EAA Sport dbl truck of N3N-3 captured by Z 9 / Z70-200f2.8
When I arrived at the hangar for the first flight of the N3N-3, the floats hadn’t arrived yet. We did the A2A photo mission with the thought that would be it for the year. That would be the finish for the project and article. Then the floats arrived and the thrill of restoring, attaching and flying with them kicked in. Forty days later was The N3N-3’s first flight with floats occured. I was honored to be there from the beginning and able to work with Pemberton & Son’s Aviation to the end when this gorgeous aircraft lifted off the water. The two year project was chronicled in thousands of photographs and thanks to Jim at EAA, combined with nearly four thousand words for an eight page spread just now hitting the newsstand. Not all projects finish as originally planned, that is part of the process. This though has never been the case with these guys who’s motto is, “we fly the old stuff.” It’s a great story with some amazing history, skill, passion and the thrill of success. I hope you check it out. And yes, new projects are already being documented and I know that shortly I’ll be saying again, those two years flew by!