New things happening this month….

New things happening this month….

Well, the heat is finally here and I haven't been spending too much time up on the property. Mostly I go up in the morning and take care of the things I need to do like watering the plants and checking on stuff. I purchased two new raised beds made from corrugated Gavalume, with some kind of paint on them to help with corrosion. I plan on putting one together this weekend and getting some pictures of it. I probably won't install them this weekend since I want to level a spot and…Read more …
As if I didn’t have enough projects…..

As if I didn’t have enough projects…..

Actually, can you ever have enough projects? I'm leaning toward 'no'. If there was a smiley emoticon in this editor I would put one here..   ;) Soooo, yeah... I'm working on a Pietenpol Air Camper. A simple, open cockpit, 2 seat, Model A Powered, airplane. Did I mention the original Piet is dated 1929? There's a thing for 1929 in my life for some reason. Both my Dodge and my Ford are '29's, and my plane was designed in that year. Kinda cool. Here's the general layout for the Pietenpol Air Camper.... I'm starting with…Read more …
Aircraft Radio Lenses…

Aircraft Radio Lenses…

Another project in the long string of micro-manufacturing and prototype work I love to do. I needed to make replicas of certain parts of aircraft for a simulator project I was working on. This particular cockpit was using King Bendix KX155 nav/coms. A friend of mine who works on aviation radios happened to have a KX155 that he was repairing and allowed me to borrow a very badly damaged lens to base my reproductions on. The upper right lens is the original that I borrowed, it literally was in pieces. The lower left…Read more …
Just flying..

Just flying..

Sometimes I just enjoy flying for the sake of doing something different that most people don't have the ability to do. If that sounds shitty, then so be it. It's the truth and I'm not going to apologize for it. I lost the ability to fly for a while due to a motorcycle accident, I wasn't cleared medically to be a pilot, and it was a rough time in my life. I can fly again, and I'm going to enjoy it while I can. Some pics from Friday. Oh yeah. It's raining in…Read more …
Picking up another airplane

Picking up another airplane

Another student disabled one of my airplanes, so we had to go do a recovery run to Pismo/Oceano California. The propeller on our Tomahawk took a bit of a beating, and when there is the possibility that a propeller impacts the ground or a heavy object the entire engine must be disassembled and inspected before it can fly again. Since we can't fly it back, it had to come home on a trailer.   It was a nice day, sunny with a slight breeze and a temp of around 78 degrees. There was…Read more …
Busy weeks……

Busy weeks……

So I havent posted a lot the last few weeks. It's not because I'm slacking in Vegas eating really good food and enjoying the suites at my favorite hotel, although its been a while and I really need to get back to my 5 Vegas trips a year schedule. Nope, work has been crazy. On the bright side I have been able to see some really neat stuff. I was up at Yolo county airport last week while they were doing air-ops for the big California fires. I took a bunch of photos…Read more …
Airplane Rescue

Airplane Rescue

Part of my job is to find and recover airplanes that have been forgotten or not wanted anymore. I'm usually looking for Piper aircraft since thats what we use as our trainers at the school. Last week I found one, it had been disassembled and sitting for quite a few years, but before that it had barely been flown. It's kinda like finding a 70's era muscle car that someone barely drove then sold it to a guy who tore it apart and let it just collect dust in the garage. In other…Read more …