Warbird Information Exchange

My Australian spy has alerted me to this......

http://www.warbirds-eaa.org/news/2006%2 ... hkosh.html

I do not know if this has been posted before..

Regards

Paul

Thanks MG

Big, big kudos to Gerry for not slapping a data plate on his creation and trying to pass it off as some combat veteran aircraft. Displaying it as a custom homebuilt does far more for his reputation as a fabricator IMO than if he had taken the other path. What a marvelous achievement for the warbird world! I hope the world beats an even greater path to his door so we can see more of these airborne in the future.

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Rob Mears
'Surviving Corsairs' Historian
robcmears@yahoo.com
http://www.robmears.com

Wow, that is fantastic! I agree, big Kudo's to him. That is a big accomplishment and very cool.

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Share your story: Rutgers Oral History Archive http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/

Kit price is?

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"There are old pilots and bold pilots but few old, bold pilots."

If you have to ask....

Actually Gerry won't have a kit price until he knows how much $$ it takes to get the first one in the air...

I can dream can't I? Actually, I had the great priveledge to meet Gary whence I was living in Fargo in the early 90's. He was only making various parts at the time. I am thrilled to see that he has gone the full distance and only hope that there are many more to come (rich dudes who can afford to pay Gary back for his amazing work)

I loved the story he told of bringing in, forgive me CRS, a B-24 on the deck below a beautiful ND blizzard using a tach and an oil pressure gauge. What's that about being "braver than Dick Tracy". Saw the plane, saw the dash, lots of missing instruments...

Now, his next project could be razorback Thunderbolts?

Amazing man, amazing talent! (lucky bastard)

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"There are old pilots and bold pilots but few old, bold pilots."

I always thought the ultimate airplane might be a TP-51A replica with the fully instrumented back seat, wet wings so you have fuel for days , and the best Allison version for increased hp. climb, and speed. The allison is so cheap to operate and reliable, you could book about 40 airshows a year! Build it light and leave out the military junk like radio racks and machine gun bays, IMO.

After Oshkosh, guess he'll want to go to Thunder over Michigan, I hope.
Well done.

Lynn

How much of the plane was scratch built? Is the whole airframe/wings home made or did he start with pieces from an original airframe and make an "A" model out of it?

Regards,
Mike

I hear ya there!

Tim

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www.tailhookstudio.com

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www.tailhookstudio.com

Mike,

With the exception of a small handful of parts such as gear legs, trunion casting, other assorted castings and small parts, the entire airframe was built from scratch, including the wing. This example will have fiberglass cowls in the interest of getting it airborne more quickly, however the form blocks are under construction to stretch aluminum parts for the upcoming units (parts for an addition 10 airplanes were made as this airplane was built). The prop is DC3 with some mods. Although it lacks the little detail parts that would make it pass as an original production built airplane, the quality of craftsmanship in this airplane is exceptional and trust me, it’s all A model Mustang, of that there is not mistake! It was built from the original drawing with modernizing as required for safety, serviceability and longer service life.

John

Steve,

No "Luck" involved with what Gerry has accomplished. It's called hard work and dedication. His success could apply to anybody out there. Keep in mind he started out life as a humble farmer’s son, became Industrial Arts instructor, bagged that gig and started a crop dusting, aerial seeding and aircraft maintenance company. He's told me stories about sleeping in the hangar because he didn't have two nickels to rub together to rent an apartment let alone buy a house! Like everybody else out there, he had a dream...however, like few other people out there he put actions (Along with his mind, body and soul) to his dream to make it a reality! Amazing man? Absolutely! Amazing talent? Judge for yourself. Lucky? No. Driven? YES!

The story you are thinking of was a B-25 not a B-24....but it is a great story, isn't it? The airplane was sold at auction somewhere in Texas. Among others bidding against Gerry for the airplane was Carl Scholl. Gerry ended up with it and Carl asked him how in the world he was going to get it up to North Dakota. Gerry with a puzzled look on his face replied, "I'm gonna fly it there!" Carl looked at him with an equally puzzled look and replied, "I think You'd best take another look at that airplane son!" The stories of getting it ready for flight and actually flying it home are very entertaining to say the least. Needless to say the flight to Wahpeton was the last flight she made and is more than likely the last flight it ever will make. She's in pretty tough shape inside and out.

Next project is already being discussed up there but I am not at liberty to discuss it. I can tell you it is not a Thunderbolt.

John

John, thanks for filling in the blanks, as I said I suffer from "can't remember sh*t". By luck, I was refering to the fact that Gerry is one of the few craftsman in the world who has figured out how to make a living from what he loves.

I am an old Indy car fabricator who lived through the tube frame - monocoque era of Indy cars and can truly appreciate what a real metal bender can do. In no way do I mean to detract from what Gerry has accomplished and how he got there. I only wish I was smart enough to be able to do the same. I'm a "dreamer" son of a WWII fighter pilot (60th FS, 33rd FG, CBI P-47's & P-38's) who can't seem to figure out how to put that deal together. So, envious? You bet but with great respect of all the "Gerry's" out there. Glenn Wegman is another I respect and envy, too many others to mention. I'm just stuck in the rut between here and there and running out of ideas to get out and still provide for my family. Oh well, live vicariously through the triumphs of others and enjoy.

Thanks for adding to the story with better details. Love to see his stories in a book, bet that would make for great reading.

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"There are old pilots and bold pilots but few old, bold pilots."

Seriously....



Hats off.........................

I love the bird.......but you have to be passionate to do that.

Think about it: airframe, engine, instruments, etc........


WOW