Флоридадағы Fantasy of Flight авиация мұражайы

Aviation museum in Polk City, Florida, USA

Fantasy of Flight is an aviation museum in Polk City, Florida. It opened in November 1995, to house Kermit Weeks' collection of aircraft that, until Hurricane Andrew damaged many in 1992, were housed at the Weeks Air Museum in Tamiami, Florida, On April 6, 2014, it closed to the public, aside from private events and on January 30, 2015, it opened a scaled down museum displaying a small selection of aircraft while the facility is upgraded for a future reopening. Many of the aircraft displayed are airworthy and some are flown from the facility's grass runways or its seaplane runway.

The facility's main buildings consist of the two large "North" and "South" hangars where aircraft are displayed, the restoration shops, an immersion environment, the gift shop, and the Compass Rose, an Art Deco diner. Across from the entrance are a ropes course and zip line amusements. Adjoining the hangars there is a tarmac and two grass runways. On the north side of the runways are a maintenance hangar and conference facility. A "back lot" to the south of the main complex contains warehouses and storage and additional restoration facilities. Storage facilities located across Broadway Blvd are accessible to the public via a guided tour. The adjacent Lake Agnes permits seaplane operations, with a designated landing/takeoff area on 18/36 and a ramp to the taxiway.

The airfield is officially known as the "Orlampa Inc. Airport" and uses the airport identifier "FA08." The field sits at an estimated elevation of 129 feet (39 m). It is designated as private use only and special permission is needed to land there. The field is generally closed to all non company traffic. The airfield consists of two turf runways: runway 4/22 and runway 14/32 The airfield appears as "Orlampa" on the Jacksonville sectional chart. The name "Orlampa" was originated by Kermit Weeks based on the airfield being approximately midway between the cities of Orlando and Tampa. Waldo Wright's Flying Service offers airplane rides for sale from the Fantasy of Flight field during parts of the year and operates a Boeing PT 17 Stearman and a New Standard D 25. The Stearman is used for 30 minute long 'hands on experience' flights, in which the customer takes control of the aircraft at some point during the flight. The D 25 is used for 15 minute barnstorming flights, in which up to four customers sit in the forward open cockpit of the aircraft as a qualified pilot flies the aircraft.

The immersion environments are part of the main facility now closed to the public, but are available as part of the facilities which can be rented for events. Visitors walk through several immersion environments as they enter the attraction. From the lobby, guests walk into the interior of a World War II era Douglas C 47 Skytrain complete with lighting and sound effects as if the aircraft were conducting paratrooper operations. Guests pass a seated paratrooper in full kit and move forward toward the Jumpmaster figure standing at the open side hatch. Over the hatch blinks a red "Ready" light which switches to a green "Jump" light as the guest approaches the hatch. Through the hatch is the entry to the attraction. Other immersion environments include a "sensation of flight" simulator, followed by a celebration of the early days of flight. Then, a passage covered by heavy shrapnel resistant curtains leads visitors into a full scale representation of the trench warfare of World War I, complete with aircraft overhead. It was, in part, due to the development of aerial warfare that trench fighting became obsolete. The final immersion display includes the collection's Boeing B 17 Flying Fortress housed in a large darkened room staged to appear as a winter evening at RAF Horham, home of the 95th Bombardment Group (Heavy) during World War II. The full scale diorama, complete with ground vehicles, outbuildings, and landscaping, represents a maintenance area and one of the B 17's engine cowlings and propellers are removed to maintenance stands in front of the aircraft. Guests can enter the plane via the aft side hatch in the tail, walk through the bomb bay, visit the cockpit, and exit near the nose of the aircraft.

For years Fantasy of Flight has maintained a storage building opposite the main property on the north side of Broadway Boulevard where aircraft awaiting restoration were stored. In late 2011, work began on a second building to double the storage space with the intention of spreading out the stored items a bit and opening the buildings to the public on a limited basis. Finally, in June 2011 preparations were sufficient to open one building for a special preview over the Father's Day holiday. The response to the limited, self guided experience was overwhelmingly positive, and the building joined the attraction's public programming in the summer of 2012, with the second building scheduled to open shortly thereafter. The buildings are known by Fantasy of Flight as the "Golden Hill" facility as a tongue in cheek reference to the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility of the National Air and Space Museum which is nicknamed "Silver Hill" by the NASM staff. Fantasy of Flight guest access to the Golden Hill facility is via over the road trolley operated from the main parking lot in the mornings. Guests are allowed to explore the facility on their own with docents present to answer questions. The facility closes at midday due to the lack of comfortable air handling equipment in the steel buildings which can get hot in the Florida sun. Ironically, the announcement that the facility would soon be closing its doors to the public has caused a significant upswell in visitors. Crowds have been so large that the facility has had to make use of its overflow parking area on multiple occasions since the announcement. As of 2017 the museum is open on Fridays, Saturdays, and most Sundays.