The longer a project draws on, the more likely it is that the life of the builder will change. Goals change, opportunities knock, tornados rip up airshows, people get new jobs and move 2500 miles away. Being the typical night-and-weekend-and when-I-feel-like-it builder, my projects have tended to morph before completion into something new faster than my blogs keep up.
On June 22, 2011 I was the lucky winner of the salvage bid for our friend Tony Spicer's RV-3B, N12XR, known to RV-3 and Team RV fans everywhere as Tony Boy II. The little guy was one of over 60 victims of the F1 tornado that tore up the spring air show in Lakeland, Florida. When Ben told me the story behind this little green plane, I became determined to win the bid and restore it to flying condition. My birthday was June 20th... and two days later we received notice that my sealed bid was enough.
The new tail kit I had been previously working on, 11427, was the perfect start to the restoration project, as the original tail of the -3B was completely destroyed when it landed on its back in the Lakeland sand. So... it was like I had begun fixing it a year before it ever needed fixing.
Like I said earlier... goals change, people get new jobs. Since I quit writing in my blog almost a year ago, a lot has happened. In February, Ben and I both found new jobs with CubCrafters in Yakima, Washington. We decided it was time to leave the family business, sell everything and move. We sold Ben's flying RV-8, "Sarahndipity." We sold most of the old RV-3 kit, serial number 898. We sold the house in 3 days. THREE!! One thing we didn't sell, however, was Tony Boy. We packed all his parts away in a 28-foot trailer along with a few pieces of furniture and a few dozen tubs full of momentos, tools, clothes, models and cookware, and headed to the Pacific Northwest. We just moved into our new house and built a few workbenches in the small 2-car garage... and my attention turns again toward writing my RV-3 story online.
No comments:
Post a Comment