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- May 18, 2012
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Hey guys I thought I had posted on here but guess I had just posted on my Starduster Too group I started on Facebook (if you are a Facebook user please look up “Starduster Too and Stolp Aircraft Group”, I have over 1000 members in that group!). Anyway , after loosing my Dream plane, The Range Duster I gave it awhile to sink in and see where I needed to go with my dreams etc.
After a few months a buddy posted his Starduster Too for sale as a “project” on the Facebook Starduster Too group. It was the Jacob’s radial powered green and silver one. He had it sold and was delivering it when the tailwheel had a shimmy that through his skill and Gods Grace he was about to save the plane with minimal damage when it could have been so much worse.
The damage is confined to the tailwheel area and the lower left wing.
I thought about it for about it for a little bit and remembered all the times I had talked to Justin and Trevor about the plane at Blakesburg Antique fly ins and how much I really liked the canopy and bullish looks of it. I always felt like Justin wanted me to have the plane…like there was a reason why it hadn’t sold etc. I just never had the cash to buy it while trying to get the Range Duster flying. (I always wanted a radial Starduster Too to go along with my Ranger Starduster Too. I have two sons and they are both interested in aviation etc so always had the dream of all three of us flying Starduster Toos, me in the Range Duster , one in a Radial and one in a AcroDuster Too) Wellllll after the loss of the Range Duster I had to start that dream over and Justin did everything he could to help make that happen. He truly Gave me an opportunity that I know he didn’t have to and I will forever be grateful. He and Trevor are life long friends I hope to do lots of flying with in the future!
So after lots of thought etc I came to the conclusion i Definitely still have the Starduster Too dream and as you read above, I now have a second shot at owning and making a really cool plane my own.
The plan….this won’t be a full restoration. The plan is to get it flying ASAP but done correctly. Thanks to a suggestion from Trevor , it’s getting a Pitts Model 12 style tailspring socket , new API round rod tailspring, New API double fork tailwheel unit (the same tailwheel setup as a Pitts Model 12). I have been in contact with The Pitts Model 12 Guru , Don Adamson and he has been instrumental in this whole thing. He will be doing the fuselage tailwheel repair. I have also bought a set of Pitts Model 12 main gear from him and he will be removing the old Cessna L-19 steel gear legs and installing the new Pitts model 12 main gear at his shop also. This will raise the nose about 8-9” from what it was, giving it much needed prop clearance and a much better , meaner, leaner “look”. The gear will be getting some false ribs (think Stearman style ribs on the gear legs) so I can install a set of Starduster Too style “spats” over the aluminum gear legs.
Don also had a beautiful set of brand new build lower wings he had bought with another project, so I bought the new lower wings and a set of plywood leading edges to install. Soooo as of now, I have the new wings, (I figured I would install both lower wings as a “matched” set as we all know how these homebuilts go…they could be slightly different tip shape etc…even though they look very much like plans built wings…I just thought it was a good idea to change them as a set.) I have the new tailspring , new api tailwheel , new Pitts model 12 main gear.
I’m working on the wings now, cleaning, adding some wood where leading edges go , fitting new trailing edges, mounting bellcranks , painting the steel parts etc etc.
I will rig all the wings on the plane…and then install the new plywood leading edges in place…so they will be perfect. I was trying to get this done before winter but it didn’t work out. Soooo over winter I’ll work on what I can (bringing wings inside to do as much work on them as I can in my dining room!) then once it’s warm enough to glue the wings will be ready to really install and glue the leading edges. Once the leading edges are done the fuselage goes over to Arkansas so Don can work his magic on it while I do the covering on the wings etc.
To say I’m excited is an understatement! It’s going to be a lot of work…but it’s going to be such a cool plane afterwards I can’t wait! Since the fuselage fabric is getting replaced and the wings covered…it’s getting a new paint job. I have been working on a paint scheme with Chandler Gorham (son of the Gold Duster AcroDuster Too the book was based on, and unfortunately crashed killing Chandlers dad due to a bad bellcrank design). It will be overall silver still…but instead of green it will be red and black trim colors.
I think the plane looks like a 1930s air racer…so I’ve given it a new name to go along with the paint scheme I’m working on. The Lion Duster.
Roscoe Turner has always been a hero of mine so this will be “The Garrity Lion” instead of the “The Gilmore Lion”. I’ve included a couple pics of what me and Chandler are working on paint scheme wise….please share your input! I’m wanting not to replicate a paint job but use Roscoes as Inspiration.
Welllll that got long!!! Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! Thanks again to Justin Niemyjski and Trevor Niemyjski. I couldn’t have done this without them Wanting this plane to go to me. I also can’t thank Don Adamson enough as without him jumping on board for the welding repairs etc I couldn’t have taken this on. God has a plan…sometimes we just have to step back and let him guide us.
After a few months a buddy posted his Starduster Too for sale as a “project” on the Facebook Starduster Too group. It was the Jacob’s radial powered green and silver one. He had it sold and was delivering it when the tailwheel had a shimmy that through his skill and Gods Grace he was about to save the plane with minimal damage when it could have been so much worse.
The damage is confined to the tailwheel area and the lower left wing.
I thought about it for about it for a little bit and remembered all the times I had talked to Justin and Trevor about the plane at Blakesburg Antique fly ins and how much I really liked the canopy and bullish looks of it. I always felt like Justin wanted me to have the plane…like there was a reason why it hadn’t sold etc. I just never had the cash to buy it while trying to get the Range Duster flying. (I always wanted a radial Starduster Too to go along with my Ranger Starduster Too. I have two sons and they are both interested in aviation etc so always had the dream of all three of us flying Starduster Toos, me in the Range Duster , one in a Radial and one in a AcroDuster Too) Wellllll after the loss of the Range Duster I had to start that dream over and Justin did everything he could to help make that happen. He truly Gave me an opportunity that I know he didn’t have to and I will forever be grateful. He and Trevor are life long friends I hope to do lots of flying with in the future!
So after lots of thought etc I came to the conclusion i Definitely still have the Starduster Too dream and as you read above, I now have a second shot at owning and making a really cool plane my own.
The plan….this won’t be a full restoration. The plan is to get it flying ASAP but done correctly. Thanks to a suggestion from Trevor , it’s getting a Pitts Model 12 style tailspring socket , new API round rod tailspring, New API double fork tailwheel unit (the same tailwheel setup as a Pitts Model 12). I have been in contact with The Pitts Model 12 Guru , Don Adamson and he has been instrumental in this whole thing. He will be doing the fuselage tailwheel repair. I have also bought a set of Pitts Model 12 main gear from him and he will be removing the old Cessna L-19 steel gear legs and installing the new Pitts model 12 main gear at his shop also. This will raise the nose about 8-9” from what it was, giving it much needed prop clearance and a much better , meaner, leaner “look”. The gear will be getting some false ribs (think Stearman style ribs on the gear legs) so I can install a set of Starduster Too style “spats” over the aluminum gear legs.
Don also had a beautiful set of brand new build lower wings he had bought with another project, so I bought the new lower wings and a set of plywood leading edges to install. Soooo as of now, I have the new wings, (I figured I would install both lower wings as a “matched” set as we all know how these homebuilts go…they could be slightly different tip shape etc…even though they look very much like plans built wings…I just thought it was a good idea to change them as a set.) I have the new tailspring , new api tailwheel , new Pitts model 12 main gear.
I’m working on the wings now, cleaning, adding some wood where leading edges go , fitting new trailing edges, mounting bellcranks , painting the steel parts etc etc.
I will rig all the wings on the plane…and then install the new plywood leading edges in place…so they will be perfect. I was trying to get this done before winter but it didn’t work out. Soooo over winter I’ll work on what I can (bringing wings inside to do as much work on them as I can in my dining room!) then once it’s warm enough to glue the wings will be ready to really install and glue the leading edges. Once the leading edges are done the fuselage goes over to Arkansas so Don can work his magic on it while I do the covering on the wings etc.
To say I’m excited is an understatement! It’s going to be a lot of work…but it’s going to be such a cool plane afterwards I can’t wait! Since the fuselage fabric is getting replaced and the wings covered…it’s getting a new paint job. I have been working on a paint scheme with Chandler Gorham (son of the Gold Duster AcroDuster Too the book was based on, and unfortunately crashed killing Chandlers dad due to a bad bellcrank design). It will be overall silver still…but instead of green it will be red and black trim colors.
I think the plane looks like a 1930s air racer…so I’ve given it a new name to go along with the paint scheme I’m working on. The Lion Duster.
Roscoe Turner has always been a hero of mine so this will be “The Garrity Lion” instead of the “The Gilmore Lion”. I’ve included a couple pics of what me and Chandler are working on paint scheme wise….please share your input! I’m wanting not to replicate a paint job but use Roscoes as Inspiration.
Welllll that got long!!! Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! Thanks again to Justin Niemyjski and Trevor Niemyjski. I couldn’t have done this without them Wanting this plane to go to me. I also can’t thank Don Adamson enough as without him jumping on board for the welding repairs etc I couldn’t have taken this on. God has a plan…sometimes we just have to step back and let him guide us.
