Lots of Pics, Lots of Parts...the Nose and a Helicopter Ride.

I  love my time at the airport. Nice weather, poor weather--it doesn't matter. I can honestly say that the Mooney has been one of the funnest projects I've participated in. I've got a great partner who knows lots about airplanes--how to fly them and how to work on them and I enjoy his company. Without Glenn, none of this would be possible for me. We put a lot of hard work in this last weekend. Wrenching, sand blasting, etch priming and painting. While he was blasting parts, he entrusted me to etch prime. It was my second time, but I made a mistake mixing chemicals and it cost us an hour or so. I paid the price by having to scrub-wash the parts with paint thinner and Glenn was nice enough to re-blast some others. Precious time, but no harm done in the end and it will never happen again. Lesson learned.

How to kill a couple of hours...Sunday when I got to the airport (it's a 50 minute drive), Glenn said his buddy Jim was going to take him to breakfast in Fredericksburg, TX, about 50 miles west. There was an extra seat, so l had the privilege of flying in a Robinson R44 to the Hangar Diner. Super cool! Leather, air conditioned luxury. And I've never experienced Bose X20's. Even in the helicopter environment, they were whisper quiet. Fun way to travel.  Thanks, Jim!

We've dived into the nose wheel head first...sort of speak. As you will see, there are lots of parts up there under the business end of our plane.

Linkage to right nose wheel flap

Left side flap

Looking straight up into the well

Trying to take photos along the way just in case

Grungy--that's why we're doing it.

I'm pointing to this bolt as a reminder that the head goes to the inside of the well.

Our growing airport. Look closely and you'll see several hangars in the construction stage and many recently finished.

Shotgun. Fun way to travel.

Backseat on the way home. 20 knot crosswind taking off--no problem. Super simple panel. This photo may not show it, but we're doing 125-130 kts with a frisky tale wind.

Spicewood Airport is on the northern river portion of Lake Travis. This photo is taken about 1/2 mile to the north on the approach end of RWY 17. Nice homes on what used to be the water's edge.

Look carefully and you can see where the water used to be. Note the tree line and the boat docks on dry land. It may be a number of years before we ever get that water back.

Nose wheel fasteners. Gulp.

Nice shot of the lot of it looking forward.

It seems to me there has been ample grease injected into these links over the years. We're basically starting at "ZERO" time on the undercarriage. Every fastener will be as brand new with fresh grease ready to go another 50 years.