Sun N Fun 2018

Hey everybody.  We have secured booth N68 at Sun N Fun 2018.  This is a great spot and along the main avenue.  We are delighted to represent Verner Motor and ourselves at Sun N Fun!  We are also super privileged to show Steve Wolf's SAMSONmite aircraft at our booth with the new Verner Scarlett 9S radial.  Steve is getting the engine installation ready at break-neck speed and its looking fantastic!  It will be a stunner!  He is a professional aerobatic aircraft designer and builder and airshow performer.  Though he is semi-retired now, you wouldn't know it by how quickly he is working.  He is thrilled to show his plane and he will be making kits of it.  The SAMSONmite is a 75% scale replica of his famous airshow airplane SAMSON.  The original had a Pratt and Whitney R985 and was a huge Pitts styled aircraft.  He thrilled crowds with that plane and was featured at several Oshkosh AirVentures in the late 80's.  The SAMSONmite replica was first flown and shown with a Rotec R3600 installed.  His engine experienced a major malfunction and he was lucky to get it back to base safely.  During a trip to Italy, Steve took a flight in a Verner powered aircraft and knew that he wanted one on his SAMSONmite.  The sound was perfect, the thrust was impressive.  We informed him that the 9 cylinder was in development and he and Kathy jumped on it.  Verner worked with us to get custom paint and chrome to closely resemble a Pratt and Whitney per the original.  I LOVE the color scheme - we will likely keep that for our ScaleBirds replicas.

At this year's Sun N Fun, we are concentrating on the Verner radials as our focus for this event.  We are planning to have Steve's 9S on display at our booth, then have my 5Si powered Fisher Avenger R flying off the Paradise City grass strip.  Also we will have Frank Johnson's 3VW powered Legal Eagle either flying in Paradise City too or in on display in our booth.  That depends on whether he can complete and fly it before the show.  I think he has a good shot at it.  I can't wait to see both aircraft!  If we can find a trailer large enough, we will bring the P-40/36 to fill up our tent and show it off - even though it has a long way to go before first flight.  But we still need to find a trailer big enough for it and the Avenger.  Flying the Avenger down is not a good idea - weather.  Just no way of knowing if the way will be completely clear and I'm still a working slug who doesn't have all the vacation time in the world saved-up to wait out storms and fog to get there just whenever.  So the Avenger gets priority in the trailer this time.  So we have a rental set up for a 7' x 16' with extended V nose.  I'm looking for something wider and a bit longer.  8.5' x 20' would be ideal but not easy to find up here in CT or RI.  Still looking though.  Either way, we will have a nice booth put together and will be making a big splash!  I hope you can make it and please stop by and let me get to know you.  We value your input into what we are doing and always willing to listen.  

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Scott and Sam are working like mad to finish the elevators.  The first one is complete.  Lead counter-weights will be later - prior to covering with fabric.  The second elevator will go fast as I made two sets of parts and fitted them.  Will write more about the build shortly.