The race course was triangular with radio and video equipped observers posted at the first and second checkpoints. The observers are there to make sure the racers do not turn before reaching the checkpoint. If a racer turns inside a pylon (he/she must go around the pylon), they are notified by radio that they cut the pylon and are penalized by adding one minute to their lap time. There are always one or two who cut a pylon either because they are too anxious or they are off course.
    This year the race was started from runway 27, the prevailing winds dictated that we take off heading west. The race usually goes the other direction. This was only the second time that the Sun 60 was run making left hand turns.
    Anyway, the first checkpoint was very prominent. It was a hangar at a small private airport. however, if a racer is flying low, there are some very high towers that must be avoided. The second checkpoint was a road intersection that is difficult to see until you are nearly on top of it. . The final leg was the return to the finish line. This was the easy leg as the Lakeland Airport is easy to spot; After crossing the finish line, all aircraft must go to Lake Parker and return to Lakeland under the normal Sun 'N Fun arrival procedures. One of the air race rules is that you must carry enough fuel to fly 1 ½ hours at maximum cruise power. This is because when the race is over and all of the racers head for Lake Parker, they are mixed in with the usual heavy arriving traffic. Should traffic become very heavy, then it is necessary for some to circle Lake Parker until they can be worked into the normal arrival procedure. The first year, when the Sun 60 was held on a Sunday morning (probably the busiest arrival day), something happened at the Lakeland airport and the airport was temporarily shut down after we started the race. When we finished the race and went to Lake Parker there was already a huge backup of aircraft that were circling the lake. The race added another 30 aircraft, plus those who continued to arrive; to say the least, it was a very exciting experience. After that, the race date was changed to a less busy day. The Sun 100 is held at 9:00 am Monday morning and the Sun 60 is now held at 9:00 am Wednesday morning.
  Cincinnati Chapter 174 Members, Sun N Fun Dinner at Vito's