Over the weekend I was nosing around in a hangar at a local grass strip and checked out a disassembled single-seat biplane. One of the guys who operates out of the airport told me it's a Parsons-Jocelyn 260.
A quick consult of Google found a website for this airplane. Apaprently it's pretty rare.
In the early 60's this guy wanted a Great Lakes for competition. Since they were pretty rare, he decided to design and build his own airplane. From what I read, it was a pretty competitive airplane for its time.
I was looking this thing over, pondering an attempt at acquisition and putting it back together. Although exposed to the elements for an unknown length of time (that side of the hangar doesn't have doors), it seemed in decent shape.
A cursory examination didn't find any rot in the wings. The fuselage seemed to be in OK shape with no serious rust or corrosion to speak of.
Hmm... Would this have potential?
In the end, I decided it would be better for someone else. Heck, I don't even know who the owner is and whether he'd be interested in parting with it. One factor I had to consideris the apparent rarity of the bird. That means any replacement parts would require fabrication, and I'd have no idea if plans are available anywhwere.
In the end, I took some pictures and walked away, having touched a little piece of aviation history.
A quick consult of Google found a website for this airplane. Apaprently it's pretty rare.
In the early 60's this guy wanted a Great Lakes for competition. Since they were pretty rare, he decided to design and build his own airplane. From what I read, it was a pretty competitive airplane for its time.
I was looking this thing over, pondering an attempt at acquisition and putting it back together. Although exposed to the elements for an unknown length of time (that side of the hangar doesn't have doors), it seemed in decent shape.
A cursory examination didn't find any rot in the wings. The fuselage seemed to be in OK shape with no serious rust or corrosion to speak of.
Hmm... Would this have potential?
In the end, I decided it would be better for someone else. Heck, I don't even know who the owner is and whether he'd be interested in parting with it. One factor I had to consideris the apparent rarity of the bird. That means any replacement parts would require fabrication, and I'd have no idea if plans are available anywhwere.
In the end, I took some pictures and walked away, having touched a little piece of aviation history.
