On Your Mark! .....

At the time of this writing (September 2013), I've been flying for 42 years, first for the pure, liberating fun of it, then for my livelihood. I retired from corporate flying in 2008 and chose to return to my first love: Flying for the fun of it.

When I found the Callair Cadet I already owned a Piper Cub. Something about this bedraggled wraith appealed to my inner knight and I knew she had to be rescued from the ravages of time. The bones appeared to be strong, the engine was freshly overhauled and the prop was new; I couldn't let a "find" like this one pass me by. 

The history appealed to me, too. Poring over books and papers, the FAA records and contacts all over the place resulted in a fair picture of where this airplane originated and how the design came to be. More on that as we go along.

As with more than one of my pet projects, the Callair kept flying and its restoration kept being pushed back until an opportune time presented itself. The stars have aligned, the planets, too. It remains to be discovered whether or not the budget will dress right and cover down in this formation, but I'm willing to take a chance.

The date is set: We cut fabric on Monday, October 28th, at the latest; Saturday, October 26th, at the earliest. Why the 26th? It's the date for the annual Bob White Airport Fly-In. We might make it an "event" within the event. Nothing like a public commitment to launch a project.

More to come.