Vintage Aircraft Fly in the Skies of Florida at Fantasy of Flight

Driving up to the entrance of Fantasy of Flight leads you to believe that this is not really a public themed attraction, but more of a military base or a private airport. There aren't any bells or whistles, no fancy clipped hedges in the shape of cartoon animals and certainly no indication of the marvels inside the hangars, just beyond the main parking lot.

But, marvels there are to people who live and breathe vintage aircraft. Inside those four huge hangars you'll find more than 50 fully restored aircraft, and every single one of them flight-ready, including a wood-and-canvas crop-duster extended from the main hangar ceiling with cable.

Kermit Weeks, creater and founder of the Fantasy of Flight, is known throughout the aircraft community for his meticulous restorations of rare vintage aircraft. Weeks owns more than 160 aircraft in all, with the only fully functional B-26 left in the entire world. Weeks has a pure passion for flight, and it shows - he has personally flown every single plane on site, and is a former champion in international aeribatics competitions. The hangars are kept spotless, the planes are constantly maintained and flown annually to ensure their flight readiness. In the hangers, you'll be visually treated to all types of aircraft, from the Short Sunderland, the world's last air-worthy civilian four-engine flying boat, a B-24 Liberator, and a favorite of many visitors, an authentic P-51 Mustang from the Black Knights Division of the Tuskegee Airmen. And, did you see 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?' Weeks owns the actual Ford Tri-Motor plane used in the movie and on display. The Weeks Airport is a $30 million facility, with two grass runways, which is better for the aged planes to take off and land on. The 260 -acre property backs up to the Green Swamp, an environmentally-protected area. One plane alone, a Fiesler Storch, a German-made fighter plane manufactured in 1942, is worth more than one-quarter of a million dollars, and that is the very plane that pilot Ken Kellett, a veteran of 33 years of private and commercial flight and one of two who fly the aircraft daily, casually rolled out of the hangar, boarded and flew the day of my visit.

Before the Storche went up into the air, we were treated to a short history lesson of the aircraft. This particular plane has a top speed of 80 mph - which is dreadfully slow for any aircraft of today's manufacture. But, this makes the Storche a highly maneuverable plane, with the ability to practically stop in mid-air and hover, which makes your heart stop when watching from the hangar lot. It's known as an "S-and-L" plane, meaning it has an incredibly short takeoff requirement of 200 feet, and a landing distance of only 70 feet. The plane was used to retrieve downed pilots out of North Africa because of these remarkable qualities, and also as a tank spotter in Britain. it has the ability to fly extremely low to the treetops, evading radar detection.

Being treated to watching a rare vintage aircraft in flight is not the only goodie-du-jour. The entrance to the attraction is actually a restaurant, the Compass Rose Diner, and it's modeled in art deco style, with the constant hum of a running aircraft in flight emanating from the entrance just to the left of the history of flight museum. As you enter the museum, you'll experience what Weeks calls "immersion," life-size dioramas featuring the various periods in flight history, from the first flights of Orville and Wilbur Wright off Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to the two World Wars. Your senses are surrounded, with the smells of old leather and fire smoke and of battle-weary soldiers barking commands. The low lights of flickering fires and vibrations of faraway bombs hitting the earth feel all too real, and as you travel through to the "camp" within realistic landscapes, you'll be away to board a real B-17 Flying Fortress, one of the most popular and well-used aircraft of wartime. Even aboard the plane, you'll see mannequins dressed in authentic clothing, set in realistic poses - so real they'll startle you if you're not prepared.

Inside the main hangar, there are also several different cockpits of planes that you can also seat yourself in, with full instrumentation panels available to push, pull, click on and off. Travel a bit further into Fighter Town and there are Corsair fighter flight simulators which capture all the sights, sounds and motions of aerial combat. Liked the first experience? Sign up for another "mission" - you can ride as often as you wish.

Fantasy of Flight is located at 1400 Broadway Blvd. S.E., Polk City, on I-4 (exit 21), halfway between Orlando and Tampa. It's open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except Thanksgiving and Christmas day). Admission is $24.95 for adults and $13.95 for children ages 5-12, however, no admission is required to eat at the Compass Rose Diner or browse the aviation-themed gift shop. For more information, call (863) 984-3500 or visit the Web site at www.fantasyofflight.com.