About me
Was "My RW-11 Ragabond"
This is about what my Ragabond should look like if I ever finish it!
Okay, I admit it, this page hasn't turned out the way I expected. Heck, the whole site has evolved since I started it late last century as a 'vanity page', to the general RagWing resource it is now. When I started researching the Ragabond I pretty quickly figured out that there wasn't much RagWing information on the net, and none on the RW-11 so I started the web-page as a record of building my plane and a source of Ragabond info. I had links to other builders and RagWing friendly resources. When I discovered WebRings, I started the RagWing WebRing to try and bring the sites that were out there together. Since a lot of the questions on Carlos' discussion group seemed to be along the lines of "Is any one building a RW-7 in NW Missouri?" I started adding the directories. And a few pictures got added along the way!
The Ragabond project started out in April of 1999 when I ordered the plans for the RW-11. I was living in an apartment at the time so once I finally got my package from Roger I made a rib-jig and would build ribs evenings after work. I would set up the jig on top of the ironing board and used spruce sticks from the local hobby shop.
My lease was up in October so I started looking for a house. The real estate lady was a little taken aback by my lack of interest in school districts, landscaping, etc. All I needed was a roof, a fenced yard for the dogs, and a two car garage (for the plane of course!) Not only did I find one that met all of the requirements, it's only a few minutes from HQZ.
Once I got settled into the house I started regular visits to all of the area lumber yards to try and find suitable wood to use. I finally found some nice Douglas Fir which I milled to size and built the tail-feathers. I was not happy with the results, it wasn't fun to work with, and the parts came out too heavy.
As a result of the number of emails for help I was getting from the webpage, and the trouble with getting affordable aircraft grade wood, I started Sirius Aviation to help all of the builders that were having similar problems. The business started out as an affordable source of milled to spec. spruce for RagWing builders and has evolved also. We now are supporting over 50 designs, and have a full line of airplane building materials.
The plane? Well originally it got sidetracked while I moved, then while I finished my pilot's license, and again when the business was started. Once I got Sirius going I spent some time trying to merge Roger's Midwing with a VP-1 and get an Eindecker out of it. That project is still on the building table and may get built yet. As I write this it is a little cold for building, so I'm working on plans for restarting the New Stearman project, and (obviously) updating the web-site.
The future? I won't even venture a guess. When I first started researching Roger's planes I was happily married, living in Florida, and writing software for an electronic test equipment manufacturer. Now I'm even happilier (I know, that's not a real word) divorced, living in Texas, and self-employed. The best part of the last few years has been all of the people I "met" through the internet, and the many friends I've made as a result. So thank you all for visiting the site, and keep building!
Ted Fontelieu
For all your Ragwing needs
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© 2002 Last update: 19 July 2002
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