Sun ‘n Fun Stats: Airplanes Destroyed, Attendance and Future Dates

While many may have thought the remainder of the show would be canceled, heroic efforts were made by Sun 'n Fun's organizers, hazmat teams, environmental groups, the local police force, city officials, the FAA and other volunteers to get the show site cleaned up and ready to open its doors the following day at eight a.m. "It was both humbling and gratifying to see how the aviation community rallied around Sun 'n Fun," said Burton. And it appears that it was the right thing to do. According to Burton, the preliminary numbers indicate that Saturday's attendance will shatter the previous one day record.

"Friday was the best day overall for us," said Todd Simmons, vice president of marketing at Cirrus Aircraft. Like many of the manufacturers on the field, Simmons said Cirrus signed "a few" contracts and had no damage in their display. Cessna received only minor damage to a Skylane and gladly closed the doors of its permanent house on the grounds on Sunday with an order list of 30 airplanes, including 16 Corvalis TTX models, just introduced at the show. Piper, Aviat and Lockwood Aviation (makers of the AirCam) were the hardest hit, with each company losing several airplanes to the storm.

While there was some speculation that the early start date for this year's show might have made severe weather more likely, that wasn't the case. According to data from the National Weather Service, the relative risk of severe weather in March is nearly identical to that in April. Next year's show runs from March 27 through April 1st.