October through February 2017

We were given 90 days to tear down our assembly line, clear our warehouse space and move N724DT out of the space that we had rented for 8+ years.  So that pushed building the plane from the middle burner clean off the stove.  I did manage to glass an area around the parachute rocket, foam fill an area just in front of the Instrument Panel, skim coat the entire fuselage and sand the skim coat on the fuselage's bottom.   Total work time:  54 hours

December 31, 2016 marked the last day of my BSA Troop 191's 28 year existence with its 32 Eagles and countless high adventure memories of Christ-centered, father-son bonding during camping, skiing, rappelling, mountain climbing, shot gun shooting, caving, hiking, backpacking, canoeing, sailing, etc.  

Allen Kay's Eagle Court of Honor

Simultaneously, Platform PRO, Inc, closed shop at Janus for a 2 year sabbatical.  This decision catapulted finishing N724DT into my job #1.  The first time in N724DT's 40 year history to hold that position!  Over the years, as a result of countless God-inputs, I have come to realize that getting N724DT into the air MUST be accomplished before I will be allowed success on larger life- projects.  I'll not know if the above understanding is true, until N724DT flies.

It has taken 4 months to move Platform PRO, Inc and N724DT, organize and get ready to, once again initiate building our LongEZ on April 3, 2017.   

3'rd Class Medical Passed. At FAA in Oklahoma waiting for verifying paperwork.

September 23, 2016 - Cleaned and organized N724DT workshop, getting ready for skim coating upper surface of port strake.

September 9, 2016 - Visited Jerry Mundell and his LongEZ at Metropolitan Airport (KUMP).  Jerry purchased his LongEZ, and upgraded his IP with a Garmin Touch Screen EFIS.  Very professional looking Instrument Panel.  

Sept 6, 2016 - FAA Doctor in Peoria performed physical, gave me a thumbs up and forwarded the paperwork to Oklahoma City.  Expecting 3'rd Class Medical within 30 days.

August 22, 2016 - Stress Test (Bruce Profile - 150 pulse for 2 minutes) passed with flying colors!  

2016 to Present

January 1, 2016 to July 10, 2016:  267 Hrs - Firewall Al Chute Straps Milled, Skim Coat Underside Strakes & Fuselage Sides, Port Riser Valley Cut, Riser Foam Covered & Glassed (3 BID), Glass (17 BID) Inside Firewall Flanges, Finish Glassing Carbon Tube (17 BID) Front Seat Back

Construction History:

2015 -  526.0 Hrs - Headrest cutout of fuselage; carbon tube and flange boxes installed and glassed in (17 BID); Riser Valley; Skim coat top Strake

2014 - 120 Hrs - LEXAN IP Template transferred to cockpit IP.  Buy BRS Parachute

Ballistic Recovery Systems: Parachutes for your whole airplane from NASA Hallmarks of Success on Vimeo.

Instrument Panel Assembly

2013 -

2012 -

2011 -

2010 -

2009 -

2008 -

2007 - 4.0 Hrs - Landing Light & Panel Layout

2006 -

2005 -

2004 - 0.0 Hrs

2003 - 36.5 Hrs - Canard Cover & Fire Wall Engine Mounts  (Zaugg Resort - July 27 + Spaceship 1 at Oshkosh)

2002 - ? Hrs - Chart Calendar smudged beyond recognition?

2001 -

2000 - 87.0 Hrs - Brakes & Lycoming Engine  (RJS)

1999 - 107 Hrs - Port & Starboard Strakes (Fuel & Baggage) (CLS & END)

1998 -

1997 -

1996 - 120.5 Hrs - Craig helped with Port & Starboard Winglet/ Rudder fabrication.

1995 -

1994 -

1993 -

1992 - 16.0 Hrs -  Glass & Knife Trim Canopy  (JMS & Al Townsend)

1991 -

1990 -

1989 -

1988 - 15.2 Hrs - Fabricate Canopy Hard Points  (Disney World - April 5 through April 8)

1987 -

1986 - 9.0 Hrs - Pour Foam Canopy (April 23 start 21 Day Stryker Fst)

1985 - 64.3 Hrs - Green Foam Canopy & Cut off of Fuselage, Fab Rudders, COM Antenna                               (JMS)

1984 - 191.1 - Roll & Pitch Trim, Control Stick & System, Spar Fabricated & Mounted, Canopy Mounted to Fuselage 

1983 - 493.9 Hrs -  Glass Port Wing, Winglet, COM Antenna, Port and Starboard Ailerons. Fabricate & Mount Fuselage Control System, Pitot Tube Htr. & Firewall   (Ryan Born Aug 4)

1982 - 181.4 Hrs - Carve Landing Light in Nose, Glass Starboard Wing and Winglet & Install COM Antenna. (JMS & RAS)

1981 -  389.5 Hrs - Main Gear, Nose Gear, Speed Brake, Wing Cores Hot Wired, Nose Sculpted & Pitot Tube Instld, Canopy, Moved Fuselage to Attached Garage (Duke) (Mark Born Jan 27)

1980 - 373.0 Hrs - Finish Rear Wings. Fabricate Fuselage Bulkheads, Seats, Sides and Glass. Fabricate Spar.

1979 - 29.95 Hrs - Rear Wings: Fabricate plywood wing jigs.

1978 - 424.00 Hrs. - Purchase LongEZ Plans at OshKosh. VariEZE Canard interchangeable with LongEZ canard, after trimming 2 inches off both ends. Fabricate masonite rear wing templates. Hot wire cores. Cut cores. Layup wing spars. Jig leading and trailing edge cores together and glass outside surfaces with 3 layers BID. Cut out ailerons. (Ericka born Oct 8)

1977 - 142.5 Hrs - Canard Fabricated

1976 - 96.5 Hrs - Buy VariEZE plans at OshKosh. Clean basement. Build table. Read plans. (Craig born October 27)

Initial Construction

Burt Rutan & Mike Melville demonstrating basic construction techniques of laying up hot wired foam cores:

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August 1976 - Long Table Constructed for creating our Canard, Wing and Fuselage 

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Wing Jig Table built straight & level was first major project of building our plane.  Craig was born in October of 1976; and the reason that we purchased our home at 2424 E 91st.

Oshkosh 1976 - Burt Rutan's VariEZE introduction!

I purchased VariEZE plans during my visit to EAA's Oshkosh Home-built Aircraft Convention in July of 1976; and proceeded to build the canard.  In 1978 I upgraded to LongEZ plans because the LongEZ was longer, wider and a better cross-country plane than the the VariEZE.  Fortunately, by trimming a couple inches off of each end of my, already built VariEZE canard, it became interchangeable with the new LongEZ canard! 

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