I've long admired the work of the many racing craftsman I've been associated with over the years, and so I naively set off to replace a broken trim piece and its concertina-wire-like vent. Sure, I could have simply mended the broken pieces, painted the part, and reinstalled it on our beloved 1968 Bonanza 36, but with thoughts of carbon fiber pieces dancing in my head, I traveled down the path of no return. Sure, carbon fiber wasn't even a gleam in the eyes of the Beechcraft designers way back then, but hey, nothing like introducing a little modern material to a classic aircraft.

So here are a few "before" shots of the front and back of the broken trim piece:




Drawing up the template:


Part weight, and a good look at the nasty edges on the metal vent screen:


Template overlaid on the fiberboard that will act as the mold for the carbon fiber layup:


I don't have a table saw, so it's a straight edge (bubble level) and some clamps to hold the line as desired:


Here I'm using the family's 40+ year-old radial arm saw for the end cut:


Cutting the plywood base on which the fiberboard mold will be mounted:


A quick trip to the belt sander to radius the mold's edges:


For the smaller door latch guard, it's a bit of free forming with the jigsaw:


The door latch guard ramps up where it's fastened, so here I'm checking the mold piece I've cut to ensure it matches the original piece's slope:


The ramps:


The original piece and the new mold:


The simple (in comparison) fiber board mold for the larger vent piece:


$65-a- yard carbon fiber... ugh....:


Here's the larger mold, mounted, waxed, and ready for the carbon fiber:


I used the West Marine epoxy system for the resin and hardener... good stuff:


I laid up 3 layers of carbon fiber on the first go... I'm embarrassed looking at this photo that I didn't trim the pieces better, but I figured I'd clean up the part afterward:


Peel ply going down first on top of the carbon mat:


Pre-preg sheet and absorbing cloth:


Everything sealed up with the vacuum pump running:


Although it's a brisk 55 degrees in my little workshop, almost immediately the temperature is rising on the part due to the chemical reaction that's occurring with the resin and hardener:


12 hours later, the bag is opened and here's what I found:


It just needs a bit of trimming and a little "ventilation:"


Using EXCEL, I laid out a pattern of "X"s and then printed it out an 11"x14" piece of paper. Here I've attached the paper to the part after trimming:


Drilling the holes on the drill press:


Back to the door latch... mold waxed and ready for the carbon mat:


The door latch mold with wetted mat ready for its 12 hours of vacuum bagging:


The original piece, the mold, and the resulting carbon fiber part:


And here's the final vent piece being installed:


Well, as usual with something like this, I learned a ton and was quietly reminded that the craftsmen I worked alongside during my sports car and IndyCar days, were really talented. I hope you enjoyed riding along with me as I learned a little bit about vacuum bagging and forming carbon fiber parts.

Over 147 years ago, on October 3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln stated: “The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added . . . They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God . . . It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States . . . to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

Although Lincoln made Thanksgiving an official holiday, the practice of setting aside a day of thanks was a longstanding tradition in the United States. Moreover, Lincoln's writings, as well as those of other American leaders long before him, frequently reflect a deep sense of gratitude to God, both for His providence in national matters and in their own lives and families. It's evident that Thanksgiving extended beyond a national holiday to lives that were characterized by gratitude to God.

I wish you and your family a most blessed Thanksgiving!

You may be familiar with Parkour - urban gymnastics where buildings, railings, and other features of the city are used as the apparatus. My daughter calls the participants "Urban Ninjas." Check out this clip for a sampling of Parkour skills:



Of course there's a reason that I've led you down this path. Hopefully you're familiar with The Office. Episodes of The Office and Dilbert are always at the back of my mind when making decisions at Wilsonville Honda. I never want to give anyone any thoughts that might lead them to find similarities of our operation to either one of these spoofs of life at work... Enjoy this short!

Although we all start life with different circumstances (gender, race, culture, etc..), we are all given the same amount of time in each day. What we do with that time determines where we end up. No matter what life has thrown at us, there is one area that we have control over and that's our attitude. Attitude combined with focus on goal attainment is a powerful force. To illustrate my point, check this video. You can hear what's going on before you see it. Even though he and his bike are battered, he remains keenly focused on his goal.

I know that people have the tendency to complain about their position in life or how things are progressing (or not) with their plans. Sometimes it takes a small reminder to point out that maybe life isn't so bad after all. Take this fellow's occupation:


I hope your day is improved now that your prospective has been realigned!

As badly as the "Cash for Clunkers" program was and continues to be administered, the following caught me "just right."

Introducing "Cash for Codgers".

In order to address public concern with the federal government's
proposals for health care reform and building upon the success of the popular
"Cash for Clunkers" program, the Obama administration is proud to announce
"Cash for Codgers".

Each senior in your household (aged 65 or above) may be turned in for a
$4,500 instant cash reward at a conveniently located  Senior Turn-In 
Center near you.

Each Senior will be disposed of humanely, using an intravenous drip
consisting of a saline, morphine, short-acting barbiturate and
single-malt scotch.

This saves the Social Security Administration and Medicare from spending
between $40,000 to $80,000 for an average end-of-life treatment.
President Obama praised the proposal, calling it an "elegant and humane
way to solve the health care crisis, Medicare spending deficits, and the
'overwhelming number of right-wing zealots' who are seniors -- all at
the same time!

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During the course of any given day, I come across things on the internet that crack me up. You're probably familiar with astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Did you know he was a legendary hip-hop artist? I didn't think so... Here's one of the most unlikely pairing I could have ever come up with:



OSpeaking of Ferraris, here's a shot of the business end of a lovely Ferrari sports racer I've seen at the historic racers the last few years. Magnificent V-12!


My partner at Wilsonville Honda, John Dimmer, participated in this past weekend's Baxter Historic Races in his 1971 Tyrrell Formula 1 car - a car which helped take Jackie Stewart to the 1971 World Championship. I decided to roll out the 1988 Spice Acura/GTP/L car that I won the 1991 IMSA Championship with as well as taking a class win at the Daytona 24-Hour in the same year. Here are the two of our cars waiting to go out:



We were both at the track at 5:30am on Friday in order to do all three local morning TV shows: Alana Kujala of KOIN Channel 6, Drew Carney of KGW Channel 8, and Joe V with Fox 12.

Here's a shot of Joe V. sitting in the Tyrrell interviewing John:



The best part of the day was taking Joe V. for a couple of laps at speed. It's something that very few people have experienced -- being flat-out in a IMSA GTP car. It was quite the way to start the weekend. Here we're shoe-horning Joe into the car (it's not meant for two people - at all...):



Here's a short clip of the "out" lap, or warm-up lap, that I drove with Joe V. aboard. I think the ride got his attention!



John and I had a great time during the race weekend, but that wasn't the case for all the competitors, like the driver who slammed into the Safety Truck. Very bad. Out of respect, I didn't take a picture of the driver or his totaled Sunbeam Tiger...



To keep life in balance, as we were packing up and watching many of the historic cars being carfefully loaded into very expenses truck-and-trailer rigs (like the Dennison International transporter in the background), Neal Shelton rolled by with his Porsche 962 on an open trailer. Amazing. I've never seen such a valuable race car being towed in such an inauspicious manner.

The staff at Wilsonville Honda had a night out where we saw the Portland Beavers this past week. Since I had baseball on my mind, I came across this clip that you might find interesting:

After being sidelined by the busyness of life the last month or so, my wife and I were finally able to carve out an evening for a "date night." My wife has one of the very first Honda S2000s
 ever brought into the United States - back in the fall of 1999. It has just over 5,000 original miles. Every once in a while, we slip off the cover, unplug the battery trickle charger, and take it out on a spin. Last night was the perfect night to do so. We haven't been to the movies as of late, other than to see Pixar's new offering Up (two thumbs up), so off we went in great anticipation of seeing the latest
Star Trek


episode. I won't attempt to describe the plot or give any sort of detailed review, other than to say that since we both grew up watching the original series on TV, we were greatly entertained and amused to watch the forming of the relationships and the backgrounds of this young Star Trek crew. There were a number of times that I laughed out loud, although I was aware that at least on two occasions I was the only one laughing in the theater. So be it. Character and plot development, special effects, the assumed nuances of the cast to resemble William Shatner,


Leonard Nimoy, etc... - we loved it. After the movie, we headed over to one of our favorite local restaurants, Abellas, and enjoyed the selections we had made off their new menu. Much in opposition to my cycling training schedule, after eating way too much carpaccio, garlic bread, soup, and chicken piccata, we shared the pear/pastry/caramel dessert, accompanied by vanilla sorbet. Unbelievable! Go for a long workout to relieve any guilt, and then head over to Abellas and spend the evening enjoying getting fat!