Kermit Weeks, creator and founder of Central Florida’s Fantasy of Flight aviation attraction and a championship aerobatics pilot, has been selected to join the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame. Weeks was inducted on Dec. 11 at the society’s sixth annual induction ceremony, held in the Florida Air Museum on the Sun ‘n Fun campus at Lakeland, Fla.
Weeks was one of three men inducted into the society this year, one of whom was honored posthumously. A pilot and aircraft designer, Weeks has placed among the top three aerobatics champions in the world five times and has won more than 20 medals in world aerobatic championships.
He began restoring and preserving antique aircraft in the 1970s and today owns more than 140 civilian and military planes, on public display at his Polk City, Florida, Fantasy of Flight since 1995. The attraction is the only one in the world offering daily aerial demonstrations featuring rare, vintage aircraft. It also features daily tours of the restoration shops where craftsmen work to restore and rebuild aircraft to flyable condition.
Also inducted this year were Zack Mosley, who flew hundreds of missions for the Civil Air Patrol during World War II and created the nationally syndicated aviation feature
“Smilin’ Jack,” as well as Ed Hoffman, designer and builder of all-wood airplanes. Mosley died in 1993.
“I am absolutely humbled to be counted among the great men and great pilots who have been inducted into the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame,” said Weeks. “I feel incredibly fortunate to be honored for simply doing what I love.”
The Flying Tigers were the American Volunteer Group, or AVG, a force of volunteer pilots and ground crew who flew in China early in World War II. The AVG was organized by then-Col. Claire Chennault, a retired U.S. Army Air Corps fighter pilot, at the behest of the Nationalist Chinese government.
Outside aviation circles, most Americans don’t know of them but in China they are national heroes. “Even small children know who they are,” said Larry Jobe, president of the Flying Tigers Historical Organization, which is working to build a museum dedicated to the Flying Tigers in China’s Yunnan Province, in one of the caves they used as a base during the war.
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The Collings Foundation is now accepting reservations for its World War II Bomber Crew Fantasy C
amp.
The camp will be held May 26-27 at the Stockton Field Aviation Museum Hangar at Stockton Municipal Airport (OS2) in California.
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Lockwood Aircraft Co. has unveiled a float package for its Air-Cam.
In other upgrades, the company’s engineers have redesigned the engine mounts to accommodate turbocharged 115-hp Rotax 914 powerplants; created updates for the latest 100-hp 912S engines; as well as developed partial and full enclosures to better shield aft-seat occupants.
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Hawker Beechcraft Corp. opened its newest Hawker Beechcraft Services (HBS) aircraft maintenance facility Jan. 5 at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (IWA) in Mesa, Arizona.
The Mesa facility will serve as the Southwest regional service center for HBS, replacing the Van Nuys, Calif., location that will close March 31, 2009.
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TrickAir recently obtained STC approval for its skis.
Two of the company’s ski models have been TSO’d for a variety of aircraft, including TrickAir’s 1500 for the original Piper J3 and PA-11. The skis also are available for the Legend Cub (pictured) and the kit-built Texas Sport Cub.
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The first delivery of a Sierra Industries‘ Super II took place late last year.
The Sierra Super II modification upgrades the Citation II’s performance by re-powering the aircraft with Williams International’s FADEC-controlled 2,820-lb. thrust FJ44-3A engines.
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Julie DeStefano, a Florida-based writer who contributes to General Aviation News, was a rider on the Donate for Life float in the Rose Parade, New Year’s Day. DeStefano was one of 26 people from across the nation who were selected to ride the float.
The Donate for Life float honored organ donors. Its purpose was to “inspire people world-wide to be organ, eye, tissue or blood donors,” DeStefano said. “We hope the tens of millions of people who watched the Rose Parade will discuss donation with their families and sign up with their respective state organ and tissue donor registries.”
Each of the 26 float riders was an organ donation beneficiary. “I received a liver transplant on April 16, 1995…and have been in perfect health ever since,” DeStefano said.
GA News contributor Julie DeStefano (second from right in green) rode the Donate for Life float in this year
Organ donors were portrayed on the float in the form of floragraphs, or portraits made of flowers. Many were done by the parents, children or other family members of the donors. In addition, more than 1,000 roses at the front of the float carried “personal messages of love, gratitude and hope to a donor, recipient or transplant candidate,” DeStefano said.
“There are currently about 100,000 people on the national organ transplant waiting list,” she pointed out.
Heavy snow tears wing off historic bomber
Heavy snow combined with rain proved disastrous for the Handley Page Hampden bomber on display at the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, British Columbia. The weight of the snow tore the left wing off the historic twin-engine bomber on December 26.
“It happened late at night,” explained Rob Currington, a member of the museum staff. “The Hampden is on display in the courtyard. During the day we had an ongoing effort to clear off the snow. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone there late at night. The weight of the accumulated snow mixed with the rain was just too much. The wing doesn’t have a spar inside because when the aircraft was restored in the 1980s, it was restored to static condition only, not to airworthiness.” According to Currington the left wing is torn at the root.
“The leading edge of the wing is still attached to the fuselage and is severely buckled. The trailing edge is torn off. The wing fell onto a display case that was underneath it. This bent the wing tip up at a fairly severe angle and the case is also damaged.”
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The second generation of Pipistrel’s Virus SW is now in production at the company’s headquarters in Slovenia.
The LSA won NASA’s Centennial Personal Air Vehicle challenge in 2007 and the NASA General Aviation Technology Challenge in 2008, boasting higher speed, range and climb rate than other challengers, along with lower cabin noise, lower empty weight and shorter takeoff distances.
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