By RJ Walters
Photography provided by Sun ‘n Fun
For half a century people have been looking up at SUN ’n FUN—now one of the premiere aviation expos in the world that intertwines incredible feats of engineering, gifted pilots, educational opportunities and entertainment—but Suzy Eickhoff fondly remembers a time when aviation enthusiasts had their eyes looking down and their hands in the dirt.
“We would fly over [from St. Petersburg] on the weekends and work like crazy; we’d get dirty—and we pretty much cleared land by hand,” she recalls about the early 1970s on the grounds of what was then called Lakeland Municipal Airport. “We would bring food and have a cookout, and the guys from Vero Beach would bring their guitars and play music, and it became a family thing on the weekends.”
Bill Eickhoff, Suzy’s husband of 55 years, said no one went to the airport in the pre-fly-in years “because it was out in the sticks.”
“But pretty soon the vision was there for an event and there were probably 10-15 early founders who were so involved even to the point of signing a note at the Barnett Bank to get our first pump and well in because after working out here you get pretty damn dirty,” he says.
It’s fitting that Suzy is the chairman of the Pioneers Club, a group that is celebrating the 50th fly-in this April with a special luncheon and parade.
What started as a gathering of some friends who were part of local chapters of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) has become Florida’s largest annual convention of any kind, bringing in thousands of aircraft and more than 200,000 visitors from 80 countries to Lakeland each year. But it didn’t happen by accident—it came to fruition on purpose, for a purpose, even if most of the original pioneers stand in awe of the breadth of what it has become.
“We would bring food and have a cookout, and the guys from Vero Beach would bring their guitars and play music, and it became a family thing on the weekends.” – SUN ‘n FUN Pioneer Suzy Eickhoff
SUN ’n FUN pioneer Bob Highley, who has lived in Lakeland with his wife Susan since 1972, said initially a group of five or six EAA chapters were interested in partnering with the Antique Aircraft Association to create an event that was open to the public where people could check out pre-World War II aircraft.
Eventually, the Classic Aircraft Association jumped on board as well, and in 1975 a weekend fly-in with 365 aircraft and 1,980 guests served as the first Sun ‘n Fun as people around the world know it today.
From the beginning, one of the aims of SUN ’n FUN was to do more than just have fun—even if that’s what the name implies—but also to be a place to build programs and opportunities related to aviation education.
It’s no surprise then to learn that one of the organization’s first board presidents, Lyle Flagg, was a lifelong educator, and he helped put the next generation of pilots, mechanics and aviation workers at the forefront of the mission.
What started out as a few summer camps and a library eventually grew into the opening of the esteemed Florida Air Museum, the creation of the Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) and the building of Central Florida Aerospace Academy.
Today, the aviation job fair stretches the entirety of the expo and countless opportunities to learn more about aviation and aerospace is ingrained in the event’s DNA.
Another foundational goal of the pioneers was to make Sun ’n Fun something that appealed to people of all ages and from all walks—and flights—of life.
The reality is people fall in love with aviation for different reasons.
For Highley, serving in the United States Air Force allowed him to see the world from the sky; for Suzy Eickhoff, she remembers stories her father told of helping supply fuel for a mail plane, and she would eventually help her dad build a plane when she was in high school; Bill Eickhoff fell in love with Suzy in high school, and his wife says it’s a good thing he took a liking to aviation as well because she would “hate to think what would have happened” if her father were asked to give his endorsement for a man who liked staying on the ground.
At the 50th fly-in you’ll find everything from courses on repairing aircraft wings, to flight simulators, to air shows with fireworks and drones, to inside access to new aviation technology and so much more.
“I feel like the grandparent,” Suzy Eickhoff says with a chuckle when asked what it’s like to reflect on what the expo has become. “With SUN ’n FUN, if you’re passionate and have an idea, if it’s a good one, then you do it. Everybody has a part in it.”
If you take a peek at hotel prices in Lakeland for early April, you’ll find that the event is an economical boon for the area, which makes sense when you’re talking about hosting the second largest airshow in the country.
The steady ascent of Lakeland’s power and prowess in the aviation world thanks to SUN ’n FUN means that top performers like the United States Air Force Thunderbirds—who are flying at this year’s event—and U.S. Navy Blue Angels are the norm; it also has paved the way for major spotlights, like one by Good Morning America recently at Lakeland Linder Airport, and for premiere entertainers like country stars Dylan Scott and Sara Evans, who are scheduled to cap off opening night of the 50th fly-in with an electrifying concert.
Highley says partners like the City of Lakeland and Visit Central Florida have been essential to the event’s exponential growth because of the marketing, the funding and the long-term relationships, but he says Sun ’n Fun would be nothing without the volunteers.
Today, more than 3,000 volunteers are needed annually to help Sun ’n Fun fly at its constantly increasing altitude.
One Lakelander who was a catalyst for growing Sun ’n Fun from its humble beginnings to its global fame was Billy Henderson, executive director of the expo from 1975 to 1999.
Most of the pioneers have at least one story about how Henderson listened to a suggestion from them about how to improve the event and then empowered them to go figure out how to implement it.
“First job they had me on here…they had me stringing fence, and they saw that my truck had a two-way aircraft radio in it, and [Henderson] said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a better job for you,” SUN ’n FUN pioneer Calvin Arter recalls. “‘When it starts, how about you sitting out in the middle and talking to the airplanes as they come in and ask for help?’”
Until the late 1970s the expo would take place in January.
“With the Air Force I was all over the world, and if you were to say Gainesville to someone in Germany, no one would know where you were talking about. But if you said Lakeland, nine out of 10 times if you’re around aviation people, they would say, ‘Oh that’s where SUN ‘n FUN is,’ even if you’re standing on a street in Frankfurt.” – SUN ‘n FUN Pioneer Bob Highley
The Eickhoffs’ experience is similar, and is a testament to how using people’s talents and passions is a near surefire way to accelerate growth.
The couple has never missed a fly-in, and they have been incredible philanthropists who financially supported the Skylab Innovation Center, The Lakeland Aero Club, the Able Flight project and other initiatives.
Bill served as chairman of the board for 28 years, and the couple is honored to have played a role in a journey that has allowed them to make lifelong friends and memories.
“We are just really proud of how it’s kept its quality and its family atmosphere, and it’s very safe,” Suzy says. “
As Highley says, the one-time small gathering of friends has now garnered a reputation worthy of the sacrifice and selflessness that has been the norm of Lakelanders and Sun ’n Fun regulars for decades.
“With the Air Force I was all over the world, and if you were to say Gainesville to someone in Germany, no one would know where you were talking about,” he says. “But if you said Lakeland, nine out of 10 times if you’re around aviation people, they would say, ‘Oh that’s where SUN ‘n FUN is,’ even if you’re standing on a street in Frankfurt.”