Warbird Information Exchange

I will be leaving Kansas City tomorrow with Jim's Lodestar. Will be going north I-29 to Sioux Falls, SD. to pick up the Pooner who will be riding along. From there, we'll roll west-bound on I-90, stopping at Buffalo, Wy for a while, then continuing west to Missoula. Plan is to be in Missoula Sunday evening.

Is that the Loadstar that I keep driving past on the south side of I-70, near Grain Valley? I've driven past it four or five times in the last few months and I've always wondered about it.

_________________
Albert Stix Jr.
"Work is the curse of the drinking class"

Gary,

To bad you couldn't keep on driving west and see us and "062" up at the Nevada Co. Airfest in Grassvalley this Saturday. We're flying her up this morning.

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Ken Terpstra

Vice-President
Stockton Field Aviation Museum
PV-2D Harpoon 84062

Gary,
If you see any Harpoon toilet seats...pick us up one! Indy Jen still needs her seat!!
Be careful on the road.


PJ
PV-2 Harpoon "Hot Stuff"
www.amhf.org

Al....yep...same bird!

PJ....will see if we can't flip a few lids! Will let you know if we score a royal flush!

Red, wish I could be out your way as well.....

Today sure didn't turn out like I'd planned....I-29 is still closed from about Rockport, Mo. to well past Council Bluffs, Ia., so I ended up paralleling the interstate thru most of Mo., and all of Iowa. I didn't plan on the flat tire on the trailer...I didn't plan on the flat spare tire for the trailer either....Pooner didn't make it to Sioux Falls this evening ...he didn't plan on two different flights returning to Phoenix either...Hopefully he'll get here tomorrow.

The Lodestar rode well, for a bit of good news, and boy did the Old Girl turn some heads! I didn't make it a mile from my house where two pickup trucks almost went off the road from their drivers watching the airplane instead of the road...I was almost forced off the road by an eager family wanting pictures of the Lodestar. I had some folks in Ida Grove, Ia ask what I had on the trailer...they just couldn't believe me when I told them that it was a trainer for the Jamaican bobsled team...Another town in Iowa, Orange City...I had been craving some tacos from Taco Johns..when I found a TJ there, I pulled in a back alley to avoid attention....so I thought....I am pretty much sure the whole town came by for the nickel tour and history lesson! By the time I left town, my tacos were cold and mushy...I hope the local fox or coyote enjoy their tacos....Don't be fooled, cause I enjoyed it as much as the kids and the adults...been a while since I've had fun out on the road....To be continued....

P.S. Jim asked me how we are going to unload the Lodestar .......My standard reply...."I was going to ask you the same thing"....Good thing Pooner will be along...that will be his job!

Great story Gary... I hope you take (and post) some photos of the trip. I remember how crazy it was driving a C-47 cockpit down the highway from Florida to Virginia a few years back, and that sure turned some heads, but this is a whole different ball game. Safe journey, and best of luck.

Cheers,
Richard

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Richard Mallory Allnutt - Photography - http://www.rmallnutt.com

Hey Gary, how about and update? JOE

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Joe Amend - YAM Restoration

Didn't happen. No pictures............no road trip!

Oh ye of little faith! The Lodestar was delivered and removed from the trailer Sunday evening!

Sorry that I haven't been back with you, but The Pooner and I have been putting the miles on the Dodge.

Pooner finally made it in to Souix Falls Saturday at 5:15PM....this time his flight was uneventful.
We drove through the night, making it to Crow Agency, Mt where we cought a power nap for a few hours, dragging tired butt across Montana.....Made it to Missoula, around what we guess to be 3 PM...that could be central, mountain, or Pacific,....but it was three...
The new owner, Jim, was to lead us into Hot Springs to unload the Lodestar, but we couldn't get him on the phone....So off we went into the grey area of the unknown. Actually it was the green area....Montana is a very beautiful place...it would make a great state.
WE were about 5 miles from our destination, when a gnarly ole Harley rider started waving at us as he approached....it has been a couple of years since we'd seen Jim, we didn't know he'd let his beard grow out, so we floored the throttle before the angry lookin biker dude could turn around and catch us....it turned out it was Jim, lucky for him....to be continued...

p.s. Jim , throw some pictures to the wolves please.

Getting ready to head for Montana

Fixing a flat on the trailer...western Iowa

Plan was to pick Pooner up in Sioux Falls, SD. on Friday evening, but wasn't to be....He had two aborted flights leaving Az...He made it out Saturday afternoon.


While waiting for Rob on Saturday, I bought another tire for the trailer in Souix Falls. When I pulled out of the tire store, I had to make a left turn into a residential area, as I couldn't go right out of their lot, due to the 20 feet of aircraft hanging off the back of the trailer...I would have smacked the side of their building...I had a pack of kids following me on their bicycles, so I ran them around in circles making right turns every two blocks...gave them a bit of a workout....Before I got out of the housing edition, I spotted a woman washing her drive with the garden hose...I could not resist...so I stopped in front of her house, parked in the street with the 4-ways on, grabbed my clipboard, and approached her....She was giving me that bewildered look, and before she could say anything, I asked where she wanted me to park it...and I hoped she had the check ready cause I was in a real hurry to get home....The poor lady almost watered herself, as her jaw dropped to the pavement...Before she fainted, I told her I was just joking...I just needed directions to Wal-Mart....Boy, was she relieved! I almost got her husband in big-time trouble...

Pooner got in around 5:15 PM.....We drove across S. Dakota thru the night...cut up across 20 miles of NE Wyoming, into Montana...pulled into Crow Agency, Mt. and slept an hour or two in the truck, then pushed west across Montana. Got to Missula around 3 PM. Sunday. Couldn't get Jim on the phone, he was going to lead us to where he wanted to set the Lodestar, so we headed the general direction...and luckily met Jim on his Harley about 5 miles from where we needed to go....

Just when you think you've seen it all.......

The unloading process.........time to sweat.