The 2025 Sun-N-Fun banner.

The week of April 1 through 6 marked the annual Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland Linder Airport. This year, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels were a featured part of the airshow, drawing large crowds and putting on an incredible display.

Geoff (WA4MMO) secured the special event callsign W4S and organized a great group of LARC members to operate the station. ICOM America generously provided a brand-new IC-7300 for the event. Dan (WZ1P) and the team set up a 40-meter vertical, a multi-band Hex Beam covering 20, 15, 10, and 6 meters, and a 2-meter/70-centimeter J-Pole.

This year, W4S made over 1,000 contacts — a new record! Geoff might need to ice his hands after writing and mailing all those QSL cards!

Thanks to Grant (W2BF) and Ringo (N4SI) for the pictures and video.

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April LARC Meeting

The monthly LARC meeting will be held this Monday night, April 14, at Parkview Baptist Church, located across from Lakeland Regional Health hospital. Ham exams begin at 5:30 p.m., and the meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.

This month, club president Jim Stewart (W4XDS) will demonstrate two of his 3D printers and share some fantastic ideas for items we all need in our shacks — including how to reproduce hard-to-find (and no longer manufactured) parts.

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