It’s not JFK, Laguardia, O’Hare, LAX, or Atlanta’s Hartsfield airport. At least not this week. For the next six days that distinction belongs to KLAL, Lakeland Linder Regional Airport. New safety innovations are being deployed to

Many Federal Aviation Administration employees with those ubiquitious orange batons are being replaced by workers placed in “mini-towers” along the runway. They will instruct pilots during one of the diciest times: the takeoff.

The mini towers will help improve safety during the six days of the Fly-In, a period when the airport is the busiest in the nation, handling 18,000 to 20,000 takeoffs and landings, said Scott Pickett, air traffic manager at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.

The event is the annual Sun ‘n Fun fly-in.

Every April, tens of thousands of aviation enthusiasts “take off” to Lakeland, Florida, for the annual Sun ’n Fun Fly-In. This year’s event begins Tuesday, April 8 and runs through Sunday, April 13, at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.

This year, three major attractions will feature some of the largest and most interesting aircraft in Sun ‘n Fun history.

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Sun ‘n Fun is recognized as the largest festival in the state of Florida, generating more that 35,000 hotel room nights and an estimated economic impact in Polk County of nearly $30 million. More than 160,000 people participate in Sun ’n Fun’s six-day event, which traditionally heralds the start of the aviation year.

Every time I go outside at work I see dozens of aircraft in the sky. It is a great time for aircraft enthusiests and the public in general. The USAF Thunderbirds, a pair of V-22 Osprey aircraft and several air-to-air refuelers, including a KC-10, will be just a few of the aircraft on display.

If you are going to be in the area, please let me know