Chapter 25

Of a Sunday, Mr. Examiner moved from an expensive hangar at a country strip to my vacant ‘big top.’ As he explained it, “Cheap ... really cheap.” Roomy was mentioned too.

With enough room to spin the AD 360 degrees and not touch any canvas ... she fits. She has enough room to fold the wings and park another Skyraider on top ... or hang one from the overhead.

Author note: The Ranger (CVA61) routinely hung damaged but possibly salvageable aircraft from the aft overhead ... along with yachts the officers purchased. Yachts were hung near the starboard elevators. I will admit that I never noticed what kind of aircraft ... just that they were there. I was more interested in the yachts. I was a sailor ... not a pilot.

Mom had wood working tools, Kayaks ... and little sailboats. A great many of her tools extended to use as aluminum tools. Mr. Examiner had done the distastful parts ... the forms and blocking.

What the heck, I thought. I bought a full scale Dr .1 kit and spent a good many afternoons in his company. I made just enough mistakes to allow him the chance to correct me. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how ... him helping me ... guidance from older wiser head ... cemented a friendship.

It was about this time I discovered I was lonely. I knew people ... damn few were my age.

I knew pilots ... and pilots had wives ... and that made me the enemy. Several of the wives were beautiful ... quite a few weren’t.

There are reasons husbands build things. Some have a ‘do’ bent. Those guys build things. When the wife complains of a leaky faucet ... it gets fixed. Some times the faucet fixing includes a remodeled kitchen... ‘doers.’

If the spouse is really a ‘doer,’ ... the attic gets dormers and becomes the spare bedroom and the basement is partitioned, drywalled and paneled.

Some ‘doers’ have a chemistry bent and the remodeled basement becomes a brewery. Chemical reactions ... sugar becomes a ‘watch the yeast eat barley sugar and pee alcohol and fart CO2’ ... are a kind of chemist’s work.

Some want to get away. Get the wife used to boats.

If she doesn’t get seasick. Fishing. SCUBA.

Pressure from deep water tends to disolve body fat ... doesn’t have to be real deep... 60 feet works ... takes longer than 120 but 120 has time limits ... time limits per day. 60 feet doesn’t much care. Don’t ascend faster than the tiny bubbles ... you’ll be fine.

The ‘doers’ I knew built airplanes ... Airdrome kits. Can’t ask for much better ... they don’t come apart in mid air. And they didn’t take the skills of an A&P mechanic. Anyone with average intelligence could do it ... and be reasonably assured it would fly.

These guys were building single seaters for a reason. Yup ... she couldn’t go. Peace and semi quiet ... and her mother is worse.

So ... I had money ... I was generally quiet ... a treasure chest ... think the best looking girl you ever met ... times 2 ... yup. Pretty. I flew, sailed, worked with my hands, competent behind the wheel. I could change a tire ... call AAA if I knew I couldn’t fix it. I should make a decent friend.

Why haven’t I?