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The Quest for Paint - Part 1

f1rocket

Well Known Member
After completing my build, I decided to have John Stahr paint my airplane. Unfortunately, I live in Indiana and John's shop is several thousand miles away. So I decided to turn it into an adventure.
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I figured the entire trip would take me a month so some careful packing was in order. The baggage area is a little limiting at 50 lbs so I stowed the passenger cushion and used the space for my oil change/tools and my flight bag/computer.
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An early departure was planned to avoid the heat of the day. The plan was to get as close to Albuquerque NM as I could.
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Unfortunately that plan was shot to heck when I had to declare an emergency flying south of Kansas City when the electric fuel pump quit and the engine began to stumble. I spent about 7 hours replacing it so I spent the night in Olathe KS.
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Next day I made it as far as Santa Rosa NM when turbulence and rain showers forced me down. Exercising patience, I called the local hotel and they picked me up and took me back out in the morning. Nice people there.
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Pretty soon the "big rocks" started showing up. These still amaze a flatlander like me. They are very intimidating.
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These are some of the fascinating scenery you can only see from a small airplane. This plateau was out in the Arizona desert somewhere with few, if any, roads around.
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I finally made it into the Camarillo CA airport to visit with my sister for a few days. John was finishing up another job so I had three days to kill. I had to take a picture of the Pacific Ocean off the Ventura pier just to prove I had actually made it. More to come.
 
I started to get uneasy when the weather pattern changed and the "June Gloom" moved in. Every day was MVFR with low ceilings and fog. Finally on Sunday, the sun came out in the late morning and I decided that it was a good time to get out.
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The plan was to fly up the central valley all the way to Oregon. Basically, you fly between two mountain ranges until they narrow and come together. Here a screen shot just north of Bakersfield. The crop dusters are out.
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When I got to the northern end of CA, I followed the interstate into Oregon, which takes you right past Mt. Shasta It is very impressive and quite a sight on this beautiful day.
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After landing for fuel, I took this shot back towards the south.

I finally landed in Eugene OR late in the day and hooked up with John. As I write this, the airplane is apart and in his shop and I will stay here to help John paint it over the next two weeks. I'll post more as the process continues.
 
Thanks Randy. I have been anxious to see your photos of your adventure. Glad you now have the headwinds part of the trip behind you. Great writeup and great photos. Can't wait to see the paint job.
 
Thanks

The story of your journey is educational and interesting. I chose taking the wings and tail features off and trailered it to a local custom paint shop. No money saved I feel and selecting part painted and part (most) polished has been a lot of work!

Looking forward to your finished product!
 
Great write-up...can't wait to read more. Any chance that on the way back you might drop in to Chino (KCNO)? Especially if on a Saturday, there are lots of RVers who would love to lock eyes on one of Stahr's awesome works. Me personally, I'd really like to hear more about that fuel pump as well. Are we going to need to carry a spare?
 
Great write-up...can't wait to read more. Any chance that on the way back you might drop in to Chino (KCNO)?

I don't know exactly what path I am taking home but I prefer to head West from here if the weather allows it. If not, I may be forced to head south again. If so, I'll let you know.
 
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