Immersion Experience To enter the hangar areas, you first pass through what is called an "Immersion Experience". It takes you from the earliest days of aviation through WWII, fully immersing you in the environments of each. |
North Hangar Once you exit the B-17 you can enter the North Hangar. This houses planes from early flight, WWI, up to WWII. |
1918 Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe Shortly after I arrived Kermit was flying this Sopwith Snipe. This plane was built in by The Vintage Aviator Ltd. in New Zealand. TVAL is owned by Peter Jackson, who is most famous for being the producer/director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They are an aircraft restoration and manufacturing company that exclusively builds planes from 1914-1918. This was real neat to watch flying, and as Kermit slowed down to land there was a distinctive "brraap-brraap-brraap" sound. It was almost as if the rotary engine was missing. Later, when I was talking with Kermit, he explained that there is no throttle on this plane! The pilot controls the speed with a kill switch on the stick. He also mentioned that their is no carburetor on the engine - the pilot controls the air/fuel mixture in flight, and has to make constant adjustments. |
Here is a video I found of the plane which demonstrates the kill switch.YouTube |
Here is Kermit's first "Kermie Cam" video explaining the airplane. When they publish parts 2 and 3 I will also post those here.YouTube |
1941 Stinson L-1E The plane just received its FAA signoff a week or two before my visit. After the war, it became a camera ship for Tallmantz Aviation in California. Tallmantz used it for aerial filming for the movies, culminating in The Great Waldo Pepper. After Kermit acquired it, it was used to tow banners in Miami advertising his Weeks Air Museum. It was damaged (along with most of the other vintage planes) by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The restoration started in 1994 and took over 10,000 man-hours. This is a really rare airplane - there are only 7 survivors, and this is the only one flying. Two of the other 6 are in restoration. |
Here is a video of Kermit doing the first test flight.YouTube |
Tram Tour Not long after I walked outside a tram tour was leaving. They drove us around the complex, stopping at various locations. |
View of both hangars from across the ramp. |
The South Hangar - I hadn't made it that far, so this was the first glimpse I had of the Mustang and C-47. |
They stopped and did a short presentation in the engine room. Those are Allison V-12 engines (P-38, P-40, P-51,) |
More engines! |
They gave a short explanation of engines from the rotary through the inlines and radials, and explained the major differences between them. |
Radials - a Jacobs Stearman engine top left, Lycoming Stinson L-1 engines on the right. |
Pratt Whitney R-4360 The largest aircraft piston engine. |
Pratt Whitney R-4360 |
Anybody got a P-38 that needs an engine? I have read that Kermit bought most of these in one lot at an auction to keep them from the powerboat racers. |
I'm not sure what these two were, but they were VERY large! |
A rack full of props. They can use these to make new ones by taking measurements or making molds. |
Parked out by the entrance road is this 1957 Lockheed Constellation L1649 Starliner. |
1957 Lockheed Constellation L1649 Starliner |
The next stop was another hangar that you can't walk through. Some real neat planes in here, starting with a 1945 Grumman Duck. After watching videos of Kermit flying this plane, it was neat to get to see it in person! |
After the Duck is a 1917 Albatros D-Va. This was also built by The Vintage Aviator Ltd. Beyond that is a 1944 Consolidated B-24J Liberator. |
A 1930 Sikorsky S-39 amphibian, and a 1945 Supermarine Spitfire Mk 16 behind it. |
1945 Supermarine Spitfire Mk 16 |
1945 North American P-51D Mustang I've seen videos of Kermit flying this as well - I really wish he would have flown one of the Mustangs this day!! Beyond it is a 1944 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. |
The 1918 Sopwith Snipe being wiped down after the morning flight. |
1939 Grumman TBM-3E Avenger. |
The "World's Greatest Aircraft Collection" is actually a non-profit charity that owns several of the planes on permanent display. A portion of each ticket sale goes to the charity to support the restoration and preservation of the collection. |
The water tower and hangars. |
South Hangar The South Hangar contains mostly planes from after WWI through WWII. |
Waldo Wright's Flying Service Also located at Fantasy of Flight is Waldo Wright's Flying Service. They give rides in a 1931 New Standard and a 1942 Stearman. It was my intention to take a flight in the Stearman, which is actually more flight instruction than ride, and purchase a video of it. Unfortunately, I was still feeling the effects of the motion from the cruise and didn't feel up to it. I will return someday to do it! |
Golden Hill Storage Facility A short trolley ride across the road takes you to the Golden Hill Storage Facility. Here there are two large buildings where they store future restoration projects. It was amazing to see all of the planes and parts that are awaiting restoration! |
Compass Rose Diner I ate lunch onsite at the Compas Rose Diner. The service was slow, but the food was decent and the artwork on the walls was nice. |
Compass Rose Diner artwork |
Compass Rose Diner artwork |
Compass Rose Diner artwork |
Miscellaneous |