What did you do today?

Jim K said:
And you're doing this in your old hangar that's turning into a pumpkin at the end of the month? Nothing like adding time pressure.

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Oh yeah. But I'm not the worst off. Four people sold their planes. 3 derelicts and an airworthy Stearman that sold for under $50K. Wish I had jumped on that.

In the last few days they have annualled 6 planes that hadn't flown for periods of 1 to 3 years. Today they are ferrying them to a nearby airfield.

The last few planes will get carted off in pieces in early July. I have 4 days to cover my repair and reassemble to avoid that fate.

We're calling it the Fall of Saigon. Gonna ditch the last plane in the gulf and swim to a boat.
 
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Yesterday: Did an oil change on the plane. Only poured half a quart of the old oil on the hangar floor.

Today: Took off in the morning to go to Okeechobee for breakfast. I was the last one to depart, and called up my neighbor on the CTAF and asked him to save me a seat. He said breakfast is at LaBelle (X14) today. Oh, that’s right - the restaurant at KOBE is closed for their annual two-week vacation.

LaBelle has great food, as always. And really slow service, as always.

And as usual, we had a good variety of planes from our airpark: Maule, Bonanza, Air Cam, Meridian, and my 175.
 
Found out I failed as a father.

My wife and I are RVing, and youngest daughter came out for a bike ride with us. When she got to the trailhead…

Up from her car there arose such a clatter
I sprang to the hood to see what was the matter.
Pulled out the dipstick and wiped it with care
In hopes that an oil trace would still show up there.

It didn’t. Fortunately there was a gas station across the street, and four quarts of oil later (it’s a 6-quart engine) it wasn’t scary low.:eek:

But in my defense, she got married last year and her hubby convinced her he could take care of the vehicles. :rofl:
 
Finally got back on the water in the canoe I restored last year and paddled just once before realizing I'd torn my rotator cuff lifting the old canoe to make for the new.

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Tomorrow I go back home to mow the grass and spend a couple of days working on the plane.
 
Dana said:
True. After a couple of bike crashes I explain to people why I don't ride motorcycles, "I stick to safe things like antique and experimental airplanes!"
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I once told my doctor, “My hobbies include flying, motorcycling, automobile racing, and cave diving. Do you really expect me to worry about my cholesterol?”
 
Half Fast said:
I once told my doctor, “My hobbies include flying, motorcycling, automobile racing, and cave diving. Do you really expect me to worry about my cholesterol?”
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I see that you left out "participate in the PoA forum" in your dangerous hobby list. Good move! :p
 
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MauleSkinner said:
Doesn’t that sport canopy ruin the L/D? :rofl:
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It knocks it down about 3 points. But it only wears that open canopy when the sun is out in full force making more and more lift. At 360 pounds empty, even small weak thermals in the valley can keep you up all day as you go from one to the next.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Painted my wing Monday. Reassembled the plane yesterday. Flew back to new airfield today. A long week in South Florida heat. I was too exhausted to sleep last night.

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Maybe the only aircraft project ever completed on schedule. Well done!
 
Ed Haywood said:
Yes, all but one. Several sold at panic prices and were carted off in trailers. The remaining aircraft is a Stearman. It might sell to me and a partner at a panic price.
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Wow, that'll be cool if you get it. I don't recall seeing it. What sort of shape is it in?
 
midwestpa24 said:
Wait did I miss something? Didn't you just totally restore that airplane a couple of years ago?
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I restored the fuselage. I just top coated the wings, in anticipation of getting new metal spar wings in a few years. I should have anticipated not wanting to spend $50K on new wings.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Oh yeah. But I'm not the worst off. Four people sold their planes. 3 derelicts and an airworthy Stearman that sold for under $50K. Wish I had jumped on that.

In the last few days they have annualled 6 planes that hadn't flown for periods of 1 to 3 years. Today they are ferrying them to a nearby airfield.
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Wow! I guess that's how we get all the fleet derelicts flying again, close the fields they're based at!

Of course, we'd have to open up some new fields too...
 
More welding on the new landing gear for the Parrakeet. Still have to weld the front leg to the axle and add the gussets and other bits, then do it all over for the other side.

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Extracted 5 bolts from a directional bore rig. The same rig I removed 5 bolts and a pin from the same holes on Tuesday, after they had already broken off extractors trying to do it themselves. They used 1/2-13 bolts and no pins this time. They should have used 12mmx1.75 and 3 pins. So it failed almost immediately. Bolts were galled to hell and a MF'er to get out. Bolt on the right was from the other day. Nice sharp albeit a little rusty threads.IMG_4270.jpegIMG_4259.jpeg
 
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Racerx said:
They used 1/2-13 bolts…. They should have used 12mmx1.75
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Wait, you mean those aren’t interchangeable?!? :eek:

I guess if they come out hard it doesn’t mean they should require excessive force to put the new ones in. :rofl:

Not laughing at your misfortune, btw. I also won’t tell you how badly cross-threaded the oxygen sensor on my truck is after trying to clean out the threads and not getting the chaser started straight.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Wait, you mean those aren’t interchangeable?!? :eek:

I guess if they come out hard it doesn’t mean they should require excessive force to put the new ones in. :rofl:

Not laughing at your misfortune, btw. I also won’t tell you how badly cross-threaded the oxygen sensor on my truck is after trying to clean out the threads and not getting the chaser started straight.
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No misfortune for me. I got paid cash twice.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Airworthy, once some electrical gremlins are hunted down.
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I'm kinda following along with the misery you're fighting through...and happy to see you have your plane flyable. But electrical issues on a Stearman? I feel like I skipped a page in that story.
 
Albany Tom said:
I'm kinda following along with the misery you're fighting through...and happy to see you have your plane flyable. But electrical issues on a Stearman? I feel like I skipped a page in that story.
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To recap: when my airfield closed on less than 30 days notice, several aircraft owners were unable to restore their aircraft to flyable condition. Some trailered their aircraft to other locations, while others sold them.

The last remaining aircraft on the field is a Stearman. The owner was an older gent with medical issues who flew it once or twice a year. It got a new engine 2 years ago and had flown in the past year, but the owner somehow disabled the starter system while tinkering with it. He sold it last week to an aircraft broker/YouTube influencer for a ridiculously low price. The broker sent a Stearman guy down to fix it and fly it up to North Carolina. He was unable to get it started by the airfield closure deadline, so after 3 days of trying he left. Now it is sitting there. It's not worth the effort to the broker, so he just wants to unload it. My IA buddy and I are talking about buying it for the same price.
 
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