I fell head over heels in love the first day I laid eyes on her. As I admired her graceful lines and lovely, though tarnished, silver wings, I knew I had to possess this aging, neglected beauty. The fellow who offered her for sale recognized a sucker when he saw one. Before the day ended, the deal was sealed, in February of 1987.
“She” is a 1948 Aeronca (Aeronautical Company of America) Model 15AC Sedan, built of steel tubing, wood, fabric, dope (special aircraft paint which stiffens and strengthens the fabric), and aluminum. Her roomy cockpit is large enough for four adults, with a back seat as comfortable as a living room sofa. A 6-cylinder Continental engine rumbles under her cowling, and turns the prop with enough power to lift her wheels off a runway in less than 1,000 feet of ground roll.
In 1987, the Sedan was in desperate need of some tender, loving care and restoration. Her fabric was brittle and beginning to crack. Gray patches on a horrid mustard-yellow and cream paint scheme gave her the look of a pinto pony on a shabby carnival merry-go-round. Carpeting in the cockpit was splotched with grease and worn thin in front of the rudder pedals from years of abuse. The wings were coated with a layer of dulling oxidation. In my mind, though, she was already on her way to becoming a beautiful belle.
With the help of an airplane mechanic who loved antique aircraft, my husband and I began the task of transforming our Cinderella. At first, we thought a good cleaning and simple paint job would do the trick. We began by applying dope rejuvenator to the cracked fabric. The more we worked, the more areas we found needing attention. One day we stood back and realized that we had more bare (and threadbare!) fabric than good fabric. We made the heart-wrenching decision to strip her to the bones, and start from scratch.
The fabric had to be removed carefully, and the pieces saved for use as patterns for the new fabric. Wooden formers were badly warped and weather-checked. Plywood floorboards were rotting under the carpet. As we peeled her layers like an onion, tears fell in dismay. Finally we were down to her skeleton, and it was in miraculously good shape. No corrosion, rust, or cracks in the welds weakened her frame. We sanded it, repainted, and began the slow process of re-building an airplane.
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