Anyone just get stuck in their builds? You know, where things have slowed or come to a halt for normal life reasons? I'll bet there are some of you out there, LIKE ME, that it has happened to. I think I found a solution. Beg, borrow, bum a fairly long flight in a RV and the spark will return.
I bought a 7 kit in fall of 2014 and made pretty good progress until disaster--November 11, 2015. No, not a date that will live in infamy, but one that I relive over and over. Date of my surgery incident. Well, yeah work stopped for about 4 months. Recovered, moved to Ridgeland, got married to Suzanne ( yeah!) and fortunatly/unfortunately business really picked up. August 4, 2016, The FORMER employer in a brilliant stroke of genius on their part, decided after 17 years they didnt want me anymore. Had some wet behind the ears wannabe that they could pay less and work more to fill my spot. OKKKK.
So we turned up the heat on TS Flightlines to support us, but N**TS took a back seat.
Just when we got motivated to go back to work ( actually the fuselage was in the way in the shop), January 2018 rolls around and we get the crushing news that Suzanne has developed stage 4 MBC breast cancer. Obviously, taking care of her became dual priority #1 along with keeping the business going to provide for us and her care. Its now end of May, 2019, and several GREAT things have happened. She is doing MUCH BETTER, thanks in part to the awesome NEW onocologist we have ( the first one was non-ceremoniously fired by us--seemed medical Practice was the operative word instead of treating) and the business expansion with our joint venture with Aircraft Specialty called AS Flightlines. So what to do about the 7 project?
For me, it didnt matte how many builders we helped, how many first flights of clients we heard about, how many times I HEARD guys flying over the house, something in the motivation department was missing. Needed a cattle prod with some jumper cables. Well I think I found it in the form of flight.
We've had a long time customer in the Washington DC area that was building a 14A, and planning to install several custom accessories that we needed to decide on how to plumb them. I doesnt matter how many pictures or videos you get, how many drawings are emailed back and forth, there just isnt anything like getting you hands on the real project so you can see little things, like obstructions, and were to make little changes in tubes to make a better product. The client had decided to get some help from our friends at Synergy Air South in Newnan, GA, and he had previously trailered his fuselage there to get help from Allan Nelson. I had been there earlier in the year on another project and KNEW that a 5 hour drive wasnt exactly how I wanted to spend my Sunday Memorial Day. But, it was the only day that the stars would align for the client, for Allan, and for me. So the date and time was set. Yuk----get up at 3 AM, leave at 4, drive 5 hours one way to do a hour and a half mockup, and drive home, getting back in time to eat, watch the Indy 500 highlights, and the CUP race from Charlotte, falling asleep on the couch about 1/4 of the way through the event. BOOM-- phone rang--
Hey you want to see a NICE 6A a friend calls and says. Sure, and he flies it over to 3J1. Nice plane, and we talk about it for a while, catch up on small talk, fill him in on Suzanne's progress, etc. "Well we should go for a ride sometime", was the lead in to the next question for him. Hey, what about flying me over to KCCO in Newnan to Synergy Air South on Sunday Morning?
HUM,, ok we can do that WX permitting.
Appointed date and time arrived, and I drove to his place--out in the country, quiet, grass runway. Just the thing. Well The 6A was in the hangar, but ready to go was his new F4 Raider that we had a small hand in doing to the engine plumbing on. Well not exactly an RV, but a cousin, so thats close enough. Off we went--direct to KCCO in 1 hour 15 minutes. I did what I needed to do, saw a few other things, and we launched for home--again 1 hour and 15 minutes. IF I had driven the one way driving time would have been more than the ENTIRE trip in the plane. Home in time for LUNCH, NOT home in time for DINNER.
I has always joked to Suzanne about getting up and flying to Myrtle Beach for Capt. Benjamin's Seafood Buffet. Go up, have afternoon shrimp and crab legs, fly home and have ice cream. Ha Ha, big joke. Or leaving here on a Friday afternoon and flying her to her mom's house on the VA Eastern Shore--not far from Glen Salmon's farm. 9.5 hours driving time, 1 fuel stop 2 or 3 rest stops for her. Stay until Sunday afternoon, then fly home and get back before dark. Ha Ha, big joke. UNTIL REALITY Gibb's slaps you in the back of the head when you realize that YES it can be reality, and not just a dream.
Yeah we all read the great travel stories on VAF; the continuing stories of Vlad, Rosie, Scott, Tanya, Dave, and a bunch of you. Until yesterday, for me anyway, they were great travel stories. Maybe it was the immulman that Ray did before we landed. My Gibb's slap of reality that I had a magic carpet in the shop that COULD allow us to do the same thing that or friends and clients are doing, or will be doing. That envy/jealous feeling suddenly became motivation.
Now that Suzanne is doing MUCH better---oh BTW, for those of you in the medical onocological and radiology fields that have called, emailed, offered advice, allowed me to vent----her scans from 3 weeks ago show NO active cancer cells in the bones. No progression. Bones show signs of healing, pain level from a 7-8 to a 1-2 soreness, NOT pain. YES, there is a GOD, and he is great. So I cant use the excuse of taking care of her as to why I'm not making progress on the plane, but she IS the excuse to why we ARE going to make progress and join the Flying RV club.
Paul Dye---I just have to tell you my friend---seeing the little jet fly is also a big motivation---hope to see it at OSH if thats possible!!
Thanks to all of you -- for putting up with me, and motivating me to finish the plane. It will now be a 7A, yeah I know--but at least its a start. Dreams can come true.
Tom
I bought a 7 kit in fall of 2014 and made pretty good progress until disaster--November 11, 2015. No, not a date that will live in infamy, but one that I relive over and over. Date of my surgery incident. Well, yeah work stopped for about 4 months. Recovered, moved to Ridgeland, got married to Suzanne ( yeah!) and fortunatly/unfortunately business really picked up. August 4, 2016, The FORMER employer in a brilliant stroke of genius on their part, decided after 17 years they didnt want me anymore. Had some wet behind the ears wannabe that they could pay less and work more to fill my spot. OKKKK.
So we turned up the heat on TS Flightlines to support us, but N**TS took a back seat.
Just when we got motivated to go back to work ( actually the fuselage was in the way in the shop), January 2018 rolls around and we get the crushing news that Suzanne has developed stage 4 MBC breast cancer. Obviously, taking care of her became dual priority #1 along with keeping the business going to provide for us and her care. Its now end of May, 2019, and several GREAT things have happened. She is doing MUCH BETTER, thanks in part to the awesome NEW onocologist we have ( the first one was non-ceremoniously fired by us--seemed medical Practice was the operative word instead of treating) and the business expansion with our joint venture with Aircraft Specialty called AS Flightlines. So what to do about the 7 project?
For me, it didnt matte how many builders we helped, how many first flights of clients we heard about, how many times I HEARD guys flying over the house, something in the motivation department was missing. Needed a cattle prod with some jumper cables. Well I think I found it in the form of flight.
We've had a long time customer in the Washington DC area that was building a 14A, and planning to install several custom accessories that we needed to decide on how to plumb them. I doesnt matter how many pictures or videos you get, how many drawings are emailed back and forth, there just isnt anything like getting you hands on the real project so you can see little things, like obstructions, and were to make little changes in tubes to make a better product. The client had decided to get some help from our friends at Synergy Air South in Newnan, GA, and he had previously trailered his fuselage there to get help from Allan Nelson. I had been there earlier in the year on another project and KNEW that a 5 hour drive wasnt exactly how I wanted to spend my Sunday Memorial Day. But, it was the only day that the stars would align for the client, for Allan, and for me. So the date and time was set. Yuk----get up at 3 AM, leave at 4, drive 5 hours one way to do a hour and a half mockup, and drive home, getting back in time to eat, watch the Indy 500 highlights, and the CUP race from Charlotte, falling asleep on the couch about 1/4 of the way through the event. BOOM-- phone rang--
Hey you want to see a NICE 6A a friend calls and says. Sure, and he flies it over to 3J1. Nice plane, and we talk about it for a while, catch up on small talk, fill him in on Suzanne's progress, etc. "Well we should go for a ride sometime", was the lead in to the next question for him. Hey, what about flying me over to KCCO in Newnan to Synergy Air South on Sunday Morning?
HUM,, ok we can do that WX permitting.
Appointed date and time arrived, and I drove to his place--out in the country, quiet, grass runway. Just the thing. Well The 6A was in the hangar, but ready to go was his new F4 Raider that we had a small hand in doing to the engine plumbing on. Well not exactly an RV, but a cousin, so thats close enough. Off we went--direct to KCCO in 1 hour 15 minutes. I did what I needed to do, saw a few other things, and we launched for home--again 1 hour and 15 minutes. IF I had driven the one way driving time would have been more than the ENTIRE trip in the plane. Home in time for LUNCH, NOT home in time for DINNER.
I has always joked to Suzanne about getting up and flying to Myrtle Beach for Capt. Benjamin's Seafood Buffet. Go up, have afternoon shrimp and crab legs, fly home and have ice cream. Ha Ha, big joke. Or leaving here on a Friday afternoon and flying her to her mom's house on the VA Eastern Shore--not far from Glen Salmon's farm. 9.5 hours driving time, 1 fuel stop 2 or 3 rest stops for her. Stay until Sunday afternoon, then fly home and get back before dark. Ha Ha, big joke. UNTIL REALITY Gibb's slaps you in the back of the head when you realize that YES it can be reality, and not just a dream.
Yeah we all read the great travel stories on VAF; the continuing stories of Vlad, Rosie, Scott, Tanya, Dave, and a bunch of you. Until yesterday, for me anyway, they were great travel stories. Maybe it was the immulman that Ray did before we landed. My Gibb's slap of reality that I had a magic carpet in the shop that COULD allow us to do the same thing that or friends and clients are doing, or will be doing. That envy/jealous feeling suddenly became motivation.
Now that Suzanne is doing MUCH better---oh BTW, for those of you in the medical onocological and radiology fields that have called, emailed, offered advice, allowed me to vent----her scans from 3 weeks ago show NO active cancer cells in the bones. No progression. Bones show signs of healing, pain level from a 7-8 to a 1-2 soreness, NOT pain. YES, there is a GOD, and he is great. So I cant use the excuse of taking care of her as to why I'm not making progress on the plane, but she IS the excuse to why we ARE going to make progress and join the Flying RV club.
Paul Dye---I just have to tell you my friend---seeing the little jet fly is also a big motivation---hope to see it at OSH if thats possible!!
Thanks to all of you -- for putting up with me, and motivating me to finish the plane. It will now be a 7A, yeah I know--but at least its a start. Dreams can come true.
Tom