Several years ago I sent three WWI Mercedes engines down to my friend Peter Jackson in New Zealand. He had been looking for something to copy and couldn’t find one anywhere. We cut a deal to get them all running as well as use them to help Peter remanufacture new ones! Last summer, while in NZ I got to watch my first one running on a test stand.
Of course we are very excited about putting one in an airplane and have since contracted with Fred Murrin in Pennsylvania to build us a Fokker D-7 airframe. Attached is a recent picture of the finished wings. The fuselage frame is welded up and many of the small parts are currently being fabricated. We will finish off the final details of airframe at Fantasy of Flight including – installing the engine, instruments, fabric covering, and paint. We are looking forward to having a very accurate example flying one day.
Kermit
I originally came up with the idea for the characters many years ago and wrote it as a film script including songs. Without funding for the animation, I decided to get product on the shelf and condensed it down to an Illustrated Children’s book. 
Another character from my Gee Bee Book All of Life is a School has arrived at Fantasy of Flight . . . Missy! 
I had the opportunity to show one of my Monroe Institute Trainers, Franceen King, around Fantasy of Flight last weekend. Franceen was a trainer for three of the eleven Monroe Programs I took over the last few years and has the second longest tenure as a Monroe Trainer of almost two and a half decades. I gave her the Vision Tour and let her sit in the Po-2 and Spirit of St. Louis reproduction and listen to the Audio Experiences for each plane. Later, I flew Airplane of the Day in the Fiesler Storch and gave her a ride. Between making fly-bys for the crowd, I pointed out Orlampa from the air.