Left Coast
Forum rules
A forum for Panther aircraft builders and Enthusiasts. Two simple rules: Play nice and use a real name
A forum for Panther aircraft builders and Enthusiasts. Two simple rules: Play nice and use a real name
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Que
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2014 12:27 pm
- First Name: Mark
- Last Name: Q
- City or Town: Lodi
- State or Province: California
Re: Left Coast
Thanks Adam. I wish I had some pictures, it was the 70's and cameras in the shop was just not an everyday thing like it is now unfortunately. I have no idea where the plane ended up. Mrs Barnes held onto it until after Ralph died in the late 80's and then sold everything in one shot. I am pretty sure someone got the steal of a lifetime... That crate in the garage had a brand new "Surplus" Merlin in it! I found out years later that the plane we were working on was the same one that Ralph was shot down in. It made it all much more meaningful that he shared it with me the way he did.
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Adam Wright
- Posts: 18
- Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 7:41 pm
- First Name: Adam
- Last Name: Wright
- City or Town: Ozark
- State or Province: Alabama
Re: Left Coast
Welcome Mark! That is quite a story! Do you have any pictures of the P51? Where is it now ?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Que
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2014 12:27 pm
- First Name: Mark
- Last Name: Q
- City or Town: Lodi
- State or Province: California
Left Coast
Hi!
My name is Mark and I'm an alc.... Oops, I'm a habitual builder of things.
Houses, boats, cars, motorcycles, airplanes, YES!
My very first build of any kind was with my next door neighbor growing up. He had this really big wooden crate in his garage with a bunch of letters and numbers stenciled on it and I just HAD to know what it was. He explained that it was the engine for his airplane he was (re)building. It was the absolute biggest engine box I could imagine and I had to know all about it. Mr Barnes laughed at me and asked if I would like to go help him work on it that weekend. Well, duh! My entire world view changed that Saturday morning when I got my very first peek of Ralph's P-51. I can remember the way the light from the door hit the fuselage shining in the middle of the hanger like it was yesterday. The smell of fuel, oil, and primer fumes was an intoxicating mix that just added to the aura of that place. It was love at first sight for me. I helped clean up the hangar that day and learned how to buck rivets. I also got my very first flight in a Citabria with Ralph that afternoon. If that little plane could do that, I could only imagine what the P-51 could do! I spent a lot of time over the next few years helping Ralph with pulling apart and rebuilding the wings for his big beautiful bird. I went off to the Marine Corps and Mr Barnes ended up getting early onset Alzheimer's a few years later. He never got to finish and fly his beautiful girl but I can never forget the smile on his face when he was sitting in her cockpit in the hangar. He passed his flying dreams on to me and I am eternally grateful.
I have been flying ultralights and LSA's primarily with a little time in a couple spam cans along the way as well. I have been going back and forth between the RV and the Sonex and trying to decide what I really want to build. Tony just about had me sold on the Sonex but I was pulled towards the Zenith after meeting WW at Oshkosh and reading all about the corvair movement. Then one day there was a picture of some guy with a bag on his head online after a CC the weekend before. I read about it and figured I would wait and see how it turned out. The economy went south, business, family and life all changed... Just about the time I'm ready to pull the trigger on a Cleanex, Dan goes and builds the Panther.
Uhhhhh... W O W!
A Cougar it is for me! I will be waiting patiently (Ok, sort of) and working on my old pick up in the mean time. But I foresee a tribute paint job of Ralph's Mustang on one of the first Cougars in my future.
My name is Mark and I'm an alc.... Oops, I'm a habitual builder of things.
Houses, boats, cars, motorcycles, airplanes, YES!
My very first build of any kind was with my next door neighbor growing up. He had this really big wooden crate in his garage with a bunch of letters and numbers stenciled on it and I just HAD to know what it was. He explained that it was the engine for his airplane he was (re)building. It was the absolute biggest engine box I could imagine and I had to know all about it. Mr Barnes laughed at me and asked if I would like to go help him work on it that weekend. Well, duh! My entire world view changed that Saturday morning when I got my very first peek of Ralph's P-51. I can remember the way the light from the door hit the fuselage shining in the middle of the hanger like it was yesterday. The smell of fuel, oil, and primer fumes was an intoxicating mix that just added to the aura of that place. It was love at first sight for me. I helped clean up the hangar that day and learned how to buck rivets. I also got my very first flight in a Citabria with Ralph that afternoon. If that little plane could do that, I could only imagine what the P-51 could do! I spent a lot of time over the next few years helping Ralph with pulling apart and rebuilding the wings for his big beautiful bird. I went off to the Marine Corps and Mr Barnes ended up getting early onset Alzheimer's a few years later. He never got to finish and fly his beautiful girl but I can never forget the smile on his face when he was sitting in her cockpit in the hangar. He passed his flying dreams on to me and I am eternally grateful.
I have been flying ultralights and LSA's primarily with a little time in a couple spam cans along the way as well. I have been going back and forth between the RV and the Sonex and trying to decide what I really want to build. Tony just about had me sold on the Sonex but I was pulled towards the Zenith after meeting WW at Oshkosh and reading all about the corvair movement. Then one day there was a picture of some guy with a bag on his head online after a CC the weekend before. I read about it and figured I would wait and see how it turned out. The economy went south, business, family and life all changed... Just about the time I'm ready to pull the trigger on a Cleanex, Dan goes and builds the Panther.
Uhhhhh... W O W!
A Cougar it is for me! I will be waiting patiently (Ok, sort of) and working on my old pick up in the mean time. But I foresee a tribute paint job of Ralph's Mustang on one of the first Cougars in my future.