Monday, December 22, 2008

Herb's Plane Happy


Herb returned home Saturday night towing a mighty project, an RV-6 kit plane. His dad started it in the early 90s and decided that it was time to pass the torch, so to speak. Herb will have to make one more trip back to Florida to bring back the wings.

We have a 2100 foot grass runway along the west side of our property, so Herb is eager to complete this project and fly. He has already joined a users' group called Van's Air Force. It offers lots of technical support. Additionally, there are good pictures of completed planes on Van's website.

Herb will also join the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Our local chapter meets at a hangar about a mile and a half from us. We only have to make one left turn off our street to get there. We have to drive long distances to do just about everything, so this being so close is simply amazing to me.

From what Herb tells me, a whole social life comes with the plane. The RV airplane owners get together a lot, fly to lunch, make day trips, etc. He's also expecting all of his parents' airplane buddies to fly over to our house and check up on him--I mean visit. I'm dusting off all of my "feed a crowd" recipes in anticipation.

We're hoping that Herb's folks will come stay for a month or two in their motorhome. Herb Sr. and my dad would have so much fun bossing, I mean supervising, Herb and Nathaniel. Herb's dad got a lot of experience working on planes in the Air Force, and he and my mother-in-law got their private pilot's licenses after he retired. They flew a Piper Cherokee for many years. My dad re-built an Aeronca Chief as a young man and learned to fly out of his parent's pasture. Later he bought a Piper Pacer, which he sold when I was little. After I married, Dad bought a Beechcraft Bonanza.

Herb and I started taking flying lessons in the early 80s. I soloed but lost confidence afterward. I stopped flying before finishing the requirements for my license. Herb got his pilot's license and enjoyed flying the Cherokee and the Bonanza.

Now Nathaniel and Emma want to learn to fly. I guess it's in their genes.

Here are the pictures of the uncrating:








1 comment:

Fotofule said...

Barn. Plane. Now all you need is some second-hand lions,,,!