FL Interstate Icons AWOL... But Not For Long

Florida residents commuting along Interstate 4 between Orlando and Tampa did a double take Wednesday... and not for the reason they once did. Whereas the sight of a DC-3 on its nose -- complete with a dangling paratrooper hanging out the back -- once alarmed some residents, many are now asking where the hapless G.I. Willie and his plane have disappeared to.

The DC-3 -- a roadside attraction for many, as well as a billboard for Kermit Weeks's Fantasy of Flight -- is not gone forever, but is merely being refurbished after enduring years of Florida sun, rain, mosquitos (don't laugh... those things are huge here!) and hurricanes.

Willie's plane will be back after the first of the year, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel, sporting a fresh coat of paint... as well as a whole new attitude.

Flight attitude, that is.

"We're going to recast this in a take-off attitude," said Jess Douthit, vice president of Fantasy of Flight. He said the plane not only will be reoriented in a nose-up stance, but will also be surrounded by new signs and landscaping, in keeping with a more sophisticated future tone for FoF.

The plane's nose-down stance on the ground, as well as the aircraft's proximity to an airport, alarmed many residents when the plane was first displayed eight years ago. Many even called in to the local constabulary, to report an accident.

"It's tapered off some now, but in the first couple of years we'd get 'airplane crash on the interstate' calls and, well, you know they have a runway right there, so we always dispatch a trooper to check it out," said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Larry Coggins.

"Occasionally there's a person who still calls it in," Coggins added. 

In keeping with Kermit Weeks's flamboyant media presence, he did not let Willie leave the stage without ceremony. Weeks even posed with the paratrooper -- in a flight suit, and also hanging off the raised rear of the DC-3 -- to promote Fantasy of Flight, which features about 40 restored aircraft, hot air balloon rides, and flight sims.

While seen by many as a harmless promotional gimmick, some aviation enthusiasts over the years have questioned the logic of displaying an apparent airplane accident to promote a museum celebrating flight.

"We wanted to come up with an icon that people would remember," said Weeks about his choice in billboards.

In any case, Weeks expects the recast DC-3 to be back in service after the first of the year... and, yes, Willie will be back, as well -- complete with continuing special holiday appearances featuring Santa Claus G.I. Willie, skeleton G.I. Willie and pilgrim G.I. Willie.

What were we just saying about a more sophisticated tone?

FMI: www.fantasyofflight.com