The Joy and Freedom of Flight
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.
Jerry K. Thorne, email1.gif (2101 bytes),
Skype name: n2prise

About this site.

 Web Links Page
Hit Counter Visitors Since Aug 19, 2004.
Click Here:  Dalton High School Class of 1965
September 19, 2005 -18 pages of 2005 reunion photos!
update2.gif (1754 bytes) - January 16, 2011:  ALL 2010 Photos are posted.
See Dalton, Georgia in 1932
DSCN0070A.JPG (329930 bytes)
On the ramp in Georgetown, Texas -Sept. 5, 2005 (above).
Use this link to First Flight - June 9, 2005.
What's NEW?
LOOK over here. arowrite.gif (7263 bytes)
Build = 2042.1 Hours
Hobbs = 343.0 Hours
April 21, 2013:  The news of the month of April begins on PAGE 369.  I had business trips to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.  I received my FAA waiver for another year and Wendell has sold his Aeronca Champ to a pilot in California.
   The site is optimized for 
    1024 x 768 resolution.   
LATEST   WENDELL  FOLKS  RV-8 CONSTRUCTION PAGE
UPDATE -- July 2, 2008: This site is about my experiences building an airplane in my garage from October 2002 until June 2005.  The web site contains my accounts and the photos of flying that completed airplane around the country since June 9, 2005.  Along the way, I have met other pilots and builders and I have included some of their stories and photos.
My friend and hangar mate sold his Cessna 182 and delivered it to the new owner in Anchorage, Alaska in July 2007.  That trip has 50 pages of photos and stories that you may find enjoyable.  This is your chance to ride along "The ALCAN Highway" via your online web experience.
grnblink.gif (2083 bytes) Wendell has SOLD his custom-restored Aeronca Champ. 
Take a look on THIS WEB PAGE.		 grnblnk2.gif (2083 bytes)
Have you have ever wondered what it is like to fly into the world's biggest air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin? 
Don't miss the videos with air traffic control radio messages and intercom conversations of my 2006 arrival and departure
from the annual air show event:  Air Venture 2006.  Details and links to the MPEG files are on my PAGE 228.

Videos and photos from my 2010 trip are linked from the OSHKOSH 2010 MENU PAGE.
TAKE A FLIGHT TO ALASKA ONLINE! Wendell and Terry's Great Alaskan Adventure
CLICK HERE for the ALASKA MENU PAGE!		 50 PAGES OF PHOTOS TO MAKE THE TRIP!
Go HERE for images from the Van's Aircraft Website and one of my Oshkosh 2002 photos showing RV-9A aircraft.
TIP-UP Canopy or SLIDING Canopy -- Making the decision. 
Preparations - Getting the shop ready to begin October 25, 2002!  Page 1 
Empennage - Building the tail feathers Page 2  Page 2A
Wing Kit - Delivered on January 3, 2003.  Page 3  Page 4  Page 5  Page 6  Page 7  Page 8  Page 9  Page 10
     Page 11  Page 12  Page 13  Page 14  Page 15  Page 16 
Fuselage Kit - Page 17  Page 18  Page 19   Page 20  Page 21  Page 22  Page 23  Page 24  Page 25  Page 26  Page 27
     Page 28  Page 29  Page 30  Page 31  Page 32  Page 33  Page 34  Page 35  Page 36  Page 37  Page 38 
Finishing Kit - Page 39  Page 40  Page 41  Page 42  Page 43  Page 44  Page 45  Page 46  Page 47  Page 48  Page 49  
Firewall Forward, Wiring, & Finishing - Page 50  Page 51  Page 52  Page 53  Page 54  Page 55  Page 56  Page 57  
     Page 58  Page 59  Page 60  Page 61  Page 62  Page 63  Page 64  Page 65  Page 66  Page 67  Page 68  Page 69 
     Page 70  Page 71  Page 72  Page 73  Page 74  Page 75  Page 76  Page 77  Page 78  Page 79  Page 80  Page 81 
     Page 82  Page 83  Page 84  Page 85  Page 86  Page 87  Page 88  Page 89  Page 90  Page 91  Page 92  Page 93 
     Page 94  Page 95  Page 96  Page 97  Page 98  Page 99  Page 100  Page 101  Page 102  Page 103  Page 104 
     Page 105  Page 106  Page 107  Page 108  Page 109  Page 110  Page 111  Page 112  Page 113  Page 114  Page 115
     Page 116  Page 117  (Moving Day to the airport is on page 117.)
Final Assembly at the Collegedale Airport (3M3) - Page 118  Page 119  Page 120  Page 121  Page 122  Page 123  Page 124 
     Page 125  Page 126  Page 127  Page 128  Page 129  Page 130  Page 131  Page 132  Page 133  Page 134  Page 135 
  Flying the "Enterprise" N2PZ Page 136  Page 137  Page 138  Page 139  Page 140  Page 141  Page 142  Page 143
  to the Paint Shop: Page 144  Page 145  Page 146  Page 147  Page 148  Page 149  Page 150
  To AirVenture 2005 (OSHKOSH):  Page 151  Page 152  Page 153  Page 154  Page 155  Page 156
  EASTBOUND to NJ, NY, RI, PA, etc. Page 157  Page 158  Page 159 (lots of photos of NYC and New England coast).
  HOMEWARD BOUND (July 31st) Page 160  Page 160A  Page 161  AT HOME Page 162  Page 163  Page 164
  Short LOCAL flights and to TEXAS: Page 165  Page 166  Page 167  Page 168  Page 169  Page 169A
  Lebanon, Tennessee RV Fly-in + more Page 170  Page 171  Page 172  Page 173
  Flying to LOE5 near El Paso, Texas Page 174  Page 175  Page 176  Page 177  Page 178  Page 179
  LOE5 Banquet & Flying Back Home Page 180  Page 181  Page 182  Page 183  Page 184  Page 185  Page 186
  Flying Around Home in GA & TN Page 187  Page 188  Page 189  Page 190
  Other photos and news of interest in Page 191  Page 192  Page 193  Page 194  Page 195
  the Chattanooga and Atlanta areas Page 196  Page 197  Page 198  Page 199 
  Fly to South Florida Dec 30, 2005 Page 200  Page 201  Page 202
  Returning from South Florida (+more) Page 203  Page 204  Page 205
  A new JOB at last! January 30, 2006 Page 206  Page 207  Page 208  Page 209
  Annual Inspection & Video Camera Page 210  Page 211  Page 212
  Denver Trip Westbound - June 2006 Page 213  Page 214  Page 215
  RMRFI & Denver Trip (return home) Page 216  Page 217  Page 218
  EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2006 Page 219  Page 220  Page 221  Page 222  Page 223  Page 224  Page 225
  Oshkosh Video Snapshots & Home Page 226  Page 227  Page 228  Page 229  Page 230  Page 231  Page 232
  Local flights near Chattanooga Page 233  Page 234  Page 235
  First Florida Day Trip on 5/12/2007 Page 236  Page 237  Page 238
  Second Florida Day Trip on 5/20/2007 Page 239  Page 240
  Second Annual Inspection - June 2007 Page 241  Page 242  Page 243  Page 244 
  Summer and Fall 2007 Page 245  Page 246  Page 247  Page 248  Page 249 
  A New Year Begins and MORE! Page 250  Page 251  Page 252  Page 253  
  SPRING and into SUMMER 2008 Page 254  Page 255  Page 256  Page 257  Page 258  Page 259  Page 260
  August 2008 Flights Page 261  Page 262  Page 263  Page 264  Page 265  Page 266 
  September-October 2008 Flights Page 267  Page 268  Page 269  Page 270  Page 271  Page 272  Page 273
  October 2008 Flights Page 274  Page 275  Page 276  Page 277  Page 278  Page 279
  November 2008 Flights Page 280  Page 281  Page 282  Page 283  Page 284  Page 285
  December 2008 Flights Page 286  Page 287  Page 288  Page 289  
  Winter 2009 Flights Page 290  Page 291  Page 292 
  Spring is here at last! Page 293  Page 294 
  Air & Space Museum at Dulles Airport Page 295  Page 296  Page 297  Page 298 
  Spring Storms Take a Toll at "Home" Page 299  Page 300  Page 301  Page 302  Page 303  Page 304
  August-September 2009 Page 305  Page 306  Page 307  Page 308  Page 309  Page 310
  October 2009 Page 311  Page 312  Page 313  Page 314
  November 2009 (Florida Fly-In) Page 315  Page 316  Page 317  Page 318  Page 319  Page 320
  Nov/Dec 2009 - other travels Page 321  Page 322  Page 323  Page 324  Page 325 Page 326
  Winter 2010 Page 327  Page 328 
  Spring 2010 Page 329  Page 330  Page 331  Page 332   Page 333 
  Summer 2010 (Oshkosh Trip links) Page 334  Page 335  Page 336  Page 337
  September / October 2010 Page 338  Page 339  Page 340  Page 341   Page 342  Page 343 
  November 2010 - Las Vegas Page 344 
  December 2010 - March 2011 Page 345  Page 346  Page 347  Page 348
  Summer and Fall 2011 Page 349  Page 350  Page 351  Page 352  Page 353  Page 354  Page 355 
  Winter, Spring & Summer 2012 Page 356  Page 357  Page 358 
  Florida at LAST!  Texas road trip! Page 359  Page 360  Page 361  Page 362  Page 363 
  Winter Begins in Florida Page 364  Page 365  Page 366  Page 367  Page 368  Page 369 update2.gif (1754 bytes) on April 21, 2013.
Tugwell Canopy Opening Modifications - Tug1  Tug 2  Tug 3  Tug 4  Posted August 22, 2004.
Other RV Builder Projects I have visited.  Last update2.gif (1754 bytes) on December 27, 2009.   David Edgemon RV-8
A trip to Van's Aircraft and the Spruce Goose at Evergreen Museum - May 17, 2004 
EIGHT NEW PAGES of pictures from the May 2004 trip to Washington & Oregon.  Updated on September 19, 2004.
Going to Oshkosh - July 2004.  Page A  Page B  Page C  Page D  Page E 
OSHKOSH 2010 - CLICK HERE for the menu of all the pages of photos taken by my son and I at "Sloshkosh 2010".
OSHKOSH 2006 VIDEOS - - GO HERE for compressed video files from the Oshkosh AirVenture VFR Arrival.  Look further down the page for takeoff and departure videos, July 26, 2006.  The HUGE high-resolution Oshkosh 2006 video files are online courtesy of RV-9A builder and pilot Matthew Brandes for those of you with high-speed internet connections.  Details and links to the MPEG files are on my PAGE 228.
AirVenture 2010:CLICK HERE for the MENU to ALL pages about this special trip to Oshkosh! update2.gif (1754 bytes) August 22, 2010.
My radio-controlled model aircraft days (old photos from the 1980's).
Flying Photos Menu Page Other Travels Menu Page My Family Web Pages
grnblink.gif (2083 bytes) CATV Technical Articles from my years at QRF, and FIBER OPTICS. grnblnk2.gif (2083 bytes)
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.

DSCM0209A.JPG (331638 bytes)
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.  If you see me at a fly-in, ask me about the circle of stars and the background.

DSCM0208A.JPG (330984 bytes)