by By SHELDON KIRSHNER, Canadian Jewish News

POLK CITY, Florida — The history, exhilaration and romance of aviation are evoked at two facilities in Polk County in Central Florida – Fantasy of Flight in Polk City and the Florida Air Museum in neighboring Lakeland.

Fantasy of Flight, close to Disney World in Orlando, has the largest private collection of vintage aircraft in the world and lets visitors experience bi-plane and hot air balloon rides. The Florida Air Museum contains vintage planes, too, but its biggest claim to fame is its Howard Hughes memorabilia.

Given Florida’s historic affinity for flight, it is not by chance that it has two of the finest aviation theme parks in the United States. The world’s first commercial airline, the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, launched operations in 1914, while the world’s first international air line, Chalk Airways, commenced operations in 1919.

As something of an airplane buff, I was intrigued by the opportunity to visit Fantasy of Flight, which is conveniently located just north of Interstate 4 at Exit 44. Founded by former air acrobatics champion Kermit Weeks, a flamboyant man with a ponytail, this theme park has something for everyone.

Before embarking on the official tour, I signed a waiver form, which enabled me and two fellow journalists to enjoy a 10 minute ride in a brown and yellow four-seat New Standard D-25 flying ma chine. Of the 62 originally built in New Jersey in the late 1920s, only seven are left, and two are found here.

After donning a helmet and goggles, I climbed into the front seat. The other two passengers sat directly behind me, while the pilot, a lanky fellow, squeezed himself into the back seat.

The plane taxied down a grass run way near a major high way, turned around, sped up and took off, its engine whining. Flying at about 70 miles per hour, we reached an altitude of approximately 1,000 feet. Below us were citrus orchards, lakes, a housing estate and a rib bon-thin road.

When the plane dipped its wings, I developed butterflies in my stomach. The landing, however, was velvety smooth. Back on terra firma, I joined a guided tour of the interior of a World War II B-17 bomber Flying Fortress and watched two short films on the early, clumsy attempts at flight and the evolution of air warfare.

Having digested these tidbits of air folklore, I walked through a massive hangar where 40 of Weeks' 160 vintage aircraft are displayed. They have been lovingly restored and are now in mint condition.

The first aircraft that caught my eye, the B25J, is historically important. Six teen of them took part in the first U.S. air raid on Japan after Pearl Harbor.

The Lockheed Vega (1929) and the Thomas Morse Scout fighter (1918) hail from earlier eras. The legendary aviatrix, Amelia Earhart, flew a Lockheed Vega across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. The single-seat Scout was used as a trainer for rookie combat pilots.

The F4U-4 Corsair (1945), the first fighter to exceed a speed of 400 miles per hour, helped turn the tide of the war in the Pacific theatre. There are at least two replicas in the hangar and both are of huge importance in the annals of aviation. The German World War I ace, Man fred von Richto fen, dubbed the Red Baron, achieved 19 of his victories in a Fokker DR-T Tri-plane (1917). Charles Lindbergh was the first aviator to fly across the Atlantic, in 33 hours in 1927, thanks to the Spirit of St. Louis.

Having seen Weeks’ unrivalled collection of planes, I sat in a simulator as I tried to intercept a hostile Japanese warplane. Not surprisingly, I was shot down in a flash of black smoke and leaping flames. So much for my skills as a pilot.

I was not subjected to any such challenge at the non-interactive Florida Air Museum I paused at several planes and two, in particular, interested me:

• The 1928 Ford Flivver, which was designed as a "plane car" for the average Joe until it was permanently shelved after a test model crashed, killing its hap less pilot.



• The Aeronica C-3 Collegian Razorback, the first mass-produced light aircraft manufactured in the United States (1931 to 1937). At the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame exhibit, I looked at framed photographs of Joseph Kittinger, who broke the sound barrier parachuting from 102,800 feet; Paul Tibbets Jr., the pilot of the iconic Enola Gay, which dropped an atomic bomb on Japan; and Howard Hughes, the aviator, industrialist and film producer/director.

Hughes’ leather flight suits are exhibited inside a glass case and his memorabilia, including photographs, documents and newspaper clippings, are housed in a special archive room.

Within Polk County, accommodation is no problem. In Lakeland, look no farther than the functional Hampton Inn & Suites, where breakfast is complimentary and shopping is close at hand at the Lakeside Village out door mall.