When builders call outside the 9-5, M-F time window, many of them will say some variation on “hope I’m not bothering you after hours”. One of the ways I assure them its no bother at all
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Quite frequently the first call of the day is Larry Wade, who is building a 3,000cc Corvair powered Q-200. He likes getting the day started early, and a lot of his calls come in at 7-7:30am. This is not an issue, I’m almost always ready for a second cup of coffee by then. Larry is doing detail work on his engine installation, and calling early means I can always get the part he needs in the mail the same day. It isn’t all about parts, Larry is a 7,000hr pilot from a family of Southern crop dusters and he has first hand experience with rare planes like N3-N’s. A few moments of that stuff is a good way to start any working day.
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On the other end of the working day, invariably, the last call of the day comes from Larry Nelson, 601HDS 2,700cc Corvair pilot in Yuma AZ. We are tight friends, and Larry is our oil analysis guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybTF6ntVpV0&t=28s. Larry is three hours behind me, and if I post something on the new at 12pm or 1am , its only 9-10pm Yuma time, and Larry will frequently call for a few minutes to catch up. The subject and be a builders oil test, or a video Larry is working on, or some part he might need. Its a good way to end the work day.
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Above, Larry Nelson stands beside his 601HDS. Larry was the first pilot to fly my new STOL nose bowl (pictured) in 2019.
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In summary, you will have to get up very early, or stay up very late, to expand the daily calling window beyond what the two Larry’s already have covered. Have no concern about sending a text or calling anytime between the hours of Larry and Larry. During the day, I can get pretty busy, and I don’t talk on the phone while driving, but I can usual return all calls in an hour or two. If you have a longer series of questions, try calling after dinner in the evenings, it gives more time to cover plans or ideas in depth. Call me old, but I would much rather speak with any builder on the phone than try to cover questions by email, but if it suits you better, we can do email also.
