All the buzz: Pilots begin arriving in dozens of unique aircraft for the 2024 Sun 'n Fun

LAKELAND — Beneath the roar of jet engines — and a midday partial solar eclipse — there was the buzz of pilots and aircraft arriving Monday for the 50th annual Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo starting at Lakeland Linder International Airport. The event kicks off Tuesday and runs through Sunday.

Aviation enthusiasts are coming in from across the country, with more overseas visitors expected this year as COVID-19 pandemic wanes. A senior couple from Germany was among those visiting vintage plans on Monday morning.

The Ledger caught up with some of this year's arrivals to talk about their unique aircraft and this year's 50th anniversary celebration:

Blake Wild, Lou, Jayson Owen and John O'Connor in a 1943 PBY Catalina

Chicago resident John O'Connor flew down to Sun 'n Fun with Jayson Owen, of Alaska, and Blake Wild, of Hawaii. The trio parked the 1943 Consolidated PBY Catalina "Flying Turtle" outside The Island on Monday morning.

The World War II-era amphibious seaplane was widely used by the U.S. Navy to patrol, bomb and perform water-based rescues, O'Connor said. It typically had a crew of eight to 10 men with five sets of guns. Its 1,700-gallon fuel tank allows the plane to fly for up to 21 hours, and some had bladders to hold additional fuel.

"They were formidable, they were a weapon but they then also rescued many, many downed sailors," he said.

O'Connor said one of the most famous rescue stories is when a PBY Catalina saved more than 50 men from the USS Indianapolis from shark-invested waters after the carrier was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. In another instance, the plane was used to save more than 100 Dutch sailors from a merchant trader downed off Australia.

The "Flying Turtle" was the last plane to leave the Allied military base in Iceland after World War II ended in 1945. It has five confirmed submarine kills and one possible kill to its record while serving both U.S. and Canadian military forces, O'Connor said.

Post war, the plane was utilized to serve as a Canadian transport from 1945 to 1957. Then its interior was redone and the consolidated PBY Catalina was used for luxury executive transport, dubbed a "flying yacht" by Life Magazine.

O'Connor said the group flies the plane to numerous historic events, sharing its piece of history as one of about eight or so still airworthy today.

Heidi Stoeppler in a 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D

South Dakota resident Heidi Stoeppler is attending Sun 'n Fun for the first time to celebrate getting a new multi-engine seaplane certification. Stoeppler said she loved watching helicopters crop dusting areas of South California while growing up. When she was 17, one of the men who was crop dusting stopped and asked her if she wanted a ride. Stoeppler seized her opportunity.

"He asked me if I was going to be a pilot some day," she said. "Until that day I had no idea that girls could be pilots and I was so excited."

In 2011, Stoeppler learned how to fly gliders in Southern California. She said she since made her mission to learn to fly as many planes as possible and teach others.

The 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D is the first aircraft Stoeppler has owned, saying it was affordable and it was a good transition from a glider to a plane with only 65 horsepower. She thought of it as a "powered glider." It has small bush wheels on it so she can land.

She had one piece of advice for women who are consider entering the aviation industry and what career paths may be available.

"Everybody has told me from the beginning that airline pilot is the only job, and that is not true, you should leave your options open," Stoeppler said. "There are so many jobs you can't realize how many [aviation] jobs are out there."

There are aviation jobs in crop dusting, corporate jet transportation, medivac, cargo and freight transportation, Stoeppler said, to name a few. These jobs can offer a range of different lifestyles.

Capt. Jeff 'Dash' Deaton in a Ryan STL 'Ollie'

Capt. Jeff 'Dash" Deaton has returned to Lakeland flying his Timber Tiger Craft 2018 Ryan ST-L, named "Ollie," to attend his first Sun 'n Fun in 13 years.

"Oshkosh is great," Deaton said, of the EAA's annual Wisconsin fly-in. "This one has more of a hometown feel."

Deaton said he last attended Sun 'n Fun in 2011, when an EF1 tornado touched down on the expo's grounds, toppling planes and injuring visitors. The event had been a bit of a mess, Deaton said. He also didn't like a former practice that involved burning the airport's field creating a "black ash" that used to kick up, often coating guests from the knees down.

He's flown in from Morehead City, North Carolina in his 95% replica vintage aircraft. Deaton said the Ryan ST-L was originally sold as a civilian acrobatics trainer in the 1930s. The U.S. Navy adapted the plan to use for its own training, according to Deaton, before deciding it was "too dainty" for military uses.

There was briefly a military squadron of Ryan ST-L based out of San Diego, Deaton said. The U.S. Navy would develop the PT-22 series based on the civilian Ryan ST-L.

When asked why he chose to fly the Ryan ST-L, Deaton only had to take a look at his plane.

"Take a look at it, why wouldn't you?" he said. "It's from the Golden Age of Aviation. It's beautiful from every angle."

Michel Gadbois from Knoxville, Tennessee in a Icon A5

Attending this year's Sun 'n Fun is fulfilling a lifelong dream for Michel Gadbois, of Knoxville, Tennessee. He's been an aircraft builder since 1991. Gadbois said he first placed an order with Icon Aircraft Inc., a California-based manufacturer of light sport planes, for an A5 amphibious plane in 2012. The original price was listed as $154,000. By the end of the year, Gadbois said he received a manufacturer's notice it increased the price to $198,000, then hiked it to $400,000 the following year.

The price was too steep, and Gadbois canceled his order and waited. The light sport amphibious craft was perfect for his need taking off from a short grassy strip at his Knoxville home to landing on water at his Canadian house.

"I think it's one of the most beautiful aircraft ever designed," he said. "Asphalt, grass, water, there's no place it cannot go."

Gadbois said he found the third A5 plane ever produced up for sale in 2022 and immediately purchased it. It is one of the 100 founders editions produced, as noted by the light gray stripe that runs around the bottom exterior or the plane.

Currently, the fully carbon-fiber plane costs about $1.2 million to produce, Gadbois said. Its expensive materials may be one reason the aircraft's manufacturer recently declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

"They made a beautiful airplane with no consciousness or concerns about its cost," he said.

Jeanne and Dave Allen from Elbert, Colorado in a 1934 Waco YKC

It's nearly impossible not to spot the bright teal color of Dave and Jeanne Allen's 1934 Waco YKC among the vast field of vintage planes at Sun 'n Fun. It pops among a field with many yellow and silver aircraft.

Dave Allen said the plane was purchased brand new by the Ohio Department of Commerce Aeronautics in 1934. It was used to fly around state officials on business for about five years before it was sold privately to a civilian in 1939. It changed hands several times through 1948.

The previous owner attempted several modifications, according to Dave Allen, before it went into storage in 1948.

Jeanne Allen said the plane came up for sale in an estate auction in 2003. The highest successful bidder couldn't pay for it, so it went back up for sale. The couple purchased the aircraft as members of the National Waco Club.

"It was a bit of a project at first," Jeanne Allen said.

The couple shared a binder of the plane's extensive rehabilitation as most of what remained was a dilapidated frame and parts. Jeanne Allen said the color was taken from parts of the plane's fuselage that rarely "see the light of day" and matched as closely as possible.

The vintage plane is now stored in Grass Roots Airpark in Groveland during the winters. The couple enjoy flying it seasonally.

"We refer to it as luxury transportation for the elderly," Dave Allen said.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl for photo and video from the airshow.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Every aircraft has a story as pilots begin arriving for Sun 'n Fun