#SNF11 - Severe Weather And A Day At 'Fantasy Of Flight' (16 Pix)
Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 11:18PM 
(16 pix)
The last several hours of my drive from Indiana to central Florida early Thursday were under low ceilings and rain, so I decided to start my Sun-n-Fun 2011 experience over at the Fantasy of Flight Museum since the weather wasn’t cooperating very well. The museum is about 20 miles northeast of Lakeland Linder airport were SNF takes place. Plus, the ‘Splash-In’ with seaplanes was scheduled to take place Thursday on Lake Agnes (right next to the museum) so it seemed like I had a plan.
As it turned out, the weather went from bad to worse. The Splash-In was cancelled and re-scheduled for Friday, but as you most likely already know, severe storms came thru the area in the afternoon (see the radar pic) causing substantial damage to a lot of aircraft and temporary structures at SNF. Fortunately it appears injuries were minimal… and as it turned out, the museum site didn’t experience any damage at all that I’m aware of.
Getting Sun-n-Fun back on track will require a lot of effort, but I have no doubt that the job will get done. Similar to the challenges with extremely heavy rains at Oshkosh in 2010, the aviation community will come together and rise to the challenge. And while many people are dealing with the loss of their aircraft right now, we can all be thankful for minimal injuries, and for a very sunny weather forecast for the remaining days of SNF.
The following 15 pictures and captions show some of the cool aircraft and aviation oriented experiences from my day at Fantasy of Flight. A lot of people were enjoying the chance to be an avgeek and stay out of the rain… and while this was my second visit to FoF, I have to say I enjoyed this time every bit as much as the first. It’s a great facility that I highly recommend you take time to experience anytime you’re in the area.
The Art Deco inspired entrance to the Fantasy of Flight museum. It was definitely an umbrella kind of day.
Fantasy of Flight is run by Kermit Weeks (arms folded) and he was seen all over the facility today… here he’s enjoying conversation with some people in the entrance area.
FoF offers a wide range of aviation experiences. Some displays are set up along a path depicting the journey from early flight and then into WWI and WWII.
This B-17 Bomber is at the end of the walking path part of the museum. With low lighting (much darker than I have it shown here) and with great sound effects, a realistic war time maintenance setting is created. You can also walk thru the B-17, starting with the door on the right rear of the fuselage and exiting thru the opening and stairs seen under the cockpit.
Here’s the view of the cockpit from the inside. The mannequin pilots are communicating about getting their battle weary airplane back home safe. You can walk right up to them and check out the cockpit.
After the darkened displays on the walking path, you exit into the main hangar display area. Among the extensive collection here is a Stinson Tri-Motor, Ford tri-Motor, several Gee Bees and the very large Shorts Sunderland seaplane.
In addition to the aircraft, there are a lot of educational displays and attractions. These two Corsair cockpit simulators are always popular. A large group of Royal Air Force Air Cadets were giving them a good workout. They are from Kent, England and at SNF volunteering their time to help. The rainy weather gave them a day to get out and check out FoF.
When you’re talking aviation icons, you can’t leave the Ford Tri-Motor off the list!
The Gee Bee aircraft, especially the dedicated racing machines are some of the most stunning mix of design, engineering and performance. Seeing the actual airplane that Delmar Benjamin flew at airshows for many years is worth the trip to FoF in my book.
I never get tired of Gee Bee style.
An unusual view of an unusual airplane.
This is the second display hangar area. Lots of military aircraft, like this B-26 Marauder. You have great access on the floor level, and then there is an elevated walkway to get a view from above.
The Fieseler Storch that Kermit often flies in the daily flight demo. No flight today due to the weather. Check out a previous post about one of the flights.
A two-place Curtiss P-40 viewed from the elevated walkway.
There are all kinds of things to see and do… like get a chance to hold a bucking bar for ‘Rosie the riveter’. This was a nifty interactive display that was also a lot of fun due to the great attitude and smile of the gal playing ‘Rosie’.
You can’t go wrong stopping by for a day and seeing the great facility that Kermit and his crew have put together at Fantasy of Flight.
Reader Comments (3)
Very nicely done! I'd love to see this some time.
This is a great place. I went many years ago and it was excellent. Assume it's only getting better.
Looks like another place to add to my bucket list those Air Cadets come from the same part of the UK that I used to live in and yes I was air cadet too happy days