Those of you with sharp-eyes and a long memory may have noticed that it’s been a while since anything appeared on airscape Magazine.
Happily, that’s about to change. But first, a brief word of explanation – and I’m the kind of person that treats “enough about me” as a platform rather than a conclusion, so I will be keeping it short.
Making excuses
Even though my last stuttering post was back in mid-pandemic, COVID had nothing to do with this latest hiatus. I didn’t get sick and I had already lost my job in January. That position had been well within my capabilities and it gave me lots of time to think about, research and write airscape stories.
I managed to land another job at the start of March. However this one was (and remains) much more of a stretch. So, while I have learned some new skills along the way, there hasn’t been a lot of brain-space for indulging in aviation writing.
Also, we were all sent into lockdown at the end of my second week, so there was a fair bit of figuring out and a couple of big ugly mistakes before things trended back towards ‘normal’.
Making parts
In the meantime, I’ve prioritised my homebuilding project over doing too much flying at all, so there’s not much to report on that front.
I will tell you more about the homebuilding project down the line… Suffice to say it is a truly scratch-built endeavour – and if you’ve ever wondered how many metal parts there are in a wooden airplane, the answer is “a lot”!
Incredibly, airscape magazine has been ticking along all this time, with a fairly steady drumbeat of visitors and the occasional comment requiring a reply. Death of an airliner remains the absolute crowd favourite – but I hope it helps people discover some of the other articles in the archive. I remain incredibly proud of quite a few.
Making contact
I have also been contacted by several people with story ideas or follow-up contributions to past posts. Those will be coming along in the next few months.
The most gratifying comments are those from people who have discovered their own family history through personal connections with aviation history I’ve shared. You can’t always plan how your rewards will come…
While I have been toying with returning to the blog for a while, what really tipped my hand was an email from a lady whose father had helped salvage this WB-29 at Moses Point, Alaska in 1952.
They’d found the photo in the A Real Lady story I’d written back in March 2016. Incredible!
And, so, I found myself on the phone to a delightful 92-year-old in the middle of Tennessee, chatting about trashing a top secret radiation ‘bug catcher’ with a fire axe. Stand by…
It’s already good to be back!
airscape Magazine 
I’m so glad to see you’re back!
Thanks Hannah. Good to hear from you too.
Bloody great to see you back!!! Well done and very much looking forward to seeing more – especially your unique home-built aviation masterpiece.
Andrew
Thanks Mate. I’m looking forward to turning you loose in it one day.
They say good things come in threes, so let me be the third to second that emotion: welcome back!
I’m also quite intrigued by this homebuilt. I’ve always been a fan of them, and since last we spoke, I’ve become the owner of an RV-6. People ask if I built it, I always say yes, I did it from the Ultimate Quickbuild Kit: I just wrote a check. Sounds like your bird is on the opposite side of the spectrum!
And a very fine number three it is! Yes, mine is a homebuilt because I’m building it at home, but it’s not a well-established homebuilt design at all. Congratulations on getting an RV-6 though. I always thought I’d get an -8 if I went down that route, but they are an amazing family of aircraft all round. Did you hold onto the Pitts?
No, the Pitts is in the rearview mirror. But that’s ok. Now that I have kids, my mission is different. And I love the many different capabilities the RV-6 offers: light acro, efficient long distance cruising, sharing the side-by-side cockpit with my 9 yr old (who already does most of the flying), and formation. I’ve been at the West Coast Formation Clinic the last couple years and it’s been a blast. Best of all, a friend has a cherry Cardinal that I’m welcome to use anytime, so I’ve got 4 seats when I need it.
You have a rearview mirror on your RV?? Is that so you can see the spam cans getting smaller? Seriously though, it sounds like you’re living the dream…
No mirror… but many of the -8s have them!
Rear View Mirror – RV8-Hangar
Somewhere between everyman’s P-51 and being totally ready for a Fisk arrival. Making stuff is so good… Thanks for the link.
Thanks La Dona. I’ll have more for you this weekend.
Great see you back!! 👏
Good to hear from you too, Nick. I’ll keep an eye out for a good Spitfire story for you!
Wow David what a great start. I am delighted to read.
LaDona McAlister
Good to see you back in the game.
Thanks Bob. Tell your friends, as they say… 🙂