The man, the myth, the Eric Crump. Who is he? What is going on at the Aerospace Center for Excellence in Lakeland? Are there aliens hidden away at the Lakeland Airport? Eric Crump, the Director of the Aerospace Center for Excellence in Lakeland, gave us an exclusive tour and behind-the-scenes look at what’s going on there. I left inspired, and after you read this, I hope you are encouraged to venture out there as well. A licensed pilot with years in the aviation field and pre

“It’s magical,” said 25-year-old seaplane pilot Abbie Kellett. “You’ll see – it’s just amazing.” Some 500 feet below the yellow airframe of the Piper J3 Cub, semis and Suburbans move along like toy cars. Breaking up the cityscape and pastoral patchwork are deep blue-green lakes dotted between baseball fields, highways, hospitals, woods, and pastures. Like swollen raindrops, some lakes appear perfectly round from our vantage point and others less so. An alligator suns himself