Kermit's Blog

Change yourself . . . and you change the World!

Category Archives: Fantasy of Flight

Stayhealthy Update!

It’s been over a year since I went on a diet using the Stayhealthy equipment I invested in and am happy to say I’ve kept off over 20 lbs. and kept my body fat percentage in my desired 15% range.  I continue to exercise as regularly and am glad I made a Stayhealthy choice.

One of the side benefits of the diet was really learning what to eat and what not to eat and, while I still enjoy drinking socially and an occasional dessert, I’ve found my eating habits have changed significantly.  One of the main changes is that I eat a lot more vegetables.  My wife has recently begun growing a garden and we eat more fresh vegetables with lunches and dinners.  It’s amazing how much healthier they taste than what you generally buy at the store.

We recently moved the Stayhealthy Kiosk at Fantasy of Flight from our employee break room into the attraction area for our patrons to use.

Our Wingwalker character Penelope H. (Hang On!) Sparstrutter on the Stayhealthy Kiosk that is now in the Attraction!

One of the things we intend to do is to turn it around for privacy purposes as well as put a three-panel backdrop behind it with different texts to educate and provoke thought in the Fantasy of Flight way.

The center and title panel will be a quote from a famous Chinese philosopher and applies to just about everything we undertake in life.

With many dreams and goals, I have learned the profoundness of this saying and apply it to much of my life.  It takes time to learn and do great things and I’ve learned from my experience that patience is a virtue.  Also, it really is not about getting there; it is – ALL ABOUT THE JOURNEY!

The left panel will tell our patrons how Stayhealthy has the potential to help the future development of Fantasy of Flight.

The right panel will entice our patrons to check out their health with the potential of helping their future.

As you can see, we’ve tried to deliver the information in the Fantasy of Flight way where our patrons self-discover themselves for themselves.  We’re not only looking forward to healthier employees, but healthier patrons, and a healthier Fantasy of Flight!

Kermit

New Storage Facility and Tour!

We recently completed another Storage Facility across the street from Fantasy of Flight to compliment our first one and are excited for several reasons.  First, it will give us some well-needed breathing room and give us the ability to make room in our Maintenance Hangar for the Douglas C-47, which we recently flew over from England and left on display at the EAA Oshkosh Museum.  Second, we purchased two road-legal trolleys to be able to take Fantasy of Flight patrons over to tour them as part of our normal ticket price!

Orignal facility on the left and the new one on the right.

Each building is 20,000 square feet!

There will be an opportunity to not only shuffle some of the airplanes on display in the Fantasy of Flight hangars but also give the restoration shop some long-needed space.  For the die-hard aviation enthusiasts, they will soon get to see a lot more of the collection!

For those of you that purchased the Wizard of Orlampa DVD we sell in the gift shop, you got to see a brief glimpse of how packed the current building is with airplane parts.  You have to crawl over stuff to get around as there is very little floor space to walk.

Small glimpse of the current facility showing Lockheed 14, B-29, and B-17 fuselages!

Pallet Racking has been assembled around the perimeter of the inside and my guys have started moving airplanes over from Fantasy of Flight.  The now disassembled AT-11, that had been stored in the Maintenance Hangar, became the first tenant.  Soon we will begin thinning out the first building and filling the new building, and in a manner that will allow our patrons, and my guys, to actually get to everything!

New building with Pallet Racking around the perimeter, AT-11 in the distance, and our Gas Balloon Gondola hanging from ceiling!

Since most people in the aviation world are aware that the National Air & Space Museum has their off-site Silver Hill Storage Facility in Maryland, I’ve decided to call ours the Golden Hill Storage Facility!  Now I’ll never admit to it, but there might be a subtle innuendo there!

Golden Hill Express!

I’m not going to make any predictions as to exactly when we’ll be open for business, as there is a LOT of work to do.  Give us about three months and we’ll have a better idea.  One thing is for sure . . . when we do open for business it will be posted on my blog!

Kermit

 

Rare Airplane begins to Shine!!!

We are slowly making progress on a very rare Seversky P-35a, which I acquired it in a trade many years ago with the USAF Museum.   The P-35 was a mid-thirties fighter that saw limited combat at the beginning of WWII in the Pacific.

There are only three of these single-seat aircraft left in the world and this will be the only one that will fly!  The two others are on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio and the Swedish Air Force Museum in Stockholm.

I am very fortunate to have on my restoration crew sheet-metal magician Ricky Reeves.  He has been the main person doing the work.  Once the Stinson L-1 is completed and flying, which is getting close, Paul Stecewycz will join him on the project.

Restoration Specialist Ricky Reeves putting the final touches on the side hatch.

Since we knew this would be a long-term project, we made the decision early on to reverse the normal process of restoration.  Normally, everything would be taken apart, documented, the basic frame restored, and then parts added as they are completed.  Instead, we have taken one part off, restored it, and then taken off another!  Once we finally get down to the basic fuselage and it’s restored, all we have to do is put all the parts together!

Obvious restored parts! The side hatch is for a mechanic to sit in the back!

The airplane came from the Swedish Air Force and has a significant amount of pitting and surface corrosion from being stored in underground bunkers during WWII.  The plane received additional damage in 1992 during Hurricane Andrew, mostly to the skins we will be replacing.  It is our intent to replace all external skins, shine them up, and use as much of the internal structure as possible.

We have some wing jigs made and will begin on them at some time in the future.  We recently assembled some of the parts to show off what has been accomplished so far.

Tail Feathers and Tailcone

If you want to follow the progress, come by Fantasy of Flight and check it out, as it’s part of the Daily Restoration Tour.  It will surely be a piece of art when we get it done and I’m looking forward to not only flying it, but being able to use it as a mirror to shave!

Kermit

 

The Spirit of Lindy about to Hit the Press!

I am very excited to have completed my second illustrated children’s book in the Gee Bee Series, The Spirit of Lindy. After two years of writing, working with the artists, and endless tweaking, I recently sent it off to the printer!

It’s a great story based on the famous flight Charles Lindbergh made from New York to Paris to win the Orteig Prize in 1927.  I came up with the concept, wrote the story, and had two great Disney-trained artists, Dominic Carola (pencils), and Ryan Feltman (paint), do the artwork.  We came together to create a beautiful book that, we all feel, has more potential than my first book, All of Life is a School.

The first book was actually a condensed version of a feature film script I’d written.  At the time, I owned several of the ten airplane characters in the book.  Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to collect another character here and there and eventually realized life was leading me to collect all ten!  I now have seven on display at Fantasy of Fight!  There’s a possibility to collect two others but the third, Curtiss, will have to be built from scratch, as only the original exists and is in National Air and Space Museum in Washington.  Something tells me, I don’t think they’ll be willing to part with it any time soon!  :-(

Cover Art including Questions on the back to help teach History in a Fun Way!

While creating the next book, and to save myself some money, I got smart this time and made sure I only included new characters that I already had in the collection!   This will be my approach for future books in this series, as I’ve got plenty to work with.

Two new characters making their debut are Geoffrey D. H., an enthusiastic DeHavilland 4 Mailplane with a grand idea, and Lindy, based on the Spirit of St. Louis.  Of course, it all takes place at Fantasy of Flight where Gee Bee Zee, Puff, and all their friends pursue Geoffrey’s idea, build the plane, and learn a valuable life lesson in the process.

Geoffrey D.H. makes his debut!

Currently, I’m awaiting a sample copy from the printer to approve before we run the presses.  As with All of Life is a School, the first run will be for 5000 books.  I’m hoping to have them by the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In in late March 2012 but this may be somewhat tight, as the printer is currently on vacation and I’m not sure where I may end up on their schedule.  If I don’t make Sun ‘n Fun, I will definitely be signing copies at the Oshkosh Fly-In in July and the Reno Air Races in September.

So far, I’ve sold over 6000 copies of All of Life is a School out of the Fantasy of Flight gift shop, on the Internet, at airshows and other smaller events.  I’ve had no luck trying to break into the major bookstores so, I’m quite proud to have sold this many on my own.  I actually have signed so many books the non-autographed ones are rarer and probably worth more!  :-)

Lindy is Ready to Go!

Since the book will now be printed in 2012, I’ve missed the deadlines for entering any 2011 contests.  I’m excited to submit it, as I believe it has as much, or more, potential than All of Life is a School, which won a Bronze independent Book Publishing Award!

I have concepts for another dozen books in the Gee Bee Series and now have to think about which one to focus on next!  Once I get The Spirit of Lindy books in hand, the real work will begin trying to promote and sell them!  At least I’ve laid the foundation with the first book and already have an email list and somewhat of a following.

I’m still learning the business, which is all but impossible to break into for a first-time author.  I can only apply what I’ve learned so far and hope to implement some new things as well.  But, hey . . . now I’m a two-time author!  We’ll see.

Kermit

Sopwith Snipe Flies!

My Sopwith Snipe has been completed, signed-off by the authorities, and recently test-flown!

All this is courtesy of Peter Jackson’s great interest and efforts building up very authentic reproductions of famous WWI aircraft.  As mentioned in a previous blog, I did a trade with Peter for the Snipe and Albatros and sent down several engines they overhauled for the projects.

Snipe being Rigged for Flight!

Since this is the first Snipe built by Gene DeMarco and The Vintage Aviator Ltd. (TVAL), it took considerably longer than my Albatros, which already had a prototype flying.  I blogged about my exploits in April flying the Albatros at the Omaka Airshow.

I chose to paint the Snipe in the colors of highly-decorated WWI Canadian Ace Billy Barker, who was the 12th highest scoring ace in WWI with 50 confirmed kills.  It represents the airplane he flew his last combat in on October 27, 1918, in which he received the Victoria Cross for his valiant efforts against enemy aircraft.

Ready to Test-Fly!

One of the cooler aspects of the restoration was that Barker and his squadron mates used to put car ornaments of the time on their airplanes to “personalize” them.  Gene and his restoration crew did some research and found the ornaments are still being made for period cars . . . by the SAME COMPANY that built them in WWI!  How cool is that?  They ordered me the one Barker used . . . a Red Devil!

Barker's personalized weapon with WWI period car hood ornament!

The Snipe uses the largest Rotary engine ever built: a British Bentley BR-2 with 230 hp!  I have seen videos of it running on a test stand and can’t wait to get it back to hear it in person.  Better yet, fly behind it!

She Flies!

As I write this, both the Snipe and the Albatros are on a ship headed to Florida.  We hope to have them assembled and flying at Fantasy of Flight and by the end of March in time for the 2012 Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In!

Kermit

Curtiss Pusher Arrival!

The Curtiss Pusher I purchased earlier this year is now at Fantasy of Flight!  Shipped down from Idaho, it made the trip in record time in the back of a semi-trailer.  With the help of my guys, we unloaded it and eventually hung the wings on temporarily while we had everyone there.

The precarious part with the help of a forklift!

While in the trailer unloading parts . . . with my three of my guys looking in . . . I couldn’t help but have them pose for a picture!

Grease Monkeys?

As mentioned in a previous blog, I think the airplane will make a great trainer for the Benoist Flying Boat we’re building.

Hangar Flying!

The airplane has since been completely assembled, inspected, and test run.  We now only await paperwork from the FAA.

Kermit

Roar ‘n Soar 2011!

We held another Roar ‘n Soar event again this year.  I flew four different airplanes each day and talked to the crowds about each one after landing.  There are many things going on at the event like; R/C planes, boat races on the lake, BMX jumping, hang gliding, a car show, music, and lots of fun things for the kids to do.

One fun thing I got to do for me was to race a Hydroplane around the course one morning.  It does about 100 mph on the straightaways!  What a rush!

What fun!

Another cool thing I got to do was demonstrate a Hovercraft I’ve had for many years.

More fun!

When I moved out of my Miami shop to Central Florida I rented it to the people that built them.  After visiting from time to time, I decided I had to have one.  It is equally as comfortable on water as it is on land and I routinely go from the runway into the retention ponds and back.  One of the fun things you can do with it is go down the runway at full speed, turn the control hard over, and do spins down the runway!

Kermit

Liberty Engine Progress!

Restoration Specialist, Andy Salter, just completed a milestone on one of our onsite airplane projects . . . the installation of a Liberty engine he overhauled himself for our WWI DeHavilland 4!

Andy makes last minute checks!

Andy is an expert machinist and comes from a background of tool and die making as well as car and airplane restoration.  He was involved in the rebuild of the Spitfire we have at Fantasy of Flight as well as several other projects I had done in England before he came to work for me.

Hoisting the Liberty to its new Home!

One of the more tedious parts of the overhaul was hand-scraping the silver babbitted crankshaft bearings, which alone took him three weeks!  Next steps on the project will be to begin installing anything that connects to the engine like fuel lines, instruments, radiator, etc.

Installed!

Andy is also working on another Liberty for our other DH-4 Mailplane so what he’s learned from this project will have a direct carry over to the Mailplane.

I can’t wait to hear one run!

Kermit

My first Product Endorsement!

I was recently asked to endorse a product for a Radio Control Airplane version of the famous Gee Bee R-1 Racer!  This was the airplane that Jimmy Doolittle flew and won the famous Thompson Trophy Race in Cleveland, OH in 1932.  They actually built two versions of the airplane: one for racing in the Thompson closed-course pylon races and another for participating in the cross-country Bendix Race from Los Angeles to Cleveland.

I'm now on the side of a box!

We’re fortunate to have a reproduction of the airplane on display at Fantasy of Flight, which has since become one of the characters in my illustrated children’s book series.  The first book is called All of Life is a School and I’m rapidly narrowing down on my second one.

It’s a cute little airplane with an electric motor.  Guess what it weighs with the motor and all the radio control gear in it?  FIVE OUNCES!  They brought one out for the photo shoot and later flew it for me off the ramp.  How cool!

While we aren’t getting paid for the endorsement, we are getting some great advertising on the side of the box to help advertise Fantasy of Flight.

I used to fly R/C airplanes when I was a kid and now joke to people that I crashed so many of them, it got too expensive . . . so I got into collecting Warbirds!

Kermit

New Attraction for Fantasy of Flight!

We are very excited about a new attraction element at Fantasy of Flight that we just installed. It’s a Confidence / Ropes Course we’ve named Wing Walk Air!

Wing Walk Air!

Last year at the IAAPA Convention in Orlando (International Association for Amusement Parks and Attractions), myself, and three of my top employees were independently drawn to its display and picked up information about it. It seemed a perfect fit for the future of where Fantasy of Flight is headed and in less than a year we had one installed!

Now you’ve got to be asking yourself, “What’s this got to do with airplanes?” It doesn’t! But it has everything to do with our future product, which is to create a place where people self-discover themselves for themselves.

Fantasy of Flight is more about the metaphor of flight and what it symbolizes to each and everyone of us: pushing our boundaries and reaching beyond ourselves. We will just happen to use it and aviation history in the current aspect of what we’re creating as a medium of delivery. And this is a great example!

After putting on a harness that safely follows you around in an overhead track, you climb a set of stairs and get to experience three different levels of fun elements to negotiate. Each element is a slightly different challenge made up of beams, open wooden bridges, and different rope elements.

Checking it out!

Most people have some fear of heights and, while immersed in the experience, you will most likely find an element that reaches your boundary and intimidates you. You get to experience and sense this boundary . . . and then have the opportunity of self-discovering yourself pushing through it! Just like life!

We intend to install pictures of wing-walkers around the experience so you can relate to the crazy things they did while you’re immersed in the experience. We will also get you to reflect on your own current journey of life with sayings such as, “What’s stopping you?” “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” “If not now . . . when?” “If you knew you couldn’t fail . . . what would you do?”

You get the idea! There are always opportunities in life to take a step beyond your perceived boundaries and the Confidence Course is no exception. Too easy for you? Let go of the safety strap and try walking across a shaky beam at 40 feet using pure balance! How about timing yourself how fast you can get through all the elements . . . and they try to beat your record!

Go back and look at the first picture of the Confidence Course and ask yourself, “How long do you think it would take me to negotiate all the elements from top to bottom?” Guess what the record is of one of my employees? Less than three minutes!

As part of the installation, we also included the option of installing a Zip Line that allows patrons to zip over one of our retention ponds.

Zippity do da!

The Zip Line uses a different harness that clips into the same overhead safety track as the Confidence Course but includes rollers that allow you to zip across the pond on cables to a tower on the other side. There, you climb a short set of stairs and zip back the other way. It’s about 600 feet total and is a lot of fun!

We still have to install a nice entrance booth, signage, and some decorative enhancements, but that shouldn’t stop you from coming out and giving it a try. If you want to experience Wing Walk Air RIGHT NOW, check out this link on Youtube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlhlMxvnebw.

We’re open for business, so come on out and check it out!

Kermit