Aerocraftsman

Mark Lightsey builds and restores vintage aircraft. Sounds simple enough, right? But think about that a little deeper. Homeboy takes old airplanes found in a condition not all that different from how we find old roadsters and what not, tears them down, rebuilds them, and then FLIES them. “Flies” being the operative word here.

Follow me.

How often have you gone on a “first drive” after a build and had everything go exactly as planned? Usually, at least something small goes down. Maybe your generator takes a dump or maybe that one bolt you forgot to check comes loose or you have carb issues or… You get the idea. Now, imagine those little things happening at five thousand feet.

Hard to comprehend, isn’t it? From a technical and procedural standpoint, the restoration of vintage (and in come cases vintage experimental) aircraft is in a different league than what we do with hot rods. There’s just more on the table and more opportunity for that table to get flipped end over end. It’s a man’s game.

And that’s precisely why I’ve been so interested in Mark’s hot rod project.

The past month or so, the H.A.M.B. has featured more build threads than we probably ever have. And if not the most, certainly the highest quality. One of my favorites is Mark’s thread covering his roadster as it nears it’s first drive in finished form. I mean, this is a guy that restores friggin’ airplanes for a living… and you can watch him, in close to real time, build an A-roadster on deuce rails.

If you haven’t had the time to check this out, you need to do it. Check it out.

Editor’s Note: If you want to see more of Mark’s shenanigans in the air, go here.

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