*AIRCRAFT UPDATE*

The Jetwing trike and Moyes GTR have been SOLD!  Brian from Salem purchased both. He is really motivated and will probably make short work of getting this project flying.

All Aircraft Are For Sale!

I have made a decision to put up all of my aircraft for sale.

I am offering for sale a complete single place A10D Mitchell Wing on trailer, a two place T-10D Mitchell Wing kit, a Kawasaki 340 trike with Manta Wing and trailer, and a JetWing trike chassis with modified Moyes GTR wing.

This is not a fire sale, in that I do not necessarily need to sell any of them.  My intent
is to free my time up so that I can concentrate on one or two projects and I can spend more time flying.

Please contact me with any interest.  All offers considered.

Dreaming of Flying

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful Oregon day.  Still a little cold, as it is the middle of February, but one of those days that makes you dream of flying.  Although flying season won't be on us for several months, a day like yesterday definitely gets the wheels turning.

Of all my projects, one is finally ready to go.  The last step for the Kawasaki trike was to build a trailer for transport.  It is now finished and also functions as a mobile hangar.  The trailer has a large ramp door which makes it very easy to move the trike in and out, with standing headroom so you don't have to stoop over. 

Within the last couple of months I also made a few improvements to the chassis.  I wanted to add a dual CHT, as when I purchased it there was only a dual EGT.  This will definitely be important for monitoring engine performance.  There was also a slight twist in the mast that I was not comfortable with.  I had Bill Larson at Oregon Aircraft Design do the work which turned out really well.  I have had a lot of good experiences with Bill and would definitely recommend him.

The only thing really left to do is test fly the trike.  It has been a little while since I have flown one....so I will definitely be taking it nice and easy.  Won't be for a few months, so I guess I will have to be satisfied with dreaming for the moment!

Eureka! Found a Wing!

I finally located a wing for my trike.  It is a 17m Gibbogear Manta, purpose built, strutted trike wing.  It will fly faster than the Northwing Stratus, and will also handle turbulence better.  The wing has low hours (60) and with the red and white color scheme, it should be purdy as well.  This will be my first strutted wing.  The strutted wings generally have slightly better performance characteristics (topless), at the cost of some additional weight.
I have heard a lot of good things about the Manta....so I am excited to check her out.

The wing is in Utah.  I was able to make a reasonable deal on it with the owner Tony, and found a good freight rate through a company called Case Stack.  It is being picked up today, in its original 18' x 1' x 1' box, and should arrive here in Oregon early to mid next week!

Back to Work!

Boy, it has really been a while since I have posted here.  The ugly fact of the matter is that I haven't had a lot to post.  So...time to get back at it, and get my lazy okole (Hawaiian for rear end) in gear.

I decided that the RV storage in Creswell was not going to really work out for long term storage and aircraft renovation.  So I made the decision to move my various aircraft to a new undisclosed location up north.

Yesterday (Sunday) was a nice sunny day, so I started the process by moving my Kawasaki 340 trike, and some Mitchell Wing components to the new spot.  The new location is completely enclosed, and offers better work areas as well.

After arriving, I gave the trike a good washing and proceeded to fire her up.  I primed the fuel, checked throttle to be in the low position, choked the carb, turned on the ignition, and started to crank her.

After several vigorous pulls, she fired right up.  I ran her for 10 min-15 or so, at low to medium rpms, then shut off the fuel and ran her dry.  Temps on the EGT gradually arose as expected and I shut her down when I started to reach 1100 degrees.

Next step on the trike is to some minor polishing here and there, but as soon as I can match up a wing....she will be ready to fly.  I am currently on the lookout for a North Wing Stratus, which should be a good match.

Hopefully, next weekend will provide good weather and I will move the Mitchell Wing up north as well.

And Yet Another Trike!?!

Yes you read correctly...I now have yet another aircraft.  Yikes! 

On my last trip to Hawaii I had made a trade with a trike pilot friend who is now aspiring to be a paraglider pilot.

I traded a full rig, wing, harness, reserve, etc., etc., for a trike wing and chassis.
At least this one was not located so far away from where I live....up in Banks, Oregon, which is about 20min W of Portland.

I made the trip up this weekend staying at Russel's (flying cohort) house Saturday night.  We went out to Banks on Sunday and collected all of the gear which included, Jetwing Trike with 440 Kawasaki engine (same as on the A-10), 3 fin Ivo prop, balistic chute (unmounted), and Moyes GTR wing.

Everything is in pretty good shape....just needing some clean up and some minor fiddling here and there.


I am starting to think that I may have some sort of Obsessive/Compulsive aircraft collecting disorder.

Anybody know the number for 911?

To Idaho and Back

It has been a really long time since I have posted....so I thought I better get back on track.  It is now clear to me that this blog is going to be expanded to include other flying adventures beyond the Restoration of the A-10.  Apparently I will do anything to sidetrack a project...including and not limited to starting 2-3 more projects simultaneously.  It is amazing that I ever get anything done at all.

Anyway...long story short, I ended up buying another aircraft.  Or at least half of one.  I previously owned a trike (hanglider trike) and had been itching to get another one.   I spent a lot of time trolling on Craigslist and Barnstormers for deals....and a month or two back found one that I liked.  It was the chassis and engine, sans wing, single seat, Kawasaki 340 engine, instruments, power fin prop, etc.....a nice Light Trike setup.

Only hitch was that it was in Idaho....and not only in Idaho....but way on the North Eastern side of Idaho.
After e-mailing the owner back and forth and talking to him on the phone, I made a deal on the trike, contingent on me coming to Idaho to pick it up.  This deal was made just prior to my last month long trip to Hawaii and would have to wait until I returned.

After returning from Hawaii I set the date and off I went on my adventure.  I left at 4am Friday morning, driving solo, with my trailer in tow.  After about 14 hours and 800 miles I made it to my destination in Rigby, Idaho.  Greg (trike owner) very graciously talked me in on the final few miles to his place, where he was waiting to transfer ownership of the trike.  The trike was just as described and advertised, and I wasted no time loading up to get ready for the trip back.

Off I went to start the return trip to Oregon.  One of the highlights of this trip occurred on this late night exodus through Idaho.  I drove into and through one of the most amazing Lighting and Thunder Storms I had ever seen.  The Thunderheads were almost indescribable with dark fingers reaching down from the sky to the silhouetted landscape.  The strikes were bold and numerous....and I could not help thinking as I was driving along that the trike sitting in the trailer behind me...with it's tall mast....made an inviting target.

Anyway...I drove to about 1 am in the morning (Sat.) at which point I found a rest stop, and collapsed in the back of the van for a few hours of fitful sleep.  At 5:30 am I was back up and on my way.

I was back in Oregon early afternoon on Saturday....made a short stop to drop the trike in my RV storage slot at Creswell (keeping the A-10 company)....making it to my house at about 4 pm.  Yikes....1600 miles in about 36 hours....I was wiped out.

I have vowed that this is my last long cross country trip to bring back an airplane......I guess we'll see.