Builder enthusiasm

[jtpitkin06]

I suppose every builder gets a bit bubbly and enthusiastic when one gets to this point in construction. Today we hung the wings and the project now looks more like an airplane than a bad dream of a gyrocopter.

75% done and 90% to go.

I have no sage comments to prospective builders other than; "Dang, this is fun!"

John Pitkin
Greenville, TX

[Dorsal]

Looking good John, wrap it in cling wrap and go flying
I am actually having withdrawals from building.

[cap01]

definately a big day when the wings go on .

[Av8r3400]

Dorsal - You can come over and work on mine. (Too busy with "employment" to work on it lately...)

[War Eagle]

Some where in all the crap that was being dished out to me because I was taking soooo long to build my plane, my hanger mates thought they would hurry things along for me and covered my plane with cling wrap and used red poster paint to detail it out.

If you look closely at the picture you can plainly see the cling wrap up in the turtle deck area of frame.

We had a good laugh then I ran them off so I could do it 'my' way.

[Dorsal]

Thanks for the laugh on a Sunday morning, John I think War has some buddies to help you with the next phase of your build

[jtpitkin06]

Maybe I could just take it to the airport and have them shrink wrap it like baggage being checked to Caracas.

JP

[enyaw]

My brother and I are headed out for our next 2 week spurt of building today. We finished our last build session (https://www.facebook.com/pages/N517WD/132606786269) at 75% done w/80% to go. Hoping to get to 80% done with only 78% to go over the next 2 weeks.

Weeeeeee! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!:D

[T22]

Congrats, John! Can't wait for the Corvair to go on the front end.

Blue skies (and warm construction area)!
-Tony

[jtpitkin06]

Motivation to keep the project going comes in many forms.

A very good friend of mine, also named John, went west two weeks ago. He lost a battle with cancer at 78. His final days were quick and mostly out of pain. We should all be so lucky.


A year ago, he drove from Austin to Greenville, about 5 hours, to be an extra hand when I was assembling the engine. We had a great two days together poking fun and bantering jokes back and forth. He returned in June when the Kitfox arrived, just to help unpack and take inventory. Another two great days… It was the kind of thing he would do at a moment’s notice.


He was a fellow EAA member who had built two aircraft over a ten year period. More importantly he was a mentor pilot. I flew as co-pilot with him on a GII when I was a young aviator just starting in the business. We flew all over the world… to Japan, deep South, Europe and many domestic trips. I went to the airlines but never lost contact with John or his wife. We often took vacations together in Catalina, Hawaii, Hilton Head and more. It was a friendship that lasted over 33 years.


Now, each time I go in my shop, I feel the master’s hand guiding me. I sometimes speak of one’s personal “comfort level”. That’s something I learned from John. If it doesn’t feel right, take a break and go get a sandwich. Sometimes you have to sleep on it to see if you still have the same opinion in the morning. So it is with experimental aircraft.



When he flew his wheeler Express to KGVT a few years back, my comfort level was high. His construction was impeccable. He tossed me the keys and said, “Get in the left seat.” With him in the right and my wife in the back we launched for a quick trip around the county. The aircraft flew like a Ferrari with wings. As I approached for a landing, I told him “don’t let me flare at 60 feet like I’m in a B-767.” He didn’t say a word and just giggled as I started to flare too high. That was his subtle way of letting me know to keep going down. OK, I get it. Take it down until I think my butt will scrape the asphalt. We rolled it on. The mentor was still at work.


Now, as I build with enthusiasm, I feel John’s presence in the shop at every decision point. When I reach a turning point, I often stop and think how John would handle it. That seems to get me pointed in the right direction. He will be missed.


To all aviators gone west…
John Pitkin
Greenville, TX

[cap01]

captain john , thanks for sharing the story , certainly a tribute to a good friend . you are lucky to have known a man like that .