on march 8th, 2008,I gave my buddy a call because I was supposed to go fly rc planes, and then get in the full scale and tool around a bit. Had to work later than expected, and missed him, wasnt gonna make it to gunnbarrel let alone athens......When I called him he said no problem, that he and mitch were taking off from athens, and hed call me when he landed.
So I missed a great day, do to work.
Well here me and my hunny sat, havin a drink, when a news flash came up....small plane crash in Gunbarrell cituy.....I knew it was him and Mitch....I lost my legs and fell to the floor on my Cranberries. .......Chris is dead and Mitch is fucd up.
Long story short, Chris and I are building a stunt plane, a pitts raven.
We have the wing kits and were mocking up all the jiggs.
Contruction would have been in full swing this summer. That was my main motivation for buying a VTX, to get to gunbarrel faster and easier on friday nights.
( yall knowI love vtxs anyway)
My part of the team was to build the plane,be plane prep and transport to airshows around the country, and eventualy worldwide....there IS no better pilot than Chris Anderson.
Mitchell was buying the fuse kit, and taildragger girl was to purchase the 380 hp engine we needed. 4 partners, doing what we love the most, for the rest of our lives.
Its all over now......
The only reason Im posting this is to recognize Chris......beleive me, I am greiving hard.
If anyone is interested, I have a short vid on myspace of Chris doing 240 mph knife-edge passes, 1 foot off the water in gunbarrell, and pics of he and the plane we were flying, a pitts special, and pics of the crashed cessna 172.
My blog is heart warming according to those who have read it
http://www.myspace.com/bignasdyhit the vid center right on page, and look at pics in pics link to see who he was.
This is just another LIFE lesson learned the hard way...."dont put all yer eggs in one basket"
Enjoy yer buddies while they are here,love yer "family" and love deep.
God Bless yall, ride safe.
d
p.s. the ntsb initial report findings and from what Mitch has mummbled to me , are that the plane lost power on re-takoff from our private strip in Gunbarrell, and Chris tried to get the plane down in a school yard, thus avoiding all the houses....the right wingtip, hit a powerline, sheared the tip off, and cartwheeled the plane into the ground beside the school. Look at the pics