Every time a bell rings, an airplane gets her wings!

It took a while, but we finally able to put the wings back on 737 after the move.

Mounting the Big Continental

We ran into a couple of snags getting ready to install our new Continental IO-360, but we finally were ready to hoist her up and put her in her new mount.

Panel Mock-Up

Now that we have a new home, it was time to get to work on the design of the new panel. This my first test fit with most of the major components installed.

She went to Jared!

I wonder what could be in that great big blue box?

Unloading 737

Although I knew how I wanted to unload 737 from the trailer, it took a while to get the correct trolleys ordered and installed. But once we got the correctly sized I-beam trolleys installed, getter her off the trailer went smoothly.

Moving to Kestrel

There’s nothing like moving an airplane when you have to do it via ground transport, but we found a way to get 737 on a trailer.

Leaving San Marcos Regional

During the middle of our upgrade project, it was time to find a permanent home for 737.

Installing the Cummings IO-360 mount on 737

We were able to install the custom-built Cummins IO-360 mount on 737 today.

Crating up the O-300

I fellow Swifter saw my post about pulling my old O-300D on Facebook and said he wanted to buy my engine. It has just about all new accessories—two newly overhauled Bendix magnetos by Kelly, a new alternator, and a fairly newly overhauled carburetor. And he was also interested in my engine mount.

After agreeing to a reasonable price, it was time to crate the engine to get it ready to ship to the big WA. I’ve still got a little more work to do, but she should be ready to ship soon.

Look Ma, No Panel!

It was a heartbreaking decision, but along with upgrading the engine, I decided to update the whole panel. So how did this start?

Like so many other aviation stories, this one started at Oshkosh. Electronic Instruments had a special offer of a $2000 rebate on the high-end MVP-50 engine monitor. As I started pricing out what it would cost to buy the additional gauges and an engine monitor, it started making economic sense.

When a friend offered to “loan” me his blank panel until Swift Nationals, I started thinking, now that I have a blank panel… Did I mention I just came back from Oshkosh?

After seeing all the avionics vendors, I found visions of Avidyne dancing in my head. And then the dreams got worse, ADS-B native transponders, Aspen glass, and audio panels sprinkled with Bluetooth. Do you see where this is going?

So here we are with a Swift without a panel.

Pulling the O-300

I’ve finally decided to upgrade the old O-300D in 737 to an IO-360. I’m having Pinnacle Aircraft Engine do an IRAN inspection and should have the rebuilt engine in about 15 weeks.