The other things in life.

[Harter66]

1st I hope we're all having a quiet uneventful long weekend.

For this weekend I went into"the city"to do an annual inspection for a long time friend/customer,actually the last, the others have given up flying and most of their other presuits for walkers and oxygen bottles.

This was w/some dread, no mistake, I love old airplane smell, and all of the contradictions that come w/them,the high octane leaded gasoline,oil that's just oil,all of the hand fitted parts and polished bits, clean and shiny on the inside and out. The dread comes of course from what we will find worn,broken or just plain used up after she's 60 this year and sporting some 6000 hr,about 700k mi. The last 5 years were weeks of tear down,sheet metal work,rigging checks,chasing cracks,hard starts and finally culminating in magneto overhauling and a top overhaul of the engine. We pulled all 6 new valves,guides,seats,cermichrome,pistons,rings,wris t pins,caps,long stores short it all reached a point where it just wasn't fun any more.

This year it all paid off in and out in a day and a half,no broken parts,suspicious kinks or wrinkles, fouled plugs, heck the oil was barely dirtied. We put in a circuit breaker and a nut plate, just waiting for my IA to sign the books so we can go run a quick trip around the valley ..........................er test run/check for leaks.

By the way she's a 51' Model 35B Beechcraft Bonanza w/the speedslope windshield,and a "P" back window and square tips. For the gear heads among us she cranks out 225HP from the Continental" E" engine w/dual magneto ignitions,dual spark plugs,self regulating/altitude compensation Bendix induction,full tubular exhaust w/high flow mufflers,no vacuum lines,no emissions controls,cold ram air intake and 471cid at 7:1 compression.

Somehow that V-12 Rolls always seems more impressive...................

[Harter66]

Just seemed like you ought to see her too.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_123384e63b145bafb0.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=2030)

[oneokie]

Very nice.

[Digger]

Thank you for the back ground and pic .... yes the numbers are catching up with the "baby boomer " or there a bouts generation of private pilots .... hate to see the change in the private aviation industry as time goes on.
I Know of pilot/owners in the past that have truly retired from age or financial reasons and with the times and economy taking it's toll on such a rewarding and thrilling activity ... used to be able to fly low dollar so to speak with all the Piper and Stinsons , Aeronca , etc , ... such fun ..

Now the latest news about the Feds announcing to be on the look out for small planes possibly being used in terrorist attacks ...... talk about being on the list if you own guns and a airplane .... here come more rules and laws ....

Still ... once in a while I manage to come up with a reason at work to go get some more supplies we need from a local business at the airport , an excellent machine shop that puts out products that we use ....wonderful people.
just happens to have a good size hanger attached with a beautiful B-25 inside .. hope to get a closer look someday , comes out on occasion for the local air shows now and then .

Can't tell I miss the once in a while "hop in and a lets fly around the valley for a bit " now and then in days gone by ...

digger

[Harter66]

Digger,

Stead or Carson,perhaps,Minden? Maybe we've met. I spent several years at the races too,down w/the T-6's . Lickity,Sheba,Miss Iris,Undecided,Miss Appropriation.

[frankenfab]

I would love to learn how to fly! Being a licensed pilot wouldn't be to bad, either.:kidding:

I envy you guys!

I have a customer that makes dump doors for the crazy high HP turbo-prop fire fighting planes. I always get excited when I get to go there and they have a plane or 2 in the hangar.

[Harter66]

Alas, I'm just a lowly wrench bender. I do ofcourse have to be present for all return to service test flights. I've traded some labor hrs for flight time. The BP excludes me.

[Digger]

Hey there Harter , don't get me goin .... I talk to much as it is ....... real local is Minden , which has changed a bit since I was bouncing around .....
The other local I refer to is Carson , which is what I was referring to earlier ....lots of nice toys in that area .
Not a pilot , as I could have or should have but my vision/glasses kept me from going all out ,but was always a big fan .

High school days , got a job as a line boy at El Mirage field in southern Cal. .... Glliders ! down the road aways from Adelanto , Victorville ....back when there was a George Air Force base there also.
Was able to catch a ride once in a while in the gliders so I gained a few hours time eventually .... but what was also so much fun was what they were using for tow planes .... Ryan PT-23 "s ... a WW-2 trainer back when .
What a kick ! .. open cockpit tandem seating , low wing , 220 hp continental radial up front ... now there was a ride !
Those toys is what attracted the F-4 Phantom jockeys from George to come out on the week ends to fly/work as tow pilots( besides the party's we would have on saturday nights )
Part of my job was to sit in the front cockpit , toes on the brakes, pump up the fuel pressure , crack the throttle and yell .... CLEAR ! .....as the pilot hand proped the engine , .... oops ... I forgot to mention , ignition off for the first two or three strokes of the prop... what a work out .
Ignition on and when she popped and fired sometimes backfired , talk about smoke ! than catch and start running with a roar ..... 16 years old and sitting in control of that monster for a little bit ...[smilie=w:

sorry , getting carried away here .....
to shorten things up and bypass a lot of stories ..... was up working in Kirkwood ski resort pushing snow in 1980 ... when the snow melted , looked up an old friend from those days in Minden ,
He was in the Sailplane repair business ... FAA certified ....
Ended up working with him in his shop and the airport ...(fiberglass , composite repair.. ouch )
Got to know some of the locals at the time around the area ..working with the people at Soar Minden at the time ..been around since .
As always there is more to it but don't want to put people to sleep here ..... Airplanes are such fun ! and so much history is with them..

digger

[Bret4207]

I have a whole mess of magazines from the late 40's, early 50's like The Country Gentleman and Farm Quarterly. They are filled will ad's for Pipers, Aeroncas, etc. and all the reasons a farmer/rancher should and could own one. Different days, different times. Sad that we've come to this.

[Harter66]

I remember the Balanca ads of about 1978 offering a brand new 300 to your ramp in choice of radios, colors and fabrics for just $54k . Shame today they go for about the same w/2-3000 hr on them. The Bonanza here would go quickly 35000.

Digger ,
I think I can get you a ride around the valley sometime.

[docone31]

I taught myself to fly on a Schweizer 1-19. My buddie had a J2 and he towed me up.
I have not had so much fun to this day! I got my silver C in a 2-22.
Those were the days.

[Bloodman14]

My brother works at Santa Fe Aeroservices. . . .sorry, that's all I got.

[colt 357]

Our hobbies ain't they all a labor of love. It may be tough at times to do your hobbies but don't we love every painstakin minute of them. I model railroad in n-scale and when you get at the cars weighted just right and you pull that first 70 car train around the layout that you painfully detailed. Now that is the greatest. Sound like you had fun......

[Harter66]

Digger,
I think I've been for a ride through the area shown in your post and link. Its in my email notification but not here on the board odd. Did it get deleted? Its hard to believe that you can drive into places like that out here in the middle of the desert. You come around a blind corner, bam, there it is some huge meadow surrounded w/trees all day shade, and not another person for well as far as you can see anyway. I know a place in Reese River just like it.

[fecmech]

I love old airplane smell, and all of the contradictions that come w/them,the high octane leaded gasoline,oil that's just oil,all of the hand fitted parts and polished bits, clean and shiny on the inside and out.

I only worked on recips for a very short time when I first started at American, the final days of their DC-6's but I had a few years in the Air Force in Transit Maint. I too love the smell of Avgas and the oil smoke and the sound of the big radials firing up. I didn't like working on them though, the jets were much nicer in that respect. I try and get down to Geneseo NY every couple years now that I'm retired to hear the sounds and enjoy the older aircraft at their airshow.

[Echo]

It's funny how certain smells can take you back to a happy time - my car club got a tour of the Mayal 4.1 meter Telescope, in a jungle of telescopes west of Tucson at Kitt Peak. Marvelous tour, but when we walked into the tech shop - Wham! The smell of hot electrolytic capacitors! WHAM! Back into the techie days when I was an electronics instructor on the Matador, and ham (W5HZM), and FCC 2nd Class RadioTech Licensee. Instantaneous...

[canyon-ghost]

Nice Beechcraft, I've really taken a nap at altitude in a plane like that. Those were the cadillac of private planes. Wonderful cross-country machines.

[Harter66]

I was at Truckee Ca the 1st time I was right there in the crew zone on a big radial cold start. It was a TBM. Even by the standards of the 70's I'm pretty sure the lost primer fuel was an EPA super fund sight. There was probably a half gallon of gas on the ground by the time it lit the 3rd time and ran. It was a through and through stocker, complete w/the inertia starter. There was about a 5 second wind up then the pilot pulls the drive in, nearwow-wow-Wow-chungank-wow wow woo, sploot splootwhoot whoot,clakita clakita clack clack click click.....click. Hmmmmm I guess you'd have to be there.

[MtGun44]

Old planes or homebuilt are the only ones that the average person can even think
about. Neat machines, like to work on them and fly them.

Bill

[Digger]

Love your description of the TBM there Harter ..... apologize for earlier ... was a little distracted and did post by accident to this thread for a minute as was intending for another that Lovelife has going on the prospecting ...

Finally found a pic of the plane I described a ways back ..... took a little searching , not that many compared to a lot of other models ..35583..... a real fun toy ....:happy dance:

[Harter66]

She's a beauty,

[Digger]

Harter , ... you mention Reese river ..... I take it that it is in some beautiful country also ? .. we all have a certain place we appreciate a little more than others ,
You also mentioned the Air Races , do you make it a regular every year ? .... I just glimpsed a pic of the Balloon races in the paper and it was of a formation of T-6's flying over at sunrise I think ,. very nice ....

[Harter66]

The particular place in Reese river is just about a Norman Rockwell meadow camp site in the Quakies across the creek backed up to broken not quite cliffs covered in pinions.

I spent 9yr on 6 T-6 teams 5 owners. Lickity Split,Sheba,Miss Iris and Undecided,Slo'Yeller. I had a little Chevy Luv painted up to match Slo'Yeller.

[Digger]

Your description " Norman Rockwell " says it very well .... and it sounds like you know the T-6 blind folded. !

[Harter66]

I haven't been back to the races in about 16 yr most of the people I was with there have retired from racing or passed on. Alot of the planes are still around but w new owners,new teams,new faces.

I went up to Truckee to"do a little work and get it signed off" on a AT-6D . We changed every bolt in the airframe, which was no small challenge ,think 60 something Chevy trucks. It had a T6 D cockpit and canopy bolted to a B tail section and SNJ-4 wings bolted to a T-6 C center section. The SNJ's were USN equiptment and just slightly different.

The money some of the owners put into the airplanes,well it must have been written off as R&D somehow. There's a phrase I heard too often, "its only cheating if you get caught". It starts w/custom cast pistons and goes to sand casted blower cases w/welded impellers and 12-1 gears in 10-1 cases. I remember the crew out there changing all the rockers out because they got busted for "altered ratios". Back in the air frame it starts w/teflon sticky tabs where the slip blocks used to be supporting the cowl and adding an inch to the back of the cowling while cutting 1 off the exhaust. They lock and seal or completely remove the center flap,narrow and conture ailoron brackets and use shear bolts every where they can't be covered or milled. They even tweek the cabin air flows so more air goes out the tail gear holes and less out the mains.