By Mike and Diana’s Excellent Adventure to SUN ‘n FUN 2026

“Mike, you need to take your plane to SUN ‘n FUN; you’ll have a good time flying there, and your plane will do well with the judging.” For years, former EAA Ultralight Chapter 30 president, current chapter treasurer and newsletter editor, Dan Grunloh, EAA 173888, encouraged me to take my plane to SUN ‘n FUN.

2026 was the year that finally worked out for me and my wife, Diana, EAA Lifetime 1550790, to go to Paradise City, the light planes area at SUN ‘n FUN, with my 1984 Quicksilver MX.

For years, life and family responsibilities did not allow us to go to Paradise City. Then at AirVenture 2025, while going through the exhibit buildings, I came across the SUN ‘n FUN exhibit and met Anitra Goddard, one of the organizers of the event. After talking with Anitra about my plane and the years of flying it at AirVenture, she said that I really needed to bring it to Paradise City. I had been to SUN ‘n FUN in the past; the last time I visited was 22 years ago in 2004.

Anitra persuaded me to really get this adventure going, and I had a lot of work to do to make this trip work. First was to upgrade the brake system in the trailer that housed my plane. With that being done, then it was time to focus on the plane.

Ever since I purchased my MX in 1993, even though not required, I do a type of annual inspection every year on it. Every year, selected hardware is replaced or upgraded as needed. This year was the time for a major renovation. Certain key components were due to be replaced, as was the fabric. The fabric on the plane was still good but wasn’t up to what I think the plane should look like. The planes refurbishment was completed over the winter. I needed a space large enough to lay out the wings for the new fabric. That’s where our other hobby came in. It’s not every day that you see airplane wings and tail section get re-covered in a karate dojo.

So, in April we set out for Florida. This was the first trip for the RV/trailer combination to travel more than 1,200 miles one way, and I wasn’t sure how this would work out, but here we go. I decided to go through Alabama, thinking that would be less stressful on our rig and the driver (me). We stopped at Huntsville to get an awesome photo of the Saturn 5 replica on display there. It turned out when the photo was taken was around the time that Artemis II was splashing down.

We arrived in Florida early, giving us time to visit family on our way to the Lakeland airport. We then arrived at Paradise City and got the plane set up. During that time, the father of the ultralight movement, John Moody, was also setting up his plane for display. My plane ended up being parked next to his plane for the week. After introducing myself to John, I gave him some things I brought along on the trip that I wanted to give him. Since Sport Aviation put my plane on the cover of the January 2025 issue, I though it appropriate to give the father of the ultralight movement a signed copy of that issue and a signed AirVenture 70th anniversary beer can that featured my plane in the upper left side of the can for the ultralight beer can (there was a seven-can series for the 70th anniversary, with ultralights making up the Thursday edition of the series).

After the annual and daily flight briefing, it was time to see Florida from the ultralight pattern. The decision was made that I needed to fly with the PPG gang, since my normal cruise speed was around 35 mph. The view was awesome! I also learned about the morning dew on Florida grass and sand; the amount that my nose wheel threw at me was impressive. I can attest that Florida sand tastes as crunchy as Wisconsin and Illinois sand.

Just saying.

Friday afternoon, a group of aircraft judges stopped by the plane and handed me a card inviting me to attend the SUN ‘n FUN awards banquet Saturday evening because my plane was selected for an award. Some of the other pilots offered suggestions on what the award was, but I went with the idea that they caught me, and I had won a speeding ticket.

Saturday morning, I took part in a mass fly-out to a local airport, then returned with a mass fly-in to Paradise City. When finished, about 15-16 planes took part in the mass fly-in. That was a lot of fun to do, and I hope to do that again.

The awards banquet on Saturday evening was a really nice event, watching other pilots being called up to receive whatever award their plane had been selected for. When it was time to announce Grand Champion Ultralight, it was the culmination of a 32-year-old dream; my 42-year-old Quicksilver MX was selected for the top ultralight award. After the banquet was over, Diana and I stopped by the Paradise City party and showed them the award my plane had won. In honor of my dad, the late Charles Ostrander, who introduced me to EAA in 1972, I held up the award toward Heaven a few times and said, “Dad, can you see it? Look what the plane won.”

Sunday morning was time to put the plane in the trailer and head back north. We were able to see John Moody take off in his plane, which I was told later that his flight back to his home airport may have been his final flight. While I had hoped to fly with John, it was good to see him fly possibly for the last time.

Our trip to SUN ‘n FUN was intended as a bucket-list trip, a one-time thing. Now that my plane has won the top award for ultralights at Paradise City, I feel a certain responsibility to return with my plane for others to see and to fly the pattern as much as I can. Time will tell.