I have been flying since October 1991, and passed my private
pilot check ride in March 1993. Since then I have rented Cessnas
from several flight schools in Florida and in Tennessee. I have flown my LAST
rented Cessna, as my Van's Aircraft RV-9A is flying. I
have made some connections with the Tennessee Valley RV Builders
Group (TVRVBG) in the
Huntsville, Alabama area. The support I have found there helped me during my RV-9A
project. Use the links below to see my progress as each Van's kit is
assembled. You can now go directly to any construction photo page from the links
below.
April 5, 2008:
Wendell has completed his 40 hours of phase 1 testing and given the first ride to his wife
in the new airplane. What was discovered on that flight is posted at the bottom of his PAGE 85.
July 23, 2005:
If the first photo looks familiar, that is because it is based on a factory paint job from
a 1966 Piper Comanche B that was owned by an old friend of mine from Kentucky. I
have used a metallic blue instead of BLACK trim that was original to the Comanche.
The main color is Pearl White. The aircraft registration numbers are 12 inches high.
Folks who saw the design artwork on this one liked it due to its
simple lines. It pays homage to Piper Aircraft and to Delta Airlines in a variation
of their emblem that fits the RV-9 tail. If you were to cut off that portion of the
emblem past the upward points, you would be left with a close model of the original
Comanche insignia.
This is how you have your cake and eat it, too! Some folks
are really going to be confused when they see my airplane. One side of the tail with
one logo, and the other side with a different logo! It should be fun and start a lot
of conversations. This logo is my own design, but inspired for my love of the
original Star Trek television series.