| Fantasy of Flight | |
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| Established | 1995 |
| Location | Polk City, Florida |
| Type | Aviation attraction |
| Collection size | over 140 aircraft |
| Director | Kim Long |
| Website | [2] |
Fantasy of Flight is an aviation-related attraction in Polk City, Florida, USA that takes visitors back to the pioneering days of early flight, World War I, World War II and beyond. The attraction opened in November of 1995, and houses the world's largest private aircraft collection on display. It became the new home for much of owner Kermit Weeks' collection of aircraft that were previously housed at the Weeks Air Museum in Tamiami, Florida and were damaged to varying degrees by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Fantasy of Flight is the only attraction in the world to offer daily aerial demonstrations (weather permitting) of aircraft in its collection. Most of Weeks' aircraft are airworthy and may be seen flying from one of the facility's grass runways.
Themed "immersion experiences" showcase memorable moments in aviation history, and a self-guided audio tour gives visitors information about aircraft in the collection as well as insider details about featured aviators. Guided tours go behind the scenes to show how craftsmen restore vintage planes. The only attraction in the world that offers daily aerial demonstrations (weather permitting), Fantasy of Flight showcases an aircraft each day based on plane and pilot availability, maintenance schedules and other logistical considerations.
The attraction is open 10 am - 5 pm daily, excluding Thanksgiving & Christmas. Hours may vary occasionally for special events. The Compass Rose Diner is open daily to the public from 11 am - 3 pm serving lunch. The aviation-themed Gift Shop is open daily from 10 am - 5 pm. There is no admission fee required to visit the Diner or Gift Shop.
Contents |
The facility features a main attraction complex consisting of two hangars for the aircraft on display, restoration shops, the immersion environments, a gift shop and the Art Deco themed Compass Rose Diner. Just outside the main complex and adjoining tarmac are two grass runways: runway 4/22 (approx. 4500ft) and runway 14/32 (approx. 2500ft). On the north side of the runways are a maintenance hangar and conference facility. A "back lot" to the south of the main complex contains warehouses, storage and restoration facilities. Lake Agnes is also on the property to allow for seaplane operations, with a ramp to taxiway on the eastern shore.
In addition to the daily aerial demonstrations, Waldo Wright's Flying Service also operates a Boeing PT-17 Stearman and a New Standard D-25 from the Fantasy of Flight collection. The Boeing Stearman is used for 30 minute long 'hands-on experience' flights, in which the customer takes control of the aircraft at some point during the flight. The New Standard D-25 is used for 15 minute Barnstorming flights, in which the customer sits in the forward open cockpit of the aircraft as a qualified pilot flies the aircraft.
The Fantasy of Flight collection contains the following aircraft, although the aircraft are not always present at the museum. Some are on loan to other facilities, others may be flown to events, still others may be off display for maintenance or restoration. Most of the collection is on display in the main attraction complex hangars, with much of the balance housed in the maintenance hangar which is on the Behind The Scenes tram tour. (Source: Fantasy of Flight Official Website) Tail numbers are in italics.
Visitors walk through several immersion environments as they enter the attraction. From the lobby, guests walk into the interior of a WWII-era Douglas C-47 Skytrain complete with lighting and sound effects as if the aircraft were conducting paratrooper operations. Guests pass a seated paratrooper in full kit and move forward toward the Jumpmaster figure standing at the open side hatch. Over the hatch blinks a red "Ready" light which switches to a green "Jump" light as the guest approaches the hatch. Through the hatch is the entry to the attraction.
Other immersion environments include a "sensation of flight" simulator, followed by a celebration of the early days of flight. Then, a passage covered by heavy shrapnel-resistant curtains leads visitors into a full-scale representation of the trench warfare of WWI, complete with aircraft overhead. It was, in part, due to the development of aerial warfare that trench fighting became obsolete.
The final immersion display includes the collection's Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress housed in a large darkened room staged to appear as a winter evening at RAF Horham, home of the 95th Bombardment Group (Heavy) during WWII. The full-scale diorama, complete with ground vehicles, outbuildings and landscaping, represents a maintenance area and one of the B-17's engine cowlings and propellers are removed to maintenance stands in front of the aircraft. Guests can enter the plane via a side hatch in the tail, walk through the bomb bay, visit the cockpit, and exit near the nose of the aircraft.
Standing along the side of Interstate 4 near the exit for Fantasy of Flight is a Douglas DC-3 painted with the attraction's name to get the attention of passers by. The aircraft itself is not part of the collection and was, in fact, specifically purchased for its intended purpose as an attraction sign. The airframe is far too corroded to make restoration of the DC-3 feasible. The aircraft was displayed for a period of time in a 'crashed' position, nose down in the ground with a mannequin hanging from the tail wheel, apparently a 'man' evacuating the aircraft with a parachute. The mannequin was dressed up for certain occasions around the year, including Santa Claus for Christmas, Uncle Sam for Independence Day and a Pilgrim for Thanksgiving.
The aircraft in this crashed position received a mixture of criticism and compliments. Some people claimed that the display made the aircraft look bad and set a bad example to airline passengers while others found the position of the aircraft comical, and many people enjoyed guessing what the mannequin would be dressed as next. Currently, the aircraft is in an upright position with the mannequin seated in the opened cockpit hatch on the left hand side.
In the summer of 2011, Kermit Weeks and a crew from Fantasy of Flight flew to Cotswold Airport in the United Kingdom to evaluate a Douglas C-47 Skytrain for possible purchase. The aircraft has a distinguished war record including sorties during the D-Day invasion and Operation Market Garden.
At the end of July, Mr. Weeks went forward with the purchase, his crew conducted minor repairs, and the plane, registration number N1944A was flown back to the United States by Weeks and his crew. Due to weather delays on some legs of the trip, the journey took a total of 11 days and covered approximately 4500 miles from Kemble, UK to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Fans of the aircraft, Mr. Weeks or Fantasy of Flight were able to watch the trip documented daily on Fantasy of Flight's Facebook page as the crew sent back pictures and observations along the way.
The aircraft arrived without incident on August 4, 2011 at Oshkosh. It will be on display at the EAA AirVenture Museum for several months before being moved permanently to the campus of Fantasy of Flight in Polk City. [19]