What's Up with Hot Stuff

[kalamazookid]

Glad to hear you guys got her out of the cold before the storm hit. Stay safe... flying season's just around the corner!

[GARY HILTON]

Well Glen, I see you snuck her in after all! Good show! I am going to have to find out where Greenwood is now...Do ya have room for a tractor-trailer there?
G

[Bubba]

Thanks, guys-

Greenwood is right on I-65, a couple miles south of the beltway (I-465). I've never looked at the place from the perspective of a big rig, but there's not a lot of maneuvering room at the entrance or parking area. Kinda makes me scratch my head, now that I think about it... surely there is access from some point. They are tight on security there...

[WIXerGreg]

Hi all,

I saw that you're shown to be selling flights at Thunder Over Michigan this year. Will you be selling flights at the Indy show too?

Thanks!

Greg

[Bubba]

Hi all,

I saw that you're shown to be selling flights at Thunder Over Michigan this year. Will you be selling flights at the Indy show too?

Thanks!

Greg

I can't say for sure at this point, but we would certainly like to!

[Bubba]

Hi All-

You folks probably already knew this, but there has been some technical issue here at WIX involving the server and various bits, chunks, and whole collections of info evaporating into the ether recently. It would appear that my previous posts are part of that as well. So it goes- My thanks to IndyJen for pointing out the issue.

One thing that I can recreate, more or less, is the "hats off" to Scott for having gotten his type rating in the Harpoon. On November 8, 2011 Scott sucessfully passed his type ride in Hot Stuff and is now our newest PV-2 PIC. Here's a photo of him posing with the old girl and sporting the post-ride grin:



We should be seeing a lot more of Scott in the left seat as we move into the coming year of operations.

The photo below is from about a month previous, when we were able to combine some training with showing the plane down at Seymour, Indiana's Freeman Field. That's Scott and Gaylon just finishing prepping for the flight down, and I include it here just because I like the pic:

[Bubba]

Well, Gaylon and I got a little work done today on the old girl, and I'm happy to report that the only surprise is how easy two squawks were to fix. Of course, that's just the tip of the tip of the iceberg, but with any luck it will be a sign of things to come. That would be a good thing, as the Navy would like us to be in Jacksonville, FL the first week of April. It will be a lot of work, but if we can knock it out in time and get her down there, it would be a great feather in the organization's hat and a wonderful start to our season.

It looks like we'll have a half dozen or so folks out tomorrow, Thursday, to dive in full force. Start time will be around 9:30, so anyone having the freedom to do so is encouraged to grab their screw gun and a number 2 Phillips bit and come on out to Greenwood and help push through this process!

Warren, if you're still out there, I have misplaced your contact info (again! ) plz contact me to get you back into the loop-

[Bubba]

Hello again-
We had a good day at the hangar yesterday, with a mixture of familliar faces and new folks. Most of the wing has been openned up, the cockpit sidewalls and floor boards are out, and things are progressing nicely. I will be on the road, but I think the grand plan includes intensive engine work in the coming week. Stay tuned!

[PJ]

With everyone assigned a task, the work on the Harpoon annual is going at a fairly smooth pace. Here we see Machine Shop Gaylon and Rich 1 replacing the spark plugs after they have been cleaned, gapped, and inspected. Compression check has also been done. Scotty and Rich2 do some work on the wing to remove the aux oil tank.




Greenwood brings me full circle with "Hot Stuff". Six years ago I was there to assist with a Young Eagles event and ended up volunteering to help on that years annual. Now, we find ourselves once more in that same hanger.

Under the heading of "You Never Know What You Might Find", I located this guy hitchhiking in the bomb bay:



I always think of the Harpoon as a cross between The Way-Back Machine and a Magic Carpet Ride and this guy confirms my suspicions. Klaatu barada nikto!

PJ
PV-2 Harpoon "Hot Stuff"
http://www.amhf.org

[WIXerGreg]

It must be nice to be in that warm hangar after all the snowy annuals and engine changes you've done in the past few winters!

Have you had time to work on the radio or navigator's stations this winter?

Greg

[GARY HILTON]

Hey! H.S. sure looks good sitting indoors!
Scott, belated congradulations on your type rating!
P.J.....what else have you been flying besides fixed-wing? Seems you're fluent in the alien lingo!!! Ha!
G.

[mustangdriver]

Be sure to listen up to Warbird Radio tonight as Rich from the Hot Stuff crew is going to be our guest. We are honored to have you guys on.

[D Hansen]

Hey PJ
New floor boards, radio racks, bulkhead w/doorjam, nav table, radar table headed your way in about one more week. Still want them?
Dave
PV-2 "Attu Warrior"

[PJ]

Hi Dave...yep...we'll take them if you still want to trade for rockets. Drop Gaylon a line and let him know.

Gary...the only other craft that I fly in is IndyJen's Grumman, but I was always a fan of the X-Files, so I got a good laugh when I found the alien hitchhiker. Maybe I should have TIGHAR look into it!

WIXer Greg...always better inside than out! No restoration work yet, but maybe in the near future.

PJ
PV-2 Harpoon "Hot Stuff"
www.amhf.org

[Bubba]

Hi All- We've gotten a good amount of work done over the last couple days, and although we have the usual issues with recalcitrant fasteners and the odd nutplate that gives up the ghost, things are moving forward. Being indoors this time of year is really a blessing. With any luck, the wings will be all closed up this weekend, and the gear swing will be shortly thereafter.

Working on the old girl all the time, it's pretty easy to forget just how large a plane she is. Then one day something catches your eye to add a little perspective...



That's our President, Rich, on a stand at the inboard leading edge, and a Commander (supreme commander, if I recall correctly) parked in front of Hot Stuff.


While we were in the hangar today, Ralph Hill stopped by for a visit.



Ralph is the airport manager and was instrumental in getting us under cover. Needless to say, we are very grateful for his support, as well as that of the mayor and the rest of the board. Many thanks to all our benefactors!