kmead
Line Up and Wait
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2007
- Messages
- 675
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kmead
Great idea. There's a shop set up at Gillespie Field in San Diego (Wings-n- Wrenches DIY, 619-4499464) that is arranged for the do it yourself crowd. I always wondered if this would work in general aviation. They have a lot of tools and space for many jobs. They charge by the day and anyone can work there for as long as they need. Great people and they have been doing this for 2 years now. There may be other people doing this around the country for all I know.
I needed space to check out and repair a Mirage that blew a turbo and was forced down at SEE recently. The owner found this place that very few people knew about. It was a great experience, they hangared the airplane and received my parts. Luckily the engine wasn't damaged so I just replaced both turbos and it was ready to go last Friday. The pilot flew it direct to KHUT on Saturday and lived. No problems and the engine didn't fail!
This type of road job can really wear me down, especially on a hot sunny day. I had a great time as always with enough room left to take in the San Diego Aviation Museum and the Midway before that fun red-eye back to the east coast that night.
Most of my work is done on the road since I sold my shop (best day of my life). It's not always possible to transport the big tools that I need to do emergency repairs and pre-buys that far away. This is a perfect option for me. I carry more insurance than most shops and I don't want to compete with them but I'm not always welcomed with open arms to do a job that they don't want to do.
Sorry no pictures.
I needed space to check out and repair a Mirage that blew a turbo and was forced down at SEE recently. The owner found this place that very few people knew about. It was a great experience, they hangared the airplane and received my parts. Luckily the engine wasn't damaged so I just replaced both turbos and it was ready to go last Friday. The pilot flew it direct to KHUT on Saturday and lived. No problems and the engine didn't fail!
This type of road job can really wear me down, especially on a hot sunny day. I had a great time as always with enough room left to take in the San Diego Aviation Museum and the Midway before that fun red-eye back to the east coast that night.
Most of my work is done on the road since I sold my shop (best day of my life). It's not always possible to transport the big tools that I need to do emergency repairs and pre-buys that far away. This is a perfect option for me. I carry more insurance than most shops and I don't want to compete with them but I'm not always welcomed with open arms to do a job that they don't want to do.
Sorry no pictures.
