Hi all. I just got a 46 or 47 ford half ton truck. it's in pretty darn good shape and I think it's definitely worth saving. not too sure what I'm gonna do to it yet, as this is my first build. I'll probably lurk and learn for quite a while. I do have some mechanical ability, I'm a helicopter mechanic, but, I've never built a truck before, so it should be interesting. one of the problems I'm forseeing is trying to find reasonably priced parts. I live in Alaska, and it can be challenging to find quality parts, let alone at a decent price. but, I'm in it for the long haul and I'm not afraid of a little backyard engineering if it comes to it. this thing told me to introduce myself, so there it is. thanks for having me. C. aka "helimx"
Welcome from a small FBO in Nebraska. I read your profile. A&P, huh? Lots of action up there in Alaska if you work on tundra type aircraft. Enjoy the H.A.M.B.. Learn, teach, share.
where in Nebraska are you from flathead? I grew up in NW Kansas, and have a ton of family in Nebraska. Not to mention I'm about as hardcore of a husker fan as you could ever ask for. and ya, I'm an A&P. I work on helicopters that primarily support the mining industry. We do some BLM work and a few other things, but our bread and butter is the mineral exploration. and I've been lurking around the H.A.M.B. for quite some time, just decided to join recently. Got sick of not being able to see a lot of ppls "thumbnail" pics. thanks for having me, I will be doing a lot of learning, we'll see about the teachin. haha
I just read your profile flathead. I grew up in Colby Ks, and have family in Hoxie still. kinda in your neck of the woods I suppose. I have family in curtis, mayfield, trenton, and well, all over nebraska I guess. anyways,hello from a midwest kid living in the great white north.
Welcome from Ga,always wanted to see Alaska on one of those spring cruise,s.May be will some day .Alot of smart guys here,good luck on your truck.........YG
I'm originally from a little town west of Garden City, Ks. but the helicopter business brought me to a warmer climate here in south Texas. I used to follow the seismograph trail in most of the western states back in the 80s but when that slowed down I went to working on the cowboy copters & coyote/hog killer copters plus a few spray machines for the boll weavils. I figure most of your parts are going to have to come from the lower 48 like Dennis Carpenter or Mac's or the like. Joblot and C&G for some of older stuff that is harder to find. It'll just cost you more for the shipping than the average rodder. If you go with more modern running gear, you can probably get more stuff locally but that's up to what you want to end up with. I grew up with those old trucks on the farm as I'm sure a few others on here did so just do searches or post questions for what you need to know.
hey there rotorwrench. I actually lived in New Braunfels for a while. Just outside of S.A. What little town are you from? I know Ks pretty well. and thanks for the info on parts. Like I said, I'm new to this, and I'm sure that will be valuable info for me. What kind of helis are you working on these days? I know they use alot of robis on jobs like the ones you mentioned. That's what I worked on for about 5 years. Great little machines... well.. for what they are at least. I just got into turbine machines a few years ago. I'm maintaining 500's, B2 & B3 Astars, and a 205. I dig it, but I do miss the simplicity and uniformity of those Robinsons some times. anyways, thanks again.
Sorry I was late getting back to you but Friday is a get out of Dodge kind of day. I'm from Lakin just about straight south of Colby. A few friends went to school up in that area so I'm relatively familiar with the Goodland- Colby area. Did you work for Silver State in New Braunfels? Too bad about that situation. A lot of people got burned. I work for an MD Helicopter service center for the 500s & 600s. We recently lost our Schweizer service center for the 300s (269s) due to not spending enough money with them but we still maintain a few. Most of our cowboys went to the Robbys and even though we have them on the repair station, we don't do many of them anymore. We also have Bell 206 & 47 on there but actually work on more 47s than 206s. The 2 USDA 500s are where most of our revenue comes from right now. The only big stuff I've worked on were the Hueys on a 6-year stint in the National Guard. I'm familiar with the AS 350 but have more experience on the Lama SA315B.
Lakin huh. nice. I'm trying to remember who it is that i know from there. (that's gonna drive me nutz) lol and ya, I was with SSH. I was one of the lucky ones though. I got out 8 months b4 they folded. I had NO hard feelings towards them when I left. That's where I did my apprenticeship and eventually made it to shop lead of the Tulsa Ok location. I just got a better job offer, and they couldn't match the pay. so I left. but ya, I had a bunch of friends get burned on that whole deal. some of em are still fighting in the courts. ya, definitely don't miss working on the schweizers. never did a whole lot on em, but the little experience I DID have makes me know that I don't need any more. lol well, nice to meet ya man. take care.
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