Andy and Heather Swanson

July has been a bit of a slow month on the blog front, but certainly not because nothing has been happening!!
Our first Independence day came at the start of the month, and Heather, Kirsten and Sarah were able to get out and enjoy the fireworks! The show put on at the Coshocton Fairgrounds, came complete with an appearance by Elvis himself!! The plan had been for all of us to go out, but the kids were pretty much knackered by the time darkness approached, so I stayed home with them.
The middle of July brought a short break away for us to the Carolina’s. We drove down to our good friends, the Baisley’s, in NC and had a few lovely days there catching up with them. It was good to have some family time as well, and a day trip to the children’s museum gave the kids the chance to experiment with planes and fire engines!




Heather and I then took a couple of nights away to Charleston SC on our own. It was great to be able to have some time to ourselves after such a busy summer – I got some touristy sightseeing done and Heather topped up her tan!



We’re now back to just the Swanson’s here again, and are adjusting to having our home return to normal for a while!!!
Back at the hangar and things are moving along as always. Work is progressing on the Gabon 207, and the work on the cabin floor has been finished for the time being. The damaged rear wing spar has been removed, and once the new part arrives, it will be installed. That will allow the roof to be put back together, and another major job ticked off the list!



Last week saw work starting on the damaged tail cone, with the damaged skins, spars and ribs all removed. The process of rebuilding has now started and sheet aluminium is being formed into the various skins that are needed to replace the damaged parts, and create the aft half of the plane.



It is exciting to see things moving along so quickly and great for me to be getting so much valuable experience making up skins and doublers for various parts of this aircraft. We are making good progress towards seeing this aircraft to be returned to service and sent back to Gabon to continue its important role there!!
Thanks for your prayers, support and interest!