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Old 01-15-2019, 10:15 AM   #467
woofa.express
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Tocumwal, NSW, Australia
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Default Re: tell a Model A related story

episode 1 of 3

To Caldwell with Caldwell.

I see my friend 40 Deluxe lives in Kuna- Idaho. Twenty miles from Kuna is the town of Caldwell and I’m going to tell you about my visit there.
My friend, an ag pilot and ex Vietnam helicopter pilot by the name of Bob Caldwell flew myself and 2 of my buddies to Caldwell. It’s 1992. I was interested in seeing a radial ag plane which was converted to a Garret turbine. The operators airstrip was about 10 miles to the north of the main town strip. I don’t recall the owners name but I do remember quite a few things about him and his operation. He was a bloke with initiative for he had been to Florida and purchased at auction, customs seized light turbine aeroplanes. He flew them back to Idaho where he removed the engines and installed them in his ag planes. The newly acquired airframes minus engines were parked in the rocky outcrops surrounding his workshop. A bit messy, a bit like Steptoe and son. To install a new type of engine to the airframe requires engineers drawings and computations and the FAA’s authority. Well his conversions have become the industry standard.
Now his habit. He and some of his staff had big bags of pop corn and they couldn’t seem to put them down. Now I mean big bags like rubbish bin liner size. Also they wore thongs and socks. I’m not knocking them but these are things I have never seen before.

They were informative and hospitable and I was grateful for the welcome and tour around their strip.
At the same strip was an aeroplane wrecker or parting out company. Several hundred full and part airframes adding to the Steptoe vista.
From here we took a short 4 minute flight to Caldwell. This is where I, being a tourist made an ass of myself. It seemed like everyone on that airport walked out of their respective hangers to watch my stupidity. They weren't surprised as they had seen it before it seems.
That story tomorrow. Can't tell you the lot in just one day.

Internet pictures. Radial Thrush and Garret gas turbine conversion. The PH registration is the Philippines.

Attached Images
File Type: jpg thrush 1.JPG (19.4 KB, 5 views)
File Type: jpg thrush 2.JPG (45.6 KB, 4 views)
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Last edited by woofa.express; 01-15-2019 at 08:10 PM.
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