Pete's new toy.

[maryvonne]

Pete has a passion for rebuilding things. Over the years he has rebuilt many antique cars, tractors and most of the machinery in his shop. He also enjoys blacksmithing and many other hobbies of that nature.
He had a private pilot's license and flew a Cessna 182 when we got married. We sold the plane to buy a house when our first child was born. He was pretty sad about giving up his plane but figured it wouldn't be long before he would be able to get another one. Well for many different reasons it never happened but being retired he thought it would be a good time to start looking around for another plane. He has a lot more time now for flying again. Imagine my shock when he announced that he had found the perfect project, a helicopter, one that had already crashed! So he built a self loading platform for the back of his pickup truck and drove with a friend to Oklahoma City to pick up his new toy.

 



A photo of the self loading platform, even I have to admit it's pretty cool.



And here he is with my brother pretending to fly.

After so many years of working hard to get his family ahead it's nice to see him enjoying his retirement even if I don't always understand his passion for rebuilding stuff.

[miguynmkoi]

he had found the perfect project, a helicopter, one that had already crashed!

Ouch!!!  Good Luck!  Boys with their toys!

[Krista]

How very cool in a kind of scary way eh Can't wait to see the results

[Mikey]

Hey with a little more duck tape and some baling wire it will be back up in the air in no time.....

[EagleEye]

Now that is cool

Us boys love our toys, don't ya know
I'm trying to imagine the first time he lifts off------That will make it all worth while.

Good luck to him , and be sure  and post a pic of the finished helo / maybe even lifting off.

Steve

[maryvonne]

Yes Steve, this boy needs his toys. I learned a long time ago that in order to keep him happy he had to have his projects. He needs to finish the 47 Dodge pickup first though so he won't be starting on the helicopter for a while yet, but as Mike said it only needs a bit more duct tape so he should have it in the air in no time once he starts. He was so proud of himself bringing that bird home. It must be some sort of hunting instinct thing! He is so looking forward to flying it and I will be there with the camera when he does.

[Esther]

Looks like a fun project as long as it is on the ground. Maybe you could sell it after it's fixed up, when he's not looking.

[Sandye]

LOL @ Esther!    I have to agree, tho.  That thing looks awfully banged up and unsafe to me.  Maybe Pete could fix it up and let someone else fly it.   

[Double S]

Now even I think that is cool!  I'll pitch in some duct tape in exchange for a ride   

[LeeAnne151]

I just wish Bob would finish some of his projects and some of the honey do list too! 

[Jerry]

Amazing project.  When do the helicopter lessons start?

[Indiana Karen]

I bet Pete is thrilled!
My husband flys a light sport aircraft, formerly known as an ultralight "trike".  He absolutely loves it.  He belongs to a local club.  I don't fly with him.  I don't even like to fly in the big planes, so no way will I go up in that little thing.  We have a great time going to airshows and fly-ins and have made so many good friends.
Several of his friends have had "hard landings" (they prefer that term rather than a crash), and they just rebuild and start over!

Karen

[maryvonne]

LeeAnne,
I totally understand. Pete will spend hours playing in the shop but it seems to take forever to get the few small jobs around the house done, not to mention any kind of house work, laundry etc. But then again I much prefer playing in the ponds than clean toilets too, so it is always a matter of balancing play with work.
Karen,
the ultra lite sounds like fun too. We use to belong to the flying club when Pete had his plane and it was lots of fun flying to fly-ins etc. I use to fly with him then but I'm not so sure I will be in this one, at least not until he gets lots of experience! This helicopter had a failure in it's supercharger when landing and landed hard on a slope. It turned over and was torn apart by the router. The helicopter only had 60 hours on it. Pete has already taken the charger apart and thinks it was defective so he's mailing it back to the factory and they may replace it under warranty.
Jerry,
He's really looking forward to rebuilding it and then he will go to Phoenix for lessons and his license. This will keep him busy for a while.

Maryvonne   

[LeeAnne151]

Hoping he can hold off on going to Phoenix until October if he can't go now. The shock of the heat from Vancouver during May-Sept will be huge.

Right now the desert is spectacular, they had a lot of rain and wildflowers are blooming like crazy.

I've never been in a helicopter. Wanted to in Hawaii but too expensive.