Aircraft Restoration Specialist Paul Stecewycz speaks with guests touring the current Restoration Shop.

Behind everything you experience at Fantasy of Flight lies Kermit Weeks’ vision and the emphasis he places in preserving vintage aircraft. Asked what he sees as his priority in restoration, Kermit replies, “The value in these aircraft is historic value. We aim for the highest degree of authenticity. As time passes and vintage airplanes become rarer, they also become more valuable and more effort is put on preserving them. For this reason, you’ll find more vintage aircraft flying now than you would have 20 or 30 years ago.”

The design of Fantasy of Flight reflects this value of ever-increasing emphasis on restoration. What is now the North Display Hangar was designed to be (and will eventually become) Fantasy of Flight’s Restoration and Maintenance shop, or as Kermit calls it, the “dream shop,” radiating with project rooms and specialty areas, e.g., sheet metal, wood, parts, welding. The width of the North Hangar is specifically designed to accommodate the whopping wingspan of a B-29, and the hangar door has a customized notch at the top to allow access for the tail of the biggest aircraft in the collection: the B-29 and the Short Sunderland.

As Fantasy of Flight continues to expand and more immersion hangars pop up on the field, the “dream shop” will ultimately become a reality. And just imagine the “dream” Restoration Shop tour!