We had planned to spend the weekend at a fly-in down in Mississippi, visiting a friend’s airport. It’s been on the calendar for a while and we were looking forward to catching up with friends and stretching our wings a bit. But as so often happens, life—and in this case, persistent rain—had other plans. The airplanes stayed put, and so did we.
Still, even with plans changed, progress was made—particularly on Mama’s Chief.
Earlier in the week, the welder stopped by with an update on the Chief’s fuselage. He’s ready to move forward and asked if we could have the gear legs prepped and ready soon. He’ll be placing the fuselage on the gear and making any additional adjustments necessary to ensure it rolls true—an important step in getting the airframe aligned properly. (Read more about Mama’s Chief going to the welder here).
We already have most of the major gear components on hand: the gear legs and struts. Some, like the struts, we have in multiples. The restorer has selected an older set to temporarily support the fuselage while it’s in the welder’s care.
He’s been clear about how critical proper alignment is—especially on a tailwheel airplane. Misalignment can make for tricky ground handling, and with taildraggers, you already start with a bit of a learning curve.
In the restoration shop, the restorer demonstrated how they set the gear legs on an aircraft, attach the struts and wheel assemblies, and then place the whole aircraft on kraft paper. From there, they take careful measurements—using good old-fashioned geometry—to ensure everything is aligned not just with itself, but square to the fuselage. That attention to detail makes all the difference when it comes to how an airplane handles on the ground.
It’s one of those behind-the-scenes steps that’s easy to overlook but so important. Tailwheel aircraft have their own ground personality—slow taxiing is essential, S-turns are used to see around the cowling, and ground loops are an ever-present concern. We’ve seen firsthand what happens when things go wrong, especially near the gear attach points. Mama’s Chief still bears those scars, and that’s what the welder will be working on after finishing the tail section.
The gear on the Chief attaches just below the door frames of the cabin. As part of his alignment and fitting process, the welder has also asked for the doors to be brought in at a later point, to make sure everything fits correctly as the fuselage is squared away.
After inspecting the gear legs and struts, the restorer and Uncle Paul think the gear legs might actually be new—there’s minimal wear, and the bushings look fresh. With multiple sets of struts available, the restorer picked a serviceable set to temporarily support Mama’s Chief during the next phase.
And just as we were finishing up this round of prep work, we heard a familiar sound: airplanes overhead. The Cub and a nearby Cessna had taken to the air, enjoying the brief flyable window. We stepped outside and watched them go. There will be other weekends, and other fly-ins. For now, we’re working on a project that connects generations, and that’s its own kind of flight.
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