Airmail to France

Last Wednesday we containerized a Stearman to go to France. This airplane was a flying airplane that we were brokering and it ended up being purchased by a gentleman from France. The crew did a great job packing the bird up in short order. In just under two hours they had it secure and ready to leave. The aircraft will remain in the "N" registry while being operated in France and will be flown regularly. Hopefully all arrives in good order. This is our sixth airplane to get containerized and all have traveled without incident. Knockin on wood, Bon Voyage old friend!

4JP

The N2S-3 Stearman, N44JP is progressing nicely. We have completely stripped the aircraft down to the absolute minimum, reconditioned or replaced all that was lacking and needing attention. No stone has been left unturned. This will be a very original, stock restoration. This aircraft was actually based and did its service at NAS Ottumwa, Iowa. At one point in its life this airplane sat apart in Jamacia! Funny how these things get around and how they can come full circle. Welcome back the the midwest old training friend. Perhaps we'll get you close to your old home for a visit this year during the AAA fly in or on your way home.

New Family Members!

Last week we added two new members to the family! Russ Francis, pictured with a few of our team members and N29352 is the happy new owner of this red beauty. You may recognize the airplane as the AOPA Sweepstakes airplane that was restored by RARE Aircraft LTD and given away by AOPA in 2003. It's still looking good and sold in a week within being listed! We gave Russ a check out in his shiny new red machine and sent him over the horizon that afternoon.

Also new to the family is Pete Neal of Buffalo NY. Pete purchased the beautiful one owner 2002 Super Decathlon that we had listed and had sold new. Karen gave Pete a check out in his new bird and we all spend some time together helping getting Pete and his bird acquainted. Pete made it to Dunkirk NY the first day and made a short hop home to Buffalo the following morning. A special thanks to Dennis Borkowski, one of our ACE WACO Ferry pilots, for turning Pete onto his new bird. Dennis is also from the Buffalo area and is currently waiting for weather to clear so he can head our way in the Taperwing, N565T.
This week we're doing more covering on our current projects. Next week we're shipping a Stearman to France and preparing to send a Top Cub to Australia. Hopefully we can get some good shots to share with you all on the blog. Thank you for checking in.

N5ZP Flight Two

We were able to put another hour on N5ZP yesterday. All went well. Everything is in the green and working smoothly. So far the only adjustment needed is to turn up the volume on the show smoke! When we get the formal photo shoot done we'll be sure to post some photos. Thanks for checking in!

N5ZP First Flight

It's a bit cool and cloudy today but, still a good day for a first flight. We put the first bit of time on N5ZP today and all went well. Smooth, solid and fast are the first things that come to mind when reflecting on the flight. The team put together a fantastic airplane. To date my favorite "7". More flights and photos to come!

Warhawk

We are recovering our fourth set of Curtiss P-40 control surfaces. We recover the surfaces according to original factory drawings which makes for an interesting exercise. You will see in the detail shots here metal rods we fabricated are used rather than rib stitching. I suspect this was done to speed up the process however, the guys may disagree with that idea. Not the norm for the covering we do and thought we would share a couple of photos. A project like this is a pleasant touch of variety in the shop. This set will be painted by the shop completing the restoration Fagen Fighters & Warhawks Inc, where as the last set we did we painted camo to match an existing paint job.

Covering

We're into cover on N966CD. A Minnesota aviation icon 6CD is owned by Chuck and Jody Doyle of Webster MN. Chucks father bought the aircraft in 1948 and operated it until 2001. N966CD was used for sky writing and banner towing often seen in the sky above Minnesota flying over the cities and events such as ball games. Outfitted with a R-985, 50 gallon smoke oil tank and custom exhaust some serious sky writing could be accomplished with this Stearman. Several other details other than the smoke system make this a very custom airplane.
Chuck is restoring this airplane and returning it to the signature Doyle color, turquoise. It will also sport the same trim it spent its life in that his father designed. Chuck and Jody's Super Decathlon and Twin Beech are also turquoise. We are currently building a new set of wings adding a four aileron set with the help of John at Big Sky. The fuselage is about ready for cover and we have started on the tail feathers. We're honored to be working for our good friend Chuck and to return N966CD to the sky over Minnesota.