Sky High

Past Comes Alive At 'Fantasy Of Flight'

Some of the most rare planes are still soaring through the sky at the "Fantasy of Flight" facility in Central Florida.

When I was a youngster my dad would take me to our county airport, a modest grass covered field, to watch small private airplanes take off and land. It was great entertainment, better than the movies or a ball game. It still is, and you can capture the thrill at one of Florida's most exciting attractions - Fantasy of Flight.

The handsome art deco facility is home to more than 40 rare and vintage aircraft many restored to flying condition. But that is just the beginning. Visitors can climb inside the cockpit of a Corsair fighter for a battle over the Pacific and then take a spin on the state-of-the-art hang glide simulator in the Fun with Flight area. Guides, all experienced flyers, show visitors throughout the exhibits and explain the various aircraft and their history. Daily tours include restoration areas previously not available to guests. From the earliest wood and fabric creations conceived by the Wright Brothers to the sheet metal expertise of the Rosie the Riveters of World War II, visitors experience an insider view of what it takes to restore priceless aircraft to flyable condition. Tours include a visit to the maintenance hangar where the collection is repaired and maintained.

Visitors can climb aboard the Short Sunderland, the last air worthy flying boat and have a close encounter with the only B-26 Marauder still flying in the world. Other famous aircraft include a B-24 Liberator, a Curtiss TP40 and two P51 Mustangs. Fantasy of Flight offers a realistic immersion attraction where visitors experience man's earliest attempts at flight. They can also climb aboard an authentic B-17 Flying Fortress on a World War II bombing mission.

Visitors are inspired by the courage of the African American Tuskegee Airmen, who overcame extreme odds with dignity, honor, and valor to help win World War II. Their compelling story is brought to life in a multimedia exhibit featuring interviews with the original airmen and complemented by a meticulously restored P51C Mustang - arguably the finest Mustang flying today.

Climb inside the F/X Simulator, a virtual flight explorer, for a fun and fantastic ride the entire family can experience together. Visitors can choose from a variety of different virtual experiences including Virtual Time Machine, Battle for Iwo Jima and Desert Storm Strike. This multi-passenger, full motion simulator is available daily for an additional nominal fee.

A Corsair Fighter is on the flight deck as you step aboard the simulated U.S.S. Yorktown Aircraft Carrier. Climb aboard and immerse yourself in the role of a Naval Aviator as you play an aerial battle video game from the cockpit of your own Corsair Fighter.

Aerial demonstrations provide rare opportunity to see vintage aircraft in flight and to speak with one of our expert pilots. Fantasy of Flight founder Kermit Weeks often performs many of these demonstrations personally and is available to share his extensive knowledge of the aircraft in his collection. Waldo Wright's Flying Service offers flights aboard a vintage biplane daily (October through August) from the grass runways of Fantasy of Flight. Passengers travel back to the 1930s to enjoy an authentic barnstorming ride in a New Standard D-25. What started over a decade ago with the dream of restoring two New Standard biplanes to recapture the "Golden Age of Aviation" has grown into the America's largest vintage biplane ride company.

The New Standard airplane was designed specifically for barnstorming at the request of Ivan Gates, proprietor of the famous Gates Flying Circus. Gates formed and operated one of the largest groups of barnstorming airplanes from the middle 1920s to the early 1930s. Carrying four passengers in a large front open cockpit, the airplane was instrumental in introducing tens of thousands of people to their first airplane ride, back when aviation was in its infancy. Many still remember flying out of a pasture near their hometown when they were young. There are very few of these magnificent airplanes still operating today. Waldo Wright owns two of the five presently air worthy and flying.

Learn more about Fantasy of Flight at www.fantasyofflight.com and Waldo Wright's biplane rides at www.waldowrights.com. Visitors to Polk County and Central Florida will want to begin their trip with a visit to www.visitcentralflorida.org.