The Man, Myth, Legend

Busy month, but here’s an update on the Man:

I’ve been down to L.A. every weekend this month, first for the AMA convention in Ontario, then to help my dad cleanup/repair the house, then for a family friend’s birthday party (I was the surprise). This weekend, the wife is headed down & I get to stay home and relax. Life seems to be moving at me pretty fast this year. I can’t believe it is almost February! I read a book called “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,” by Tucker Max on the recommendation of Justin - hilarious read- reminded me of some of the (mis)adventures I had in my youth, which has prompted me to start documenting some of them. Also, some friends just had their first child (Braiden) this month. He was born premature and weighed only 3 lbs and 8 oz, but he is doing well from the reports I have been getting. I’m not going to say that I’m ready to start a family, but I have noticed an increase in the amount of baby references lately. (Do Not Read Into Anything By This Comment)

Justin and I are planning a Vegas trip in March and hopefully some of our “old” friends will also join us in that wonderful “den of iniquity.” Other than that, just pluggin along at work, and trying to find time to finish the Corsair. I have all the parts & pieces I need, I just need to finish the installation, adjust the cowl, and find the center of gravity and she should be ready to fly. I was hoping to have her done by the end of this month, but I’m going to push back the completion date to February so I don’t feel rushed and forget something important. This version has a .91cu 4-stroke engine and an on-board glow-driver to prevent low idle engine stalls, so hopefully it will last longer than 7 flights. My hangar now consists of : a P-51 Mustang, a Hobbico Nexstar, an older .25cu high wing trainer, and the Corsair. I think I’ve reached my limit for the time being, but will eventually add to the collectino once the garage gets cleaned up and there is a little more room. Hey, maybe I’ll be able to park the truck in there this year!

OK, enough rambling….

-End of Update

Yeah, yeah, I know…. So here’s the update in a nutshell. Good Christmas at home (first time), Good New Year’s (also at home), making rapid progress on the Corsair 2.0 (bigger engine)… oh yeah, and enjoying life in general. Maybe my resolution will be to make a pointed effort to keep this up to date.

My best friend, Frank, was married on October 6th, 2007. I was asked to be the Best Man, which required me to toast the newlyweds at the reception. This is what I came up with:

Fornication such as this… Excuse me, I mean “For An Occasion such as this…”

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank you all for coming today to share in the joy and happiness of Jeni and Frank’s wedding. My name is David Kenny, and I am proud to be the first to toast the new bride and groom.

This is the first time I’ve had to give a toast and a wise man told me that my speech should only be as long as the groom can make love…. In conclusion.

Two year ago next month, Frank and I were in opposite shoes. I was lucky in the fact that Frank is not a stellar public speaker, so the toast he gave was actually prepared by me. Lucky for you today that I don’t have the same problem. I may kid, but actually I am honored to return the favor today. Traditionally, I would be called the Best man, but of course today, the best man is Frank, and it would be more accurate to call me the better than average man. I consider Frank my best friend and I’m glad that he asked me to be a part of their special day.

Frank and I have been friends now for several years…and I believe our friendship is what it is because of the similarities in our lives… we both were in the military, we both have dealt with tragedy in our lives, and we both have found the love of our lives right here in Ridgecrest.

I don’t know Jeni as well as I know Frank, but I know one important thing about her. She has made Frank happier than I have ever seen him. Frank, you are very lucky to have found such a wonderful woman to share your life with. Jeni, in the time that I have known Frank, he has proven himself to be not only a good friend, but a good man as well and I’m positive that he will be a great husband to you, and a wonderful father to Caleb.

Frank will tell you that he met Jeni at a high school reunion, but they actually met several months earlier when Bob, Frank’s dad, was in the hospital, and Jeni was one of his attending nurses in the ICU. Even from his sickbed, through all the medication, or maybe because of it, Bob could see what a good match these two would make. It only took Frank another couple of months to realize it himself.

All kidding aside…

These two people have come together today to form a marriage that will surely last forever. [If I could have everyone raise your glass] Jeni and Frank, today I wish you a lifetime of Love, Laughter and Happiness as husband and wife…Cheers.

Last Saturday, my best friend got married. I was their best man, and made sure that I lived up to that title. Ring pops at the ceremony instead of the wedding bands, a great toast at the reception, and of course… pranks on the newlyweds. To begin with, I was able to gain access to the bridal suite the morning of the wedding where there bed was short sheeted. We also left rose petals and a bottle of champagne (I’m not that big a jerk). During the reception, the groom’s brother and I taped plastic to the inside of the side windows and windshield, and filled the void between with packing peanuts so the car looked like it had been completely filled. Then, the happy couple were off to Hawaii for their honeymoon, but….

They forgot that I had a key to the groom’s house:

Since they plan to move into her house, and sell his, I thought some remodeling was in order so I drywalled his hallway and blocked off his master bedroom, guest rooms, and office. They arrived home this morning at 8:30 am after a red-eye flight and a 3 hour drive back from the airport to find what I had done. Heh heh heh. It is a good thing that they have a sense of humor, or I’d probably be dead right about now.

On October 8th, after only seven flights, the Corsair has had a catastrophic flight control failure, which led to an unrecoverable crash. Although the airframe was severely damaged, the engine and radio are intact. The R/C NTSB are investigating. It was a sad day for me, and I thought that I would never be able to see this awesome warbird fly again since the manufacturer no longer produces this model. However, this past weekend my wife happened to locate another airframe while down in Los Angeles. Needless to say, the “Bruce Deuce” will hopefully take to the skies before the end of the year.

After six months, I finally took the Corsair up in the air, and boy what a wonderful flight. The take off was perfect, the control surfaces were nearly spot on, and she looks absolutely awesome in the sky. A picture is worth a thousand words, so heres a few because my fingers would get tired typing that much.

I originally wrote this back in January of this year, but once again, I am questioning my life’s path/purpose. I recently had a weekend get-together with two of my Marine friends whom I hadn’t seen in several years. Remembering the good times, and creating a few new ones made me once again reflect on where I am in life, and where I am headed. I’m not complaining mind you, but rather posing the timeless “what if” question that seems to pop up in my head every so often. In any event, here are some thoughts of mine that are as relevant now as when I wrote them six months ago…

“Sometimes my life just feels so overwhelming. It’s a good life, but every now and then I seem to be overcome with these feelings of not having accomplished anything. The little things eat at me and make me feel so tired of it all. It’s usually when I look back at people I knew from my past and see how their lives are going today. I know I have grown as a person, and have found people who love me, but I still get depressed when I think that I’ll never see or speak with my “old” friends again. I have so many fond memories that I wish I could relive with them, but I know it can’t happen. My life today is full of love and excitement, but it has led me down a path I didn’t expect for myself. I honestly thought I would have burned out somewhere 3 or 4 years ago, but I’ve straightened up, and “matured” into an adult. All the responsibilities I have today, mortgage, job, etc. are great, but I still have that nagging question in the back of my mind: what if I had chosen a different path? Never taken that job that led me here to where I am today? eh. I guess I need to accept the life I have chosen, and make the best out of every opportunity that comes my way. Otherwise, I’ll be living a life full of regrets, of which, to date, I have very few. Enough introspective rambling…~The Sentimental Man”

It’s been a busy month and I haven’t had as much time to devote to completing the Corsair as I had hoped, but progress has still been made….

The fuel tank is installed, the throttle servo and control rod are in place, the cowl is set.

I really only have a few tasks left: Set the center of Gravity, glue the canopy and belly pan in place, and break in the engine. Hopefully, it will be ready to fly by the middle of June, but realistically I’m looking at July.

And the Saga continues.

I’ve been trying to pace myself in building this plane, but it is just so much fun to get all the pieces working properly that I have made large strides towards completion. To date, I have completed the following tasks in preparation for a maiden flight:
Joined wing sections
Installed aileron, rudder and elevator control surfaces and servos
Installed engine mount and engine
Main landing gear has been installed and adjusted (they retract- it’s very cool)

All that is left is:
Install throttle assembly and servo
Install fuel tank
Attach cowl over engine
Attach canopy and misc details
Break in engine

After pouring over the instructions all last week, I finally started on actual construction this past weekend. The aileron servos and control surfaces are now installed, the wing sections have been glued together, and the retracting gear and servo are operating smoothly. I hope to work on the rudder and elevator controls and possibly the engine mounting next week. I’ll post some pictures of all this when I get a chance. I’m guessing (optimistically) I’ll have it all completed in a month. The only concern I’ve had so far is whether the servo control arms on the ailerons are long enough, or if I’ll need to find some a little longer. Stay tuned….
~Dave