Debrief /

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.

Who: Kermit Weeks, author, aircraft collector
Hours: 6,000 to 7,000 hours in production aircraft
Certificates and ratings: Private pilot, 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.
Extra: Weeks has written children’s books whose characters are based on Golden Age racing airplanes such as the Gee Bee.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Plus: Watch Weeks and his “Kermie Cam” fly the Grumman Duck.

In 1977, Weeks qualified for the U.S. Aerobatic Team in an airplane he designed.