on in Lawrenceburg for the past 22 years. During the past years, one of the most popular conversions of any airplane configuration h as been th e move to convert a PA -22 Tri-Pacer to a PA-20 Pacer. Delton says that he never was really tempted to convert his Tri-Pacer 足 he has some tailwheel airplane time, but he likes the handling of the tricycle gear, and, he admits to being partial to the way a Tri-Pacer looks. One other item caused Delton to do a bit of investigation - when he was checking the aft fuselage, he noticed that the vertical fin , when mounted on th e fuselage, would have its leadin g edge offset to the right, instead of the more customary left (for those aircraft having props that rotate clockwise!). Delton did some checking around, and found that all the Tri-Pacer owners he asked confirmed that his fuselage was correct. We all learn something new each time we start down a new path . Rob ert Bomar is the AI who signed off the airplane. Robert has just recently joined the ranks of the newly retired , after a long a nd fruitful career maintaining airplanes. Delton feels quite fortunate that he was able to have the Tri-Pacer inspected and signed-off by this highly respected Airworthiness Inspector. Joe Fleeman has had a soft spot in his
heart for a Tri-Pacer since he was five years old. Joe's Granddad taught a man to fly an almost new Tri-Pacer. "It just looks sport y to me ", Joe recalled, " I've just liked them ever since. r like th e little short wings on them, and th e way they stood up tall on the gear. To me th ey were a sporty airplane back in the 1950's. And th ey still are sporty, too!" It took a few years for the fellow Jo e's Grandfather was t eac hin g to gain hi s Privat e licen se , but when he did , Joe finally got his ride in a Tri-Pace r. After waiting 3 years, flying in the PA-22 was the thrill of young Joe's life. 8740C is now happily resting in a hangar on the Law renceb urg County Airport , which Delton says is an airport that the county should be proud of - the new taxiway, as well as a le ngth e ne d runw ay a nd a ge ne ral " sp rucing up" make th e airport an attractive home base. R es toring an airplane so that it is "just so" for your own personal pleasure can b e compensation e nough , but Delton and Joe we re in for a surprise. About a month b efore EAA OSHKOSH , Chuck Silverstein stopped by and took a look at the project. Chuck liked what he saw, and suggested that the Tri-Pacer s hould be brought to Oshkosh for th e Co nve ntion . D e lton already had plans for th a t week, so he
asked Joe if h e would lik e to fly th e perky short-wing Piper to Wisconsin. Off to Oshkosh headed Joe a nd his father , Jay , with a total of 12 hours on the airplane when they left Lawrenceburg County Airport. Much to both D elton and Joe's surprise, N8740C was selected as th e R eserve Grand Champion Classic durin g EAA OSHKOSH '92 . A neat little pe rsonal plane and an award to go with it - a nic e w ay to finish a restoration , in anybody's book. ...
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15