Tri State Aviation with Cindy and John

Last year the Winnipeg RAA chapter toured Tri State Aviation (TSA) at Wapheton, North Dakota. We were keen to reconnect with Cindy and John, and to see how their P51A project was progressing. Cindy invited us for lunch and after a delicious break with some Giant sunflower seeds packed in our pockets, John began the tour. Cindy writes we "...would like those that enjoyed the Giants seeds products to comment online --- just go to: http://www.giantseeds.com/   and then to “contact us”

 

One of the highlights of this tour was recognizing the tools we were introduced to last year and learning a bit more about how they are used. Considering John’s insights that initially Mustangs were only expected to last 100 hours Total Time and that Mustangs flying today can easily exceed the 500 VNE when racing, it’s no wonder it’s taking longer to restore the P51A than planned. 

Hopefully we will be back next summer for the test flights. We also learned more about the WarBird restoration process. Cindy explained “We are viewing Beck’s 25 years of research and development in a couple of hours” and that the key to TSA’s success is that Beck made sure that everyone involved with the company understood the entire process, there were no secrets. Consequently, TSA is able to continue working as a leader in the WarBird community, maintaining the excellence and innovation critical to success. 

RAA president Jim Oke presents Cindy a plaque from RAA Winnipeg Area Chapter, with the large contingent of tour participants' applause in recognition and appreciation for the tremendous contribution Cindy has made to "Keeping the War Birds Flying"!