A flight for two in your "Spirit of Igor" Sikorsky S-39 and a short tour of Fantasy of Flight. Winner will need to provide their own transportation to Fantasy of Flight and schedule the day/time with owner/pilot Kermit Weeks.

The Spirit of Igor is the only airworthy model of her type and the oldest flying Sikorsky in the world today. It was painstakingly restored by Dick Jackson of Rochester, NH. The project began in the 1960s, with the hull of NC-50V being discovered in the Alaskan bush. 40,000 hours and nearly four decades later, the S-39 flew again. Dick Jackson had worked with our museum for years during this challenging effort to ensure every detail to be as historically accurate as possible.

The Spirit of Igor was named for the Spirit of Africa, an S-39 owned by Martin and Osa Johnson, and for Igor Sikorsky himself. The giraffe spotting on the fuselage is authentic to a specific species. It was projected onto the hull in order for the painting to be completed.

This item has been donated by Kermit Weeks, an American aviation enthusiast, pilot, and aircraft collector. Kermit maintains the largest private collection of vintage aircraft in the world, most of which are at his Fantasy of Flight facility in Polk City, Florida. The collection contains over 140 civilian and military planes including rare originals as well as reproductions of historic aircraft, such as the Spirit of St. Louis, Howard Hughes' Sikorsky S-43, the Osa's Ark II (a virtual clone of Martin Johnson's zebra-striped S38) and of course, the Spirit of Igor that he has so generously offered to our auction listings in support of our museum. Since acquiring both Osa's Ark II and Spirit of Igor, Kermit has become a dedicated ambassador of our museum as well. If you know him or ever meet him, please thank him for his work with us and support his own amazing museum in Florida!

To learn more about the plane or the Fantasy of Flight museum now:

http://www.spiritofigor.com/

https://www.fantasyofflight.com/collection/

In 2017, Kermit raffled off a Flying lesson in Spirit...check out the video on this page to get a peek at the type of aerial views the winner of our auction item will have!

This 12" x 18" poster was created from an original photo of Osa Johnson's Sikorsky Amphibian "Spirit of Africa" is shown parked in Chanute after purchase, and before the African Flying Safari.

The airport was renamed "The Martin Johnson Airport" in 1935 after Martin conducted some flood relief in Chanute using Osa's plane to get supplies to regional areas cut off by high waters. Vern Carstens, the FOB at the airport who also piloted for the Johnson's on their African Flying Safari, was a driving force in the naming of the airport and later when the museum was opened in 1961. This image was one of the first postcards created in the 1960s to raise money in support of the museum.

Don't like this size? This poster---plus 100's of Martin + Osa Johnson's photographs---is available in our Osa's Ark Museum Store. The revenue from Osa's Ark is a vital source of support for our museum's sustainability!

https://osasarkgiftstore.safarimuseum.com/