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7-23-19
Today the JNE Spirit team completed its first successful high speed taxi test, and a new high speed record of 50mph! Ron Fowler, who is slated to fly the plane later this month was all smiles after the two hour taxi session. He was able to get the tail into the air and experience the tail control surfaces for the first time.
7-28-19
David Carlos was once again on hand to capture the maiden of the JNE Spirit of St. Louis. This was a monumental day for everyone involved, and Carlos’s words and photos capture it perfectly.
7-16-19
Today we had the pleasure of meeting aviation enthusiast and feature editor for the My Edmonds Today David Carlos. Carlos stopped in as John and Heather were putting the finishing touches on their Spirit of St Louis aircraft, in preparation for the FAA air worthiness inspection later this week. Coincidentally Carlos was on hand to capture the Spirit in its most complete state to date, with the final fairings installed and painted for the first time ever. Carlos also conducted a interview that answers many of the frequently asked questions related to the project.
Please visit the link below to read David’s interview with John & Heather:
7-8-19
Today the JNE crew fit the wing to the airplane. John came up with this ingenious hydraulic gantry that can raise and lower the 46’ wing with only two people. Once the wing is installed we can begin the final fabric and fairing work.
7-5-19
John & Heather Norman’s Spirit of St. Louis has made it to Arlington. It is a massive single occupant airplane with a 46’ wingspan, that Is quickly filling up the hanger space we’ve made for it. Next up, John will bring down the wing assembly, and we can begin putting the airplane together.
We could spend all day talking about John, but we think his wife does a better job of telling that story:
'“John’s always been interested in flying and things that fly. As a young teenager he built "toy" airplanes for his young friends to play in. In high school he took Aeronautics classes and soloed at the age of 16. During his 4-year enlistment in the US Navy he was trained as an aircraft mechanic and worked primarily on the Lockheed Orion P-3. “sub hunters”. John built his first airworthy airplane in the early 1980's (a replica 1933 Pietenpol Aircamper). That was the beginning of his career in building, restoring and re-creating aircraft of all shapes and sizes all around the world.
During the late 1980's he worked for United Airlines in the San Francisco Bay. He worked primarily on the Boeing 747 modifications, but also worked on the Boeing 737s, DC-10s and the Lockheed L1011 TriStars in United's fleet. It was during this time that he acquired two Boeing Stearman aircraft projects which were responsible for John opening his first business ... building Stearman wings.
In 1994 during a visit to Tombstone, AZ, John visited the US Army Intelligence Base at Fort Huachuca where he ended up going to work for a civilian contractor on the base. He found himself maintaining a fleet of Blackhawk and Huey helicopters as well as their Skymaster 337 and O-2 fixed wing aircraft.
In the mid-1990's John led a team of mechanics as they installed Satellite Communications systems in the newly acquired Boeing 767's for Al-Italia airlines in Rome, Italy and Luton, England.
After returning to the United States he worked as Director of Maintenance for an aviation company headquartered at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Here he gained even more experience on a variety of multi-engine aircraft including the Beech-18, Beech-99, C-46, DC-3, and the Swearingen Metroliner.
John learned of another employment opportunity working to restore a private collection of vintage aircraft to airworthy condition. He was responsible for helping to maintain a variety of airworthy, historic aircraft including their: Curtiss Jenny, P-40 Tomahawk, Feiseler Storch, Hawker Hurricane, Illyushin II, Polykarpov Rata, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang and many more. He also oversaw the partial restoration of a Boeing B-17.
John most recently retired (after 12 years) from the Boeing Company where he was a Pre-Flight and Delivery Inspector for the 787 Dreamliner.
In 2003 John purchased the partial wreckage of three Hawker Hurricanes salvaged in Russia. After spending more than 9000-hours over 9-years, restoring the Hurricane John sold the project in order to make room for the project he has always wanted to build, The Spirit of St. Louis.”
- Heather Norman