by Michael Stephan
Last month the F4 Raider built by Ted Harrison, flew off to the paint shop in Midlothian. Two weeks later it returned in full color.
Ted designed the paint scheme and handed it to a professional to detail it out in full scale for the paint shop. The design was inspired by the combining the scheme off his Cessna 320 and his RV-4 that he built in the mid 1990s.
To help reduce the cost and speed up the job, Ted travelled to Midway Airport to disassemble the airplane before painting and then travel back after painting to reassemble the plane before it’s return flight.
The finish on the airplane is spectacular with the color covered with a clear coat and polished to a smooth shine. This puts the airplane at near completion, with only a few interior details to finish before taking to Oshkosh in July.
It is magical when an aircraft gets that final finish. The transformation from project to finished plane is a moment of pride that stops you in your tracks to just admire it. Well done Ted. We hope to see this beauty at a few local events.
Ted’s is not the only Chapter airplane getting a paint job applied. I hear that Aaron Garinger is finishing his Sling TSi. Greg Schroeder will be painting in May, and Chris Siggins is finishing his RV-7A paint job.
