Preparations

I know, I'm really not on top of this blogging concept. Even though I've had an entire month at home in Ponoka, unemployed, with internet, no excuses whatsoever, I still haven't posted anything. I was busy though, really busy. Pretty well every day I was out at the airport working on the plane with my dad. Installing my in-flight entertainment system and yolk-mounted GPS, removing antennas, unservicable radios and instruments, making adjustments and aesthetic improvements like replacing faded decals and old wing walks. Each task ended up taking way longer than expected, and of course with each little job tackled several more jobs were added to the list. If it weren't for the generous help of my dad I think I'd still be in the hangar pulling wrenches or shaking a paint can. We made a really great team, and having the Coupe in the hangar with dad's Baron meant we never ran out of things to work on. There were always bugs to clean off the Baron's wings if Dad was waiting for me to finish something on the Coupe. More importantly, it was fun to share the time together while both doing what really makes us happy.

So, there are a lot of photos of the various stages of the modifications and improvements, which will eventually make it onto my smugmug site, but to give myself all the space possible on my camera, I emptied my memory card before leaving Ponoka. The last few days before departure were also quite rushed, especially due to a last minute weekend trip to Fort McMurray to clean out the house and get everything moved out. That was a huge job that I am soooo relieved to have behind us.

So, stay tuned for photos, and as usual feel free to pass along these stories to anyone interested.

Ben