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.

WACO ZPF-7 N5ZP

N5ZP, formerly N29904, the latest creation from the team at RARE Aircraft is near completion. A few items to address and finishing touches for N5ZP (project Kilo-7) are all that's left before it takes to the sky for the first time. Overall we're very pleased with the results on this remanufacture. Most important, so is the owner. To see his reaction yesterday when viewing the final product was the paramount of reward for the entire process. We will be doing a full air to air photo shoot soon. Stay tuned to the web site for the final photos. Thank you for checking in!

RARE Aircraft Web Site change ups

We're doing some spring changes to our web site. Our last change was to add some of the magazine articles about our restorations to the site. On the bottom center of the home page there is a button titled; RARE Aircraft Press Releases.
A common request is more photos. We are working hard to add more photographs of finished aircraft, restorations in process and sales aircraft with video walk around. If you all keep asking for more we better listen up and, give you more! In addition to the video walk around on sales aircraft we are also posting PDF's of logbooks. If there are features or photographs you are interested in seeing please send us an email with your suggestions. We want to consistently refresh our site for continued viewing enjoyment. Thank you for visiting our site and blog. The PA-18 we are offering has the first virtual walk around. Next will be the Carbon Cub SS. Check the for sale areas of the home site for these updates. Thank you for visiting the RARE Aircraft site and blog!