Bought a plane, now to finish my PPL!

[Hybrid VW]

I found a really good deal on a 1947 Stinson 108-1 and figured I'd jump on it. I drove down to Carson City to check it out, and didn't see anything that scared me, so a week later my friend and I drove down with my instructor to pick it up. Tony got to drive back with a bunch of extra parts, and I flew back with my instructor. Most of the pics are of the cell phone variety, so I apologize

How it appeared when I looked at it the first time:




Interior:




Before the flight home:


During the flight home:


Shortly after takeoff, we noticed the some of the instruments weren't really working like they should. Brian (my instructor) brought his 296, but the plane didn't have a power jack, so we would turn it on, get the heading and pic a landmark that was on that heading and fly towards it with the GPS turned off to save the battery. Turns out there was water in the static line that connects a few of the instruments together and was causing incorrect readings- simple fix. The compass probably just needs to be rebuilt, again, no biggie.

There are some other little things to take care of before I really start building time in it, and one of those things is cleaning up the paint. I've just done a little bit here and there to get an idea of what to expect, and I think it'll be good:




Part of the package was an extra engine and constant speed propeller. The plane has 150hp Franklin now, and came with another 220hp Franklin for later

[Gern_Blanston]

Damn that is so cool. I am envious. One of my top 5 favorite airplanes.
You will never find a nicer handling airplane, or an easier tail-dragger to land.

[The Maytag Man]

I will come down and buff and wax that plane up if take me up with you lol

but really thats an awesome find, that paint shines up really nice, going to be a beauty when your done.

[Brendan@bwalkauto]

Excellent thread. It seems that every time I have more than a few fingers of Scotch I end up eyeballing airplane classifieds. I have the itch.

[glx2.8]

how come you didn't fly left seat?

[Hybrid VW]

My instructor wanted control of the brakes, and it only has them on the left side at the moment. The nav/com is on the left also, which I think is kind of cool, but it does have it's drawbacks.

Brendan, just dooo eeet! There are lots of bargains out there right now. I've been eyeing stuff for the past year or so, and really wasn't planning on buying anything when I went looking that night, but I felt this deal was either too good to be true, or too good to pass up. Just decide what kind of plane you'd like and wait for the deal to appear

[Gern_Blanston]

Plan a trip over to Salem some time when I'm around and I'll give you the nickel tour of the 7X and what the tower refers to as "The Taj Mahal". (Plus I can ogle your plane.)

[NickWVU]

So awesome! Congratulations!

[dubfan]

Epic.

[Hybrid VW]

Thanks guys Gern, I'll be over shortly after I get signed off for solo cross countries again As far as it being a forgiving taildragger, after a couple of my first landings in it, Brian commented on how it was "too easy" to land! It's all part of my plan On the flight home, he also commented on the feel of the ailerons and how responsive they are.

I've got a set of dual brakes in my office to copy, the materials should be here on Tuesday, and hopefully, the plane will be moved to a hangar next weekend to get everything sorted

[Gern_Blanston]

Looking forward to it. Hell, bring your instructor on a dual X-C.
I'll buy lunch.

[DonL]

I love those older tail draggers. It looks like it's cleaning up really nicely. Amazing what a bit of TLC can do for foggy paint.

[Cooper]

So awesome! Congratulations!

Exactly. Love old planes.

[ferragamo]

Good looking airplane!

[Gern_Blanston]

When you comin' over to Salem? Weather's been perfect... Not too hot, not too cold.

[Hybrid VW]

Good looking airplane!

Thanks!

Gern, I'm not sure exactly when we'll be headed over. I've got to finish the fabbing on the dual brakes, install the new compass, and the GPS is getting a new battery and database update. If it had the rudder pedals in it, we'd have to fly over strictly IFR

Had my intro to Class D last weekend and was a blathering idiot on the radio

[Gern_Blanston]

Very good. The invite stands. Just let me know when you're coming over so I can get the espresso machine cranked up.

[Brendan@bwalkauto]

Had my intro to Class D last weekend and was a blathering idiot on the radio

Been there, done that. When you're learning, you end up saying some stupid crap. Once you get comfortable, you learn "less is more" when you click the mic.

[Hybrid VW]

Yeah, the radio work has always been a source of anxiety for me, but when I was last flying on '05, it really wasn't that bad. I have problems remembering people's name 30 seconds after we meet, so maybe by the time I'm comfortable chatting in the plane, I'll have better networking skills too!

[rambag3]

Yeah, the radio work has always been a source of anxiety for me, but when I was last flying on '05, it really wasn't that bad. I have problems remembering people's name 30 seconds after we meet, so maybe by the time I'm comfortable chatting in the plane, I'll have better networking skills too!

Could be worse, I learned at a Charlie where one of the tower guys was an ex tower guy from a major bravo airport and f'd up so bad he was sent to my airport. He can be found on YouTube and truthfully you've probably heard his voice before.

[ATL_Av8r]

Yeah, the radio work has always been a source of anxiety for me, but when I was last flying on '05, it really wasn't that bad. I have problems remembering people's name 30 seconds after we meet, so maybe by the time I'm comfortable chatting in the plane, I'll have better networking skills too!

Radio work was where my IPs were always amazed. I failed to tell them it was because I was that nerd that got his ham radio license in middle school. I just said "hmm...I must be a natural or something"

[OOOO-A3]

Radio work was where my IPs were always amazed. I failed to tell them it was because I was that nerd that got his ham radio license in middle school. I just said "hmm...I must be a natural or something"

^^^^ this, 100%. I also pissed off numerous instructors by not looking at the chart to identify VORs and NDBs.... I know Morse by ear One instructor kept covering up the radio and tuning random navaids trying to trip me up. He'd turn on the audio, I'd listen to the identifier and go "oh, that's ___ ____ ___". Him: "***dammit you little punk."