Flight Training - November 2014 - 56

DEBRIEF

A pilot's perspective
IN 1977, Weeks qualified
for the U.S. Aerobatic
Team in an airplane he
designed.

KERMIT WEEKS

COLLECTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE
Kermit Weeks' love of aircraft-all
kinds of aircraft-is so boundless
that he opened his private collection to the public. In 1995 he
unveiled Fantasy of Flight in Polk
County, Florida, a 300-acre facility
housing aircraft from virtually
all eras: a 1913 Benoist XIV; a 1915
Nieuport 17; a 1930 Sikorsky S-39;
a 1945 Supermarine Spitfire Mk
16; a 1954 Bell 47G; a 1954 Grumman Duck, and too many more
to list here. In April 2014, Weeks
shuttered the museum (the facility
remains open for private functions), saying he is creating a new,
future attraction.

PLUS Watch Weeks and his
"Kermie Cam" fly the Grumman Duck.

EXTRA: Weeks has written
children's books whose
characters are based on
Golden Age racing airplanes such as the Gee Bee.

TOO MUCH FUN...I had a
bunch of other friends who
were all learning to fly [at the
same time]. We would schedule our airplanes at the same
time [and fly around together].
I was having too much fun flying by myself with my friends.
Eventually I got my private

HOURS: 6,000 to 7,000
hours in production
aircraft

single-engine land; instrument rating; commercial
certificate, multiengine
land and sea; rotary;
numerous type ratings,
including B-17, B-23, B-24,
B-25, B-26, and C-47.

56 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

license at 70 hours. My motivation for that was, there was
a Citabria on the airfield you
could rent, but you had to have
a private pilot certificate.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...I'm
just about to get my autogyro
[rating]. I have an original 1937
auto gyro but I haven't flown it
by myself.

FAVORITE AIRPLANE...I
always say they're like kids,
you gotta love them all; they
all have their history, quality,
and traits. If I could keep one
airplane, which one would
I keep? At this point, even
though I've not flown it yet,
Howard Hughes' Sikorsky
S-43.

ADVICE FOR STUDENTS... My
advice is the same to anybody
on the planet: You gotta be
true to yourself and follow the
energies, your passion. Be true
to yourself and follow your
dreams, but do it in a way that
leads you beyond yourself.
MIKE FIZER

CERTIFICATES AND
RATINGS: Private pilot,

STARTED IN AVIATION...In
the late 1960s, probably 1970,
you could clip a coupon from
Cessna for a $5 flight lesson.
I already knew I was hooked
because I'd been flying model
airplanes.

WHO: Kermit Weeks,
author, aircraft collector



http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Flight Training - November 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - November 2014

Contents
Flight Training - November 2014 - Cover1
Flight Training - November 2014 - Cover2
Flight Training - November 2014 - Contents
Flight Training - November 2014 - 2
Flight Training - November 2014 - 3
Flight Training - November 2014 - 4
Flight Training - November 2014 - 5
Flight Training - November 2014 - 6
Flight Training - November 2014 - 7
Flight Training - November 2014 - 8
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Flight Training - November 2014 - Cover3
Flight Training - November 2014 - Cover4
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