Epic Journey

[SaxMan]

Okay...maybe not so epic, but today was the longest drive I attempted with Baby Blue, from home base in Damascus, MD up to the hangar in Fawn Grove, PA where the Cessna Bobcat is being restored. The guys knew I had this car and wanted to see it. Who am I to say no? I took back roads the whole way up and made pretty decent time, all things considered. Car performed flawlessly on the way up. It was running a bit warm on the way back. When I had clean air and going 30 to 50 mph, the needle was hovering around "N", but would start climbing towards "H" any time I would stop, but never got into the "warning" zone and the needle never pegged. It definitely made the drive a lot more fun!

Here is Baby Blue up at the hangar:
DSC_0016 by onyxsax, on Flickr

DSC_0019 by onyxsax, on Flickr

...and a couple of the Bobcat:
DSC_0002 by onyxsax, on Flickr

DSC_0020 by onyxsax, on Flickr

Neatest item of the day was that I had found a crew roster on Ancestry.com that had Jack and his fellow enlisted VT-23 squadron mates from the ship that was transporting them from the mainland out to Pearl Harbor (they then boarded an Escort Carrier which took them to the light carrier USS Langley, where they flew from). I presented it to Jack, as he had never seen it before. I could tell his mind was rewinding back 70 years as he went down the list of names and recalled them.

 

[Rut]

That is too cool! Thanks for posting and congrats on your drive!
Rut

 

[drooartz]

Very neat project working on that old plane. Every time I get overwhelmed with auto restoration, I think about the folks doing airplanes and feel better. :grin:

 

[David_Doan]

That's a really good looking sprite! I've never been a huge fan of the later model sprites, but this one has changed my mind. That blue is perfect. A nice glossy color but looks period correct. Some people go overboard with hot new "wet look" super glossy paint jobs that were not even possible in the 60's. Yours looks like it could have been in storage since it was made.

I really like the chrome wheel rings. Did those actually come on sprites or were they only on Midgets?

I'm pretty sure the bonnet badge it not standard, but I really like it. Mind sharing the name/model number and where you got it?

 

[SaxMan]

I put the trim rings on -- I really thought they made the car "pop". They were not standard with this car. It's a Sprite IV, AH9 (I think). It was built in April '69, but wasn't shipped to the U.S. until July. It ended up in Chicago. From there it worked its way east to Harrisburg, PA, where the P.O. purchased it. The paint is an older respray, and definitely is a "10 foot" paint job. When you get closer the imperfections become more evident. The interior needs a bit of help, mostly getting the seats redone, but that's going to be my winter project. I'm pretty sure the hood medallions did come with the Sprites...I haven't seen one without it.

I bought this from Longbridgehealey -- (Larry) last summer. This was his driver while they were restoring their '59 Bugeye.

And, yes, airplanes are a LOT more complex than cars. As they say "We watch the calendar, not the clock"

 

[David_Doan]

I'm pretty sure the hood medallions did come with the Sprites...I haven't seen one without it.

Yes, they all had medallions. The bugeye has the circular one, and after a little googling, the later marks had the circle with wings. My bugeye might get some wings.

 

[CLEAH]

Your Sprite is looking very smart, Sax. Spot on.

 

[aeronca65t]

Great looking Sprite and neat old airplane too!

Nice that you had that roster.....a real treasure!

I took my Sprite on an 800 mile trip last week. But it was on a trailer. layful: