Receive $5 off with a toy donation at Fantasy of Flight

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POLK CITY, Florida  — Fantasy of Flight is offering visitors who donate an unwrapped toy $5 off of full-priced admission for each donation through Dec. 15.

The toy drive will benefit Toys for Tots of Polk County. Every person in a group must bring a donated unwrapped toy to qualify for the discount. The donated toys must be presented at the attraction’s admissions counter to qualify for the discount.

Not valid with any other offers, discounts or Wing WalkAir.

Fantasy of Flight is located just off Interstate 4 (exit 44) between Tampa and Orlando at 1400 Broadway Blvd. SE. Polk City, FL 33868. Regular general adult admission is $29.95. Seasonal hours during this promotion are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

For more information: FantasyOfFlight.com 

Paranormal activity returns to Fantasy of Flight

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POLK CITY, Florida — Fantasy of Flight is once again hosting nightFlight, an exploration of the paranormal activity at the largest private collection of vintage aircraft.

The event began several years ago as stories of unexplained occurrences such as unidentifiable noises, temperature changes and the detection of mists and shadows caught the attention of professional investigators or “ghost hunters.”

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Flying the Curtiss Pusher

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Kermit 2

The twin airfoil canard out front looks like a box kite, one of the prominent building materials is bamboo, and there was never a Pilot’s Operating Handbook of any kind produced for the airplane. However, when Kermit Weeks lines the Curtiss Pusher up on a 5,000-foot grass strip to take his first hop, heads turn and attention is being paid. It’s not every day you see an airplane from the earliest days of powered flight take to the air.

The airplane arrived at its new home at Fantasy of Flight in central Florida just recently to join Weeks’ ever-growing aircraft collection. Weeks and his crew of top-flight mechanics wasted little time assembling it and getting it ready to fly.

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WWII bomber crews at Fantasy of Flight

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Everyone knows how World War II ended, but many people have never before heard personal, firsthand accounts of the men and women who lived through it. On Friday, April 13, and Saturday, April 14, Fantasy of Flight will continue its Legends & Legacies Symposium Series with “Unspoken Valor: The Bomber Crews of World War II.”

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They dared to fly

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Leo Gray, 91, (left) and Daniel Keel, 89, enjoy a peaceful moment before stepping onto the dais to speak about their experiences as Tuskegee Airmen. The two have known each other since childhood, when the were both members of the same Boy Scout troop in Boston.

For three days in early February the south hangar at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida, was packed with visitors. They were seated in long rows of folding chairs, and stood on the gleaming painted hangar floor. Everyone faced the raised platform near the eastern wall, paying rapt attention to the reminiscing of three elderly gentlemen who had remarkable tales to tell.

This was the first installment of the 2012 Legends and Legacies symposium series at the central Florida aviation-themed attraction. “They Dared to Fly” focused on the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, and to tell that story accurately, three graduates of the program sat at the dais and shared their memories and experiences during two sessions each day.

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