically pulling them into the air.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's it's absolutely nuts. And it's it's crazy to see all the different things that these guys out, even outside of the soul competition and they're just the air show, the the capabilities of the aircraft, but also the capabilities of these pilots to maintain composure during these high stress maneuvers. I mean, I love when when you see these stunt pilots and they're hanging by the prop and you're just thinking, man, those CHTs, that poor engine, it's crying for help. But then they nose it over and they just they do this for a living. And that's something super cool and inspiring, like we talked about. Uh, I have a I have a young son, he's five years old. And when the Thunderbirds are flying, he likes it, but it's a little loud. But man, does he love watching those stunt pilots go up and do this crazy stuff? So it's inspiring for the next generation to see that not only is aviation a career path in the sense of uh flying for uh the you know the big ones, you're flying for United, Frontier, Delta, uh, even on the the corporate side, jets, but there's so many different avenues. We have uh one of my good good friends here, she wants to do the the fire boss, so she wants to do fire aerial firefighting, um, it's all the way down into like we're talking about now with stun pilots. It's endless.
SPEAKER_02And we're working currently on possibly getting fireboss on the podcast so we can expose them a little more because that's a side of aviation that people don't even know exists, or if they do know exists, they don't know how to even get into it. Yeah, because it's very different. You have to go through a bunch of different training to be able to fly these single seat air tankers and stuff like that. Yeah, let's talk. You told me the story earlier about the Thunderbirds in the campground.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah. Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_02So so it seems like you got sneak attacked by number five.
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh, number five got me real good. So we were uh Saturday was brutally hot, it was absolutely ridiculous. We were dying of thirst, and uh, you know, classic sun and fun nature. Thank you, Liam. We were nursing maybe a slight hangover on Saturday, so we decided to go back to the camper, and uh beautiful, beautiful part of the campground is you're able to see a lot of the air show from the campground. So we took a cold shower and we were sitting outside, and they did a you know, all the four of the Thunderbirds did a nice formation pass right over the camper, and it was just absolutely beautiful. There was uh dead silence for about two seconds, and uh we saw it before we heard it, and number five flew about a hundred feet over our camper, uh, going at least uh just shy of Mach 1, and I jumped like a little girl. I think my wife said that I physically sounded like a little girl crying for help, but it wasn't help, it was absolute awestruck awesomeness, and to this day was the coolest sneak pass I've ever seen in my life.
SPEAKER_02I've been sneak attacked by the blue angels, but that that sounds like it was a lot more intense than what I had.
SPEAKER_03Oh, it was it was the loudest sound I'd ever heard. Um, and it's it was just absolutely nuts seeing them fly that low. Because funny enough, so at part of the campground during the jet demo, you actually aren't allowed to be there. So there's a certain area just by uh, I believe it's Taxiway Papa, that you're not allowed to be in your camper because their whole thing is hey, the jets fly low. So we were able, we were just behind that line. So luckily we were able to be in the the campground. Funny enough, the whole the whole time we were there, they never went over that area you weren't supposed to be in. Oh no, they were right over us the whole time. Maybe the wind was blowing. It could have been. Maybe they were just off a little bit. Yeah, exactly. That's what we're gonna that's what we're gonna say for the sake of the Thunderbirds and their uh continuing performances. Yes.
SPEAKER_02They were not uh they weren't smiling at all as they were cracking over top of people's heads, making them flinch.
SPEAKER_03Oh my gosh. I mean, you have to love it. You have to love it. There's there's been so many times, uh, these air shows where I've seen um these guys with their you know 100-foot-long cameras showing me pictures of of the guys flying these planes. And uh, I don't know if you ever listened to them when they communicate when they're in formation. It's not as technical as you would think. They're they're having a great time up there, they're having the time of their lives.
SPEAKER_02It's almost like muscle memory to them because they do it so much.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, yeah. There's great documentaries on Netflix of the Thunderbirds. I think there's a blue angels one as well. And just the amount of even just chair flying they do is absolutely absurd.
SPEAKER_02Chairflying works, man. Yeah, it may look stupid, you may look stupid sitting in your chair, but boy, does it work.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, a hundred percent. And I mean, they're proven I I can't name a better demonstration team than the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels and just formation flying and just overall precision in what they do. I mean, I don't know if you I I have not myself, but a few of my friends have tried formation flying and even the 172s, and they just say how ridiculously difficult it is. So I can't imagine, you know. I I'm pretty sure the closest the Thunderbirds get, I want to say six inches wing tick wingtip to wingtip. So I mean that's nothing.
SPEAKER_02I mean, six inches, one gust of wind will one one bump in the air, you could hit each other. Yeah, it's absolutely absurd. Absolutely crazy. The the talent that's in those guys, it's uh it's mind-blowing. That's why I'm speechless. No, it is absolutely mind-blowing the abilities of what they can do.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's no, it really is. They the the and the amount of training they put into it and their love for it is what's really cool. And you see a lot of that and and how they carry themselves and in the air show, but also when they do their kind of, you know, they'll they'll do meet and greets sometimes and stuff like that. Uh, these guys are not your your what you think they are, they're not cocky, they're not arrogant. They're the most humble, nicest men and women you will ever meet, and they genuinely love what they do.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02I I didn't get a chance to meet them. I had uh media passes this year. This is before we brought you on as a co-host, but we had media passes this year, and uh we never got a chance to get over there. But next year for sure, I'm gonna get the ability to go walk up to the Jets, which will probably be the Blue Angels next year.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I would think next year they'll the Blue Angels out there. I haven't checked for what Osh has this year for their demo team. It it'll be definitely the Thunderbirds or the Blue Angels, though.
SPEAKER_02So as fast as we got started with this podcast today, it's already over. It's like Sun and Fun. We started, now we finished. Anything to take away from Sun and Fun this year?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, the biggest takeaway I have is you know, catch a spark. Remember where you fell in love with this industry. And that is what these air shows are about for me. It's just remembering it takes me back to being three years old and dad taking me to the little air shows we'd go to back home in Colorado. And it's always good to get out there and remember why you do it and the love that you have for this industry. So it's just it's an amazing experience for an aviator.
SPEAKER_02It is, it absolutely is an amazing experience. It brings so much to young, even kids. Uh, it makes adults children again. Yeah. You see adults walking around there just children again. But I'd like to say thank you guys for listening. Support our channel, Instagram, Altitude Unfiltered. Till next time, we appreciate it. Thanks.
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