a little off-topic, but

[GB SISSON]

Last January I was on the mainland installing some cabinetry in a new home a friend was building. This friend is a pilot interested in vintage planes and after breakfast I asked him If anyone has replicated the Spirit of St Louis. Turns out a guy about 5 miles from him had done just that. Was a Sunday morning we went to Home Depot for supplies and about half way down the Cook Rd in Burlington he signaled a left turn into a driveway of an older ranch home with a long, low chicken coop out back. Fred stopped at the house and the gal who answered the door said John was working, because he always was. Fred had met John on several occasions and they had discussed the sale of a 3 place Piper Cub John was restoring. I was totally unprepared for the next 90 minutes where John showed us the original wing rib forms attained from a museum in SanDiego from the shop that built the original Spirit. As a bonus, John was born and raised on Lopez Island, a neighboring island and we knew many of the same characters. John built his Spirit replica as closeto original as is possible. The Smithsonian gave him 24 hours for photos, borascope etc while it was lowered to the ground. Some of you aircraft guys know all about this endeavor, but others will enjoy reading about the journey, which includes John discovering a pair of pliers under the wicker pilot's seat against the fabric of the fuselage. Best Sunday morning ever.
https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=Awrg...AFUJOJ43idj.4-