Fantasy of Flight facts for kids
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Aerial view of the site
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| Established | November 11, 1995 |
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| Location | Polk City, Florida |
| Type | Aviation attraction |
| Collection size | over 150 aircraft |
| Founder | Kermit Weeks |
Fantasy of Flight is an exciting aviation museum located in Polk City, Florida. It's a special place where you can see many amazing airplanes!
The museum first opened its doors in November 1995. It was created by Kermit Weeks to keep his huge collection of aircraft safe. Before this, his planes were at another museum, but Hurricane Andrew damaged many of them in 1992.
On April 6, 2014, the main museum closed to the public. However, it still hosts private events. Then, on January 30, 2015, a smaller version of the museum opened. It shows a few planes while the bigger facility gets ready for a future reopening. Many of the planes here can still fly! Some even take off from the museum's grass runways or its special seaplane runway.
Contents
What You'll Find at the Museum
The main buildings at Fantasy of Flight include two big hangars. These are called the "North" and "South" hangars, and they are where the aircraft are displayed. There are also workshops where planes are fixed up, a gift shop, and a cool Art Deco style diner called the Compass Rose. Outside the entrance, you can find a ropes course and zip line for extra fun!
Next to the hangars, there's a paved area and two grass runways for planes to land and take off. On the north side of the runways, there's a maintenance hangar and a meeting place. To the south, there are more storage buildings and places where planes are restored. You can even take a guided tour to see some of the planes stored across the road! Lake Agnes is right next to the museum, allowing seaplanes to land and take off from the water.
How Airplanes Operate Here
The airfield at Fantasy of Flight is officially known as "Orlampa Inc. Airport." It's a private airport, so you need special permission to land there. The name "Orlampa" was made up by Kermit Weeks. It's a mix of Orlando and Tampa, because the airport is about halfway between these two cities.
Waldo Wright's Flying Service sometimes offers airplane rides from the Fantasy of Flight airfield. They use a Boeing PT-17 Stearman and a New Standard D-25. With the Stearman, you can even take control of the plane during a 30-minute "hands-on" flight! The D-25 offers 15-minute "barnstorming" flights, where up to four people can ride in the open front cockpit.
Amazing Aircraft Collection
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Fantasy of Flight has a huge collection of over 150 aircraft! Not all of them are always at the museum. Some might be rented out, flown to events, or getting fixed. Most of the planes are in the north and south hangars, which are currently closed to the public. However, a few are shown at the smaller museum in the old maintenance hangar.
In 2012, a new storage building called "Golden Hill" opened across the road. Many planes have been moved there, like the Douglas B-23 Dragon and the front part of a Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
Here are some of the cool aircraft in the collection:
- Airco DH.4 – Displayed as a U.S. Mail plane.
- Albatros D.Va – A reproduction built by Peter Jackson's aviation shop.
- Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress – Named "Piccadilly Princess."
- Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina – Displayed outside.
- Curtiss TP-40N Warhawk – The only one of its kind still flying with dual controls from the factory!
- Fieseler Fi-156 Storch
- Fokker Dr.I Triplane – A reproduction of the famous Red Baron's plane.
- Ford 5AT Trimotor – This plane, called "City of Philadelphia," was in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
- Martin B-26 Marauder – The only one of its kind that can still fly!
- North American P-51C Mustang – Displayed as "Ina the Macon Belle," flown by Tuskegee Airmen pilot Lee Archer.
- Short Sunderland Mk.5 – The last one of these flying boats that can still fly.
- Sikorsky S-39 – Called "Spirit of Igor," painted like a giraffe!
- Standard J-1 – This plane appeared in the movies The Spirit of St. Louis and The Great Waldo Pepper.
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk16
- Vought F4U-4 Corsair – Displayed as "Angel Of Okinawa."
Immersive Experiences
The museum used to have special "immersion environments" that made you feel like you were part of history. These areas are now mostly used for private events.
When you entered, you would walk into a World War II-era Douglas C-47 Skytrain. It had lights and sounds that made it feel like paratroopers were about to jump! You'd see a paratrooper ready to go, and a light would change from red to green, just like in a real jump.
Other experiences included a flight simulator and a celebration of early flight. Then, you'd walk through curtains into a full-size World War I trench. You could even see airplanes flying overhead! This showed how air warfare changed how battles were fought.
The last big display featured the museum's Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. It was in a dark room made to look like a winter evening at a World War II air base. You could walk inside the B-17, go through the bomb bay, and even visit the cockpit!
Golden Hill Storage Facility
For many years, Fantasy of Flight has had a storage building across the road. This is where planes waiting to be restored are kept. In 2011, they started building a second storage building to have more space. The idea was to open these buildings to the public for a short time.
In June 2011, one building opened for a special preview. People loved it! So, in the summer of 2012, it became part of the public tour. The second building was planned to open soon after.
Fantasy of Flight calls these buildings the "Golden Hill" facility. It's a fun reference to the National Air and Space Museum's storage facility, which is nicknamed "Silver Hill." Visitors can take a trolley from the main parking lot to Golden Hill in the mornings. You can explore the facility on your own, and friendly guides are there to answer questions. The facility closes at midday because it can get very hot inside the steel buildings in the Florida sun.
The C-47 "N1944A"
In 2011, Kermit Weeks and his team went to the United Kingdom to check out a Douglas C-47 Skytrain plane. This plane had an amazing history, including flying missions during the D-Day invasion and Operation Market Garden in World War II.
Kermit Weeks bought the plane, which was registered as N1944A. After some small repairs, Kermit and his team flew it all the way back to the United States! The journey took 11 days and covered about 4,500 miles. Fans could follow their trip online as the crew shared pictures and updates every day.
The plane arrived safely in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on August 4, 2011. It was displayed there for a few months before moving permanently to Fantasy of Flight in Polk City. On May 1, 2012, the C-47 finally flew south to the museum. Now, this historic aircraft is on display, and guests can even walk through it!
The DC-3 Attraction Sign
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If you drive along Interstate 4 near Fantasy of Flight, you'll see a Douglas DC-3 airplane. It's painted with the museum's name to catch people's attention! This plane was bought specifically to be a sign. It's too old and rusty to be restored and flown again.
For a while, the plane was displayed as if it had crashed, with its nose in the ground. A mannequin (a dummy) hung from the tail, looking like someone parachuting out. This mannequin would even dress up for holidays, like Santa Claus for Christmas or Uncle Sam for Independence Day!
Some people thought this "crashed" display looked bad, but others found it funny and enjoyed seeing what the mannequin would wear next. Now, the plane is upright, and the mannequin sits in the open cockpit hatch.
The Compass Rose Diner
Next to the museum's lobby is a restaurant called "The Compass Rose Diner." It's designed in the Art Deco style, like diners you would find at airports in the 1930s and early 1940s. The diner has tall windows, colorful floors, and cool curved shapes.
The diner used to be open to the public, serving simple meals like old-fashioned lunch counters. When the main museum closed to the public in 2014, the diner also closed. Much of its equipment was sold, but the space can still be rented for events.
Partial Closing and Reopening
On March 4, 2014, Fantasy of Flight announced that it would close to the public after April 6, 2014. However, it would still host private events. They also said they would reopen later in 2014 as a smaller museum with lower ticket prices. The plan was to redesign the main facility to appeal to more people, not just aviation fans.
Interestingly, the news that the museum was closing temporarily made many more people want to visit! Crowds were so big that the museum had to use its extra parking areas. As of 2017, the museum is open on Fridays, Saturdays, and most Sundays.
See also
- Planes of Fame
- Commemorative Air Force
- Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at RAF Coningsby, UK
- Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden near Biggleswade in Bedfordshire, England;
- Champlin Fighter Collection at the Seattle Museum of Flight (formerly housed at Mesa, Arizona);
- The Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas.
- The Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
- The Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum in St Louis, Missouri
