
I was a huge TV buff when I was a kid. I would carry my little portable 13-channel black &
white TV from room to room and never miss a program. The shows I loved most were all based
around vehicles - whether the show’s intro or premise takes place on a boat or whether the
show’s hero had a cool ride. Gilligan’s Island (the fateful Minnow), Land of the
Lost (the tiny raft that seemed to defy gravity), The Dukes of Hazzard (the
oft-criticized southern-themed ‘69 Charger), The Fall Guy (Lee’s 1982 GMC K2500
Wideside) and The Love Boat (the former Pacific Princess that made a final voyage to
a scrapyard in Turkey) were some of my favorites.
Other notables were the cars in Cannon (Frank was the man with his big-ass 72 Lincoln
Continental Mark IV), The Rockford Files (Jim's gold 1974 Pontiac Firebird Esprit was
elegantly awesome) and Starsky & Hutch (the white-striped red Gran Torino Zebra Three
is still a classic!)
But one show in particular was infinitely more mysterious than all the others. Fantasy
Island, depicting a very early version of today’s awesome but darker and edgier HBO
hit Westworld, was the fodder that made my young brain go haywire-- and it all
started with N4453, the white and yellow (now red) Grumman G-44 Widgeon that brought endless
luminaries of the day, such as Don Knotts, Abe Vigoda and Nancy Walker, to an uncharted
island to live out their innermost fantasies.
Watching that plane emerge from around the picturesque mountainside and float to a stop in
front of those luxurious waterfront cabanas was a highlight of my young and impressionable
weeknights. In retrospect, it would have been cool if the producers saw fit to paint the
plane the vibrant red it is today to match those cool doorless 1978 Dodge Aspen Wagons
(though it would have been ironic if the cars were Cordobas.)
That plane was the beginning of an hour of suspension of disbelief, awe and quite literally
fantasy, as I, too, visited this island along with those weekly guest stars. And, after all
the comedic hijinks was concluded, I would be whisked safely home after the hour was up by
the very seaplane that brought me to "Fantasy Island". I would fantasize about gazing out
the window, down at the island as we departed, and receiving a knowing wink and a wave from
Hervé atop his tower perch.
My fantasy of the mystical plane was a little bit tarnished, however, when I discovered the
vintage seaplane that appeared on the TV show from 1977 to 1984 had multiple owners
afterward. In the mid-1980s, it was confiscated by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics because
the pilot was using it to smuggle drugs.
"smiles, everyone, smiles...."
Fantasy Island Intro
2016 N4453 Flyover
Ever wonder where the passengers landing at Fantasy Island were sitting? Here is the interior of N4453!

"Welcome to Fantasy Island!"

