Andy Gelston's Page

mr.  bowers died i bought it from his son  

havent picked it up yet  its still in ar. it should be flying in the summer needs a little work

Understood.  Just in case it helps, I have been a member of this group in the past, and I'm not sure if my old membership might still be taking up a space.  I believe it was under b.lovett@att.net, but I re-registered because I couldn't get signed into it to update my email address.  (I was also on Chuck Lebrecht's mailing list many years ago.)  If my old account is still here, please feel free to purge it.  

27259 is now in London OH. Still flying on what it should be 1800ft of grass. 

Thanks for adding me to your group Andy! I'm interested in finding a Porterfield as I've lived my entire 53 years in the Kansas City area. A good friend of mine had a project when we were in A&P school but he never finished it before letting it go. Dave

Thank you, Andy.  That certainly clears up some of the mystery about front/rear seat solo flight in the Porterfield.  The airplane I plan to purchase (John Elliott’s Collegiate) has had the little Lycoming 65hp engine replaced with a Continental C-85, which I imagine is heavier.  With John’s help, I’ll be taking a close look at the W&B before I fly her.

Thank you very much, Andy, for welcoming me to the club.  

I have sat in both seats of the Porterfield.  When I sat in the front seat, it reminded me of the two Dehavilland Chipmunks I owned.  The instrument panel in the Chipmunk is very close to your face, also, though not as close as the panel in the Porterfield.  

Regarding solo flight from the front seat…there are pictures and videos online of Porterfields being flown solo from the front and the back seat.  I look forward to learning more about that mystery.

You asked what happened to my DH-1.  I assume you mean my second DHC-1 Chipmunk, which was sold about 18 months ago to an individual who keeps it based on a grass field east of St. Louis. I replaced the Chipmunk with the aircraft that replaced the Chipmunk in  RAF service as a primary trainer, the Scottish Aviation Bulldog.  Nice airplane, but the little wheel in the back isn’t there…they put it up front, under the engine, and made it larger!  Sacrilege!!!  After 18 months of no tailwheel time (and really missing that kind of flying), I started looking for something with a tailwheel that was different from Cubs, Champs, etc.  Since there were no Spitfires on the market at the time (that I could afford), I began searching for a Porterfield.  Happy to say that I found one.

Again, thanks for the welcome.  Looking forward to continuing my education regarding the skinny bird.

Hi Andy, is new member James Pollard a hacker?

Thanks,

What'cha mean? Don't all engine heads have to be re-torqued every dozen hours? :)