There’s no turning back now. N11018 is officially Cub Yellow. Back when this whole project started, my initial plan was to have a bright matte white Tailwind when it was done. Just something simple that would be easy to add livery or decals to later on if I wanted. There was plenty of white and [...]

There is clear evidence of some experimenting done on this experimental aircraft over the years, specifically in the horizontal stabilizer area. The plates that secure/locate the leading edges of the horizontal stabilizers had many holes in them: four on the pilot side; six on the passenger side. We fabbed up some new plates and drilled [...]

For those that don’t know, the EAA has formed a partnership with Dassault Systems and probably the best benefit of that partnership is the free copy of Solidworks that EAA members can download. This is not a scam. Current active EAA members have access to a single license of the SolidWorks Student Edition that they [...]

Okay, this is just too weird. Yesterday at work somebody asked me about my airplane and blah, blah, blah I mentioned that I would like to re-cover and paint it because presently it’s just kinda ugly. Let’s just say I wish it looked as good as it flies. I get home from work at 2:30am, [...]

FINALLY! Two and a half months after Apple eft over thousands of pilots that relied on external GPS units for their aviation apps, the release of iOS 8.4 has arrived and I can say with 99% certainty that my iPad 2 with Bad Elf GPS 1000 and Air Navigation Pro are back to 100% functionality.

I just opened a letter in the mail from Jim Stanton (the guy that wrote the Wittman Tailwind W10 Builder’s Manual) with an invitation to the 2015 Tailwind and Buttercup Fly In taking place at Hartford Municipal Airport (KHXF) on July 17-18. I’m a Machine Technology student and will be in the middle of summer [...]

The boss needed someone to pick up a customer from Baker City, Oregon so I volunteered. I’ve been to Baker City several times and it’s an easy, direct flight, but for today’s flight my iPad wasn’t functioning, or at least I thought it was my iPad or Bad Elf GPS or Air Navigation Pro that [...]

The gentleman that built N11018, Harold Passow, passed away on January 15, 2015 at the age of 92. He built my Tailwind at his home near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, completing it in 1965. I wish you the same blue skies and tailwinds that you have bestowed upon me, Mr. Passow. I promise to help keep your [...]

Happy New Year, everyone. The Tailwind isn’t back in the air yet so no new videos or photos to share. To get myself motivated to have 11018 flying soon, I have resolved to fly her 150 hours this year which is roughly three hours per week. I think that’s doable. The biggest obstacle is the [...]

I’ve been quite busy with life’s activities for the past few months. Unfortunately that hasn’t involved any flying nor working on the Tailwind, so my apologies to those who have found my little corner of the web and hoped for some more frequent updates, but have not received them. That said, a message came over [...]

The weather’s been as low as single digits and topping out in the 20’s during the day. It’s just too cold to work on the Tailwind in an unheated hangar so I haven’t got anything done since I last signed in. I did want to take this moment to say happy birthday (or happy anniversary) [...]

I’ve been trying to track down N11018’s builder, Harold Passow, for a few months now. I mailed a letter to his last known airport — KARV Lakeland Airport/Noble F. Lee Memorial Field — in September hoping it would reach him. The letter was never returned to me, and I never got a response from Harold, [...]

Pretty much everyone knows not to expect a Christmas card from me. I’m not anti-Christmas or anti-holiday. I’ve just never felt the desire to send out cards except for a few times in my life. Some of my friends have wives. Some have kids. Some even have both so I can understand why they want [...]

The “new” T-hangar is pretty messy inside because all of the plastic sheeting that was hung on the beams to separate it from the neighboring T-hangars has biodegraded or degraded (or something). This stuff is awful. It looks like a white poly-plastic tarp, but when you touch it, it crumbles. I’ve never seen anything like [...]

Some sad news came across the Wittman Tailwind user group wire this morning. A fellow pilot was killed yesterday afternoon during the second flight of his W10 that he had spent several years building. The GA community always mourns at the loss of a pilot, but this one is especially sad for the Tailwind fliers. [...]

Good news for me… and for N11018. No more open field tie-downs at YKM. Someone relocated some of their planes into new hangars which means some old hangars became vacant and one of those hangars was offered to me so 018 will no longer sit outside in the sweltering heat and blistering cold. She’s now [...]

It’s been raining all day. Pouring, in fact. I didn’t fly so I spent a bit of time online looking for stuff to improve the Tailwind’s nonexistent electrical system. One of the previous owners of this Tailwind removed the electrical system in an effort to reduce weight. Eventually, I want to install a battery so [...]