tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97222792011-08-18T23:30:23.964-07:00Before I started building my house, I flew my Quicksilver MX quite a bit. When my house is finished, I'll build a runway and fly from my house. These are stories and photos that chronicle the restoration and flying experiences of my Quicksilver 1983 MX and my 1984 Phantom X1 and most recently, my home construction!Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3741100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-54279354643975072222010-03-02T12:36:00.000-08:002010-03-02T12:45:14.812-08:00

A poem by Dietrich BanhoefferOh God, early in the morning I cry to you.Help me to prayAnd to concentrate my thoughts on you:I cannot do this alone.In me there is darkness,But in you there is light.I am lonely, but you do not leave me;I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;I am restless, but with you there is peace.In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;I do not

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-65934087844408095512010-01-06T05:37:00.000-08:002010-01-06T05:38:27.645-08:00

We are having quite an extended cold snap here in the south. Yesterday it was 17 degrees at my place when I woke in the morning! Usually on days like that, it will warm up to the 40's or 50's and then get cold again at night. Yesterday the temperature barely rose above freezing. It was 34 degrees when I went for my walk at about 5PM yesterday evening and was below freezing when my walk was

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-55126842310334397562009-12-29T10:56:00.000-08:002009-12-29T11:32:27.168-08:00

It's here, the time off that I looked so forward to. I have plenty of things to do, but I don't really want to do any of them. Well, there are things that I think I would always like to do, but the opportunities don't really present themselves in my current situation. I think that there is never any doubt that I would like to go flying. If I had a completed airstrip and a serviceable ultralight,

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-58166417065157120702009-12-10T18:05:00.000-08:002009-12-10T18:05:00.826-08:00

Here is a diagram of what I thought happened in my car/tree encouter before I saw the tire tracks after work. After seeing the tracks, I can't explain how I didn't end up in a creek, upside down about 20 feet below the road surface. It's like the car was picked up when it was backward, moved 50 feet forward and turned around another 3/4 of a circle.

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-87458298615844396682009-12-09T06:47:00.000-08:002009-12-09T05:05:05.109-08:00

This morning I got out of bed 10 minutes early for some unknown reason. I get in my car and head toward work in the dark. About 3 miles from my house I round this corner and there are a couple of trees in the road, spanning all but about 3 feet of the road. I'm going about 60 and the roads are wet from the rain last night. Even though my car has anti-lock brakes, there's not enough time to safely

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-159138569174326222009-12-02T05:11:00.000-08:002009-12-02T05:14:39.176-08:00

My Friend, I am asking you the most important question of life. Your joy or your sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die? http://www.godssimpleplan.org/gsps-english.html

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-37352793609514478912009-12-01T20:07:00.000-08:002009-12-04T15:23:29.155-08:00

When Kristy and I went to the Mercy Me concert in late October, at the end the of the concert the guys in the band did their pitch for Compassion International. I had heard the pitch several times in the last few years, always wanting to sponsor a child, but not having the means to do so at the time. This time, conditions were just right. I had just finished paying off my car, freeing up $156 a

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-58551494855154542872009-12-01T10:53:00.000-08:002009-12-01T10:57:50.230-08:00

Took these over the Thanksgiving holiday at Englewood Beach, Florida. Several different nights.

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-77351324597186109932009-11-29T06:18:00.000-08:002009-11-30T05:06:10.858-08:00

Deep sea fishing was one of those things that are like going to a NASCAR race at Talledega...I'm happy I did it and I see no need in doing it again. It was fun. We caught about 12 small fish yeilding about a pound and a half of fillets. The most amazing part of the trip were these dolphins that were following the boat on the way out of the harbor. Beautiful....

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-54733277903023721492009-11-23T18:47:00.000-08:002009-11-23T06:52:22.907-08:00

Well, after being lazy for months, I'm starting to work on the house again. My good friend Frank is coming over once a week to help me. He'll be over tonight to continue closet framing upstairs.This weekend I installed a the final window on the first floor. Of course when I framed it up (months ago) I framed it wrong so I had to modify the opening a bit. I did most of the work with a chain

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-45246292355272174132009-11-05T05:58:00.000-08:002009-11-05T12:03:09.877-08:00

Tonight is the first of eight performances of the "Cotton Patch Gospel", the last published work of the late Harry Chapin. I have been practicing as a guitarist in the orchestra and I hope I'm ready. I'll let y'all know how it goes.On another note, I lost my cell phone. I don't have service, but I had all my contact phone numbers on it and I used it as my alarm clock. Since my Cannon camera

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-64957477420680070582009-10-11T21:52:00.000-07:002009-10-12T14:12:46.730-07:00

Wrenched some more on Wes' car on Saturday. Had to remove the lifting chain from the new engine, put the hoist in the truck, go out to the back 40 and set the old engine on the ground, next to the Cougar parts car. Went back to Wes' Tbird and proceeded to bolt the engine to the transmission and the torque converter to the flywheel. In retrospect, it was the easiest hookup I've ever done. Just

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-45041049260032689722009-10-07T05:08:00.000-07:002009-10-07T05:10:43.074-07:00

After Wes's engine spun a rod bearing and started to knock a couple of months ago, We picked up a used one with 86000 miles on it. Hopefully it will work well. Here, Wes is installing the flywheel that we forgot to do while the engine was on the ground. At the moment, the engine is sitting in the engine compartment, but hasn't been bolted in yet. Wes and I will continue next time he visits.

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-30982833147373033482009-07-26T21:01:00.000-07:002009-07-27T05:14:44.103-07:00

I worked on clearing the airstrip about 2 hours today. Progress is certainly being made. I stopped at a local equipment rental place on Saturday and learned that I could rent a tracked Bobcat skid-steer with a bucket for $225 a day. If I pick it up at closing time on a Friday, I don't have to return it until they open on Monday. I think this is what I'll do instead of hire someone with a

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-43458131744477127492009-07-23T20:46:00.000-07:002009-07-24T05:42:18.791-07:00

On June 30th, the spot that will be my runway looked like the pictures below. I've been putting in some hours clearing this small spot in hopes that it will serve as my ultralight runway. After this weekend, I'll post a picture of my progress, but it is substantial. I have only owned this property for about two years and I've been concentrating mostly on building my home. I've discovered that

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-42854104782708975882009-07-15T18:48:00.000-07:002009-07-16T13:23:00.357-07:00

Well, I've been doing a bit of reflecting on my time spent at Mark Smith's fly-in. It's really strange. Many of the people who were at the fly-in I've met before. I remember their faces but not their names. When you have to ask, it can be embarrassing. If you still don't remember, it can sometimes be so awkward that you decide not to ask again. During the year I communicate with them through the

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1255898212129552542009-07-08T19:03:00.000-07:002009-07-09T05:14:44.155-07:00

At Mark's fly-in, Dwight told me that I needed to set aside one day a week to work on my runway. I'm beginning to think that he's right. Up to now it's been house, house, house. I think I need to direct some of my work toward the ultimate end of flying. The fly-in re-ignited the flame. All I really need to do is cut down a five or six dozen trees and mow the lawn and I possibly could have 300

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-88703796497016078082009-07-07T18:18:00.000-07:002009-07-08T05:25:35.941-07:00

When re-installing the new EGR tube, I had to remove the DPFE sensor from the old tube to put on the new tube. Wouldn't you know, the plastic was old and brittle and broke where it connects to the vacuum likes. That will be another $35 or so plus the car will throw the check engine light until I put the new sensor on.When testing that everything electrical worked, I discovered that neither the

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-76638591535669578962009-07-06T19:56:00.000-07:002009-07-08T05:29:32.968-07:00

This 4th of July weekend was relatively productive for me. On Friday, I worked on the last bit of roofing that need to be finished. I'm still not done. It gets tricky working 20 feet above the level of the deck. I have just a few more pieces of roofing material to install. After the roofing material is all done, I have some flashing to install where the walls meet the roof. After that, the roof

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-50297132932043936572009-06-28T20:28:00.000-07:002009-07-08T14:00:48.636-07:00

So, I know this blog started as a way to document my ultralight flying adventures (hence the name), but for the last two to three years I've been tied up with some personal junk in my life. I've been building a house, not contracting it out, but building it myself. Until you get to a certain point with a house, it is the ONLY priority you can have, especially since my accommodations were less

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-41643364912437532212009-06-23T19:20:00.000-07:002009-06-23T19:41:03.068-07:00

I'm finally getting around to finishing the last bit of the roofing left from last year. I had to stop last November when it stopped getting warm enough to make the roofing material lay flat. As a result, the east roof on the house has wrinkles in it. Not to worry, much of the future porch roof will cover the wrinkled present roof.As you can see from the pictures, I have the under-eave soffit

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-21271230352853523612009-06-22T11:45:00.000-07:002009-06-29T09:41:33.089-07:00

My son is carrying on the fine tradition of learning how mechanical things work and how to fix them. Today he installed a fuel pump on his Thunderbird. When he was visiting this weekend (I picked him up because his car wasn't running) we discussed and re-discussed all the things that could possibly be wrong with his car. When I inspected it on Friday, my initial thought was a bad fuel pump,

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-62604330881979189682009-06-15T19:07:00.000-07:002009-06-16T07:10:32.398-07:00

I've been toying around with different deck designs and shown below is what I have decided on. The south portion of the deck, which will extend down the south wall of the house, is not shown. The south portion will also have a small upper level for entrance/egress from the second floor. The rafters for the roof on the east portion of the deck are 16 foot long 2x6's on 12" centers. They will

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-15999385044410686842009-05-18T19:14:00.000-07:002009-06-29T09:48:00.569-07:00

When I came home from work on Tuesday, I was surprised to find three people loading up all of the sheet steel from the demolished barn. I contacted them a few weeks ago and since they hadn't shown up, I assumed they weren't interested. I'm happy that was not the case! The area looks much better now. Not only did they clean up the metal, they enlarged my burn pile by throwing the rotted old wood

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-25285885380530135712009-05-11T19:39:00.000-07:002009-05-15T08:30:18.640-07:00

My son Wes and my Daughter Kristy spent 5 days with me during Holy week. I took Wednesday and Thursday off and Friday was a holiday. We worked together as a team to get much work done! We hauled 2 cubic yards of crushed rock to the ravine in my driveway. At $25 per yard, I ran out of money before the ravine was filled, but it's a start.Wes and I made a big dent in demolishing the old metal and

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-56111928439265220542009-03-30T19:52:00.000-07:002009-04-04T14:21:35.193-07:00

Today didn't start out so well. Between Wednesday and Saturday I got over 12 inches of rain! All this water had to go somewhere, and it decided to go down my driveway. My gravel driveway that is.This morning when I got in the car to go to work I was surpirsed to find a gully right down the spot where I drive. I was aware that it was starting to wash away, but not to this extent. As I was

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-24616337680927325292009-03-08T19:21:00.000-07:002009-03-09T05:15:13.960-07:00

It seems like I have been on the go for many weeks now. Thursday I had music practice for an upcoming prison ministry event, Friday I played at another ministry reunion group, and Saturday we played at a church groundbreaking event! This week will be the only week since the end of November that I will only have one appointment scheduled after work, which is today. A friend of mine (Frank) is in

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-91398200085804532422009-03-01T22:14:00.000-08:002009-03-02T05:14:43.044-08:00

This weekend we experienced two seasons in two days. Friday night and Saturday morning we had Spring, with severe thunderstorms with damaging winds, hail and tornados. On Sunday morning I woke up to snow. I was up as 6AM and there was plenty on the ground. It snowed hard all morning and into the afternoon we had heavy showers. I ended up with about 3" on the vehicles with a bit less on the ground

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-71483430320799715012009-02-08T14:12:00.000-08:002009-02-11T09:03:20.245-08:00

Since I got the priority of my TV taken care of (previous post), I've been making decent progress. I finished up the electrical and insulation on the bottom floor (except for stairwell). I installed a temporary sink in the bathroom that will eventually be used in the upstairs bath. It is really nice to be able to brush my teeth in a warm bathroom instead of a sub-freezing stairwell! I also framed

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-77960790646708543532009-01-04T15:00:00.000-08:002009-02-11T09:03:58.965-08:00

I visited all the electronic stores before Christmas, wishing I could afford a new Plasma or LCD TV. I was currently watching on a 13" with pretty crappy color. I decided that I just didn't want to go any more in debt and decided to save my money and buy one next Christmas. I ended up buying a regular TV antenna to allow me to get more channels through my digital converter box. I temporarily

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-52499612974830199382008-12-20T21:57:00.000-08:002008-12-22T09:03:51.797-08:00

I know it seems that my priorities may be out of order, but before the interior of the house gets completely finished, I'm going to build the deck. It will be a great place to invite people over and hang out, but it will serve a more practical purpose. It will be much easier to install the siding from a level, elevated platform.Eventually, the deck will be two levels, opening up the second story

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-13706393097438444432008-12-20T19:23:00.000-08:002008-12-22T08:49:18.500-08:00

Today, I framed up and installed the window that will be in the kitchen over the counter. It looks pretty good and lets a bunch of light in. Now I can finish all the wiring and finish up the insulation on the ground level main house. It will be nice to have more room to live in than just the bedroom.

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-81666207562923393682008-11-30T19:15:00.000-08:002008-12-03T08:33:08.587-08:00

As previously mentioned, I had only one more piece of roofing to install to complete the roof over the stairwell. It was cold and windy today. The cold makes the roofing material stiff and hard to work with. The sun shone through once in a while and it was enough to allow me to do the work, but not warm enough to keep it from being miserable! I installed the last piece and installed four "cap

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-67107243114964242132008-11-16T14:32:00.000-08:002008-12-12T22:46:17.294-08:00

Yesterday it was cloudy, cold and windy. The sun shone through once in a while, but it wasn't long enough to warm up the roofing material so it would lay flat. I nailed on the strips where the roofing cement would hold the material down and generally prepared everything so that I could install the roofing today. It was sunny and about 55 degrees today. Not really warm enough to allow the material

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-52902945287449206252008-10-13T05:17:00.000-07:002008-10-13T05:33:14.425-07:00

My son Wes turned 16 in July. In 2005 I bought a Thunderbird for him when he was of driving age. Shortly after I bought it, the transmission died. I am a very big fan of these particular autos. I've owned 2 Mercury Cougars and besides this particular Tbird, two others [See February 2005 for a pic of my 1994 5-speed Thuderbird SC]. My second Cougar's engine blew up 25000 miles after I rebuilt it

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-22512183638695132752008-10-09T09:18:00.000-07:002008-10-09T09:35:42.187-07:00

Firstly, I have an administrative issue to address. All comments to this blog are moderated and I have the option to trash them if I feel they are inappropriate. This blog is written for my own enjoyment and the target audience is family, friends and the ultralight flying community if they choose to read. If you don't like my blog the solution is simple...don't read it! It isn't helpful in any

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-38543405090056538662008-09-08T04:50:00.000-07:002008-09-08T05:02:54.257-07:00

After about a 6 week "no-work" spell due to a back injury, I finally decided that I better make progress toward getting some roofing material on my house. The fact that there were four hurricanes stacked up in a line waiting to make landfall anywhere from Florida to Texas makes the matter a priority. Today, hurricane Ike is ripping Cuba apart.The pictures below show the progress that was made

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-14181054209461437102008-07-24T11:16:00.000-07:002008-07-24T11:30:24.471-07:00

Jeff came and got his camping trailer on Saturday and Al came and got his pop-up on Tuesday. I don't have a stove anymore, but I have a gas grill, a microwave and a small refrigerator. Life will be somewhat normal again when I get a big fridge, a stove, a washer and a dryer, not necessarily in that order. I could be running into a fridge for free from a person who works with me.Well, I've been

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-87486646465884498282008-07-14T05:21:00.000-07:002008-12-12T22:46:18.552-08:00

Friday afternoon I took 1/2 vacation day to finish up the insulation and install the door in the bedroom in preparation for move-in on Saturday. I finished up about dusk and went to bed early. Saturday I went into town to my storage unit and brought selected pieces back, most importantly, the bed! I slept inside the house for the first time on Saturday night. I've met the most important part of

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-88257214322864515512008-07-11T07:50:00.000-07:002008-07-11T08:23:52.563-07:00

Tomorrow I will be moving into the bedroom of my house. Tonight the insulation will be finished and the bedroom door will be installed. The window air conditioner is already in place and working well. God willing, I plan to sleep in the house on Saturday night. I've got a bunch of work left to do before the house is finished but hopefully not at the pace I've been working for the last 4

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-82727238544856427632008-07-07T05:39:00.000-07:002008-12-12T22:46:19.557-08:00

Back to work today, I sure am glad! People joke when they say they are glad to be back to work where they can rest a bit! Wes and I worked our proverbial "rear ends" off last week during my vacation. We made tons of progress. Dug trenches with a backhoe for the power line and septic tank main line, finished the water supply and waste water plumbing, and finished the shower and toilet installation

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-64409408127575877132008-06-23T10:55:00.000-07:002008-12-12T22:46:20.771-08:00

This weekend my son Wes and I continued working on the house, preparing to give the camper back to it's owner. We ran some more wire, installed some more electrical boxes, completed some more plumbing and completed the bedroom closet and entrance door framing. We knocked off early on Saturday because Wes was invited to the 16th birthday party of a young lady that goes to my church. Wes is coming

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-53450123676534707332008-06-19T08:20:00.001-07:002008-06-19T08:24:25.017-07:00

As you may or may not know, a very generous friend of mine from church has let me borrow and live in his 26' camping trailer since November, allowing me to be comfortable while I'm working on my house. He surprised me last week by telling me he needed it back by July 20th. I've been steadily working all spring trying to get to the point where I can have a climate controlled area to sleep in and a

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-22552272806338786592008-06-04T11:22:00.000-07:002008-12-12T22:46:21.174-08:00

House construction is going much slower than I expected, but it is progressing. These pictures were taken on May 2nd. Physically, the house doesn't look much different now on the outside. All the OSB sheeting and housewrap are up and I've done some work on the eaves and gable ridges. Notice that here are no gable overhangs. This was done for expediency's sake. It's a rural country home with a

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-44408906757409649612007-10-11T10:35:00.000-07:002008-12-12T22:46:21.764-08:00

Here are some deer pics pulled from my gamespy camera yesterday. It's great living in the country. This spot is about 200 yards in a straight line from my home bulding site.A fawn with it's mom.Same two...probably.Look carefully...there are two bucks.

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-37483022164365568412007-10-11T09:51:00.000-07:002008-12-12T22:46:21.939-08:00

The house is progressing, but very slowly. I work on it every night after work, or at least when I don't have praise team practice, or have to do laundry, or any of the other things that are normal parts of life. I thought I'd at least be inside by now. It's supposed to be about 45 degrees tonight. It will be chilly in the camper! I'll be OK until I have to get out from under the covers to put on

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-68461252381950350242007-07-30T11:17:00.000-07:002008-12-12T22:46:22.056-08:00

Well, I'm sorry I don't have anything to post about flying, but maybe I will next year! In the meantime, I'm in the process of building my house so I can have air-conditioning, (or heat by the amount of progress I'm making) and running water. I've got the septic tank installed (but nothing to hook up yet), I have temporary electric (runs the A/C in the camper) and the water line has been put in

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-12628366785705030712007-07-06T05:38:00.000-07:002008-12-12T22:46:22.165-08:00

Well, as I stated in a previous post, the purchase of 60 acres in rural Autauga county, Alabama, is complete! I am in the process of building my house. I've got temporary power, a septic tank installed and ran 450 feet of water line two weeks ago so now I have a spigot! No more filling and transporting of water cans whenever I find myself at a water source. I now have my own.Construction is

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-72860555945397272682007-05-11T09:45:00.000-07:002008-07-07T06:51:37.480-07:00

Ok, I haven't done ANY flying since my incident last October near the GA airport where I was newly based. As previously described, I had to disassemble my plane and put it in the van, and remove it from somebody's property. It still is in the van today, in pieces. But, in the not too distant future, things will change.I have been going through some changes in my life. I've got a new job that is

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-31901990343348349172007-01-11T06:03:00.000-08:002007-01-19T12:15:27.482-08:00

Happy New Year everybody!Ok, I'm going to come clean. I haven't posted lately because my last flight ended in a small catastrophe. Here's the brief story: This happened near the end of October. I was about to take my first flight from my new airport. There was a Cessna practicing T&G's on runway 9. I was going to take off on runway 18, which was grass. I waited until the Cessna touched down and

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1160416125611320402006-10-09T10:47:00.000-07:002006-10-10T06:13:48.330-07:00

Flying from Fort Deposit yesterday was really a great trip. I was all ready to go on Saturday morning but made the decision to abort the attempt just before getting on the interstate for the airport. The wind was already gusting to well over 10 and it was only going to get worse. I chose to go on Sunday afternoon, after church.The flight was basically uneventful with a few exceptions. I was

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1159985578400515362006-10-04T11:08:00.000-07:002006-10-05T09:44:36.726-07:00

I'll be stopping by City Hall in Wetumpka to pay my hangar rent tonight for my MX's new home. More details to come!

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1158690971686337622006-09-19T11:35:00.000-07:002006-09-20T11:03:17.530-07:00

I had quite a good time flying this past weekend. On Saturday, I flew to a private paved airstrip about 18 miles from Fort Deposit. It was a great! Weather was fine…no clouds or haze and perfectly calm. I had such a fun time that I decided to fly a bit more. Two years ago (this weekend actually) when I was moving my plane from Tuskegee to Fort Deposit (about 80 miles), I had a crankshaft

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1153744622123369602006-07-24T05:22:00.000-07:002006-07-29T22:19:09.480-07:00

Last Saturday, I finally found time to repair my MX and go flying. A couple of weeks ago, I replaced my fan shaft bearings again, this time with the required spacers that go between the inner races of the bearings. I had been having a problem with bearing failure after about 2 hours. I had this happen twice. After I explained the problem on the Quicksilver Yahoo group, Mark Smith asked if I

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1150286279887052202006-06-14T04:53:00.000-07:002006-06-14T04:57:59.903-07:00

It's that time of the year again! The Posey Patch Fly-in in Southern Indiana. Too bad I won't be flying in, but I'll be driving. But first, I'll be driving to Phantom Aeronautics 1st Annual Fly-in in Three Rivers, Michigan. I'll be spending a couple of nights there in a tent, then going to see my Father in northern Michigan for Father's Day. Then I'm off to the Posey Patch the following

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1145300337230849732006-04-17T04:19:00.000-07:002006-04-17T11:58:57.246-07:00

Well, after speaking (err...typing)with my friend Mark Smith, of Posey County Indiana, the center of Quicksilver innovations these days at the famous Posey Patch, he determined that when I reassembled my fan shaft and bearings, I omitted installing the spacers that go between the two bearings. This causes the inner races to be pulled together when you tighten the nut that holds the fan to the

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1145299065721973872006-04-15T17:21:00.000-07:002006-04-17T11:47:27.930-07:00

First off, I want to apologize that I don't have any pictures. When I went to the USAF Thunderbirds airshow at Maxwell AFB last weekend, I broke my camera. I'll post some of the pics I took at the airshow soon. I'm looking for another camera, so bear with me until I find one!Good Friday turned out to be really good weather for my MX; she loves light winds and so do I. I arrived at the airport

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1144237953014661062006-04-05T04:51:00.000-07:002006-04-05T04:52:33.040-07:00

I finally got to fly yesterday after work. It was really enjoyable. The air was relatively calm and even though it was 78 degrees on the ground, it was quite nippy up in the air. I didn't bring my GPS with me because I can't find it at the moment, but I did get up to what I estimate to be 2000 feet or so. I didn't stay that high too long. I was only wearing a flannel shirt over my T-shirt

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1144068566898143772006-04-03T05:48:00.000-07:002006-04-04T11:08:50.246-07:00

With all my preparation for flying this weekend, it wasn't to be. It was cloudy and foggy on Saturday early when the winds were supposed to be mild. I didn't leave my house until 9:00AM or so and the winds were already picking up. I arrived at the airport a bit before 10 and the windsock was blowing straight out. I figured that I would do some work on the MX. I greased the driveline bearings,

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1143812365149749352006-03-31T04:55:00.000-08:002006-03-31T05:39:25.216-08:00

Weather looks good for this weekend and the first flight of the year. If you remember from last year, I moved the provision 8 503 from the MX over to the Phantom that I'm restoring, and I installed a 503 that I purchased from eBay and rebuilt. This was the first complete rebuild of a Rotax that I have done. I'm a technical person by trade, so I have a good bit of confidence in the job I have

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1138107485928443512006-01-24T04:55:00.000-08:002006-01-24T04:58:06.976-08:00

I'll bet y'all just thought I gave up on my blog. WRONG! I haven't been to the hangar since my last post. Too damn cold, or wet, or windy, or whatever! With Christmas and the extra hours I have been putting in at work, I just can't find the time! I've still got a Phantom to finish and my MX needs a Fan Belt! I'll get there soon!

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1133150431641728952005-11-27T19:48:00.000-08:002005-11-27T20:00:31.700-08:00

The pics below show how far I've come on the Phantom. I have to finish hooking up the wires on the engine end and attach all the wires/fuel lines to the frame with wire ties and standoffs, then I'm ready to mount the pod. Before I do that though, I have to finish sanding and painting the pod. After that, I'm on to the wings...finally!

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1131995207688905832005-11-14T10:56:00.000-08:002005-11-15T05:21:32.856-08:00

The Phantom reconstruction is continuing, but at a much slower rate than I expected. This weekend, I worked about 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday, but I didn't get too much done.I mounted both carburetors, mounted the fuel tank, fabricated muffler brackets and mounted the muffler, only to find that I welded the spring hooks too close to the end of the muffler. There wasn't any tension to keep

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1130939071354486062005-10-29T20:43:00.000-07:002005-11-02T05:45:24.896-08:00

I started out for the airport late this morning, around 11:00. It's getting a bit cold here in central Alabama and leaving later in the day gives the sun time to warm things up!I forgot to pick up an innertube for my flat tire, and being Saturday, I couldn't find a place open that would have the tube. I wound up going to Harbor Freight, who didn't have the right size tube either. Instead, they

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1129574917513015802005-10-16T18:45:00.000-07:002005-10-19T07:47:10.636-07:00

It was windy about mid-morning today, but the sky was blue as could be. I was thinking the wind would die down this evening, and I would plan to arrive at the airport late in the afternoon and possibly work on the Phantom before I went flying the MX.When I got to the airport about 3:30, imagine my surprise when I pull up to my hangar and I see my fellow Phantom owner Billy's airplane parked

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1129566447238865352005-10-15T19:02:00.000-07:002005-10-19T07:44:36.336-07:00

I arrived about 8:00 and made preparations to install an engine on my MX. Last weekend, I took the provision 8 503 off of the MX and moved it to it's perch on top of the Phantom's keel tube. Of course, this left me in a non-flyable condition which can't be tolerated very well.Some time back, before and during my neck surgery recovery, I rebuilt a points-type 503 engine that I purchased on eBay.

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1128950520486319752005-10-09T17:23:00.000-07:002005-10-10T18:52:47.663-07:00

SERFI this year was somewhat of a let-down. I decided the day before not to fly there, as it was raining on Friday and the winds were expected to be 10-15 all day on Saturday. My son and I were going to drive instead. Fifteen minutes out, I noticed that I left the camera at home. The pictures in this post were provided by James Kirkland, who owns a beautiful modified Quicksilver that is stationed

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1128612258711639032005-10-06T07:53:00.000-07:002005-10-06T08:24:18.723-07:00

I was disappointed that I didn't see a package from UPS on the porch last night when I got home from work. I have been expecting it for some time. I ordered the prop from Phantom Aeronautics, which is a reseller of the Powerfin line. Getting Erik from Phantom on the phone is sometimes hit-or-miss and I had been missing lately, so on Tuesday, I decided to call Powerfin Inc., to check on the status

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1128432369290722302005-10-04T04:12:00.000-07:002005-10-04T06:26:09.300-07:00

The EAA is holding their annual South-East Regional Fly-In this weekend in Evergreen, Alabama. My friend Don and I intend to fly down from Ft. Deposit on Saturday as early as the fog will permit. If the weather looks like it will be good on Sunday morning, we are going to camp out at the airport on Saturday night. I've never flown to SERFI before, but I have once flown to Middleton Field in

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1127013463958457682005-09-17T19:57:00.000-07:002005-10-06T07:50:31.590-07:00

Today was a blast! I got to the airport at about eight o'clock this morning and started working on my Phantom. Don drove up a while later and took a look at how my plane was shaping up. He was there to get some time in on his Aeronca Chief after the plane had loitered around the hanger for a few months, but unfortunately his tires were low. He didn't want to drive all the way home for a pump, so

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1126895744668076532005-09-16T11:34:00.000-07:002005-09-16T11:35:44.673-07:00

I saw this on a fellow aviator's blog and just had to have it for mine!

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1127246261176871612005-09-14T20:56:00.000-07:002005-09-20T13:37:09.840-07:00

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1126631162495159472005-09-13T19:01:00.000-07:002005-09-14T05:16:06.070-07:00

Well, so far I'm way off on my initial time estimate for what it was going to take to repair the Phantom fairing. I've glassed-in the bottom and have done some repairs, but I still have much more sanding and glass lay-up to finish the process. I'd say I'm about 60% done. That's after working on it all last weekend and about an hour on Monday evening after work. It's really not too fun getting all

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1126010458265539672005-09-06T05:26:00.000-07:002005-09-06T05:42:54.803-07:00

I brought the Phantom's pod home from the airport last week and started to clean it up over the weekend. This thing is in bad shape. Apparently it's been repaired several times, and the quality of work is what I would call substandard. There's lots of Bondo body filler all over it, in fact, at the nose of the pod and the nosewheel opening, it's about a quarter inch thick! I don't have any more

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1125840788363413962005-09-03T21:07:00.000-07:002006-06-21T18:22:01.210-07:00

When I got to the airport, there was a plane parked on the tarmac. This is pretty unusual for Ft. Deposit. Upon inspection, you could see that the propeller tips were bent. I suspected that the pilot had forgotten to put the gear down. Besides the prop, nothing was apparently wrong from the topside. I looked underneath and sure enough, this plane had made a belly landing. After preflighting my MX

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1125838889683879932005-09-01T18:53:00.000-07:002005-09-04T06:01:29.693-07:00

I worked on the Phantom yesterday afternoon and today as well. She's coming together nicely. I've still got a lot of work to do, but progress is good. Installing the engine and pod with all associated gauge wiring, kill switch wiring and fuel system plumbing will take plenty of time. I also haven't disassembled the wings to inspect them; at this point, I'm not sure if I'm going to. Here's a

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1125064189034342812005-08-29T12:00:00.000-07:002005-08-29T12:10:05.976-07:00

I got the remaining cage rail and inner landing gear parts via UPS on Thursday. I'm working 1/2 days at work for two weeks because of my neck, so I got started on assembly of the cage as soon as I got home. I had several problems with parts aligning and there were small machining burrs on some parts. A file quickly took care of them, but I wish the burrs would have been removed at the factory. I

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1124757025858063372005-08-22T17:18:00.000-07:002005-08-29T12:09:51.463-07:00

Went flying the MX on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. First time I've flown since July 4th weekend! I had neck surgery and have been recovering and they wouldn't let me fly! It felt really good to be back in the air. On Saturday, I flew to a field that I've been to before, the Fountain City Flyers radio control flying field in Autaugaville. It was about a 30 mile trip one-way. Very, very hazy,

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1124504502746079382005-08-19T19:00:00.000-07:002005-08-29T12:09:26.936-07:00

When I got back from the Atlanta area on Thursday, three big boxes of parts were waiting for me inside the house. The boxes contained a new keel extension tube and dynafocal mount for my 503, a complete mechanical drum brake kit, big-man bars and a chrome-moly landing gear weldment along with the new left side cage tube and cage front. Most of the pieces were silver powder-coated and really

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1124479556849514702005-08-16T19:07:00.000-07:002005-08-29T12:05:10.823-07:00

While accompanying my wife on her business trip to Atlanta, I decided to lookup a Phantom-type aircraft trainer. I found one in Cartersville, Georgia, about 40 miles north of where I was staying in Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia. Ben Methvin was the owner/instructor of the beautiful blue and yellow Flightstar II SC. It was powered by a Rotax 582 bluehead, "E" gearbox and a 3-blade Powerfin prop.After

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1123847834261309412005-08-11T22:35:00.000-07:002005-10-13T12:33:50.813-07:00

This week I cleaned all the tail surface fabric, all the vertical stabilizer, horizontal stabilizer, rudder and elevator tubes, and replaced all broken tube connectors and saddles, the re-assembled everything using new aircraft-grade AN hardware. I did not replace all the hinge eye-bolts. They are just a bit rusty and discolored. I wire-brushed them to remove the rust and cleaned them up. They

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1123699422535965992005-08-10T11:35:00.000-07:002005-08-29T12:04:27.740-07:00

Below is a shot of the cleanest of the horizontal stabilizer halves before I started cleaning. It's not just dust, it's dust, grease/oil, and algae.Here's the elevator cover halves (red) and the vertical stab halves and the rudder covers after scrubbing and washing.Here's the vertical stab halves after cleaning and assembling. The tubes are the horiz. stab halves after cleaning. The sleeves were

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1123510566711305172005-08-08T07:14:00.000-07:002005-08-12T04:45:49.456-07:00

Below is a photo of the "worst case" elongated hole in the brackets that attach the wings to my Phantom. I'm contemplating what repair/replace method to use before assembly of the keel tube. Any suggestions would be carefully considered.FOLLOW-UP Post: After speaking with the manufacturer, Erik Pederson of Phantom Aeronautics, he says that the brackets are designed with a slightly elongated

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1123510039140974552005-08-08T07:07:00.000-07:002005-08-08T07:07:19.143-07:00

Worst case example of elongated bolt holes on wing attach brackets. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1123452978738623562005-08-07T15:13:00.000-07:002005-08-12T04:49:42.496-07:00

Because of my recent neck surgery, I can't do much real work on my newly acquired Phantom except clean the tubes and harware, and believe me...it needs it! I never knew so much grime could grow on aluminum! In the photos below, I show the kingpost tubes before I cleaned them, then after. This is the kind of stuff that needs to be really worked at with Scotch-brite pads. ALL tubes on this

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1123452689298485992005-08-07T15:12:00.000-07:002005-08-07T15:17:05.740-07:00

King post tubes before scrubbing. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1123452715884735452005-08-07T15:11:00.000-07:002005-08-07T15:11:55.890-07:00

King post tubes after scrubbing. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1122745118745022492005-07-30T10:30:00.000-07:002005-07-30T10:38:38.746-07:00

Wes and I went back to the airport yesterday to start disassembly of the cage of the Phantom. It was nice sitting in the lawn chair telling him exactly what I needed done. It seems that surgery recovery has at least one advantage! We found moderate to severe damage to a few components. This unexpected damage caused the budget overrun to grow even bigger. I really should have been more

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1122744511986989782005-07-30T10:28:00.000-07:002005-07-30T10:40:26.180-07:00

Diagonal upright tubes. The top holes where they attach to the keel bracket are very elongated. I could sleeve them to repair, but see the gap between them. One is bent substancially, in more than one direction. Enough to warrant replacement with new, Big-Man diagonal upright struts, which require a pair. About $55 each...$110 total. The redish color on the one tube is a color test for a

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1122744306399219352005-07-30T10:25:00.000-07:002005-07-30T10:25:06.403-07:00

Small dents on the right side cage member. I don't believe they warrant replacement of the tube, saving me about $100. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1122744245790171662005-07-30T10:24:00.000-07:002005-07-30T10:41:26.740-07:00

A questionable feature. I don't know if the left side cage member was fabricated by a previous owner who used the wrong diameter dies on the tubing bender, or if this is crash damage that has been straightened. It is nearly identical on both sides of the tube, 180 degrees apart from each other. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1122744146666820942005-07-30T10:22:00.000-07:002005-07-30T10:22:26.673-07:00

Horizontal shot showing just how bent the front cage member is. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1122744108420386412005-07-30T10:21:00.000-07:002005-07-30T10:42:27.670-07:00

Overall shot of the front cage member. Those are some sort of spacer/splice on the left side. Although I had to remove this piece with a rubber hammer, the dents were already present. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1122744040304084762005-07-30T10:20:00.000-07:002005-07-30T10:20:40.310-07:00

Left bend portion of the front cage member. The previous owner was actually flying this way. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1122743995505103572005-07-30T10:19:00.000-07:002005-07-30T10:19:55.546-07:00

Welded up material on front cage member. More evidence of unprofessional repair work and just another indication of the terrible condition of the front cage member. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1122586883020290702005-07-28T14:42:00.000-07:002005-08-01T10:34:07.130-07:00

Today my teenage son (13) Wes and I went to the airport to start disassembly of my Phantom. Since I'm still recovering from my neck fusion surgery, he's the braun and I'm the brains, so-to-speak! I directed him what to do and how to do it and he really did a good job. I forgot my camera so I couldn't document the disassembly, but there's a photo below of new parts to install that arrived today.

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1122586056189790182005-07-28T14:27:00.000-07:002005-07-28T14:27:36.193-07:00

New parts from Phantom Aeronautics arrived today. New short seat with seat mount tube, new vertical stab lower trailing edge, new 4-point harness, new landing gear bungees, new stainless steel free-air scoop. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1121026166467149672005-07-10T13:09:00.000-07:002005-07-10T13:10:04.453-07:00

I brought the Phantom back from Dawsonville, Georgia yesterday. With hurricane Dennis looming, I decided to leave the pieces strapped on the trailer and in my front yard, instead of taking it to the hangar. If anything gets damaged while it's on my property, my homeowner's insurance will cover it.We are supposed to get between 60 and 70 MPH sustained winds tonight with stronger gusts. Fort

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1121025689897998712005-07-10T13:01:00.001-07:002005-07-10T13:01:29.903-07:00

Just before leaving Dawsonville, Georgia for the trip to the Montgomery, Alabama area. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9722279.post-1121025670720348942005-07-10T13:01:00.000-07:002005-07-10T13:01:10.750-07:00

Another view from the rear. 

Rusty ULnoreply@blogger.com0