JohnTerrell wrote:
Another project very much worth keeping an eye on (that I've been following from the beginning) is the JNE/John Norman Spirit of St. Louis reproduction, which has been/is being built as an absolute clone of the original in every detail - even more so than the ORA example - with borderline "insane" attention to every detail (you just have to read the story about the fuel tank "patch"
http://www.jneaircraft.com/). It is nearing completion, and the plan is to fly it on a nation-wide tour in 2017, marking the 90th anniversary of Lindbergh's historic flight and national tour. Lindbergh flew the Spirit to all 48 of the mainland States (of course the only ones at the time), following the Atlantic crossing, and the plan is to fly the JNE Spirit to all 48 mainland States as well - in somewhat of a reverse order of the original Lindbergh tour. A 1911 Model T Ford may even be joining the tour, to be displayed with the aircraft at each stop.
Yes, I've been following that project with intense interest as well. I wish there were more frequent updates. Last I read, he was having some issues getting parts for his J-5 Whirlwind.
It's nice to finally see some accurate and detailed SOSL reproductions being made. Not to take anything away from some of the older SOSL reproductions but they never seemed to get the details correct i.e. the cowlings, engine, wing length, etc.
The ORA SOSL is one of the first that looks correct in just about every respect...