The Restoration Dream, Joining the Team at Westpac: Winged Victory Ep 28

Nicole Bertola returns to the Podcast after having taken a giant leap in her professional life.  She has changed careers and taken a position as a restorer at Westpac Restorations.  Rob and Scott talk to her about that transition, the feelings behind it, the experiences she's had so far and what lays ahead for her.  A true testament to finding what drives you and pursuing it at all cost!

#warbirds #museum #flying  #ww2 #airplane #restorer   #podcast  #planes  #history #aviation #pby  #newbeginnings #passion #drive     #nationalmuseumofwwiiaviation 

If you would like to support the museum and "Keep 'em flying!" please consider donating to The National Museum of WWII Aviation in Colorado Springs CO. Website: Worldwariiaviation.org

You can support the National Museum of World War II Aviation just by shopping at any Kroger store, King Soopers or City Market in Colorado, or at any other Kroger brand such as Ralphs, Fry's, Fred Meyer, Smith’s, Food 4 Less, or Harris Teeter!

To support the museum, shop online or at your local store, swipe your Loyalty Card, and funds will be donated to the museum at no added cost to you.

Sign up today to transform your everyday shopping into museum support:

1) Visit https://www.kingsoopers.com/signin or https://www.citymarket.com/signin
2) Sign in if you have an account, or click “Create an Account” and enter your name, email, and password. If you have an existing loyalty card, enter your card number or “Alt ID” (usually a phone number)
3) Once logged in, go to the user icon toward the top right corner of the window. From the drop-down menu, click “My Account”
4) Scroll the menu options and select “View Community Rewards”
5) When prompted to “Find an Organization,” use the search bar to look up "National Museum of World War II Aviation" or "BH543."
6) When the "National Museum of World War II Aviation" option appears, click “Enroll."

It's that easy!
 
Please do not hesitate to call the museum at 719.637.7559 if you need any help linking your shopper's card.

Thank you for taking the time to register and support the museum! Help us keep them flying.

Watch this episode on YouTube at @nationalWWIIaviation

Get your tickets now for the Pikes Peak Regional Airshow here in Colorado Springs, CO. at  PPRAirshow.org

We would like to thank Concordebattery.com for their amazing support throughout the years!  If you own a plane you should really consider having one of their batteries in it.  They are worth every penny for the ease and piece of mind they bring.  Tell them you heard about them on The Winged Victory Podcast!

Thank you to Blazingaviation.com Airplaneoil.com for supporting the museum and this Podcast!

Our socials:

Rob Gale: Mewe@robertgale.69

Scott Klaers: @scottklaers Insta/Facebook

William Stephenson: lilboots_2of4 Insta

National Museum of WWII Aviation on Facebook

As always leave some comments, like and subscribe and share the show!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Hello everyone, and welcome to Winged Victory with Rob and Scott, a podcast by the National Museum of World War II Aviation here in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Hello and welcome to another episode. I'm Scott Clares, and I'm here with my partner in front once again, Rob Yale. Good morning. And today we're gonna repeat guests, but before we get to her, we'd like to introduce our new sponsor, Concord Batteries. They've actually been the sponsor of the museum for many years. And there'll be a little bit more of them in the later on in the episode. But I'd just like to really reiterate. I mean, we really couldn't do the things that we do with these airplanes without these batteries. I mean, we used to have three batteries. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05

Well, yeah, because your old batteries were wet.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

They're wet set up. They try if you if you let an airplane sit for a year or two, you know, it just happens because they don't fly everything. You know, but having these sealed batteries putting the battery monitor on four or five years. I'm not kidding, we've been pulling out airplanes that haven't flown in four or five years. You know, and they've been on the battery monitor, and they fire right up. Yeah, it's great. It's fantastic. So we really like to think of having on board with us. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

But that, enough of that. Because our guest this morning, again, is Nicole Bertola, because this is a celebration of a milestone. When we left you in episode 15, you were the crew chief of the PBY and still are. However, you just made a huge move, and I think at no little cost to you to take the next step. And you are now working here.

SPEAKER_03 2:04

Yes, I'm an official employee now. I work with Scott now. Lucky him.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

Employee of Westpac.

SPEAKER_03 2:10

Yes, I am.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Yeah, so she, you know went from being just a volunteer on Saturdays, which is a big deal. It's it's pretty cool to just do that. But um yeah, so you just decided you have some kind of passion for this thing.

SPEAKER_03 2:23

Yeah, I guess it kind of kinda was real, right?

SPEAKER_02 2:26

Well, I think a hundred miles each way is indicative of a passion, but to move a hundred miles and relocate your household, that's a big step, I think.

SPEAKER_03 2:43

Yeah, I I've been volunteering here actually three years, actually in April. So I've been coming almost every weekend since I started. And it's kind of funny because you know, I've had a separate career for the last 15 plus years, you know, built that up. That was good. But I I was getting to the point where every Monday I'd go in, and the first thing I thought when I got to that desk and sat in front of that computer was, Oh, I wish I was at the museum, you know, and then the whole week I'm just looking forward to Saturday. And I mean, that just yeah, that really showed me that I'm like, I need to change this. I can't keep just having these two separate lives.

SPEAKER_02 3:19

So congratulations.

SPEAKER_03 3:21

Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

It's just it's so good to see.

SPEAKER_03 3:24

Yeah.

unknown 3:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

So you're, I mean, you were doing pretty well at your other place, right? Yes. I mean, financially. So what was the first thing? Do you remember the first thing I said when you kind of brought up the idea of maybe coming out here?

SPEAKER_03 3:35

Well, you know, the paycheck's gonna be different, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

Yeah, I said you like being poor, right?

SPEAKER_03 3:39

Yeah, well, you know, what's cool, Scott, is I you know, I came from nothing and worked my way up into the job I had, and you know, not that I have nothing now, but I know what it means to like work hard.

SPEAKER_02 3:51

And that's obvious.

SPEAKER_03 3:53

You know, money's a part of it, and it's good to pay the bills, obviously, but it's far more important to me now at this point in my life to to be where I want to be. And this is a hundred percent where I want to be.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Well, and I understand that because that's something that I've dealt with my entire career here, you know, because I start I'm doing okay now, but you know, when you started out, it was like, yeah, this is pretty rough.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

But I mean, it's I don't know, there's just something about, you know, you you've only been here for two weeks. So I know that you haven't really even wrapped your mind around it as of yet, as the kind of what what it is that you're really doing. But uh I mean, you've already been able to make stuff, you've already been able to contribute. I mean, we're you know, if you look behind us here, we have a P40 project, we also have a Mustang wing that we're rebuilding, and and you're involved in both of these things. Yeah, and you can actually already see some of your handiwork, you know, yeah being put to use.

SPEAKER_03 4:47

Yeah, I can't believe it. I honestly thought, you know, I'd be cleaning parts for two months and I was fine with that, you know, that's kind of what you do, right? But no, day one, you know, I'm you know working on the actual, you know, Mustang repair part right behind us here. So I'm like, I'm learning so much too. And that's that's the part I I love.

SPEAKER_02 5:05

Well, the the really great part is you see the results of your labors instead of shut the computer down, I'm coming back tomorrow. There's gonna be another stack of papers or or whatever, you know, the continues.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

Yeah, my inboxes.

SPEAKER_03 5:20

I just, you know, I I don't know, I do really value the trade work anyway in general. You know, my dad was a carpenter, he'd work with his hands. That's kind of how we survived and growing up, and so I've always respected that, and I've always just really wanted to do more of that with my hands. And then this is just obviously a whole different level, mixing what I love more than anything, and then being able to learn all, you know, everything here, the metal work. I mean, that's we're already doing that week one, you know, and I'm like, wah.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

So what what would you say are some differences like from your other job? Like when you get home at the end of the day, it are you tired? Are you wore out? Is it a different tired and wear worn outness though?

SPEAKER_03 5:59

Like yes, it's it is the best. It is physically exhausted, but so calm and content, you know, with where I'm at. And before it was just stress and I gotta do this again in the morning, and did I, you know, it's just it's totally different. I've honestly never felt so content, I think, before.

SPEAKER_02 6:18

That's great to hear. Because again, you see the the fruits of your labors, you've got uh a lot more stuff to to be able to learn, and that always challenges you. And after 15 years of of this, I mean I endured eleven and hated oh about ten and a half of it.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:41

So I mean that's just that's so cool, and that's why I asked you to come back because I think it's just again, it's it's a progression for you.

SPEAKER_03 6:52

It has been. And I, you know, the thing I love about it too is earning it and you know, really showing that I want to be here. You know, I don't I don't need it handed to me, but you know, showing up every day, driving every weekend, doing that, you know, quitting my job, losing that salary, moving, you know, to a different city. I mean, I think that all really shows that I do want to be here. I'm serious about it, you know.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

There's nobody that doubts that, my dear.

SPEAKER_03 7:15

Yeah, I hope not at this point, but you never know.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

Well, and I get a lot of people that ask, you know, they come in and they they ask, how do I get involved in this? How do I get to do this and stuff? And and I could probably the number one thing is is is the motivation, is the the drive, is the the eagerness to want to learn. And I think you show all that like really well. I mean, it's very obvious in and you take direction amazingly well. So not not only are you like, okay, well, I'm gonna hear this and I'm gonna learn it, and I'm gonna, you know, apply it, but then you're like asking questions too, like, well, are you is this what about this? And then you think about things in a different way and you see it. Well, what happens if I do this? Oh, yeah, okay, I forgot to tell you that, you know, kind of thing. So that's gonna serve you really well, I think. But uh, I got another question. Like, um, have you had any dreams of drilling holes yet? Like all night long.

SPEAKER_03 8:09

No, actually, surprisingly, no. The the the dreams I've had are like, oh no, something didn't work out here, and I have to go back to the old job and the old career.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

And I'm like, well, like those will subside a little bit, and you'll get them every once in a while, but like even last night, you know, I've been doing this how long? You know, we're over here drilling holes on this brand new spar. And all night last night, I was reaming holes in my dreams. I mean, I was like, I and I'd wake up and I'd turn over and it would go right back to it. So even at night, you know, you're you're you're constantly going and thinking, how can I make this better? How can I do this better?

SPEAKER_03 8:43

I find when I close my eyes, I am thinking about it a lot, and I'm like, okay, now you know, if I'm coming at this angle and okay, I gotta do this and that, and I'm going through what we learned, and you know, but it's awesome. I actually have the time to finally like actually let it settle in. I mean, before it was like context switch constantly, and I had to go back home, go back to the work, you know, and it just was I could never really be present and just learn and it's eating it up different on Saturdays.

SPEAKER_01 9:05

Like, you know, Saturday volunteer work, you know, we're we're doing annuals, we're doing you know, mechanical type stuff, or we're pulling weeds, you know, depending on what needs to get done, or events, you know, you're setting up events, and it's different. You know, you come in here during the week and you're getting paid, and it's 10 hours and you're working on a project. Yes. So it's much more focused. Yeah, you know, you're not, you know, at least for me, I know when I'm here on Saturdays, like I'm I'm kind of coordinating that.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

You're the you're the scout master.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Yeah, so I'm trying to like herd those cats, you know, which is great. I I really enjoy doing it, but it it really I can't get anything personally done that much. Yeah, but when you come in here, you throw your headbuds in, you know, and you just get to work, and then at the end of the day, you're like, wow, we accomplished quite a bit in one day.

SPEAKER_03 9:54

Yeah, it's awesome, actually.

SPEAKER_02 9:55

Well, and just to be able to, as you say, have the continuity, you're not, oh god, I gotta drive a hundred miles through freaking Denver, and then go into the go into the place. I just I think that is just so cool that you don't have to do that anymore.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 10:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

And speaking of all, you know, the change between Saturday and and actual weekdays, I know you've only been here for two weeks. Well, what would you think is like one of the biggest changes or differences that you didn't maybe expect working for an outfit like this?

SPEAKER_03 10:29

I mean, I guess I guess this I should say this probably is expected, but one of my favorite things so far has been, and I mean Rob, you probably know this too, like being able to watch you guys in your element now. You know, Saturdays, like you said, is very different. Everyone's trying to hurt the cats, literally. Us volunteers, that's us, you know. It's a step below a party. It is, it's it's super fun. Or a step above. And I'm still gonna be doing that, you know. Uh, but there's something awesome about watching you guys and and Al and your dad, right? And Bill dude. I mean, everyone, you know, Dave, dude, just Rudy, like you guys are all like magicians, and you know, it's the artistic part of it that I've been craving to see. And so, like, being able and being taught by you guys, you know, in that capacity, it's just kind of blown my mind. I I love that.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Yeah, because I think on Saturdays, like, you know, when we're doing volunteer stuff, you know, we're we're showing you guys like the very minimal thing. Yeah, like it's like, okay, here's how you here's the drill bit number for this rivet, drill these holes on these marks or whatever. But then you come in here on on your first week, and what are you doing?

SPEAKER_03 11:33

Drilling into the Mustang spar.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Yeah, she's drilling the holes in the spar. In a brand new brand new spar. Yeah, and you're talking holes that need to be very precise because we're drilling it off of templates that Alan made. They're gonna go on the wing, and then everything's already been pre-drilled, so it all has to line up. Yeah, so now you're getting to learn. I mean, you know, you sat with Alan. Yes, you know, the guy's been doing this forever, and he's one of the best in the world. So he's I mean, you could really see the intricacy, and you he could sit down and take the time with you to to give you all the little like finite details as why are we doing that? I mean, how how much of a debate were Bill Dude and Alan having the last weekend about just trying to find the right kind of drill bit because the drill bits we're we're buying right now are kind of cheap, yeah, and they're chamfering, you know, just oh yeah. I mean, just a little bit, you know, you're not you're looking for that perfect hole, and you're just like, that's just a hole, that's just one drill.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

Every every part, every piece is like meaningful, you know, and you've got to be focused and you gotta do it right. And that's everything I want to learn. And you know, I'm sure Al has known for the last few years, like I want to learn all that from him. So he's been really, really gracious about you know, sharing me like, oh, well, here's this little trick I have, and here's how I would do this by hand. And you know, you could do it this way, but also, you know, and I'm like, yes, guys, like tell me the way.

SPEAKER_02 12:59

Well, the the respect uh shown is earned.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

You know, you didn't just sachet in and yeah, not everybody gets that, by the way, that kind of treatment. Yeah. Come in here and start working, you know, because a lot of people come in with prior experience, experience, and then they uh so then they kind of don't get that. But with you coming in, you know, I mean, fresh and and already having established yourself around here for years, and and everybody knowing the drive that you have, then it's like, yeah, I'll take we'll take the extra step, you know, because you you absorb it and you're and you want it. And it's like, yes, we you know, it's like a good coach, you know. You you just everybody that wants to take that that that knowledge, man, yeah, we just want to feed it.

SPEAKER_02 13:46

Yeah, absolutely. Now, of course, they don't trust me to hand them tools.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

So we let them come in and sit down for this stuff and then we kick them right out.

SPEAKER_04 13:56

Oh, we've got work before.

SPEAKER_02 13:57

I occasionally get to wipe some oil down, but no, pretty much well, yeah. I I do remember holding holding panels up with Bill Dude saying, nope, nope, nope. Okay. It's good exercise. Yeah. Yeah, it is. But this this shop, I'm I mean, again, you're in a world-class shop, not just not just some place.

SPEAKER_03 14:24

No, this is fantasy. I half the time I'm like, did I did I die? Is that I this is I've been fantasizing about being in a place like this forever.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

We're small but mighty. Oh yeah, we've got some pretty talented, a lot of experience between you know, three, three of those guys. Will and Bill dude, too, you know, everybody. That guy can come out and just grab your ear for 30 minutes and talk to you about high shears.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

You know, which is great because I knew nothing about high shearers and and they have high shears in these things. And so, you know, I had even to this point, you know, I've been doing this for over 20 years, and I had to go to town, you know, go to go to school this week just to learn how to use how to install high shear, which I still haven't done yet. First of all, what's a high shear? So the North American, I I think this is a story that I got. So if it's wrong, blame somebody else. But um they in conjunction with this company high shear, they developed these um fasteners in World War II, and they use a lot of them in the Mustang. Um, it's basically like a steel rivet, but you don't crush it. It's actually got a collar that goes on to it, and you crush the collar onto that, and it's supposed to be a real close tolerance fit, and it keeps keeps things from she. That's the shear side. So you know the panels, you know, you want to keep it's not really holding them from going apart like this, it's holding them from shearing.

SPEAKER_02 15:47

Well, and that could be a big deal as you're reefing your Mustang around at at the end.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

But it's first it's the first uh fighter that I've come across that had them.

SPEAKER_02 15:56

Well, and that's that's what's gotta be cool for you is everything that comes through the door, other than two P40s, and even they're gonna be kind of different, but it's a it's a different critter. I mean, you know, we the the Mustang wing design was different from the rest. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 16:16

And I think just like the endless learning potential, right? You'll never know. I mean, the more you learn, the less you know in a way, because you know you just don't know anything.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

And and I mean that's gonna be your biggest challenge throughout this whole thing is absorbing as much as you can because man, information get you know, you can get overloaded with information.

SPEAKER_03 16:35

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

You know, when I try to teach you something, you know, how to drill or whatever, it's kind of like, okay, I'll give you the information, let you do it, come back. Okay, now that you've done it, you know, now adjust this, do this, and then you can kind of you and you've done great. You've you know feed it. Learn how to hold a drill properly.

SPEAKER_02 16:55

Well, that's a big first step.

SPEAKER_04 16:57

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

Feed it in digestible chunks. I mean, when I went to armor school, the first lesson was this is a screwdriver.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

Okay. Uh now, admittedly, it's that's a low bar, but I will say that the thing I really like about being a docent is people ask you a question and you've got to give them the officer candidate answer. I do not know, but I will find out. And so not not even on the same plane as as you two, but I read about a book a week to to do that job better. And I can only imagine, because again, I'm just telling the stories, you're making stuff. And and that's cool.

SPEAKER_03 17:46

Yeah, I I still kind of can't believe it. Like he said, I've only been here two weeks and I'm still like, is it I I hope it's real.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

Yeah, we're gonna do this interview and then and then a year from now, yeah. What kind of attitude change she's got by then? She'll be smoking cigarettes, drinking whiskey, and going, Yeah, this job.

SPEAKER_03 18:06

I I don't know. I think I'll still be baffled and feeling like I don't know anything, but that's okay. In a in a year's in a year, we'll be drinking champagne.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

It'll go for that. There you go. You know, the funny thing is in a year we'll be doing another project and this will be gone. This will be probably out of the fixture. You know, I mean, it you don't realize how fast things move. It seems like it takes forever, which it does, it feels like forever sometimes. But you know, if I look back on my 20 plus years and think about all the airplanes that I've been involved in, you're like, how? How did I do that? You know, how do I have so many airplanes under my belt?

SPEAKER_02 18:43

Well, I thought when I first came here, the the hell diver was just beginning and it seemed like nothing, nothing, and all of a sudden it's like Mach 5 progress on that airplane.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Oh, it looks like an airplane. Well, and I think Nicole can even only being here two weeks can adj adjust that, I mean, or attest to that. I mean, how many little parts and pieces have you built or worked on that you won't even see in this wing when it's done?

SPEAKER_03 19:10

Oh, so many. I yeah, I've taken out so many pieces just from the spar, you know, a whole area there and been blasting them, cleaning them up, you know, seeing if we can reuse them. And it's and that's one of the cool things too, is just like seeing how these are put together. Like you wouldn't normally even when you look at a drawing, you can't really fathom everything that goes into it. And then I'm like, somebody designed this piece, you know, what is this for?

SPEAKER_02 19:31

And somebody really smart.

SPEAKER_03 19:33

Yeah, well, yeah, they made it impossible to get to, but but it works, right?

SPEAKER_01 19:40

So that's and what was the timeline on the Mustang of design to build? What was it, a hundred days? From no the from design to build, and that so the first one came off the line?

SPEAKER_02 19:52

There were there were other aircraft. I I can't remember what the the Mustang timeline was, but it it was fast because the Brits actually asked for P-40s. And North Americans said, well, we can do this, and it was yeah, something like three months. Yeah, it was like a hundred days. Just and they had a a a different airplane. I mean, I I I love the P-40, but again, the wing design on the Mustang was revolutionary. It's different.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

Well, it's just different in a lot of ways. They don't, you know, they don't have any overlapping skins, like most airplanes. They have like joggles and then they overlap the skins for strength. They're all butted up against each other. It's a weird, it's a weird airplane. What they call that laminar flow. It's a laminar flow. But then they and then they actually have, you know, they do Bondo on it from the factory, you know, to smooth it out. Smooth all the seams and the rivets and everything else. So, you know, most airplanes, you go, if there's Bondo on it, there's a problem. This thing, you're like, no, it's supposed to be there. That's how you shape the the leading edge of the wing.

SPEAKER_02 20:59

I certainly feel that way about an auto-body shop. Oh, Bondo on the floor. I don't want these guys. Yeah. But yeah, the Mustang was fast, and of course, then the Brits made it better by sticking that uh Earls Royce Merlin in it. And uh I do have to say, as a proud American, the Packards are probably better. But yeah, it from Flash to Bang was uh was so fast because the world was disintegrating.

SPEAKER_04 21:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:29

Well, and they like those government cheese contracts.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

Well make that plane and get that contract. It's a business.

SPEAKER_02 21:38

Well, it it was it was survival in many cases, but I think the motivations. Now there were scalawags and and worse in the airplane industry. I can think of one San Diego based company that had a pretty tragic uh flaw. But you know, we had the dollar a year. I was sort of like your situation because I mean you you have Henry Kaiser who built hundreds of ships working for a dollar a year. And that because the fate of the world was at stake.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

Yeah, you can do that. The rest of us, you know, we kind of need that paycheck. Just ask TSA right now.

SPEAKER_02 22:24

Yeah, ask them.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:27

But the the the process of of aircraft design is uh just so incredible to me. And I mean that in in every respect of the word. I I was learning spar from Longeron coming in here.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

I don't know. You know, what's a Lingeron? That's yeah, just learning all the nomenclature and what what it is that they're talking about, and they're like, hey, go get this or that or go do this or drill through that, and you're like, huh?

SPEAKER_03 23:00

Well that you know, it's funny. Um so I think my first visit here, you know, Helldiver, like you said, was in that state where it barely looks like an airplane. And my first time walking through Westpac, I saw the room where we have all the manuals and like the microfilm, and I got so excited because like super nerd over here. Like, I'm like, I just want to like dig into those manuals and blah blah. And so now I get to work with Dave and sit down and like go through like all the you know, digitize microfiche and like you know, it's like a treasure hunt. Yeah, you know, like find this one part and go through and like you're going through like the actual manuals and the actual film, you know, that's the Smithsonians provided, right? So that to me is like so much fun, and that's just endless.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

And that's a skill in its own right.

SPEAKER_03 23:40

It yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:40

I mean, really it is, because it it, you know, like you said, it's a treasure hunt because you don't. I mean, I understand they were at war and I understand that they had their processes, but each manufacturer did things so different, and every time you go to look at the microfilm and you're looking right where you're, you know, like on the wing, right where your part that you're looking for, and it's there, and they got arrows pointing to every other part, and they won't have a point to that part, and then we'll give you the part number. No number. Oh my gosh. And then you're like, well, now I gotta, well, okay, there's a sub assembly probably. So now what? Now I gotta go find the sub assembly. Where's that at? And then you gotta kind of like backtrack around. And some and I'm not kidding you, I've spent hours just sitting in there and just going one after the next. Because I'm like, I just don't know where to even start.

SPEAKER_04 24:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

And then you hit something and you're like, okay, that's a starting point. Now I can maybe get to where I need to go from there.

SPEAKER_04 24:31

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

But Dave's a whiz, you know, he'll sit in there and he'll he'll know exactly where it's at. So he's kind of the guy that we go to. Like, so if you could pick that up, you'd be one step ahead of me.

SPEAKER_03 24:40

Yeah, actually, I stumped him yesterday with a part on the wing. So we had fun with that. Yeah. Yeah. So and it's so it's you can even someone who's like an expert, right? If you can get lost in those things, and but it's to me, it's fun. I like figuring that out. And then you learn so much while you're doing that too.

SPEAKER_02 24:53

It's not like you can call Kelly Johnson on the phone and say, I tried, you know, weird. Yeah, didn't take your call.

SPEAKER_03 25:00

No, uh bummer.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

So I guess I can't really ask you what your favorite uh thing is to do here yet, because you've only been here for two weeks, and really all you've been doing is making holes. But uh after being around here, what is something that you haven't got to do yet that you would really think that you would be good at or like to do?

SPEAKER_03 25:16

Oh my gosh, Scott.

SPEAKER_01 25:17

Um So here at the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs, Colorado, we have a lot of flying airplanes. Over 25, in fact. In our early years as a fledgling museum, we had like three batteries to share between all of these airplanes. So you can imagine what it was like whenever we decided to fly something, having to remove and lug one of these heavy things called a battery. In the years since Comic Corps came on as a sponsor of the museum, our battery malfunctions and need to replace them as gun zero. If you've ever fired up a war bird or watch one start, you know that you don't always get it light up at the first go. The amount of worry we used to have hoping you had enough juice to actually get it fired up just no longer exists for us. We have total confidence that we will have the battery power we need to get the show going. At the time, we were using the more conventional aircraft batteries. Take the top off and check each individual itself a proper acid level, even though the type. You never quite get that level right, and either it would be dry or it would be overfilling and spilling acid all over you in the plane. I had more than a couple shirts destroyed in the process of moving one of these batteries, but no more.

SPEAKER_02 26:28

Thanks to concrete batteries. With their innovative, fully spilled battery gone for the days of worrying about acid spills in your beautifully maintained airplane. Not to mention the absolute bulletproof reliability we get out of every concrete battery we have in this museum. If you're tired of the mess and worry your old battery brings to you every time you want to go fly, install one of these beautifully packaged concrete batteries. If yourself an approved battery monitor, plug it in and never have to worry about it again. Peace of mind is worth every penny. Fly concrete batteries at concertbattery.com and sponsored the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs and fully endorsed by the Winged Victory Podcast.

SPEAKER_03 27:25

Honestly, I'm still at the point where I'm just grateful to do anything. Um and I would do any of it, whether it's like go find this piece of hardware and learn how to do that, you know, and figure that out. Or like we're just talking about the parts, or drill this part, or deburr this, or go, you know, learn from Alan, you know, how to clean up this this one hole. I mean, to me, it's like I'll take any of it.

SPEAKER_01 27:46

So breaking news right here on Winged Victory Podcast, you're talking to our new painter. Whoa, there's a deal. She's gonna be our world-class painter here before too long.

SPEAKER_03 27:57

Scott, Scott would like to hand that off.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

Uh yeah, Scott would like to.

SPEAKER_03 28:01

Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_01 28:02

Yeah, Scott's been trying to do that for 20 years.

SPEAKER_03 28:05

Well, we'll get the hell diaper. I mean, that's something else. Yeah, well, he does a good job.

SPEAKER_01 28:09

It's not like I'm gonna quit. It's just that I'm not gonna be doing all the mundane stuff over days. So you're gonna learn how to how to be a painter. Well, there is no more zinc chromate anymore. Sorry, it's just paint paint. You're not allowed to have that stuff. Yeah, can't have anything nice.

SPEAKER_02 28:27

Rules and regulations, you know. No, I mean, I don't know, you're either drinking from a fire hose or you're the beggar at a feast or some combination of that. And you'll you'll continue to earn your spurs, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_03 28:42

I hope so. I will try my best.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

You know.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

So I know that you picked up an AP book. You're like been reading all the AMP stuff and trying to go through that. Or is there plans for you to I know that we're supposed to be opening an AMP school here. Um the pavilion is getting sheeted as we speak. Yeah, and they're putting sheets up on it. So I think that they're on schedule to get that thing done. But uh, once that's done, I think we're supposed to be getting an A and P school, and I am guilty of not having my A and P and I would like to go over there and probably do that. Is that something that you're looking to do?

SPEAKER_03 29:16

Um, yeah, I've always wanted my AMP. I mean, I've been blogging all my hours since I started volunteering, and then if I do anything GA side, you know, I log those hours. So yeah, I'd I'd love to have it. I mean, as long as I'm doing it, that's me. I don't really the certificate is kind of at this point, you know, it is what it is. It'd be nice to have it, but it's mainly like I want the education. So and now it's like I'm getting all that. So I'm I'm quite content. But it's nice to go through those books. And actually, it's funny, Bill Dude gave me some like wartime books, you know, like the real thing. Like, yeah, like you know, just basic stuff like how to rivet, how to drill, you know, all the you know, but going through that stuff is super helpful, especially you know, working on yeah, they were very detail-oriented back then, and and like I said, we're you know, we're working on all this stuff, it hasn't changed for what we're doing, and that's you know it's all the same stuff from back then.

SPEAKER_01 30:05

We're not it's like I was trying to look up how to some you know, counter syncing for high shears and stuff like that. Well, they don't they don't use these style high shears anymore. These are all World War II type style, they got a different style. So, of course, everything that you're Googling is the new style. Is all the new stuff, you know. You can't even find the old stuff. You know, it takes a little bit. I did find it, but that's why I like those old books. Yeah, that's pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 30:26

Yeah, yeah. Well, and sourcing the authentic uh material is again part of Bill Dude's magic and and uh stuff like that. But I mean you you got your hands on history.

SPEAKER_03 30:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 30:43

You know, and and I remember being in the archives and it's like, who was the last person to handle this? Now obviously these airplanes have been through owner after owner after owner, but at some point this was fresh, new, uh being being built by people who were serious about it.

SPEAKER_03 31:05

Well, and we're pulling parts, you know. I'm back there blasting, and the whole time I'm just thinking, man, what if I find like a little signature? And I'm you know, I'm literally blasting off the zinc chromate, you know, so I know it's like the original part from North American.

SPEAKER_01 31:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:16

I mean, that's still I I don't think that'll ever get old to me.

SPEAKER_01 31:19

Yeah, the swing's been rebuilt before, but there's a section that's right below like the ammo bay, and right that hasn't been touched, and it was all the original yellow zinc chromate. And it did have writing and stuff on it.

SPEAKER_02 31:34

Well, because a lot of them did, whether it was Kilroy or something. Well, they did they did it all.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

Well, it's all you know, like they they're constantly everybody thinks that they just slapped these things together and got them out of the war, but they're actually very meticulous about uh everything. You know, they wouldn't inspect, and and if there was a rivet that was just a little too squish or not squish enough, they'd circle it. Yeah, and they would they would mark it and they would change it. You know, it's it's it's not quite what they you know a lot of people think where they were just you know let's slap it on the on the butt and send it out the door, you know.

SPEAKER_02 32:06

Well, and there's there's a fine line between good enough's good enough and not good enough. But that's actually the origin of the Kilroy was here. Kilroy was an inspector.

SPEAKER_01 32:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:18

And it was it was very distinct. Nobody could alter that he had actually inspected it, or nobody could imitate that. But yeah, we we see writing on the the P47 skin and and stuff like that. I mean, people did you know put their heart and soul into these airplanes.

SPEAKER_01 32:39

And that was kind of the cool thing about doing some of these restorations when you have a customer who's willing to pay the money to do the restoration correctly, and then you take apart a time capsule like we did on Y33, you know, and we were able to, you know, I take the time to to document it all, I you know, write it all on transparent paper, exactly where it was at. And then when we got all done, put it all back in there, exactly in there in the same writing, and you know, it really worked pretty well. So that airplane's full of all the original, despite being completely restored, is full of all the original writings. I mean, every little mark, everything that I came across in that center section, yeah, if it was if it was marked, it's back in that airplane. Well, it's like you guys took the time to put the little stickies. Oh, yeah, yeah, back in there. And everybody, what are those? Well, that's what they put on when they would send it over. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:33

And Dave is like handmaking those, you know, from the original pictures. Yeah. You know, it's it's that's what I love about Hit This Place, you know.

SPEAKER_02 33:40

Well, it meticulous is a word that comes to mind, and and you both are that.

SPEAKER_01 33:46

Yeah, I'm a little less meticulous. Just I'm not like Dave and Bill dude. They'll sit in there and they'll they'll argue over a font for three days for a stamp. Only three? You know, I mean, it's they're it the level that you can really get to with these restorations is crazy. So that's something that you gotta learn is where do you stop?

SPEAKER_00 34:08

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 34:08

You know, where is that line of being perfect and yet being timely and being efficient for the customer who's paying for this because they are paying per hour to have this stuff done. So that's the yeah, you know, you're trying to go fast, but you're trying to do it not too fast, and you're trying to be right. And and sometimes, you know, speed kills. So you know that's something that you're gonna definitely learn.

SPEAKER_03 34:37

Yeah, I've already been, excuse me, I've already been thinking about that, you know, because obviously right now I'm trying, you know, I want to do it right. I want to do a good job. Yeah. So it's slow at first. Yeah, well no, and I'm not gonna speed through it. A thousand percent.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

And I've and I've told you that a few times. Like, just take your time. We're not in a hurry, just you know, and we're trying to give you jobs that you know allow you to be like that, like I don't need this right this second, but it'd be nice to have it done. So take your time, learn how to do this, learn how to, you know, how do I fit these and make these holes, transfer these holes to that.

SPEAKER_03 35:09

When I do it like a hundred plus times, and that's awesome. Yeah, you know, it really kind of gets it solidified in the muscle memory.

SPEAKER_02 35:16

When I started blacksmithing, they told us that the uh the old apprentices used to have to make nails.

unknown 35:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:24

And like a bucket full of nails, a pounding hot steel. So I think you're at the nail nail building uh part.

SPEAKER_03 35:33

It's like the Frank Macon story, right? Pulling the nails out and straightening them back up. Yeah, yeah, that's yeah, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 35:39

Yeah, there's a lot to learn and absorb around here for sure. And I think you're on the right path for it.

SPEAKER_04 35:44

I love it.

SPEAKER_01 35:45

I mean, it it's just a testament, though. You know, let me gush about you a little bit that you would I mean, really, really take uh a cut, you know, in life. I mean, you know, let's let's face it, everybody's looking for that American dream where you can afford to do the things you want to do outside of your job. I mean, because you know, as much as this is a passion, it's a job.

SPEAKER_04 36:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 36:08

And there are definitely times when I like to get away from it personally, but I mean, for you to take that just leap, that commitment, and really go for what's keeping you up at night.

SPEAKER_03 36:20

I think it's important, I think, especially these days, you know, in reminding people that there's still you can still be happy in what you're doing. And it's you know, and the way the world's going and AI and you know, we're not really thinking anymore. And you're just it's it kind of it's gonna point where I was just like, this is not how I want my future to be.

SPEAKER_01 36:38

It's becoming a much less tactile world.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

Very much so.

SPEAKER_01 36:42

So not in your case. Not anymore. Not anymore, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:45

I'm so grateful to be here.

SPEAKER_01 36:46

I I she gets here early. She gets here like 20 minutes. I pull up late, you know, she's already here. It's still early for most people. Yeah. So you can tell, you know, she's she's all about it. So well, and coming in here on your day off.

SPEAKER_03 37:01

And tomorrow I'll be here, you know, volunteering, which I Bill thinks I won't. He's like, no, I'm like, Bill, you should know me by now.

SPEAKER_02 37:07

I'm gonna be here. But that'll be different, dude. Yeah, you'll be back with the Cub Scouts and the Scoutmaster hurting everybody around.

SPEAKER_01 37:15

Well, in another year or so, she'll be the one doing the scout mastering, you know. She'll be the one telling people what to do, and this is how you drill that, and this is how you make this, and you know, and then it's like it one day it clicks. Hey, I kind of know semi what I'm doing. Like I know how to turn on all the machines around here and not lose my fingers when I use them.

SPEAKER_03 37:36

And well, I like teaching too, right? It helps you obviously get better at everything.

SPEAKER_01 37:40

You know, and that's really what I mean, at the end of the day, I mean, this is a this is a yes, it's a business, and we make money, and and you know, everybody we're all here to make a living. But it's a it if you really drill it down, it's a stewardship, you know, and and it's our job to show these things off, and it's our job to pass on what we've learned and try to get the next generation or two excited about it. And I mean, it obviously worked with you. In my case, so I mean it's it's just amazing, and it's and it's exciting. It's good to have you know what? I just realized I'm not the youngest person that works here anymore. How about that? I'm just getting older and older. This is crazy. I'm not the kid anymore. And you know what else? I'm not the guy that gets shoved in the back of the P40 hole when when you got to put lead in there.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

10 hours of that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

Yeah, so she she we we coined a new uh nickname for her. I'll leave it off the podcast, but it's a pretty good one. Excellent. So yeah, I mean it's can't wait. A call sign.

SPEAKER_03 38:45

Oh, I hope not.

SPEAKER_01 38:47

It's like I just feel like we're passing the torch. And I'm excited to have you here.

SPEAKER_03 38:51

And I am painter one of the things I hope to bring too, because I I want to obviously, you know, I like ownership and I like feeling pride in what I'm doing and where I'm at and who I'm around, and what an honor to be here, but I also want to like inject my passion and you know, I know you guys have all been doing this for so long, right? And I know it can be a grind, but if I come in, I'm hoping I can kind of make it more fun too for.

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Well, I can attest, yes, yeah, absolutely have. I mean, the last two weeks it's just been nice. I mean, it's not like we're out here partying, like I said, or anything like that. I mean, we're working and focused, but you could just feel there's a little bit rise in the in the level of energy. Sure.

SPEAKER_02 39:24

Well, somebody fresh, somebody enthusiastic is always gonna.

SPEAKER_01 39:30

I mean, I love my people that we work with. You know, this is a great, great group of guys. I love coming in here every day, but it is gets a little old sometimes looking at the same cases, getting the same attitudes, yeah, dealing with the same, you know, thing, day. I mean, you know, it it it's a I've already told you, we're it's a habit thing here, you know. Sit down, I eat my avocado at break, you know, eat my chicken at lunch, eat my apple at at third break. That's why you know, park in the same parking spot, you know, every day for 18 years.

SPEAKER_03 40:04

We'll mix it up a little, Scott.

SPEAKER_01 40:05

Yeah, so it's kind of nice. It's really nice to have you.

SPEAKER_03 40:07

Yeah, well, it's awesome to be here.

SPEAKER_01 40:09

Breath of fresh air. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you for uh sitting down with us and congratulations, and I look forward to working with you for many, many years.

SPEAKER_03 40:17

Thank you. Me too. What an honor to be here, and thank you guys, you know, for allowing me to be here and your dad giving me that opportunity. I can't even it makes me ooh.

SPEAKER_01 40:27

Well, you're gonna make the most of it, I'm sure. It's a good sign. Absolutely will. Absolutely well. It's a good sign. All right, Nicole. Congratulations. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 40:35

Well, I just felt like celebrating a milestone, and I think it's just a cool thing that you now have a new colleague, that you're no longer the youngest guy in the show.

SPEAKER_01 40:43

I know. Yeah, it's kind of weird. I don't know. I feel like I'm getting to be the old guy. I got new eyes, I got a new knee, and and now I got new employees that could do all the stuff that I used to do.

SPEAKER_02 40:56

Well, and you're hoping to flick the paint booth off.

SPEAKER_01 41:00

Yeah, I just man, you know, you can only take so many years absorbing those chemicals before it it's you just like, you know, I my brain feels scrambled every time I go in there and in pain anymore. So let me inflict this on somebody else.

SPEAKER_02 41:13

Well, I guess I won't ask you to paint my truck.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

No. Well, I mean, for a price, sure. Why not?

SPEAKER_02 41:18

Well, well, I'm not sure I can afford it.

SPEAKER_01 41:19

Well, you know what? She's gonna need practice. That's a good thing to practice on. There is that. Yeah, we can do that.

SPEAKER_02 41:24

And I'm not I'm not as particular as uh your customers are.

SPEAKER_01 41:29

Yeah. So it's great. I mean, we're really excited to have her here. And you know, it's only like I said, it's only been two weeks, so it's you know, she might go another two weeks and decide, nah, I'm out of here. I don't know about these guys, you know. What did I what did I even think about, you know, or get that first paycheck and then really think about it twice. Well, that that might be crazy. You know, I mean that it, you know, you could you could see it though, you could see it in the people that really do have the passion, you know, and you see that, you know, and some people do this because it's cool and they think it's cool, and that's what most of the Saturday stuff, or you know, the people that want to volunteer, you know, they want to be around the airplanes and and they you know they're willing to push a broom or whatever. They just kind of want to be involved, which is awesome. But you can see it in the people that really have that passion. And it's not it's not everybody, you know. It's it's a pretty rare thing. So when you see it, you'd like to you know grab onto it. Like when she was first, you know, even floating the idea with me. I was kind of like, wow, you're crazy. What are you thinking? You know, but but then I I I relate, I I well, I can relate with it and I can understand it. Like, you know, I I could not imagine I I never could imagine, even from being a kid, working in a cubicle, you know, to me that was just death.

SPEAKER_02 42:45

Well, and having misery.

SPEAKER_01 42:47

I didn't I had never ever wanted that. And so I always wanted to work with my hands. So, you know, I and but I ended up going the automotive route. But natural. But even that was like it it started turning into a slow death. I mean, I was working with my hands, but it wasn't creative, it wasn't this, you know. I wasn't doing street rods or hot rods, which would have got my juices flowing. Yeah, you know, just so I even at that point, you know, took a step back in to get into this. Yeah, you know, because I, you know, I knew I had to get in it at a at the bottom level, and I didn't know. Everybody should. You know, I didn't know how to I knew how to hold a screwdriver, I knew how to hold a wrench well enough to bust my knuckles, yeah, but I didn't know how to drill, I didn't know how to do anything that pertains to airplanes. So you know, I I can totally relate as to where she's sitting at right now. I mean, because I was there 22, 3 years ago.

SPEAKER_02 43:44

But I think the word passion is is overused. It's kind of fashionable to throw that around. But in in these cases, not just Nicole, but in these cases, it is the word. And you you You see that in people's eyes.

SPEAKER_04 44:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:03

And there's no substitute for it.

SPEAKER_01 44:05

Well, it it'll help you overcome a lot of outside obstacles if you have that passion. You know, if you want to be here, keep you driving. I mean, I'm here five, six days a week myself, you know, and it's not because I got nothing else that I could be doing. Well, no, you've got a number of things. I got plenty of other things I could be doing and I would love to do, but it this just it's weird. Like, you know, I can get away for a weekend, but even then I'm like, I'm what's going on at the shop? You know, it's weird. It's just it just gets in there and then it never lets go.

SPEAKER_02 44:38

I've had jobs like that, but the last uh the last one was I walk through walk into the building and it sucks the life out of me, and then I go down to the basement in the dark and sit in front of my computer. And I don't I wouldn't wish that on anybody who didn't want it.

SPEAKER_01 45:00

That sounds like prison to me.

SPEAKER_02 45:02

Um Yeah. Yeah, it it it had its moments. I used to call it the Fuhrer Bunker.

SPEAKER_01 45:07

So yeah, we'll definitely uh, you know, I think we'll definitely be checking in with her again. Yeah. Milestone we'll give it some time, let everything kind of set in and then see how uh how she's taken to it all.

SPEAKER_02 45:20

But we'll all be getting plenty of uh sunshine in September for the air show.

SPEAKER_01 45:26

Yeah, we haven't mentioned that in a while, but uh the tickets are up for Pikes Peak Regional Air Show, PPR AirShow.org.

SPEAKER_02 45:34

It's not R A S.

SPEAKER_01 45:36

Uh Well, I think it's PPR Air Show.

SPEAKER_02 45:39

People can figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 45:40

Pretty sure it's PPR Air Show. If not, whatever Google it. It's Colorado Springs on September 19th and 20th this year, and we have some amazing acts. We're we're gonna be pretty warbird heavy. We're we're bringing in some people that haven't been here um before in this state. So definitely some opportunities to see some new planes, and we're really excited about that. Tickets are going fast, so you're definitely gonna want to get them.

SPEAKER_02 46:05

Yeah, get onto the site. Um the the good ones are I don't know if they're still available, but I don't either.

SPEAKER_01 46:14

To be honest, I we had to start the meeting this week, so I don't know what the status is, but yeah, if you want those VIP tickets, there might be some available still for Sunday. So yeah, and there's another one the only way to experience an air show, let me tell you. Oh, absolutely. Food, drink, cover, seats, and right on the front of the line, it's the way to go.

SPEAKER_02 46:31

Well, and there's another another one that doesn't have the food and drinks, but it's got the cover. And believe me, in the Colorado sunshine, which we're experiencing right now, you need that cover.

SPEAKER_01 46:42

Yeah, well, September's not as bad. No, definitely won't be what we had last time with August, but September's not bad.

SPEAKER_02 46:48

That was that was brutal, but again, worth it. And I'm happy with it being war bird heavy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:57

Um then our our pavilions coming along. Um, they're actually sheeting it this week. So they're I think they're right on schedule to be opening up in uh September at the same time. We're gonna have a lot going on in September.

SPEAKER_02 47:08

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:09

Still looking for uh some money to to finish that thing though. But uh a nice way to you can help the museum without actually donating money is is on our description of where you found the podcast, we'll have instructions. If you shop at a Kroger grocery store, you can go in there, you you can it takes about two minutes, it's step by step. You could set up that the museum is a benefactor, so anytime that you spend any money at a Kroger, we'll get a very, very small percentage, but it all adds up.

SPEAKER_02 47:41

So that's huge. Yeah, what a what a nice, easy, painless way.

SPEAKER_01 47:46

Yeah, people gotta eat, so you might as well you know take a couple of minutes on the computer and and another exciting thing, I mean it's been a really exciting right now last week because spring we're actually filming this during spring break and it's been very busy, so it's kind of like the world's waking up again. You know, the museum's waking up again, but we have our fly day. First fly day of the year, April April 18th, Do Little Day.

SPEAKER_02 48:09

And it's too bad Nicole's not here because we could mention her favorite airplane, the F3A Corsair. We'll be flying, weather permitting, always weather permitting.

SPEAKER_01 48:19

I'll have to ask why we aren't flying the bomber on Doolittle Day.

SPEAKER_02 48:23

Well, because we I know we did several several times ago. Yeah. But uh no, we're flying the bomber in uh July.

SPEAKER_01 48:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:31

Because that's one of the hot ships.

SPEAKER_01 48:33

Well, I still can't fly anyways because of my eyes, so I guess that's a good thing that we're not flying it next month because I wouldn't be the one flying it. So and I would like to be flying it. But yeah, so we got the F-3A Corsair, and what was the uh presentation? I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 48:47

Uh it's um Matt Outing is talking about the Fleet Air Arm Corsairs, the Brits, who operated their Corsairs on on board ship before our guys. They actually trained our guys in how to make that carrier brake in the Corsair and get the and get the Corsair down.

SPEAKER_01 49:06

Great. That's gonna be fantastic. I'm looking way forward to that. Yeah. Alan Wojak's gonna be flying in the F3A if the weather permitting. So we're we got that thing over here, getting it all woken up. As a matter of fact, Nicole's been working on that on Saturdays with Bill Dude and getting that thing ready to go.

SPEAKER_02 49:24

Super.

SPEAKER_01 49:24

I think with that, I'd like to thank our sponsor, Concord Batteries, once again.

SPEAKER_02 49:29

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 49:30

I'd like to thank Nick Nicole for sitting down with us today and William Stevenson behind the camera, my partner Rob Gale, and myself, Scott Clare. Stay safe out there.