This Caudron C.460 replica was constructed by the crew of AeroCraftsman. The original C.460 participated the 1936 National Air Races held in Los Angeles. Flown by Michel Detroyat, the Caudron racer won the Thompson Trophy as well as every other race it participated in that year. This replica was built for Tom Wathen who also has flying replicas of several other golden age racers. The Caudron was sucessfully test flown for the first time on January 28, 2009. After a brief but sucessful test program, the airplane was disassembled and shipped to France. Upon arrival it was reassembled with some reinforcing modifications recommended by the French DGAC. After receiving the permit to fly, it was test flown several times before making it's public debut at the 100th anniversary of the Paris Airshow at Le Bourget.

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This Command-Aire 5C-3 belongs to Bob Lock. Bob restored the airplane several years ago and flew it to many airshows where it was always an award winner. When the opportunity arose to participate in the 2007 Barnstormers Air Tour, Bob and his son Rob brought the airplane to Hemet for a cosmetic restoration which included new sheet metal, fabric and paint. The airplane was assembled, rigged and test flown in time for Bob and Bruce McElhoe to leave Hemet and fly to Kalamazoo to participate in the start of the Air Tour.

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689K is a 1929 TravelAir 4D belonging to Bruce McElhoe. Bruce and I worked together for about 14 months to complete this restoration. Since completion Bruce has flown the plane from coast to coast several times attending many events and generally doing his part to contribute to global warming. In the process, he has won many awards includings Grand Champion antique at Blakesburg and Casa Grande.

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Photos taken during the restoration of David Bradley's 1928 TravelAir 4000. David's TravelAir was completely restored over a 2 year period. David is the owner of California Dreamin, a company offering Balloon and Biplane rides out of the French Valley airport in Southern California.

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Pictures taken during the construction of a Hatz CB-1. NX1279 is being built by me and Jack Pickering at the Hemet airport. We started construction in 2000 and have been working at it steadily. First flight in March 2009. This Hatz is a real joy to fly, very smooth and responsive on the controls, but nice and slow for landing. If you're thinking about building a biplane, you can't go wrong with a Hatz.

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Photos of the restoration of TravelAir NC622H. This TravelAir is a model E-4000 belonging to Granger Haugh. It took about 2 years to completely restore this airplane to like new condition. Recently sold, this TravelAir is on it's way to Africa to be used as a "rides" airplane. Sounds like quite an adventure!

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Some photos related to a Corben Super Ace I built several years ago.

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This YKS-7 was a huge restoration project. It was well worn after passing through 28 previous owners. When we were all finished though, it flew great and is better than new.

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This TravelAir D4D Speedwing is in for fabric and paint. Obviously not a typical TravelAir paint scheme, but period correct and quite stunning. Miles and miles of masking on this beauty.

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Our local Flabob N3N suffered an off airport landing last year. Happily, the pilot did everything right and the airplane suffered minimal damage. We've completed the repairs and are covering and painting the entire airplane. After a complete recover and cosmetic restoration, it's back in the air and better than ever.

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It's been over 15 years since Tom Wathen's DH88 Comet replica was completed and flown by Bill Turner and crew. Since then, the airplane has flown around the country several times and been admired by thousands of enthusiasts. Time takes it's toll however and the airplane was ready for some TLC. We had it in for a complete cosmetic restoration and inspection, correcting and repairing as necessary. After reassembly and couple of test flights, Robin Reid launched for Oshkosh, where the Comet won a Bronze Lindy for best replica. Congratulations Tom!

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This Starduster came in for paint and fabric work on the wings. The original automotive paint over fabric had failed. After recovering the wings, we custom matched the original colors and matched the original scheme using Ranthane. After correcting some rigging problems and reassembling the airplane we test flew it. With a IO-470 up front, it's a fun little hotrod.

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NC9915 is a 1929 TravelAir. Currently registered as a model 4D, it originally left the factory as a B9-4000, meaning it had a 300 hp Wright J6-9. Our plan is to restore the plane back to it's original B9-4000 configuration. Purchased several years ago from a friend and fellow enthusiast Joel Harris, we've been slowly collecting all the miscellaneous bits and pieces required. Now that the Hatz is finished, it's finally time to get started. Check back, more pictures will be added as we progress.

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Some pictures taken during my trip to Blakesburg and Brodhead with the Hatz.

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Images of the Wathen Racer collection.

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It was supposed to be a simple re-cover and repaint, but years of exposure to the humidity of Hawaii had caused quite a bit of corrosion and hidden damage. In the end though, it's as good as new.

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Ok, so it's not an airplane project, but it is old, it is cool, and it's in the shop, so here it is. I've had this 1931 Model A Roadster for several years now. While it was a fine car in it's stock condition, it was no show contender and what I've always wanted was a highboy roadster, so here we go.......

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A fun little non airplane project.

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Simple and light. That's where we're headed with this restoration. No fancy paint schemes this time. Orange and Blue, just the way it left the factory. With 220 Continental for power, this one will be one nice flying airplane when we're finished.

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A very original Wright J5 powered TravelAir 4000. This project is very cool not only because of it's originality, but because this airplane was flown by Charles Lindberg.

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