Category: Uncategorized

Builders:

Here is background information on my very popular “Supervised Engine Build” program, which I run at my hangar in Florida, eight times a year. 

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DESCRIPTION:  Eight times a year, I have several Corvair engine builders at my hangar for a 3-4 day training session, where I supervise builders assembling  their own engines. When completed, each engine is run on my test stand.  I provide the setting, the specialty tools, the expertise and the supervision.  Builders do the actual work, hands on. I directly assist to teach work techniques, double check assemblies and to solve problems, but builders  are expected to be motivated to learn, and show up having pre-read manuals. The pace is adjusted to each builders needs, and no one need prior experience engine building. The willingness to learn is the only element the builder must have.  In the last four years, more than 60 people have gone through the build program here. Every single engine was completed and run.  I have recently expanded and reconfigured my hangar to optimize it for Supervised Builds.  From 2024 forward, I will be able to train twice the number of builders as previously  served. 

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WHAT ABOUT CORVAIR COLLEGES?  Between 2000 and 2020, I held 50 Corvair Colleges all over the US, even in Canada.  More than 1,200 individuals attended these events, they were fun and productive,  but required enormous expenditures of travel time and funds, and placed large burdens on local hosts.  These Colleges were free, builders only paid a modest fee to cover the catering. In the last years of colleges the increasing presence of people looking for free labor, with no learning motive, No fresh qualified hosts meant  two teams of local hosts ended up presenting  40% of all the Colleges, and my traveling thousands of miles with the equipment convinced me that the Colleges, originally planned to last just 5 years, had outlived their effectiveness.  I have said this numerous places since 2020, The era of Corvair Colleges are over, I will not host another.  We are now in the era of Supervised builds, which I will run from here forward. 

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SETTING AND WORK:  Supervised builds are done in my hangar in Green Cove Springs Florida, Just south of Jacksonville.  The build groups are 3 or 4 engines going together , the start is slightly staggered so the engines reach the test stand at 6 hour intervals.   I run the builds in the spring and fall, to avoid the harshest weather. My workshops are climate controlled, but my hangar is not.  We work from 9 am until 6 pm every day, with an hour off at lunch.  Even for prepared builders, this is the saturation level of learning.  At many colleges I worked far later hours, but experienced showed that engines were finished, but learning after 8 hours is minimal.  I generally check builders in on Thursday night, and start Friday morning. In most cases, everyone finishes on Sunday. If necessary,  I will work Monday and even into Tuesday to complete and test run engines. I do not rush builders, the goal is to learn, and all I ask it they focus on the work at hand.  The cost of the build is flat, if the builder takes extra time, the cost remains the same. There is no incentive to rush. 

Builders can bring their own hand tools, but it isn’t required. I have all specialty tools here . The test run stand has its own Intake, Carb, prop, cooling baffel, plug wires, coils and exhaust system. Builders do not need these ite,s. 

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SIGN UP:   Each  Event will appear on my “shop” products page as a  regular product, with an available quantity of 4.  Builders can look at the dates and sign up by selecting one of the slots and paying for it.  If you have questions, lets talk about it in advance, so when the Supervised Build date is opened, you already know what you are signing up for 

The Next Supervised build is A week away, May 3rd, But it is already full, and has been for several months.  I was considering a June session, but I have a lot to do before Oshkosh.  July will always be out because of Oshkosh, as September will be out because of The Zenith Home coming. August involves a lot of post Oshkosh follow up, and is very hot in Florida.  However, I am going to have at least one Supervised build session in each of October, November, and early December.  If necessary, I will add a second December  date.  The dates of these events and their sign ups will be announced and  available on June first.   

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LODGING:  At Colleges, we had many people camp on site, and it was fun, but didn’t serve learning, as people didn’t get enough rest to keep focused on day 2 and 3.  Now, at Supervised Builds, I direct people attending to the Holiday Inn Express Either in Fleming Island (12 mi.) or in Palatka (18 mi.) Well rested builders learn more, are more productive and are safer in the shop setting.  Starting at 9 allows getting up, and fed, and previewing the days plan, before picking up a wrench. Stopping at 6 allows the builders to get dinner, reflect on the day, and get rest.  

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COSTS: The cost for the Supervised Build reflects how much work goes into a particular build combination. Here are the costs for Supervised assembly and Test run,  in order: 

 Complete 2,850cc kit engine:  $1,000.

 2,700-2,850 engine, starting with a closed case and 5th bearing in place, $1,300

 2,700-2,850cc, built from the crank up with SPA Gen. II 5th bearing,  $1,600

3.0L  built from a closed case with 5th bearing in place;  $1,600

3.0L built from the crank up with SPA Gen. II 5th bearing, $1,900

3.3L  built from a closed case with 5th bearing in place;  $1,900

Notes:

Labor on engine builds is taxed in Florida at 7.5% This rate also applies to any parts the builder buys while he is present in Florida. 

Pricing based on heads arriving ready to “Bolt on”. 

Crank up builds  done with SPA Gen I bearings  are an addition cost of $200

Supervised build costs are NOT REFUNABLE.  At my discretion, I may allow allow them to be applied to a future build date , if I can find a builder to take the slot on short notice. 

Other than 2,850 complete kit engines, It is the builders responsibility to make sure he has all the parts necessary to assemble his engine. The back of my manual has a checklist, and the parts required are detailed in the text. These parts must arrive clean, and ready to assemble. I will work to fix any gaps in the plan, but builders can not assume I have every part they will need, such as bearings and gaskets, is on hand.  I am supervising Your build, prepare accordingly. 

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 FURTHER  QUESTIONS:  If you have questions,  call or text me. The evenings after 8 pm is a good time. If you text in advance, it will help the productivity of the conversation. 

 

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Davis Swartzendruber’s 3.3 going together for his Bearhawk LSA project. 

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Brian Manlove’s 2,850 for his flying 601XL

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Rod bearings going in 2,850 cylinder assemblies. 

 

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Earl Brown working on his 2,850

John McIntire running his 2,850 for his flying 601XL

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Going out to the local pub after the last day of the Supervised build. 

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Builders,

Here is a photo report on the Corvair Engine which mechanically failed after departing Sun n Fun. 

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EVENT:  Zenith 601XL-B with a 2,850 Corvair departed SNF and climbed to 5,200′, The engine experienced a sudden stoppage after running very rough for 2-3 seconds. Pilot declared and emergency and glided back to the airport to an uneventful landing with no damage to the airframe. 

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QUICK SUMMARY: Tearing the engine down showed the aftermarket billet connecting rods, set up for floating wrist pins had the bushings in the small ends set up incorrectly. The engine builder sourced them from a non-aviation supplier.  The bushings seized on the pins, rotated in the rods, and blocked the oil delivery holes. The #6 rod broke from this at the wrist pin centerline. The broken rod  destroyed the case, dislodged the starter, and stopped the engine from rotating by pushing the starter into the ring gear. Estimated cost of the replacement parts to fix the engine is approximately $4,000. 

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BACKGROUND: The engine was built in California in 2007. It had approximately 565 hours on it, and had been flown coast to coast several times. The builder was a highly experienced engine person, and had extensive contacts in the automotive racing industry. He elected to use new billet rods in place of the original Corvair forged rods. The Billet rods were a relatively new option for Corvair car owners. They were imported in s semi-finished stated and needed to have the bushings installed in the US. Because no aviation companies were yet doing this, the builder opted to have an automotive machine shop in his home state of California perform the operation. The pictures will show how the bushings became dislodged. with the #4 rod from the same engine as the photo sample.  At the time of the event, the new owner of the aircraft was flying it,  He has 275hrs TT, and 65hrs in the plane, including flying it from California to Florida 40 hours ago. 

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INFORMATION ON CORVAIR RODS:  GM made 12 million Corvair rods, The are a 4/5ths scale model of a Small Block Chevrolet rod.  They are forged, and just like the 400 million rods original small blocks, they use fixed, non-floating wrist pins. (Only very rare small blocks like 1967-69 DZ code 302cid Z-28’s had floating pins, no factory Corvairs ever had floating pins.)  Corvair rods have an excellent reputation, with only one known failure in flight, a 1999 event traced to a machining error when the rods were being rebuilt and modified for ARP bolts.   That aircraft was landed without damage.  Billet Rods became available through aviation suppliers approximately 2009.  There are hundreds of sets in aircraft with displacements ranging from 2,775cc to 3,300 cc, there are no documented failures.  Both the rebuilt original forged rods and the aftermarket new billet rods use new ARP fatteners. The GM rods have a bolt and nut set, the billet rods use a 12 point cap screw threaded into the body of the rod.  All billet rods are set up for floating pins. Virtually all GM rods are set up for fixed pins. ( with the exception of ‘dune buggy’ intended Corvairs with VW pistons, where GM rods were modified to accept the 22mm VW pins, run without bushings. It was a questionable system, and has not been promoted in nearly 20 years., very few are in aircraft. )

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ENGINE MAINTENCE BEFORE EVENT: The engine was given a condition inspection in California by IA with Corvair specific experience 60 Hours previous. to the event. The compressions were in the high 70’s on all cylinders. The engine was in a continuous oil analysis program by Lab One, who maintains the largest Corvair comparative database in the world for oil samples.  The samples actually showed a slight reduction in wear particles before the event. The failure in the event was not detectable in advance by normal methods typically used in the Corvair fleet. 

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OBSERVATION:  Although the top of #6 rod was missing, The other rods in the engine were examined, and it was determined the original bushings were installed incorrectly. The common pin to bushing clearance is .0008″. The other examined rods showed no clearance between the bushings and the pins.  With spiral locks for the floating pins centering the pins, and the tight fit keeping the piston centered, extreme stress was being placed on the spinal locks on the other cylinders.  However, all spiral locks were still in place, even the ones in the #6 piston, which had its pin still in place. 

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CONCLUSION: Because of the original  source of the aftermarket rods, was an automotive shop, and comparing the perfect track record of aviation sourced aftermarket rods with correctly installed bushings, this event is considered to be a one time, non-reoccurring failure. Perhaps the only operators who should be cautious are second owners working with older engine build with aftermarket rods from an unknown source.  Such engines can not count on early warning from standard testing, and should strongly consider a top end tear down to inspect for proper rod to wrist pin clearance and fit. 

 

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Head on look at #6. Notice the top of the case, the small end of the rod, and the lifter bores are completely missing.  This damage was done by the small end of the rod moving free of the pin.

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Three Corvair rods, Left, Stock forged GM rod, right a billet rod. The center rod looks like a billet rod, but is actually a GM rod with polished beams. It can be identified as a GM rod by looking for the ‘bolt and nut’ fasteners. Notice the billet rod does not use nuts. 

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Number 4 rod from event engine.  notice position of oil hole.

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Same rod, slightly different angle. Notice the bushing oil hole does not line up with the oil hole in the rod, thus the pin was starving for oil. The tight fit on the bushing to pin is the cause of the bushing becoming dislodged and slightly rotated. 

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Same rod flipped 180 degrees. Note how the bushing is migrating out of the rod. In a correct installation the bushing is exactly centered in the small end. 

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Remains of #6 rod on crank, showing smooth motion of rod bearing on crank. Crank appeared undamaged and rotated freely after starter was removed.  Crank will be retired and scrapped on principle. It could be magnafluxed, but that process is best for discovering stress cracks developed over time. This engine made perhaps 150 revolutions after the rod broke. It is enough to have the crank stressed, but not long enough for cracks from that stress to develop and propagate enough to be reliably detected by magnaflux.  The $1,000 cost to replace the crank is inexpensive in comparison to other engines.. 

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Airframe with engine removed. I did the removal to inspect for any available clues to a possible contributing factor. There were none. 

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Engine transported to my hangar, in the process of being torn down. 

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Remains of #6 cylinder. This was a Clarks’s aftermarket cylinder. In spite of the damage, the top of the cylinder was still round, fit the head gasket area, and the piston smoothly moved in the bore. 

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Slot was cut in top cover by the motion of the big end of the rod, unrestrained by the pin. 

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Underside of the starter showing how hard the big end of the rod struck the starter. This dislodged the starter up and forward into the ring gear, stopping the rotation of the engine.  The top cover with the rectangular slot was between the rod and the starter. 

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This shows the piston still moved freely in the bore, and the rings were undamaged. If this failure and been detonation related, the piston would not be in this condition. Over the years, several  engines have been detonated to death, but no matter how much pistons damage they suffered, the rods never broke.  This was not a detonation related failure.

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View of #4 piston, where side loads on the stuck piston pin produced very high loads on the spiral lock rings. notice they are being extruded here. 

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Number 4 pin and rod. It should push out with your finger tips, but this was driven out with a brass drift. 

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A look at the condition of the #6  piston, note the pin still in place, both spiral locks in place. 

 

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Thank you,

William Wynne. 

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Builders:

Here is a short story to explain an quirk of shipping motor mounts by UPS. 

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The only way I have to ship motor mounts is UPS. When you go to order one from my website, The UPS automatic shipping calculator radically over quotes the shipping cost. This is because the box is essentially a cubic yard, but it weighs less than 30 pounds.  This is outside the automatic systems ability to cope with. 

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I have tried every possible route to having UPS solve this, and had no luck. Fortunately we have a relatively simple fix. When you order the mount, You pay the elevated quote, but when I package it and print the shipping label, I refund the difference in shipping. This sounds like a PITA, but we just have to deal with it.  UPS isn’t exactly the world most customer responsive  organization. 

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The pictures contain an example: The quote from the system was $599 dollars. The builder paid this when placing the order, but after I packaged it, I directly refunded $368 to his credit card, so the final shipping was a much more reasonable $231. 

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If you have questions about this system, feel free to call me. 

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Above, two Zenith 650 mounts being packaged.  The box is 40′ x 30″ x 30″

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Internal reinforcement. The mount is just 6 pounds of the gross weight of the box, 29 pounds. 

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The electronic scales I use for weight and balance get pressed into service for shipping. 

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The scale reading 28 pounds for a fully packaged mount. 

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Here is an actual screen shot of the refund I issued one of these two mount buyers. The refund is in red. 

 

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WW. 

Builders;

Yesterday, Brad Boon of Wisconsin, took his first flight in the 601HDS he built. There are a lot of good elements to this, but let me focus on the one that matters most: He took 12 years to complete this project, it spanned his life through all of the changes experienced from age 27 to 39.  It flew yesterday for the simple reason that he did not quit.

If that sounds pleasantly simple, you haven’t yet thought about it enough. We live in a society obsessed with disposable everything. It is a fundamental requirement of consumerism that everything needs an ever shorter life cycle to replacement, so the machine, driven now by social media peer pressure as much as marketing, keeps people on a treadmill of buying junk which by its very design, can not allow you to find peace or satisfaction, because it would be harder to sell you the next thing you never needed. 

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While most people can clearly see the machinery aspect of this, 84 month car loans on vehicles that don’t have warranties that long, sold to people on credit who stand a good chance of transferring the balance of that debt to the next car.  That is easy to see……What is much harder to admit is how far these forces have gotten into our heads, and how far they have succeeded in getting people to think of their dreams as disposable.  If you bristle at accepting this, let me offer the observation from 35 years of working with homebuilders: More builders quit today than they did years ago, in spite of kits being better, support being better, tools being cheaper and choices being better. What has changed?

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Builders have allowed themselves to be told that their fundamental, pure ambition in hard core homebuilding isn’t good enough. They are lured to watch some scam promotion or read some glowing review of a non-existent figment of marketing, instead of going out to the shop to put in another hour toward achieving the goal they selected as a good match for them as an individual. 

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Brad’s aircraft is a mechanical achievement. At 715 pounds, I’m pretty sure it is the lightest Corvair powered low wing Zenith ever.  It ran perfectly on the engine he built himself.  Even as a 125 hour pilot, the planes predicable behavior was a good match for his old school flight instruction and recent refresher instruction.  All good things, but above all else, focus on this: In a disposable world when you are told to let go of your personal dreams and ambitions and allow them to be replaced with “trends” , Brad’s plane is done and flying because he ignored such garbage, trusted that he was the person to decide what is in his own interest, and he went out to put in one more hour on his project, until it was done.  If you follow the same mindset, your aircraft will also be completed, but most important, it will be done on our own terms. 

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601HDS models are frequently 100 pounds lighter than XL or 650 models. The planes are in the same design family, and they share a few components, but the HD’s and HDS’s are older, smaller and simpler.  All things have trade offs. XL’s and 650’s have a wider flight envelope and more space inside.  People who will never complete either model will argue their respective merits on the internet, while the builders go to the shop for another working hour to advance their own ambitions. 

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The first flight: Brad shared these pictures, and we spent a half hour on the phone last night.  He also shared some brief notes on my Facebook Group “WW Flycorvair”. That venue is good for pictures, quick comments and news, but the kind of thought I’m sharing above fits better here.  Even though I run a very tight ship on my FB group, and I have a zero tolerance policy for trolls , people combing through social media tend to be looking for snack food, not food for thought. 

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WW

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Builders

As I type this on April 14th, Oshkosh may sound distant, but it starts in 98 days, and I will be leaving to head north in 91 days, to first attend the Pietenpol gathering in Brodhead Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday before Oshkosh which starts on Monday July 22nd. 

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People ask “Are you going to…?”  Frequently, but I can make this easy to remember: For the last 22 years, I schedule three public airshows per year, and they are Brodhead, Oshkosh and the September Zenith Aircraft Homecoming. Years ago, I attended a lot of little shows, and I once accepted invitations to speak at a lot of events. It was fun, I met a lot of people, but in retrospect, it was not productive for my long term goals.  I stopped commercially displaying at Sun-n-Fun in 2011, after 20 consecutive years.  For the last two decades, the three events above  have been the productive setting I have worked, and it  allows me to meet builders in person, while holding to travel time to 24-25 days a year. 

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Brodhead:  This year is the 15th anniversary of starting the Weight and Balance project , which evolved to my Pietenpol W&B manual.  This year, I am going to make the complex algorithm developed by Ryan Meuller and myself directly available to builders in the form of an on-line calculator on my website. To use it effectively, builders will still need to get the book from my webstore, or the Brodhead EAA chapter,  but while I’m at Brodhead  I will explain how to use the calculator to study changes in your build and quickly compare proposed changes. The algorithm works to any Pietenpol, not just Corvair powered ones.  The calculator will be free to use and my contribution to the Pietenpol community, as a very practical tool improving builder understanding and safety of operations.  

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Oshkosh:   This will be my 33rd trip to Oshkosh, and just like every other year, I will have my display in the same spot, the North Aircraft Display,  Booth 614., Adjacent to Zenith Aircraft.  I will be there all week, 9-5, and I will also be giving forums, these will be in the official EAA program.  If you have a core engine you would like inspected, bring it, I conduct after hours parking lot inspection tours.  A reminder:  I have manuals and shirts for sale, and plenty of samples to look at, but I do not bring inventory to sell at airshows.  No matter what the state, I would be required to charge sales tax and maintain elaborate year round accounting for the state’s department of revenue.  The easy solution is to come by and I can assist you in ordering any part from my on line catalog,  The shipping to your house will be less than the tax you would have to pay, and you will not have to carry the items with you or pack them home. 

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I hope to see as many of you as possible at these two events. If you have never attended either event, don’t let another flying season pass without making this happen for yourself. For understanding, learning, planning and recharging your build enthusiasm, there is no substitute for getting out in the actual element and having a great time. 

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Above, Oshkosh 2023, with Zak Kistler and son. Zak was one of my housemates at Embry-Riddle 34 years ago.  Oshkosh allows me to check in with old friends I don’t see often enough 

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Above, Brodhead 2023:  This photo was taken in the peaceful downtown main street of Brodhead.  The Pietenpol gathering is the polar opposite setting from Oshkosh.  The both have their merits,  but I really enjoy the relaxed setting of Brodhead.   For local transportation I bring my 1967 Honda S-90 and Ken Pavlou brings the 1961 Vespa 150 he restored..  Great fun in little packages, they also start a lot of conversations. 

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Above, My 2,850cc display engine at Oshkosh 2023.  The Kit version of this engine, and the supervised build sessions at my hangar remain very popular, I have a difficult time keeping up with demand, but I make production efficiency improvements every month,   This year we will have several new things to share with builders, evolutions on a long proven power plant. 

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WW. 

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An interesting look at the CNC models of the parts I have for the Corvair, assembled in 3D view.

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This view shows my Group 3200 5th bearing, which is supplied with the 2,850 kit engines I sell.

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William

Builders;

Here is my events schedule:

Brodhead Wisconsin , Guest Speaker, 3pm Saturday 22nd. Will also look at cores and parts in a parking lot tour.

Oshkosh Display starts Monday 24 runs through the following Sunday. I am in the same space as the last 5 years, #616, North Aircraft Display, adjacent to Zenith Aircraft.

Oshkosh Forum Wednesday 26th , 11:30 am workshop classroom c

Oshkosh forum #2, Saturday 29, 10:00 am workshop classroom B

Thanks, William .

Below is a picture of what my new display will be built around.

❤️🙂

Builders:

Over the years, suppliers is the Corvair world have offered aluminum pushrod tubes. I have owned sets before, but they had issues, predominantly being too thick walled at the top and impeding cold oil drain back because the thick wall was too close to the guide plates.

I wrote an article a number of years ago on how to modify the tops, but it required having a lathe, and in the end it was a lot of work for an individual builder.

Over the last several months I have designed a new set of aluminum billet tubes, had them made on very accurate CNC equipment and included details like o-ring grooves which are a few thousands larger in diameter to tighten the fit on the installed o-rings. As the picture shows, they Ave a smooth bell mouth at the top so cold oil will drain back. I include a set of Viton O-rings with each set of tubes.

To be clear, these are a ‘luxury’ item. No one has to buy these to build and fly a corvair engine. They are just an available option, a choice for builders. Guys working of a budget can always clean and paint, or powder coat stock tubes, I did it for the last 34 years.

I’m going to include these with every kit motor I sell from here forward. They look good and are a bit lighter than stock ones, but the other factor for me is it takes time for me to prep stock tubes for kit engines, and I never have enough hours in the day. These tubes, coming right out a box, saves me about 2 man hours on an engine. I offer them so builders have the same choice.

WW.

https://flycorvair.net/product/1602b-anodized-aluminum-pushrod-tubes/

Builders;

My 2022 conversion manual is 300 pages in length, but this really isn’t a good measure of its content. Here is a small example of what it takes to develop the content to fill several hundred pages with useful information.

The picture is four Whirlwind “Razor” blades. These were designed to fit in a warp drive hub. I contacted Whirlwind and spoke to their engineering team. There was good reason to think these blades would be a very good option or upgrade for Corvairs. in order to accelerate testing, I bought two pairs of blades and began flight tests on friends Zeniths. The blades were $410 each.

While I am known as ‘The Corvair Guy’, I additionally have a very strong background in propellers for light aircraft. I was mentored by two men, now past, who are recognized as masters of propulsion. I have worked as a manager and a consultant for brands, I’ve been a dealer for Warp Drive and Sensenich for almost 30 years each, and I have worked with a number of propeller artisans. I mention this so you can understand there was very good reason, not marketing, that made these blades seem promising.

Aerodynamically, they are good, however, a serious problem emerged in testing. Simultaneously the blades showed their best performance above 3,000 rpm, and the engineering team said they were uncomfortable with that kind of sustained rpm. ( neither Warp Drive nor Sensenich props have this limitation). Out of caution, I ceased the flight tests, as it was not possible, no matter the pitch used, to keep the rpm limit, particularly in a decent.

After a year pause, I contacted Whirlwind again to see if any data or testing had developed which would make them revise their red line rpm higher. They cam back and said they were now moving it lower to 2800 rpm continuous. I now had some very expensive wall decorations.

I could not sell them in aviation, so I listed them on a Florida airboat site. They sold for $600. Besides the time and effort, this is a straight $1,000 loss. Sounds like a lot, but in the last 34 years I have spent more than 100x that on tests which ended like this.

So when I have the next printing of conversion manuals done, the 300 pages will get a single paragraph added in the propeller section, explaining that where blades look good, but the rpm limit is way too low. It’s essentially a thousand dollar paragraph. Give that some thought when looking at the other 1,500 paragraphs in the manual.

❤️🙂

Builders,

Many of my friends know that my mother passed last month, and a great number of people shared their condolences on social media. My family deeply appreciated each of these thoughts.

If in the course of working with me, you are ever witness to, or the recipient of a thought or an act which strikes you as really considerate or kind beyond the norm, you are actually directly observing my mothers presence and ethics in my life.

My mother made it quite clear to us children that we had very ‘rich’ lives of love and acceptance, and better friends than most people, and fail to offer the same to others, particularly the lonely or the isolated, was the height of ingratitude and arrogance. She understood that there really isn’t a valid excuse for that behavior.

My mother’s life had as profound effect on my life as my father’s. I shared more stories from my father over the years, but isn’t indicative of the proportion of or scale of the influence. My mother valued kindness, generosity and empathy, and she demonstrated her unwavering allegiance to these values by living them. Her quiet example was strong enough that I will confess to being truly embarrassed when I think of the times in my life where I had a short fuse and a sharp tongue. It was ingratitude for all my mother taught me.

Elizabeth and drove to NJ and arrived in time to spend a few remaining hours by her bedside. We stayed up north for the services and for the gathering of my family. In May my mother will be interred beside my father in Arlington National Cemetery. They were together from 1946-2017. I can not begin to express how fortunate I was to be one of their children.

My mother waves from the left seat of my friends DC-3, here in Florida 20 years ago. As a 12 year old in 1939, her class was given a tour of the then new DC-3 at Newark airport. Girls were not allowed in the cockpit. 64 years later, this injustice was corrected. Mom loved it.

Thanks to all the builders who were patient about orders while I was up north. I’m back in the hangar and office now, and will have all the orders out in a few days. Feel free to call anytime.

William.