After several weeks of inspection, reassembly and adjustments, Tom Wathen’s Caudron replica took to the air again last Thursday, June 24th. With our friend Christophe Marchand at the controls, the airplane was flown to Hemet Ryan field for further test flying before heading for Oshkosh next month. The plane handled and looked better than ever and we’re all looking forward to displaying it at Air Venture.

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After weeks of waiting and anticipation, the Caudron finally arrived this morning. The truck arrived at about 9:30 and we quickly opened the container and were pleased to find everything securely in it’s place.

On the way to France last year, the plane traveled by rail to Houston, then by ship to Le Havre in France. On the return trip it traveled through the Panama Canal to Long Beach. It went through Customs smoothly enough, but when the X-rays of the container was examined by Homeland Security, it didn’t look like any type airplane they were familiar with. Another few days of delays until the container could be opened and inspected in detail, but soon enough it was released.
Luckily racing airplanes from the 1930’s are not considered a threat to National Security. I guess we can’t be too careful though.
A few cosmetic touch-ups and reassembly and we’ll be back in the air and headed for Oshkosh.
See you there!

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Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, we’ve gone and added a shopping page. Chock full of fabulous items that you’ll want to blow your hard earned money on. (Or Not)
Check it out…….

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A page with Film Clips from some of our projects is now available for your viewing pleasure. Bring your own popcorn.

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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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We’ve been spending a lot of time on the Cabin Waco lately and the progress is really beginning to show.  The wing are finished and ready to start covering.  All the tail surfaces are covered and ready for paint.  The ailerons have been de-skinned and repaired and they’re ready for their new skins.  We’re also getting started on the formidable task of rebuilding all the fuselage bulkheads and stringers.  New pictures are posted in the Waco gallery.  We’re also working with the designer of the Sky Siren paint scheme to come up with something special for this project.  Check back for details once we’ve got it finalized!

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On the first weekend of October this year, the skies cleared, the wind let up and the TravelAirs descended into Flabob.  We were happy to host the 2009 TARA reunion and by the time the weekend was over, we had 7 biplanes on hand and 1 rare TravelAir 6000 monoplane.  There was a lot of catching up with old friends, plenty of flying, a couple of fun evenings with dinners, movies, some beer drinking and Jerry’s famous auction.  There were a lot of stories told and some of them were even true!  By Sunday afternoon everyone had headed for home, inspired to get their airplanes finished in time for next year’s reunion. Thanks to everyone who participated, especially John Lyon for his great presentation, Bruce McElhoe for arriving early and helping to get everything set up, Sheila for the flower arrangements and Irene and the Flabob Cafe staff for their hard work.

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Sky Siren

This morning we rolled the “Sky Siren” TravelAir outside for the first time.  We’ve been doing some pre-assembly, verifying the fit and rigging of the major components.  We’ll leave the airplane assembled so it can participate in the TravelAir reunion the weekend of October 2nd -4th. More images of this airplane here.

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It’s a good thing the Comet is a two place airplane, since it had an unexpected passenger coming back from Oshkosh this year.   The airplane was the winner of a Bronze Lindy award for best replica.  Congratulations Tom!

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