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An eventful trip to Detroit to pick up Gus Geissinger's Cracker Jack for the new DP-1

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Pete Plumb

R.I.P.
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
176
Location
SHAFTER, CA
I recently summarized my eventful trip to Detroit in an email to a family member. Since I consider all of you family members, I thought I would post it here for any of you who care to read through it. Sorry for the lack of editing and typos in it - it is strictly copy and paste:

Hi Rog!

Well, as you may have guessed, a lot has been going on in the last two months. I didn't get a chance to tell you about the big Cracker Jack Retrieval Trip of September so here you go. If it is too much info, you may scroll to the end without hurting my feelings one bit!


The "first-plans-built" Cracker Jack had been kicking around the aircraft classifieds for about a year so a friend of mine arranged with the owner to have it donated to his 501(c)(3) non-profit. It had been built by Gus Geissinger back in 1986 and had flown many hours and was well cared for. Sans an engine, I agreed to donate a DP-1 to the cause and negotiated to use the plane for the test bed for the beta flight test program. Problem was, it was in Detroit and the cost to transport it to California offset the great deal we had gotten on it. So, I volunteered to do the retrieval in the Rav4 - after all, the plane had its own trailer and the mighty little Toyota had racked up many, many miles pulling a trailer. Certainly, that would be the cheapest way to do it!


On September 4th, I headed for Durango. I was pleased to make it to Williams, Arizona on the first tank of gas and 30+ miles to the gallon but was shocked that in the first 350 miles it had consumed over 2 QUARTS of oil! Another 30 mpg fuel stop in Cortez, Colorado and ANOTHER 2 quarts of oil! At this rate, I thought it prudent to start carrying several gallon jugs of oil/STP mix.


The morning of the 5th welcomed me to Durango with a crisp, clear Colorado fall day and a seat on the 8:00 train to Silverton. It was one of the most fun and most memorable rides I've ever had, making new friends and enjoying the fall colors. After returning to Durango that afternoon, I decided my time there was done so I headed the Rav4 east toward Denver. I made Alamosa, Colorado at about 11:00 that evening and pulled into the local municipal airport and slept in the car in the parking lot. That was a first for me. I awoke on my birthday morning to another beautiful, crisp Colorado morning with low hanging clouds around the surrounding mountains. I made Des Moines that night and treated myself to a nice room at a Holiday Inn and a hot shower.


The following night, as the odometer of my trusty RAV4 turned 324,000, I rolled into the Detroit area and was welcomed into the home of an EAA friend, Anthony Libertori. The old and tired Rav4 had managed to go through about 8 gallons of oil/STP mixture on the trip but huffed into town like a spry 90 year-old. As appreciative as I was that it had gotten me all the way to Michigan, I was starting to doubt my sanity about braving the 3000 mile trek back to California with the car - let alone pulling a trailer loaded with such a valuable cargo as the first [and only] plans-built Cracker Jack.


Several events marked my Detroit stay. First, I learned that my niece, Sarah had been tragically killed the night before. With this news weighing heavy on my mind, I managed to do my obligatory speech for Anthony's EAA chapter meeting on Thursday night. I was well received and people were genuinely interested in hearing about the DP-1 engine development and the acquisition of the Cracker Jack. The next morning I headed over to take my first look a look at the airplane and the trailer. The plane looked great but not so great was the trailer. Now I was SURE the rig wouldn't make it home so I began working out a new strategy.


I kicked around a lot of ideas but the only one that made sense was to rent a Penske truck for a one-way trip, put the plane in it and leave the trailer there. I figured I would haul the car home behind the truck since I got no replies for the car on Craigslist (Note to self: don't try to sell a foreign car in Detroit!). The arrangements for the truck were made and I grabbed a quick breakfast at my friend, Ron Jones' airport cafe'. Just as I was leaving the restaurant, a friend of Ron's came by, saw the beautiful, rust-free, California Rav4 in the parking lot and offered me $800 for it on the spot! Hell Yes! I took him up on his offer, hitched a ride with Ron to go get the truck, loaded the plane and, by lunch, I was headed back west.


I made it to Denver in time to catch a Frontier flight out to Cincinnati to join my three brothers for Sarah's funeral. Returning to Denver Sunday, I continued north-westbound up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming where I had scheduled a corporate attorney meeting Monday morning. My next stop was Boise, Idaho to pick up 100 Toby Jugs which conveniently fit into the back of the truck with no problem. I thought I might head over to see Nick and Traci but the next morning I figured I better just get home. I'd been gone a long time and was running out of money and getting tired of being on the road. After a long, non-stop haul from Boise to Shafter, I pulled into the shop that evening at about 9:00. What a trip!


More recently, I made an engine mount for the prototype engine and hung it on the nose of Gus' Cracker Jack. Here is some footage of the first run on an airframe instead of a trailer. We took it to Phoenix for a show just after this was shot.
 
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