Gang As many of you know, my airplane, a 1946 Ercoupe, was damaged about a year ago while on loan to the local flying club to teach a disabled young man how to fly. Over the past nine months, Victor Rodriquez (mechanic extraordinaire) has painstakingly restored her to perhaps the best condition she has seen since she left the ERCO factory in Maryland 62 years ago. It has been an interesting experience for both Victor and me...sometimes difficult and frustrating but most of the time educational and satisfying. Early on in the project Victor and I did a five day (non-stop) road trip from Daytona, Florida to Tucumcari, New Mexico in a pickup truck borrowed from my friends Paul and Sheree to buy a replacement fuselage. We stopped in Texas to pick up a trailer borrowed from fellow Ercoupe owner Pat Perrot so we could haul the new parts back to Florida. After five days with me in a truck, Victor must have known he was in big trouble! We started the project in a rented hangar but had to relocate to my Dad's hanger as the rented location became unavailable (thanks Dad). As the project progressed, we investigated ways to make my airplane better and safer by replacing vintage parts and equipment with better, stronger, current technology equipment wherever we could.
We learned from our occasional mistakes like having the airplane painted prior to finishing the project. Now she will have to go back to the paint shop for a few touch-ups were a screwdriver slipped or a new part didn't quite fit exactly where the old part was. The old adage about 90 percent of the work being in the last 10 percent of the project certainly applied. We also found that fixing one small thing often created three more problems. For example, we moved the instrument panel an inch forward (back to the factory position) but this change created several other issues as many of the instruments would now not fit correctly. Nevertheless, Victor persevered and never complained (at least to me!). We would have been sunk numerous times during the last nine months if we did not have the support from a few good friends. Ralph Haven, neighbor, former professional pilot and former owner of Meyers Aircraft Company was an endless wealth of knowledge. I'd call and he would show up in his yellow and white golf cart minutes later. I spent many hours in his hangar using his tools (he usually was laughing as I can hardly turn a wrench!). Lynn Nelsen, good friend and Ercoupe Guru, was always available for advice as well as a source for hard to find and in some cases, non-existent parts. Despite difficult family issues and back surgery this year, Lynn has always been a prince. I mentioned earlier that Paul and Sheree loaned me their pickup truck to drive about 4000 miles to retrieve parts in New Mexico. That was only half of their contribution to my project. They own Spruce Creek Air Service, a prosperous aircraft repair shop and parts store. Almost every day I walked into their facility, interrupted them from whatever the "real" project they were working on to ask for a 10 cent bolt or a 20 cent washer. Without hesitation they stopped whatever they were doing, went to the parts room and came back with the part I needed. Thanks guys. As I spend most of my time in New Jersey and the airplane is in Florida, my brother, Geoff, has served as the quintessential gofer. I can't count the number of times I called on the telephone from New Jersey and asked him to run to this place or that, to pick up this or drop off that. Additionally, with his outstanding analytical skills, he has also been a great sounding board to discuss upcoming tasks and best possible solutions. His wife, PaoChen, provided nutritional augmentation (supper) almost every night! If you don't buy all your Ercoupe parts from John Cooper at Skyport Services, you are really missing our on a great resource. Not only does John support us by running a business selling Ercoupe parts...he is an encyclopedia of knowledge about Ercoupes....no, he is the Google for Ercoupe matters. I have called John at least as many times to ask a technical question as I did to call and order a part. He was ALWAYS willing to share his knowledge without a seconds hesitation. Additionally, many times I will call just before the sun sets and he somehow got the part I needed picked, packaged and shipped so I had it the next day. Lastly, besides running his full time business, John and his wife run a not-for-profit equine rescue facility saving horses that have been abused and neglected to near death. Thanks John. My lovely wife Merrill has been waiting for a new kitchen for several years. When the accident occurred with the Ercoupe and I told her what needed to be done ($) to make the plane airworthy again, her first comment was "well, I guess we wouldn't be doing the kitchen for a while". Of course, we do eat out a lot! Yesterday was February 2 and noteworthy for two reasons. One, it was my fathers 86th birthday and two, Ercoupe N3103H took to the air for the first time in over a year. As my dad introduced me to flying over 40 years ago, I feel it was my good luck that 03H took to the air on his birthday. I was in the left seat and Victor sat in the co-pilot position. I suggested he not go along for the inaugural flight but he insisted. She flew straight, strong and true from the time the wheels left the bounds of earth to the time we shut her down outside the hangar an hour later. For the first half hour Victor watched and recorded all the engine instruments while I flew and tested the controls. Then we swapped jobs. After landing, we both were glowing. My sincere thank you to Victor and all my family and friends who have supported me thought out this project. Glen Glen Glen Davis 917 297 1111 www.ishootpictures.com www.ercoupepilot.com
