tbmI recently flew the last airplane from what was the Weeks Air Museum in Miami to Fantasy of Flight.  It was my Grumman TBM Avenger Torpedo Bomber from WWII.  I flew this airplane until it was damaged by Hurricane Andrew in August of 1992.  Over the years many airplanes were either trucked out of Miami or flown out after being made flyable.  The TBM is the last airplane to finally come home and is somewhat the end of an era.  There is only one wing left on display at the now Wings Over Miami Museum and once that leaves, the only thing left of mine in Miami will be my mother!

I flew the TBM back from California in the 1980’s after purchasing it where we put it in the colors of George Bush Sr. who flew them during the war and was shot down twice.  He was running for President at the time and the Republican National Party asked me to fly it up to Tampa for a press event.  I arrived early as the FBI had to check it over for bombs.  I told them it used to have a Torpedo!  

Anyway, when the then Vice-President Bush arrived and came out of  Air Force 2 with Barry Goldwater in tow, he bee-lined it straight for the cockpit of the TBM.  After following him up the wing and leaning over the side of the cockpit as he looked around like a kid again he said, “Kermit, I think if my life depended on it, I could take this off and get it around the patch!”

Over the years the guys at the Museum down there worked on it for me after getting the TP-40 flyable.  I went down last summer to test-fly it for the first time in over 15 years but had some magneto problems.  We sent them off for overhauled and recently went down and installed them.  After one safe 40-minute test flight over the airport I launched off for an uneventful flight to Fantasy of Flight.  Since we were on a ferry permit we will not be able to fly the aircraft until we do some additional work to bring everything up to airworthy standards.  We need to change out some fuel tanks, overhaul some instruments, clean it up a bit and put a paint job on it.  Once we do this it will be a great addition to Aircraft of the Day!

Kermit

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I recently returned from the Living Legends of Aviation Gala Event in Beverly Hills, CA.  It’s a grand party at the Beverly Hilton and is held annually.  

I was inducted into this fun and prestigious group three years ago which combines up to 70 people that are either celebrities in aviation or celebrities that are into aviation!

Last year I was walking out after the event and someone came up to me and said, “Mr. Weeks . . . Kurt Russell would like to meet you.”  Now how cool is that!  

Check out http://www.airportjournals.com/legends/ for pictures of who attended the latest event!

Kermit

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The Wizard of Orlampa DVD is now for sale in the Fantasy of Flight gift shop.  It’s 51 minutes long and begins with what we currently do at Fantasy of Flight regarding the airplane collection then slowly morphs into where Fantasy of Flight is headed in the future.

Check out a quick preview of the beginning of the show at http://www.wizardoforlampa.com.  The site is just preliminary and we currently don’t have our online sales set up yet.  If you don’t get out to Fantasy of Flight to pick one up, check back from time to time on the website.  We just ordered some DVD’s in the European PAL type version, which will be available as well.

Currently, we are working with two different PBS outlets for show on television and will let everyone know when that might happen.

Kermit

I am excited we have one of the first bronze castings of a sculpture I commissioned early last year.  It is about a foot and a half high and will be titled “Fantasy of Flight”.   And while it looks similar to Icraus it is not exactly.  Icarus was a young boy that flew too close to the Sun, his wax wings melted, and he crashed into the sea.

This sculpture symbolizes Humanity reaching beyond itself and about to take the leap to rise to a Higher Level.  Six more have been cast and we are currently playing with different patina’s, which is the color process we can give to the bronze.

You will notice there are still straps attaching the wings that are similar in dark color to the Earth it is about to leave.  This symbolizes Humanity still being bonded to this lower Reality.  The body is a medium color and the wings will be the lightest color symbolizing a Higher Reality.  We are currently doing some of the  wings in gold-leaf .

If you’ll notice, the wings are actually beginning to morph into the body, symbolizing Humanity beginning to morph into a Higher Dimensional Being.

This is the first pass at a much bigger dream.   We hope to sell these in our gift shop in both bronze and also in less expensive resin.  We are currently working towards a rotating round base that will also have the definition of Fantasy of Flight inscribed which is, “That which draws us beyond what we think we are . . . to become more of what we Truly Are!”

Our next attempt will be to refine this sculpture into a full-size one that would be displayed outside.  The biggest dream will one day be a 60 to 80 foot Icon welcoming you as you drive off of the Interstate and into the “Orlampa” property.  As you drive north, it will be coming at you as it reaches south towards the Sun.  The Sun will symbolize the “Star” in the Fantasy of Flight logo and can represent whatever you want it to be.  That could be a Dream, a Goal, or a Destiny!

Kermit

I am pleased we finally opened our tribute to the WASP’s at Fantasy of Flight.  It’s a new exhibit we hope will create an opportunity to meet our Mission Statement, which is to “Light that Spark Within!” 

As with our Audio Experience CD “We are the Past!” we are trying to accomplish that by delivering the Human Experience, through Entertainment, and in a way that people Self-Discover something about themselves.

The four panel exhibit in ourSouth Hangar is about the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots that flew all the great airplanes that the guys did during WWII, but it’s really a story we all relate to: one of overcoming obstacles and discovering the hidden potential within.  The exhibit incorporates three videos along with text as well as artifacts and tells the story of the WASP’s in a way we hope will cause you to reflect on your own Journey!

I hope everyone gets a chance to come by and check out this next step towards becoming an industry based on things that are REAL, delivered through Entertainment, and in a way that inspire you to continue forward on your Journey of Self-Discovery.

Kermit

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