Lost a good friend Sunday.

One of my original Oshkosh buddies passed away yesterday, 3-29. Dick Walling of Muscatine, Iowa was a Corporate Pilot, Flight Instructor and tow-plane pilot. He generously invited me and my dad to sleep in his camper in 1973 and again in '74 up at Oshkosh. He traded a belly-cleaning for two rides in his Waco CSO. He was a kind and generous man. I'll miss him. Dick was 79.

3-27 Cub Progress-The last piece of the interior fabric.

Sky had the honor of installing the last piece of the interior fabric. No to get the rest of the fuselage ready to install the outside fabric. The gear legs are already covered-they didn't take any time at all. I guess starting on the hardest part of the airplane and moving towards the easiest makes it all downhill from here. I do have a new-found respect for tailors though.

3-25 Cub Progress

Sky wedges himself up between the floor cross-braces to help apply some glue to a hard to reach place. It's hard to believe all the nooks and crannies you have to get to to install the interior fabric.

3-23 Cub Progress Big-Push Week

I want to get a lot done this week as Sky has his Spring Break and is coming out with me to work on the plane. He started out by getting up late and riding drowsily out to the airport. Glenn showed us how to glue on the interior fabric and let us have at it.

Took the day off to spend with my little-boo.

Didn't get any work done on the Cub though I'm dying to. Instead, I spent most of the day relieving my wife in the care of our little-boo. Me and Linds went out to visit the "fellas" at the airport and then went to the butterfly house. The butterfly's were nuts today, I've never seen so many of them, especially the blue-morphos.

3-21 Cub Progress Sky gets into the action!

I assembled the newly-varnished baggage compartment inside the airframe while Skyler got a landing gear-leg covering lesson from Glenn. We also cleaned out the window channels to get them ready for fabric.

03-17-09 Cub Progress-Starting to put the fabric on.

Started covering the inside of the fuselage this afternoon. It's not hard, but sort of detailed if you want it to look nice. I'm excited!

Up to visit Jim and his Standard.

After lunch with the "Barnstorming" group, we went up to New Carlisle to see Jack Tiffany's autogyro. He showed us it and a few other projects he's working on. Then we followed him over to Jim Hammond's shop where he also has a Standard J-1 under construction. The wings are partially covered and the fuselage is all together. Here Jim and Glenn discuss the Hisso engine.

Barnstoming-The Movie

Cast of Crew of "Barnstormer"-a movie about two guys in Pietenpols who dropped into a farmers hayfield and the friendship that developed between them and the farm family. The pilots, a couple of which are friends, are on the left. The farm family is on the right with 3 of the 4 crew members in the center.

We went to see the premier of the film at the Reel Film Fest held in Dayton, OH.

The Trailer for it is here: http://www.barnstormingmovie.com/trailer.htm

Watch the trailer, you'll love it!

3-6-09 Hot-tanking engine parts.

I've been bashing my head around trying to get the baggage compartment done. I'm not good with my hands. I once made two toothpicks out of a 1 x 6 in freshman shop class. They were supposed to be bookends...sigh. I finally have it almost finished and we're ready to cover the fuselage.

I spent part of today hot-tanking engine parts. This is a heated solvent tank that you put parts in for a couple of hours and then rinse. You can tell by the steamed-up glasses and steam that it's really hot. Works really well though.

3-4-09 The Standard J-1 Airplane Kit

Glenn has taken the Standard apart. It's his usual no-two-pieces connected approach to restoration. The wings are good, the turtle-deck needs a complete rebuild and those sticks you see in front are the fuselage. Oh boy.

3-3-09 My baby's sick

My little boo is sick. I hate it when the kids are ill, I'd rather be on my deathbed than have them be sick.