Sun ‘n Fun Front and Center for Interesting Times

Sun 'n Fun kicked off Tuesday at Central Florida's Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, and the event was marked by a number of interesting announcements and even some significant new product launches. Epic announced a pair of new to-be-certified jets, Piper was showing off its Meridian, now equipped with Garmin G1000 glass, and Avidyne announced its integrated flat-panel system was certified and ready to start TSO installation in existing Cirrus airplanes. But there was a lot of concern among the attendees about the depressed state of the industry, even from those very companies whose sales have plummeted and whose very future is at stake. While attendance on the first day was good (if a bit on the light side), despite miserable weather for travelers all down the East Coast on the day before the show, the real test is often the Friday-Saturday dates, when many of the weeks' visitors show up. Fingers are crossed everywhere. So what does the Sun 'n Fun experience bode for the future of GA? Check out Robert Goyer's thoughts on the subject in our Editor's Exclusive, Sightings of the Bottom: Hopeful Signs or Wishful Thinking? on flyingmag.com.