Pix of our new fuel truck

[[email protected][_1_]]

The Green Grape is born!

http://www.alexisparkinn.com/new_mighty_grape.htm
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[RST Engineering]

We need to baptize him at the gathering this July. As the father of the
article that engendered this baby, can I at least claim godparent status?

Jim


> wrote in message
ups.com...
> The Green Grape is born!
>
> http://www.alexisparkinn.com/new_mighty_grape.htm
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

[Dan[_2_]]

wrote:
> The Green Grape is born!
>
> http://www.alexisparkinn.com/new_mighty_grape.htm
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>
Hey, that thing doesn't belong on any flightline I have seen. It's
too darn clean. Put some scuffed reflective tape on it at least.

All seriousness aside I like it :)

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired

[Maxwell]

Very cool fuel truck Jay, and even a cooler operation. I guess visitors can
taxi up to their rooms?

Looks like the new rig would easily haul more than 350 pounds of fuel. Just
no need????

[Denny]

Ahhh, this thing has no panache, Jay... No one will remember it going
by... If you go around sticking up 7-11's that's great, but no one is
going to write this truck up in a newsletter or post its picture... It
needs a purple swoosh at least...

denny

wrote:
> The Green Grape is born!
>
> http://www.alexisparkinn.com/new_mighty_grape.htm
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"

[[email protected][_1_]]

> We need to baptize him at the gathering this July. As the father of the
> article that engendered this baby, can I at least claim godparent status?

You, my friend, were the inspiration and the impetus for the bloodline,
and can certainly claim Godfather rights and privileges!

(Hey...wait a minute. We *are* talking about my truck here, right,
Jim? JIM?! )

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[[email protected][_1_]]

> Very cool fuel truck Jay, and even a cooler operation. I guess visitors can
> taxi up to their rooms?

I wish. There is this pesky thing called "Runway 25" that lays between
our hotel and the ramp, which means we'll just have to come fetch you
when you pay us a visit!

Actually, it's a nice walk on a warm summer day -- but not with
luggage. Just wait by your plane -- we'll pick you up in our courtesy
van. (Unless you're flying a Citabria or Fly Baby, in which case you
probably don't *have* any luggage. Then it's an easy walk! ;-)

> Looks like the new rig would easily haul more than 350 pounds of fuel. Just
> no need????

Yeah, I debated having a new tank made to fit the T100. With its
greater load-hauling ability, the 4x4 could easily haul 100 (or more)
gallons.

However, after pondering that I decided to re-use the old tank, since
it was only 4 years old and we only fill it maybe once per week. I
also use the pickup truck for all sorts of things, so a bigger tank
would take away from hauling capacity...

You would be amazed at how handy it is to be able to transport gas in
this quantity; we use the transfer tank to fuel our lawn mower(s), leaf
blower(s), leaf vacuum(s), snow blower(s), and the occasional car that
runs out of gas out front of the hotel.

And, of course, the truck itself is a rolling storage shed for all of
the various tools. We also use the truck for hauling stuff to/from the
hotel, and to the dump.

It's funny, before the Mighty Grape I always kind of laughed at guys
who drove "pick-em-up" trucks. Now, I wouldn't be without one.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[[email protected][_1_]]

> Ahhh, this thing has no panache, Jay... No one will remember it going
> by... If you go around sticking up 7-11's that's great, but no one is
> going to write this truck up in a newsletter or post its picture... It
> needs a purple swoosh at least...

Well, I dunno. People *DID* notice the old Grape, but not necessarily
for good reasons.

Face it, the thing was/is butt ugly! Whoever came up with that shade
of purple was clearly deranged -- or a Vikings fan. But I repeat
myself.... ;-)

But it's not gone forever. We're gonna keep it as a knock-around
vehicle (the danged thing runs GREAT) for the kids to use. I've had
two mechanics look at it, and they both said "drive it till it dies"...
It's in no danger of breaking in half, so long as you don't load it
up with 350 pounds of gasoline.

So the old Grape lives on. We'll use it carefully, around town only.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Morgans[_2_]]

> wrote

> But it's not gone forever. We're gonna keep it as a knock-around
> vehicle (the danged thing runs GREAT) for the kids to use. I've had
> two mechanics look at it, and they both said "drive it till it dies"...
> It's in no danger of breaking in half, so long as you don't load it
> up with 350 pounds of gasoline.
>
Could you not get someone to weld a 1/4" plate on each side of the broken
part of the frame?
--
Jim in NC

[Blueskies]

Needs shark teeth on the sides, ala Flying Tigers...

Nice truck otherwise ;-0

> wrote in message ups.com...
: The Green Grape is born!
:
: http://www.alexisparkinn.com/new_mighty_grape.htm
: --
: Jay Honeck
: Iowa City, IA
: Pathfinder N56993
: www.AlexisParkInn.com
: "Your Aviation Destination"
:

[Ron Wanttaja]

On 8 Jan 2007 14:23:14 -0800, " > wrote:

>I wish. There is this pesky thing called "Runway 25" that lays between
>our hotel and the ramp, which means we'll just have to come fetch you
>when you pay us a visit!
>
>Actually, it's a nice walk on a warm summer day -- but not with
>luggage. Just wait by your plane -- we'll pick you up in our courtesy
>van. (Unless you're flying a Citabria or Fly Baby, in which case you
>probably don't *have* any luggage. Then it's an easy walk! ;-)

Yes, but us Fly Baby drivers need rides 'cause of our fat wallets, which don't
have to pay for 84 gallons of gas at one time. :-)

Ron Wanttaja

[[email protected][_1_]]

> >Actually, it's a nice walk on a warm summer day -- but not with
> >luggage. Just wait by your plane -- we'll pick you up in our courtesy
> >van. (Unless you're flying a Citabria or Fly Baby, in which case you
> >probably don't *have* any luggage. Then it's an easy walk! ;-)
>
> Yes, but us Fly Baby drivers need rides 'cause of our fat wallets, which don't
> have to pay for 84 gallons of gas at one time. :-)

Heh heh. I *knew* you'd bite on that one, Ron...

;-)

Just curious: How long would it take you to fly to Iowa City, en route
to OSH '07?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination'

[[email protected][_1_]]

> Could you not get someone to weld a 1/4" plate on each side of the broken
> part of the frame?

My mechanic says the metal is too far gone to weld. He suggests
drilling and bolting some angle iron across the weak spot.

Or, I hear that there's a Mennonite shop south of Iowa City about 40
miles that can weld a brace that starts at the front bumper, and ends
at the back bumper. They specialize in working on buggies and wagons,
actually.

(I'm *not* making this up!)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination'

[Ron Wanttaja]

On 8 Jan 2007 18:17:59 -0800, " > wrote:

>> >Actually, it's a nice walk on a warm summer day -- but not with
>> >luggage. Just wait by your plane -- we'll pick you up in our courtesy
>> >van. (Unless you're flying a Citabria or Fly Baby, in which case you
>> >probably don't *have* any luggage. Then it's an easy walk! ;-)
>>
>> Yes, but us Fly Baby drivers need rides 'cause of our fat wallets, which don't
>> have to pay for 84 gallons of gas at one time. :-)
>
>Heh heh. I *knew* you'd bite on that one, Ron...
>
>Just curious: How long would it take you to fly to Iowa City, en route
>to OSH '07?

It depends....how high are the overpasses on I-80? :-)

Ron Wanttaja

[[email protected][_1_]]

> It depends....how high are the overpasses on I-80? :-)

Well, I suppose you could fly *under* them... What's your wingspan?

:-)

Seriously, have you flown the Fly Baby to OSH? THAT would be a
heckuva trip.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Ron Wanttaja]

On 9 Jan 2007 04:47:41 -0800, " > wrote:

>Seriously, have you flown the Fly Baby to OSH? THAT would be a
>heckuva trip.

Our EAA Chapter brought the Fly Baby prototype, N500F, a couple of times in the
1980s after the restoration was completed. This was just before I joined the
chapter. IIRC, it took about three or four days there and back. The plane
never went alone. On one trip, it was escorted by a Grumman Cheetah...imagine
flying *that* throttled back on a ~4000-mile round trip.

The Chapter got a different pilot to fly the "there" and "back" legs each time.
What kind of sticks in my mind is that most of those pilots *never flew the Fly
Baby again* after the trip. Fly Babies are NOT comfortable airplanes to fly
long distances in. The basic description I heard is that the first day was
hell, the second day was a bit better, but by the third day they were starting
to enjoy it a bit. But after they delivered it, they didn't feel too inclined
to fly it again.

This wasn't universal. The pilot who flew it to Oshkosh '82 had flown it there
before, and on one trip was escorted by the Story Special (very similar
aircraft) flown by the main club member both ways.

(The Story Special was one of flying homebuilts when our Chapter was started
about 51 years ago. Read about it starting at page 3 at)

http://www.eaa26.org/sept06.pdf

Or see just a picture at:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/story.jpg

One difference in these two cases: Both of these repeating pilots were kind of
small, but the other guys (and myself) are rather large. They likely had some
room to move around, in the air, but the other guys (like myself) would be stuck
with a single seating position.

Other folks have flown Fly Babies long distances and enjoyed it. In 2003,
Wendell Davenport flew his Fly Baby from California to Kitty Hawk, stopping at
Oshkosh 2003 on the way. Even so, he didn't make it a continuous trip...he'd
fly the Fly Baby to a convenient airport, then hop an airline flight back to his
home in Hawaii, then show up a month later to take the plane on the next leg.

My long-distance flight experience in Moonraker is pretty limited, but a ~5 hour
trip a few year back darn near killed me:

http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/long.htm

I am reminded of that old saying, comparing flying to sex: "I can never get
enough, but sometimes I've had all that I can stand."

I've been tempted to take Moonraker to Oshkosh. Since it's almost 25 years old,
I could even park it in the "classic homebuilt" section. But I'm afraid it'd be
sitting there with a "for sale" sign on it. :-)


Ron Wanttaja

[Montblack]

wrote)
> Or, I hear that there's a Mennonite shop south of Iowa City about 40
> miles that can weld a brace that starts at the front bumper, and ends
> at the back bumper. They specialize in working on buggies and wagons,
> actually.
>
> (I'm *not* making this up!)


I'm seeing a [Nissan] being pulled by a team of horses through Monument
Valley, in a vain attempt to reach 88 mph.


MontBlack-To The Future III (1990)

What-the-heck...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfODSPIYwpQ
Brokeback to the Future :-)

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omB18oRsBYg&mode=related&search=>
The Empire Brokeback :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEiwD1G_1TA
Brokeback Trek :-)

[Montblack]

("Ron Wanttaja" wrote)
> (The Story Special was one of flying homebuilts when our Chapter was
> started about 51 years ago. Read about it starting at page 3 at)
>
> http://www.eaa26.org/sept06.pdf


Our Chapter 237
(ANE) Anoka County-Blaine Airport -- Mpls, MN

We split off from Chapter 25 back in the mid 60's. Chapter 25 was (40+ years
ago) meeting in a guy's basement in Minneapolis. One day our founder got out
a map and said, 'People who live north of this line might be interested in
starting a new Chapter' - That's how EAA 237 was born.

Your Chapter (EAA 26) has a very nice pdf newsletter.
http://www.eaa26.org/sept06.pdf

Chapter 25 Webmaster Wins 1st Place in EAA Competition
<http://www.eaa25.org/2006/07/29/chapter-25-webmaster-wins-1st-place-in-eaa-competition/>


Montblack

[[email protected][_1_]]

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEiwD1G_1TA
> Brokeback Trek :-)

Now THAT is funny. Sick...but funny...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"