Saturday, February 17, 2003...IT FLIES!!!
Here's N9405B, a 1958 Cessna 175/220 being preflighted prior to its first test flight out of conversion to the Franklin. A LOT of work went into getting it to this point, but the reward is just minutes away........
...and about an hour later a grinning Bill Fulton, test pilot for the owner, came back with the words "This is a going machine"!!! I've tried to describe the performance to others and decided to just say "You'll see".......the reaction is always the same. That's the fun in this job....giving an airplane back that's TREMENDOUSLY better! It isn't cheap to get to this point but the airplane will whisper "Let me show you something COOL"!!!  I'm going to start planning a first-ever Franklin Fly-In and gather all these things in one spot for a group photo......more fun!
Head back to the Shop.....