Builders,
On Wednesday night, Dan Weseman and I drove 80 miles up to Fernadina Beach , in the extreme north east corner of Florida. I was the guest speaker at EAA Chapter 943, but the first order of business was to pay a house call to Brent Mayo and his Corvair/ Panther, a plane neither Dan nor I had previously seen in person.
.
.
Above, Brent’s outstanding Panther. The plane has 37 hours on it. The plane is a solid performer, and it has logged it’s test time without teething issues nor drama. I have shared previous story’s on Brent’s plane, focused on the fact he only took 825 hours to build both the plane and the engine , but this was my first chance to see the finished product.
.
.
Above, Dan and Brent stand by the tail. We had previously worked with Brent at a Finishing School where he ran his engine for the first time. From that experience, it was obvious that Brent is an organized , skilled builder, and seeing his plane in person confirmed this.
.
I often remind builders that my work isn’t always ‘fun’ , it is much better evaluated as ‘rewarding.’ After 27 years of sharing what I have learned about Corvairs, there is one reward that never fails to move me; when I get to see a plane in its home setting, where the builder really took advantage of the opertunity to learn everything he could about the Corvair.
.
ww.
.
Beautfiful plane.
True Craftsman.
Nicely done. Congrats!