catmandu
Well Known Member
Back before we started college funds, M'lady and I thought, "Yeah, P-51! If things go as we plan, we just might have to do one of those down the road." Well, we probably should have invested in a Mustang rather than college funds, as we could endow an entire college with the sale proceeds these days. Oh well.
Some time later, I discovered Van's airplanes. I fell in love with the -8, and felt it was a poor man's P-51. I thought about building one, but after two years of 'planning' I realized I needed to be a buyer. So I went about looking for the right plane, and engaged the help of our own @smokyray. Turns out he found a -6a that fit 90% of my RV desires, and convinced me to buy it. That plane has been very good to us over the years, giving us lots of flying memories, and I have had great fun maintaining and upgrading it as well, scratching that build itch I had.
A while back a casual post here on VAF in an unrelated thread led me to start a conversation offline. One thing led to another, and we now own a Super-8! We now have too many airplanes and not enough hangar:
The plane was beautifully built to be a show winner, and lovingly cared for by the former owner, just not flown enough (we will fix that!). I figured out (mostly) all the details of a trans-border aircraft sale, with a side of Covid burdens thrown in for good measure. I also did a quick afternoon of flying with Bruce Bohannon in his -8 to knock the rust off my tailwheel skills, I highly recommend time with him to anyone of any proficiency level.
The Nevada hangar is still awaiting an occupancy permit, so I flew our new plane to the Maryland airport we still occupy, where I can bum some space for a while. One local hop so M'lady could wring it out a bit ("This plane is Fricking AWESOME!") and then I sent the registration back to the former owner to turn into Transport Canada. Hopefully weeks and not months from now, the future N184KM will fly again. Meanwhile, I've got to get the -6a ready to sell (M'lady has her limits, after all).
RV grins: not just for the newbies!
Some time later, I discovered Van's airplanes. I fell in love with the -8, and felt it was a poor man's P-51. I thought about building one, but after two years of 'planning' I realized I needed to be a buyer. So I went about looking for the right plane, and engaged the help of our own @smokyray. Turns out he found a -6a that fit 90% of my RV desires, and convinced me to buy it. That plane has been very good to us over the years, giving us lots of flying memories, and I have had great fun maintaining and upgrading it as well, scratching that build itch I had.
A while back a casual post here on VAF in an unrelated thread led me to start a conversation offline. One thing led to another, and we now own a Super-8! We now have too many airplanes and not enough hangar:
The plane was beautifully built to be a show winner, and lovingly cared for by the former owner, just not flown enough (we will fix that!). I figured out (mostly) all the details of a trans-border aircraft sale, with a side of Covid burdens thrown in for good measure. I also did a quick afternoon of flying with Bruce Bohannon in his -8 to knock the rust off my tailwheel skills, I highly recommend time with him to anyone of any proficiency level.
The Nevada hangar is still awaiting an occupancy permit, so I flew our new plane to the Maryland airport we still occupy, where I can bum some space for a while. One local hop so M'lady could wring it out a bit ("This plane is Fricking AWESOME!") and then I sent the registration back to the former owner to turn into Transport Canada. Hopefully weeks and not months from now, the future N184KM will fly again. Meanwhile, I've got to get the -6a ready to sell (M'lady has her limits, after all).
RV grins: not just for the newbies!
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