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24Jun, 2013

Crazy Weekend!

Usually, I try to keep my blogs strictly “business” aka airplanes! But this has a combination of business, pleasure, and airplanes!

This weekend we took a trip down to Marathon Key (drive time 6 hours) to purchase Fast Aviation’s new truck. It took us 8 hours to get there due to a flat tire and horrendous weekend traffic.

After a 10 minute change out (trust me I counted) we were on the road again. My phone rang when we were north of PBI (Palm Beach) and it was my best friend Erinn! She was in town for the weekend and it just happened to be on our way. So we stopped and had lunch with her. Erinn is an air traffic controller at KORD. She was my mentor all through ATC school. Make sure you do as she says or you’re going around! ;P

We arrived at Marathon and David loved the truck. He has many plans on how to incorporate his trailer and truck into a salvage and airplane haulin’ machine! haha!

Contrary to popular belief, we pretty much work 7 days a week. So, its not everyday we get to go somewhere for “fun.” Technically, this was for work but we got to have about 2 hours of fun! haha

While I was laying there soaking up the sun, I received a phone call from my Father stating that our 182 was broken down in Naples. So there went our “fun” out the window! We packed everything up and left early. Instead of heading back to Sanford we went west towards Naples to fix the airplane.

Since we had a flat tire and was already using the spare tire on the VW Jetta, we decided it would be “smart” to just throw her on a trailer.

We had ANOTHER detour about 20 minutes after getting the trailer. We just got up to 65 on the highway when the truck started shifting funny then slowed down. Once it got to 20 mph it stayed in first gear! David was silent next to me and I knew that he would blow a gasket any time soon. We inched her to the nearest Auto Zone. I was navigating and my father was back in Sanford Googling ideas on what might be wrong. He suggested an electrical issue. I then suggested unplugging the U-Haul trailer. As soon as we did that the truck drove normal! Something in the wiring shorted out our speed sensor in the tranny. We purchased the speed sensor at $23 JUST in case it was damaged during that crazy “shifting issue.” So take note to anyone who rents a U-haul trailer!

SO back on the road AGAIN. We got to drive through alligator alley and I took a little video.

Here is a video of the everglades and a surprise at the end!

Video: IMG_1644

We arrived in Naples after about 4 hours of driving and nonsense.

After a jump, she was off again.

Video: IMG_1651

We got in late last night but all in all it was an interesting trip. One thing cool we saw in the keys were the endangered Key Deer. David and I were looking outside the car for them in the woods/marsh area while driving south on US1 when one just started walking across the street in front of us!!!! I wish we had a camera rolling for that! That deer was probably sitting on the side talking to his buddies saying “Hey Bob, watch me scare those tourists!” David slammed on the brakes and the deer didn’t even flinch. He just kept walking…

Did you know that its a $20,000 fine if you hit a Key Deer? THANK GOD we didn’t hit Bambi!!

22Jun, 2013

Barnstorming

19Jun, 2013

More Parts=More Shelves

18Jun, 2013

Opening the Crate of Awesomeness!

By far, one of the COOLEST crates that have ever arrived at our shop showed up the other day. Instead of telling you what was under the amazing piece of wood, I’ll show you.

I’ll give you a hint: BEECHCRAFT

This box hasn’t been open, ever! We were the first ones to open it since it was assembled.

ooooooOOOOOOOOO What’s in there??????

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a set of NOS B200 Blades for the electric prop setup on early Beechcraft Bonanza’s. Around the first 2,000 came with these blades. (I have the exact number in my IPC but its not near me at the moment) They are wooden blades that are laminated. Just a really neat piece of history. 🙂

Look at that beauty!! Some people might not think this is the coolest thing ever, but as an Avgeek and Beech nut, this is something that you never, ever find. Ever. I find it so amazing to just be able to put my greasy pawprints on them. 🙂 I know all my Beechcraft fans out there will love this.

Safe Flying!
Rach

14Jun, 2013

Transporting a Piper Twin Comanche

We got a phone call about transporting a twin comanche the other day. We just got our 35′ trailer and haven’t had the chance to get it all equipped to recover airplanes. But we decided that with the help of some forklifts we could get this moved for our client in a timely fashion.

So we prepped the trailer and got everything together to set out bright eyed and bushy tailed to St. Pete, FL.

The plane was already disassembled which made our job a lot easier.

The before picture 🙂

Since we didn’t have our winch or crane installed we used the gracious neighbor’s forklift.

The next job was to get the wings on board. We decided to put one on the end of the trailer and one of the wing rack.

After 3 hours, with lots of sweat from the 102 degree FL heat, we got the plane loaded and ready to go to Lakeland!

I think the worst part of the trip was the heat. Loading up the airplane wasn’t too bad and we met some nice people. 😉

Happy Flying Folks!

Rach

12Jun, 2013

Aviation Photography

Aviation photography has been around since the late 1800’s. It first started with balloons and then either on the ground or in the air it took flight. People make a living off of “aviation art.” It’s one of my favorite areas of the art world. I love everything from sculptures to photography. Photography is by far my favorite though. An airplane doesn’t have to move, primp, or smile to be beautiful. It simply just is.

I have been in love with photography since I my grandmother gave me a Polaroid camera. I now have a Nikon D3000. It’s not some big fancy photography camera, but its the closest I could get to one without breaking the bank. Camera’s are expensive! Well, not like airplanes…but they are up there once you start buying filters, lenses, and fancy flashes.

Here are some of my photos over the past year. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

This photo is the view through a prop tool I was using to remove a hydraulic prop off of a Beechcraft Bonanza. THAT was a lot of fun…not.

I am a sucker for anything that lands on water. This was sitting outside of a hangar in the Florida Keys. It was hard to load airplane parts on a trailer and in the truck when all I wanted to do was go for a ride in this beauty!

I love Florida sunsets. This is the “rear view” of my 172 at the Sanford airport.

This was taken at Sun N Fun last year. My sunburnt wasn’t so much fun…

Our 172 and 182 are in the Orlando Christian Flying Club. This was taken at a wash n’ wax a while back.

Dzus fittings

One of my favorite photos of all time. SN D306 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza

This was taken at a fly-in at Cedar Knoll in Geneva, FL. They have a seaplane base that you can land on the St. Johns River. Lots of fun at Gator Drink! 🙂

There she waits patiently for someone to take her up flying.

If you can tell me what this is, you’re getting extra brownie points! This was taken at Sun N Fun this year.

This is my “God is shining through” photo. There were storms everywhere but this was just beautiful. The picture doesn’t give it justice.

Another beautiful sunset in Sanford, FL.

This was taken up in Ludington, MI. A rare bird among GA planes.

Hope you enjoyed them!

3Jun, 2013

Pulling a Bee out of the Woods

Usually, we pull up to a hangar and load an airplane up in the hot sun. But this time, it was a little different. Over 50 years ago, this airplane was disassembled and put out back with the intent to restore her. During those 50 years, houses, trees, and even a septic system was built up around her. Then came Fast Aviation with the challenge of pulling her out unscathed. A 1947 Republic SeaBee

I am sure you are wondering where this airplane is…

She’s all complete and hasn’t been too weathered like you would think. I was very surprised by the LACK of corrosion. I spent last night watching videos on youtube of SeaBee’s and I don’t know if I can let this gem go.

12May, 2013

Another Day, Another Airplane

Well another day, another airplane ends up on our trailer. This time it was a 1973 Skyhawk Cessna 172 from Louisiana. The story behind this plane is a student pilot ran it out of fuel and on the emergency landing he flared at 50 feet and pretty much flattened her like a pancake. I think he would of made it with less damage if he would of performed a better soft field landing. Oh well, I guess you live (luckily) and learn.

We mainly purchased it for the engine. Our 172’s engine is about time for overhaul and it was cheaper to buy this one than have the airplane down while the motor got overhauled. It’s hard to decided what the best decision is for your airplane sometimes. You toss up multiple decisions but it comes down to actually pulling the trigger.

Earlier this year we did some trading for a 76′ 172 fuselage that was very clean and damage free. We also got a 180 motor that brought up the idea of a floatplane. I have a couple hours in a floatplane and have flown in multiple seaplanes like lake amphibs and seareys. So it’s always been an obsession of mine. Besides, who wouldn’t want to have a float plane in Florida!?

11May, 2013

Where ya going? Crazy! Wanna come?

Some people think what we’re doing is cool and some think we’re weird or nuts. Whatever your side is, I thought it would be interesting to document our adventures.

A little background on this whole aircraft salvage business…back when I was in high school I wanted a truck as my first vehicle. So my dad said he would help me get what I “wanted” but I had to earn the money to buy it at an auction. Ebay was out for a couple years and I was 14 with pretty good computer skills. I was a marketer at heart, being that kid that would go door to door during a magazine fundraiser contest at school. I saw all my dads airplane parts laying around and asked him if I could sell them on ebay. He said yes and we did a commission based system.

<< 15 Year old me at the computer working away!

The year went on and some of my dads friends, our family, and neighbors asked me to sell their unwanted stuff. So thats where my consigning started. I saved up enough cash to buy my truck, learn how to do body work/painting, and had enough funds to rebuild it from the ground up. That truck then helped me “collect” more goodies to sell throughout high school. I paid for my fuel and expenses throughout high school selling airplane parts online until I went to college.

<<The first white chevy silverado I got.

I took a break throughout college and did a little bit on the side while doing modeling/acting and marketing for companies like Mini Cooper, Speed Channel, WalMart, and Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, all while bartending. (Jack of all trades…I know)

So there you have it. Like all businesses starting out, we pretty much work 24/7. One day it will all pay off. Till then, YOLO! You Only Live Once! Work hard and enjoy life my friends, you never know when it will all be gone.

Rach