One of the sacrifices that I had to make several years ago, in order to capitalize the development of Aero-News, was to divest myself of a number of my favorite toys. So... for quite a few years, and for the first time in a LONG time, I was not an aircraft owner... outside of some bits and pieces of a few creative partnerships here and there... but nothing that was 'mine all mine.'

Thankfully; that has changed and may change a number of times again as ANN continues its breathtaking growth and progress. But for now, my primary mount is a recently rebuilt Glasair III that is turning out to be far more fun than I expected... even though it took a year plus to get it to the point where I felt it could do what I wanted. The Glasair III was one of those aircraft I've always wanted to own and there have been a few attempts to pick one up over the years... without success. And then, N2JZ (soon to be rechristened N411AN) came into my life.

N411AN came to me as a result of a tragedy, though. The product of a number of years of hard work and quite a lot of flight time, N411AN was originally the product of an irrepressible aeronaut by the name of Dr. John Zazadny... or "Dr. John" as we all knew him.

I knew John many moons ago when I lived out west, and remembered him as an intriguing and inventive guy who definitely marched to his own drummer.

Sadly, John died in a midair a few years back while flying his T-18 off the California coast. Through a number of mutual friends and associates, his trusty G-III came to be mine about a year and a half ago. I'm mindful that this was once a good man's pride and joy, that it was one of the most active Glasair III's to ever fly, and that while I could buy the airframe, it was up to me to respect the legacy that was passed on to me by a family who missed John immensely, and was concerned that was once N2JZ would be treated right and respected appropriately.

N411AN was, at one point, (and may still be) one of the highest time G-IIIs in the world... though its total time may not be all that impressive by certificated standards. It was built straight, right and obviously flew a heck of a lot (over 3000 hours at this writing) ... but it also sat for quite a while after Dr. John's untimely end and was in need of some updates, some mods, and some TLC.

Glasair Aviation's Mikael Via has been a good and trusted friend for a few years now... and played a pivotal role in helping me along a process that I was ill-prepared for. It was his recommendation that led me to Southern Air's Lanny Rundell, a former Glasair staffer and reputed to be one of the best homebuilt techs and rebuilders this side of the Mississippi. I've come to trust that description. The bird required some long-overdue gear updates, a new prop, a fresh coat of paint (the elder version was starting to peel and while not awful looking, it wasn't what I wanted... if you want to fly good, it helps to look good... grin). The older gear system required extensive upgrades, the electrical work was in need of some serious TLC and the bird was a stock older G-III... meaning short wings (no extended tips) and the elder flap system... which was the one thing I truly did not like about the original design.

After some help from Mik and assurances from Lanny that it could be done, we retrofitted the much more aerodynamically-talented slotted flap system, built a set of extended wing tips, and then went through the beast from stem to stern. On top of all that, a little bit of artistic inspiration from John Knolla at Aerographics produced some vinyl artwork that could be applied to the aircraft and make her look like a million bucks.. or so we hoped it might. Check the pix... I think he did it.

The project was not without its heartaches. It took well over a year longer than I had hoped... and while it was easy to think that Lanny was dragging his feet, some serious education about the realities of all that we did has convinced me that, overall, we did pretty good. And, if anyone was an impediment to the process, it was probably as much due to my own ignorance and inexperience with such a complex project, as anything.

That was then, this is now.

A few hours ago, we brought N411AN home... it was a bright clear day, we had a honking tailwind, and after a few hours of thrashing around over LA, I was finally getting my feel back for an airplane that I once flew fairly aggressively 'back in the day' with friends like Bob Herendeen and Ted Setzer. As a matter of fact, some of my best memories in the Glasair III involved spins... LOTS of spins, with the late great Bob Herendeen (we miss you, Bob... lots) who got a kick out of how much I enjoyed the airplane and opined many moons ago that I was probably going to have to get one of my own someday.

Bob and I spun the hell out of the G-III... upright, inverted, power-on, power-off, you name it... and it was as interesting a spin session as I have ever flown... especially working with a master of the craft like Bob. I loved the airplane back then, and as I tucked the gear up on departure from Louisiana for the voyage home, that intense affection renewed itself with great abandon as I made a farewell pass down the field (250 mph+++), and headed 600 nm east to a new home for what was most assuredly now the prettiest Glasair III in any known universe.

It was a great trip and a most proper homecoming. Despite loafing along at 21 inches and 2350 rpm (I need a prop balance yet on the brandy new Hartzell we installed, before I can run it at lower revs... but that prop hauls like it was at a tractor pull), I wound up with nearly 230 knots true -- and thanks to the benevolent wind gods, a homecoming ground speed of 272 knots! I did 600 NM in a total of 2 hours and 12 minutes of flight time.

Baby! It was as good a feeling as I've had in a while... and while the extended wings are not meant for hard aerobatics, it appears a few rolls haven't hurt a darned thing... over and over again.

The icing on the cake, though, was an inquiry from JAX Center as I slid on down to an approach vector for Northern FL (temporary Home for N411AN until I move to my new house in a few days... on an airpark, complete with my own hangar!) It seems they saw my ground speed and were a mite curious... what was I flying?

"A Glasair III," I replied.

"Is that a turboprop?"

"Negative, JAX... it just thinks it is..."

N411AN is home... and the adventures are just beginning.

FMI: www.glasairaviation.com