Danny's Cub Piper

 My cousin Danny is an amazing person-- the kind of person that can fix anything, salvage anything, do anything and doesn't have the academic creditability but has the mastery.  While looking for parts for his 1950s tractor he was refurbishing, he came across an interesting ad with part for a Cub Piper-- not a tractor but a wingless airplane.

At the family birthday party, he led members of the clan to the airplane like a pied piper (no pun intended).  We all followed to see what Danny was going to work on now.

Sitting on a boat trailer, without her wings, was a 1939 Cub Piper plane.  She still works-- the engine is fine, though there might be a small oil leak-- and Danny is trying to figure out how to re-canvas the wings. He has all the supports for the internal structure; he just needs to find the proper material. 

"Slow Ride" is her name, quite appropriate given her current state.


But, for small boys, even older boys for that matter, can you imagine a more exciting thing: a private airplane!  That you have rebuilt!  That you will fly! 

Brando was beyond excited to sit in the cockpit and play with the nobs and joystick.
Cousin Paul (Danny's brother) commented that as a child, he dreamed of a plane landing in the fields outside of his house that he could go flying in.  He never thought that one day that these dreams might sorta come true.

 The plane will require massive amounts of work but Danny, being a blacksmith, being someone that works with his hands, being someone that can figure stuff out easily and create it, he will be able to make this plane whole again.

Having the engine on, and the propeller spinning, creating a massive (and heat-relieving) wind tunnel, everyone looking at Slow Ride knew that it was only a matter of time before she would be air born again.