After an exciting and sucessful trip to France, including a premier at the 100th anniversay of the Paris Air Show, it was time for the Caudron to come home.  In early February, I traveled back to Pontoise to get the airplane disassembled and loaded into the container.  Stephane had warned me that it was pretty cold there and he wasn’t kidding!  In spite of the low temperatures however, the disassembly went smoothly and the airplane was safely loaded and the container left on February 18th, with a scheduled arrival back at Flabob on March 26th. 

Last September, our friends at Pontoise had a party celebrating the 15th anniversary of Ameridair.  During the course of the celebration, they emptied the hangar, went flying and captured some great video of the Caudron.  Laurent Detroyat, Grandson of Michel Detroyat, the Caudron’s pilot for the 1936 National Air Races, combined this video with some archival footage to create this really nice tribute to his Grandfather and his C.460 race plane.

While in Europe, I took the opportunity to drive to the Czech Republic and visit the LOM factory, manufacturers of the engine and propeller used on the Caudron.  Petr PROKOP and his staff at LOM were very gracious and showed me around the factory and overhaul and assembly shops.  They have a very nice facility as well as a great product.  We’ve been extremely pleased with the quality and performance of our LOM products and highly recommend them. If you’re interested in their engines, contact Petr PROKOP, Head of Piston Engines Program.  He can be reached at +420 296 505 391 or by email at petr.prokop@lompraha.cz

After arriving back at Flabob, we plan to get the Caudron reassembled and cleaned up and ready for Oshkosh.  It looks like most of our friends from France are planning to attend, so we’re looking forward to a fun reunion.

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