Ironflight

VAF Moderator / Line Boy
Mentor
Mattituck put our new TMXIO-320 on a truck last Thursday. Lo and Behold, when I went and checked the yellow freight (YRC) web site this morning, it was in the Houston Terminal! A quick phone call confirmed that I could come by anytime before 7:00 pm to pick it up (and storage charges would accrue after 24 hours?), so as soon as I could cut myself loose from work in the afternoon, I was on my way. Of course, once I got to the terminal on the northeast side of Houston, they had to go looking for the crate (?can you tell us how big it is? What does it look like??), but in relatively short order the crate worth more than my truck was on the way home with me.

Louise was waiting for me when I pulled in, and had to pose for a photo with the most expensive ?Christmas present? either of us had ever seen:

IMG_4898.JPG


With the help of our airpark neighbors, the crate was apart and the new jewel ensconced in the garage in short order. The ?Red/Gold? engine even comes with the signature of the builder?thank you David (I need to find out your last name?)!

IMG_4908.JPG


A few weeks ago, we were given a gift by one of our truest local RV friends, a gentleman unsurpassed in his generosity. Part of the Bohanon crew, he has a number of wonderful contacts at the Mattituck Skunk Works. His present was a bottle of 2006 Mudd wine. The grapes for the wine were grown by Nancy and Phil Hipponic, the team that for many years built all the race engines for Mattituck.

IMG_4907.JPG


Several years ago, when I visited Mattituck, I was surprised to find out how many vineyards there were on long island, but now I know why ? it was an excellent vintage, and very appropriate for toasting our new arrival!

IMG_4912.JPG


It?s sure going to be hard to wait the many months before we can run this magnificent piece of machinery, but wait we must. We are most impressed with the quality of the build and of the component parts ? Lycoming has done a lot to improve their castings over the years, and even the crankcase looks custom detailed. Many thanks to Mahlon and all the folks on Long Island?we can?t wait to fly it!

Paul and Louise
 
Congrats

That's one great bottle of excellent wine! What engine you were talking about Paul? :D
 
Nice looking engine

Just thinking of you today Paul, and how small the avaition community is. Thanks for letting us borrow your shuttle carrier to give my plane a ride today.
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Great looking engine Paul!

Hey Philip what the heck is that on the shuttle carrier? Looks expensive.

I hope to get a good look at the Shuttle Carrier when it brings one of the shuttles to Seattle. :D I hope!
 
Congratulations!

Sometimes you just have to kick back and enjoy the wine and count your blessings.
My 540 should arrive in a couple of weeks.:)
 
Just thinking of you today Paul, and how small the avaition community is. Thanks for letting us borrow your shuttle carrier to give my plane a ride today.

Oh Phil, Phil....now we're gonna have to kill you! I guess someone left the dang keys to the 747 on the pilot lounge table again....;)
 
Congrats!

Congrats Paul! That's a beautiful engine!

I feel your excitement. Received mine about a month ago (an IO-360-B1B from Aerosport) and had a similar moment. One can't help but be moved by such an object of functional art.

I almost sent out a post on VAF similar to yours, but for no particularly good reason I never did. I did blast out a message and photos in email form to about 100 of my closest friends, and one of them commented in his reply that I was "beaming like a father talking about his new-born child". I guess that reaction is not uncommon. :D

Enjoy it!
 
Paul & Louise...

You two look like a couple of kids with a new toy at Christmas time.

Oh, wait, Your ARE, and it is!

Congratulations!!!
 
Got this Mattituck

TMX IO-360 in October. Its on the plane now with prop installed. Currently working on the cowling. Thanks to your older posts Paul about how great these engines are and the company that stands behind them, I had no hesitation about placing the order. Also, these guys on my home field KFFC; Don, Steve, Ulf, Waldo, and others that have had zero problems with their TMX engines.

http://i56.tinypic.com/245wqwh.jpg
 
Funny what special moments in our projects stick in our minds ...

I have to admit that receiving my Aerosport engine was a major high point. I sat in my shop just staring at it, wondering if there wasn't some way to make a clear cowling to show it off (not realizing how much JUNK was soon to be hooked up to it!) ...

Seeing my panel for the first time as the crate from SteinAir was opened ...

And everytime I get into our hot tub I stare at the shop window that no longer has the ugly fiberglass enclosure that I had to build to stick the tail out the window because the shop was too small for the plane with the engine on it ...

For some reason, those memories have stuck in my brain even more than my first flight. Go figure.

Congrats, Paul and Louise. I'm just glad that you didn't smash that bottle of good wine on the engine to christen it! :D
 
Congrats Paul and Louise!!

I've been following your -3 build since you picked it up, and I can tell you, I always look forward to your posts. They provide the sort of "armchair building experience" I need to get me through the day! CFI's don't make nearly enough money for an RV, but I WILL build as soon as I can. Until then, thanks for allowing this dreamer to "ride along" with you!

Thanks for posting! It's one beautiful engine! Merry Christmas!
 
Mattituck

I think you'll like your Mattutuck engine. I've purchased 2 IO-540's from them and I'm sure I'll make another purchase from them down the road.

Also, as another point of reference, I've purchased from Aerosport Power as well and have nothing but good things to say about Bart, Sue, and the gang at Aerosport.

Good Luck Paul and Louise. My only concern is....well....how does Mikey feel about this :eek:.
 
There's a funny story behind our engine purchase. I ordered the engine from Aero Sport Power, and told my wife that we would pay for it on our line of credit, and we agreed on how we would pay it off. But, I neglected to tell her that before putting it on the line of credit, I planned to pay for it with our VISA card to get the airline points tied to that card, and then I would use the line of credit to pay the VISA bill. I called VISA and got the credit limit increased to cover the engine.

The VISA bill arrived, but I didn't open it. I was down in the basement working on the project when my wife opened the VISA bill. I heard a loud "Holy Cr*p", so I came up to see what had startled her. I found her holding the VISA bill, hyperventilating. She was quite relieved once I explained why the VISA bill was so high, but she never really forgave me for the shock.
 
There's a funny story behind our engine purchase. I ordered the engine from Aero Sport Power, and told my wife that we would pay for it on our line of credit, and we agreed on how we would pay it off. But, I neglected to tell her that before putting it on the line of credit, I planned to pay for it with our VISA card to get the airline points tied to that card, and then I would use the line of credit to pay the VISA bill. I called VISA and got the credit limit increased to cover the engine.

The VISA bill arrived, but I didn't open it. I was down in the basement working on the project when my wife opened the VISA bill. I heard a loud "Holy Cr*p", so I came up to see what had startled her. I found her holding the VISA bill, hyperventilating. She was quite relieved once I explained why the VISA bill was so high, but she never really forgave me for the shock.

Oh, man, great story. I would have been shot on the spot, in the back, standing at a machine with ear plugs in, working on an airplane part! I'm not alowed to even handle a check book or credit card without supervision for my own safety.
 
Paul and Louise

Your seasonal acquisition is most impressive, they sure make them look great. Congrats.

We do not need a new engine but we do need a new TV, guess what for Christmas. Half of it is mine, the other half my wife's. The old 19" just wasn't hacking it any more with HD and DVR's everywhere so we upgraded to a Panasonic 42" 1080 HD, a DVR and Panasonic sound system. What a difference, its actually fun to watch it again. Everything is in focus and I can even hear it.:)

Hope the engine runs as good as it looks....I'm sure it will.
 
Mattituck put our new TMXIO-320 on a truck last Thursday. Lo and Behold, when I went and checked the yellow freight (YRC) web site this morning, it was in the Houston Terminal! A quick phone call confirmed that I could come by anytime before 7:00 pm to pick it up (and storage charges would accrue after 24 hours?), so as soon as I could cut myself loose from work in the afternoon, I was on my way. Of course, once I got to the terminal on the northeast side of Houston, they had to go looking for the crate (?can you tell us how big it is? What does it look like??), but in relatively short order the crate worth more than my truck was on the way home with me.

Louise was waiting for me when I pulled in, and had to pose for a photo with the most expensive ?Christmas present? either of us had ever seen:

IMG_4898.JPG


With the help of our airpark neighbors, the crate was apart and the new jewel ensconced in the garage in short order. The ?Red/Gold? engine even comes with the signature of the builder?thank you David (I need to find out your last name?)!

IMG_4908.JPG


A few weeks ago, we were given a gift by one of our truest local RV friends, a gentleman unsurpassed in his generosity. Part of the Bohanon crew, he has a number of wonderful contacts at the Mattituck Skunk Works. His present was a bottle of 2006 Mudd wine. The grapes for the wine were grown by Nancy and Phil Hipponic, the team that for many years built all the race engines for Mattituck.

IMG_4907.JPG


Several years ago, when I visited Mattituck, I was surprised to find out how many vineyards there were on long island, but now I know why ? it was an excellent vintage, and very appropriate for toasting our new arrival!

IMG_4912.JPG


It?s sure going to be hard to wait the many months before we can run this magnificent piece of machinery, but wait we must. We are most impressed with the quality of the build and of the component parts ? Lycoming has done a lot to improve their castings over the years, and even the crankcase looks custom detailed. Many thanks to Mahlon and all the folks on Long Island?we can?t wait to fly it!

Paul and Louise

Simply a thing of beauty! Congrats guys!