I’m taking the girlfriend & 4 kids off to Kissimmee for the 2 week Easter holiday and this just happens to coincide with the Sun n Fun Fly-in – tee hee!! We’ll do the usual theme parks for 7 or 8 days but the girlies are very keen on retail therapy and crashing out on the beach – this provides a golden opportunity for my son and I to make ourselves scarce on each occasion for 2-3 hours (or more – we hope).
I’ve been scanning the net to check out where the warbirds are and I’ve come up with Valiant Air Command – will Cocoa Beach keep the girls happy? Tom Reillys Flying Tigers Restoration facility – which I believe is the same venue as EAA – is this also the same venue for the ‘Air Museum’ that has a collection of ‘Homebuilts’ and Kermits B-29 Superfortress nose? Kermits Fantasy of Flight Museum at Polk City – any shopping malls nearby??
Finally we’ll do the Gulf coast beaches – whats happened to the aviation museum at Clearwater – gather its closed?? I’ve also heard there are a/c at KSC accesible from Cocoa or is this Patrick AFB? Have I missed anything??
Grateful for any help you guys can offer. Cheers
By: Septic - 24th February 2004 at 23:08
P35 @ Fantasy Of Flight
By: Septic - 24th February 2004 at 23:02
Just a few thoughts to add to the other posts, definately don’t miss the restoration tour at Fantasy of Flight, I went last year and it was excellent with some real gems on display including the Seversky P35.
Adjacent to Flying Tigers is warbird Adventures, where you can take a flight in a Harvard or a Bell 47. Take a wide angle lens to Flying Tigers as space is very limited. The very friendly team there are normally very accomodating with questions and photo’s etc..
Valiant Air Command at Titusville is well worth a look although when I went I had to have a guide with me, but I was the only person there! Check out the excellent Wildcat restoration. If you go to VAC, the Astronaut Hall of Fame is only 5-10 mins away if you dont have the time to go to Kennedy.
If you do the theme parks try Disney/ MGM as this has quite a few replica aircraft. P40’s from the film Pearl Harbor, a Gee Bee racer from the Rocketeer plus several others.
At Lakeland you should see some of Kermit Weeks other aircraft including the Tempest II and P 63.
I’m sure you will have a great time, I just wish I was going back this year.:cool:
By: Moondance - 24th February 2004 at 21:34
Flying Tigers at Kissimme is fascinating, but very much a working restoration shop that happens to be open to the public, rather than a museum with pristine exhibits. Go round the back and attempt to identify the shredded bits (large Corsair sections and a flattened P38 last time I was there).
Fantasy of Flight is smaller than you might imagine, but it is very much a work in progress with a major expansion starting. Last year, the cream of the airworthy warbirds (P51, B25) were visible in the second hangar, but were not closely accessible – the staff, however, were very helpful, so be polite, take some ID if possible and you should get closer (but don’t dare touch the skin of the P51!) Highlights of FoF are the restoration shop/backlot tours – some amazing glances into the storeage areas, the engine store has to seen to be believed – times are advertised, don’t miss.
Haven’t been to Valiant Air Command, for me Kennedy Space Center is just about the finest aerospace museum on the planet and I’d rather see that (again and again) than VAC. Even the women folk would enjoy KSC, it is magnificent. I’ve never seen any historic aircraft at KSC, but the collection of space hardware (and the way it is displayed) is amazing.
By: TonyA - 24th February 2004 at 20:53
Also at Kissimmee are Stallion 51 with a fleet of P-51s plus a few others although, as a commercial operation, access may be limited.
Further, in an industrial unit off the approach road to Flying Tigers is White One – an FW190 airworthy restoration project.
The Splash-In at Lake Parker is also an interesting part of Sun’N’Fun – much more relaxed than the main airfield.
The museum at Clearwater is indeed closed. Most of the aircraft moved elsewhere in the area (can’t remember where) except the Neptune which was dumped at sea to create a Coral Reef.
By: Manonthefence - 24th February 2004 at 20:40
I’ll have to be brief but here goes
Reillys place – The Flying Tiger warbird Museum, Hoagland Blvd KISSIMMEE which is very near to the theme parks, an excellent museum which can take all day to do, say hi to the Cats for me.
Fantasy of Flight, right of the Interstate between Tampa and Orlando, well sign posted and an excellent museum. No shopping near by but they are used to wives being abandoned in the (superb) diner on site.
EAA Museum at Lakeland, same venue as Sun n Fun and a nice place, about 20 mins from Fantasy of Flight (westwards) signposted off the interstate
Valiant, quite close to KSC on the east coast, a nice museum but again isolated.
If you need more info PM me and I’ll let you have some links.
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February 24, 2004 at 8:20 pm