Using the basement as an airplane construction hangar was a great idea, although it did present a challenge to get it out once it was built. Here's the video of getting it out of the basement. http://video-embed.pennlive.com/services/player/bcpid649725615001?bctid=959608621001
That guy did pretty well on building his airplane in his basement. When I was a bachelor and my airshow partner and I were trying to keep the clown plane put together and rebuilding the L-3 we had the Champ wings in the living room stretching into the dinning room, the L-3 wings jammed into the wreck room ceiling, the fuselage in the carport/shop, the engine in the wreck room, and a lot of parts curing in the oven at times. Then there was another airplane disassembled on the patio. Man, what you can get away with when there is no wife!!
Very cool. Looks like he did a good job. Bob, I have a single guy friend in Austin that is building a Nieuport 12 in his living room. He plans to take it out the sliding glass doors.
Ah yes, the good ol' two seater. Is this an Airdrome plane? I have known quite a few who have built their airplanes in whatever space they have and more power to them.We lived in a rather middle class neighborhood and what I was doing at my house wasn't exactly the norm. When Charlie and I brought home a T-Craft L-2 on top of my Volkswagen pickup I heard somebody say , " Oh NO! They got another one!" We eventually finished everything and returned the neighborhood back to normal.We never heard a word when we ran the L-3 engine for the first time on the front lawn at 9:00PM on a Sunday.It was mounted to the fuselage that we had tied to a fir tree. We honestly didn't think too much about it at the time but looking back at it, I wonder. Wonderful times!
Thanks for sharing. My dad and I (well, mainly my dad; I was under 12 at the time) built a Stitts SA-3A in our garage. Lots of chrome moly tubing and doped fabric. I remember what fun it was to see it and have people comment on it as they walked by when our garage door was open. For those wondering what one looks like, here's a pic of one in a museum (no, it's not ours - ours was a very plain white). http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/StittsSA-3APlayboyCF-RAD.jpg Image Unavailable, Please Login
Luckily we were able to get the Cahmp wings and the L-3 stuff through the back door. When I met Judy, my wife now, she had a horrendous clean up to do and the first thing was to get a new stove . We never could get rid of the odors of solvent and baked enamel. Why this beautiful young widow-lady with 3 little kids decided to take on a 40 year old pilot/airshow clown/ divorced dude with 4 boys will forever be a mystery to me.
I have the wings to my 1936 Aeronca C3 in my living room. Amazing thing is that the wife does not mind at all - I am a lucky man!
