By Peter Covino
Entertainment Editor
Like something out of a haunted airplane in a Twilight Zone episode, Fantasy of Flight will host a series of after-hours special events that explores the paranormal in the hangars and aircraft at the popular aviation attraction.
NightFlight kicks off at Fantasy of Flight Jan. 30 with additional dates with the paranormal Feb. 13 and 27.
The four-hour experience should be an interesting night for both believers and non-believers of the paranormal.

“We’ve had a number of very interesting paranormal occurrences at Fantasy of Flight since we opened in 1995,” Kermit Weeks, owner and creator of the Polk City attraction, said.

For years, visitors and workers have talked about unexplained occurrences such as unidentifiable noises, temperature changes and the detection of mists and shadows. The stories did not escape the paranormal community and Florida’s Apollo Paranormal Investigations, a nonprofit investigative team out of Apollo, near Tampa, wanted to explore the situation further.

API’s team of paranormal investigators (or “ghost hunters” to which they are more dramatically referred in popular media) conducted a series of scientific explorations through Fantasy of Flight and on a paranormal-activity scale between 1 and 10 assigned the vintage aircraft collection... an 11, according to Fantasy of Flight officials.    Based on the team’s conclusions, Fantasy of Flight will premiere nightFlight, an after-hours program that offers adventurous visitors four full hours to explore the unexplained.

Paranormal activity in and around the restored aircraft doesn’t surprise Weeks.

“It never occurred to us to explore them until we were approached from two completely different and independent paranormal groups wanting to investigate our facilities,” Weeks said. “I personally believe the apparitions and energies that have been experienced are not only connected to specific airplanes exhibited but the environment they are housed in as well. There have been movements of objects, voices heard, apparitions showing up in photos and actual sightings.  Fantasy of Flight is all about going beyond ourselves and we encourage not only our guests, but our paranormal friends as well.”

Central Florida residents and tourists will get their first chance to investigate the phenomena beginning at 9:30 p.m. Space is limited.
Guided by a skilled team of investigators, guests will be trained in the operation of tools and devices that professionals use to determine the difference between coincidences and inexplicable phenomenon.

The experience should prove to be interesting for both skeptics and believers, Kim Long, Fantasy of Flight general manager, said.
“Whether you’re inclined to believe in the spirit world or scoff at it, our goal is to first share with everyone what some feel is the haunted history of the Fantasy of Flight collection,” Long said.

“It is designed as a hands-on adventure as participants become familiar with the tools and techniques professionals use to conduct paranormal investigations. They become part of a team that actually searches for evidence of supernatural activity and will have a unique experience to talk about for many years to come.”

During an orientation session, guests will be given refreshments and an opportunity to share with others their own encounters with the paranormal. Next, all explorers enter a torch-lit labyrinth to set the stage for what is to follow at the Fantasy of Flight hangar.  Here, the trained API paranormal investigators share evidence of apparitions and mysterious sightings captured on audio, video and film. The guides will then instruct their teams in the use of equipment and investigative methods of capturing data before setting off on their exploration.
After midnight, the groups will reconnect for a debriefing and to share with others the results of their investigations from personal encounters to questionable sensations to concrete audio or visual evidence.

“By 1:30 a.m., we hope that our curious explorers will have experienced what so many of our employees, guests and paranormal re-searchers have witnessed in the past,” Long said.
“They’ll have learned about the history of our vintage planes, they’ll know what it’s like to be part of a paranormal investigation and perhaps they’ll have made contact with these unexplained energies who – like all of our visitors – have an affinity for vintage aircraft.”
Tickets for the special nights, including a Feb. 13 Valentine’s Day event, are $75 per person.
Participants are encouraged to bring a camera, voice recorder, video recorder and extra batteries.

Due to the subject matter, this event is recommended for adults.  Participants must be at least 16 years old and accompanied by an adult if under 21 years old. For more information, visit www.fantasyofflight.com/nightFlight. To make a reservation, call 863-984-3500.