An Introduction - SN:0318
 

Hello All,
Thanks to Herb, i joined the forum today and I thought i'd introduce myself. So... Hi? I'm Chris from the United Kingdom. I'm a big fan of the 337 Skymaster and a couple of months ago a (large number) of stars aligned and I bought one.

The last two aircraft i've purchased (A YAK52 and the 337) were both born out of a late night internet surfing extravaganza followed by a spurious 'is this still for sale?' email being sent.

To cut a long story short, there was a P337 for one of your typical aircraft for sale sites. It was cheap (too cheap) and hadn't been flown in over 10 years. It was currently sitting at a junkyard in the Netherlands. I got a copy of the logs and kicked off my usual pre-buy detective work.

It turned out (my to my surprise) that what had been advertised as a 1978 P337, was actually a genuine Jack Riley P337 Skyrocket. Jumped into the 182, flew to Middenzeeland in the Netherlands, viewed and arranged a deal. A month or so later we drove back out with all of our gear to disassemble her for transport.

Unfortunately, the certificate of airworthiness has been lost :-( However all the logbooks are present and we'll be bringing her back to airworthiness and getting her inspected for a re-issue so we can register her. A long and laborious process, but it's worth it!

Hopefully i'll keep you in the loop along the way but in the meantime:

Here's a link to a Google album with pictures so far...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5SD7VUosW3yTXMxg6

- Do any of you know of the aircraft ?

Best

Chris

Welcome to the group! I can't wait to follow along with the rehab process of your Riley Rocket! I like the black paint scheme!

Another airframe saved!
 

Awesome Chris!!!

It will be a fun rehab - I am just finishing a big one on mine (1966) and it has been a lot of fun (and a lot of money!). Where in Europe are you based?
Jeff

Hey JAG
We fly out of EGTN (Enstone Airfield) However the airframe is currently undergoing restoration in my workshop which is about 10 mins drive away. 1963! Wow! Where abouts in Europe are you?

Texas Based
 

Hi Chris - I am based in Texas; I live in Houston and my hangar is just west of town at a small private aerodrome; Fair Weather Field.

I was out visiting a few airports around London area in September, and always happy to see general aviation still strong. Was at Biggen Hill and watched a Spitfire taking people for rides...very nostalgic!

Jeff

Jag,
Fantastic - Biggin is a good airfield for that sort of stuff. If you ever come across you should give me a shout. Lots more to see in the UK GA Sphere :-)

0318 is going to be the THIRD 337 on a UK register. So it's a pretty special thing to see here.

Awesome Chris! I saw the airplane on the internet sometime in the last couple of weeks. I thought it had a lot of potential, and I'm glad you will be documenting the restoration.

That's a wicked paint job; so glad you're saving her from the recycler.

Video of your airplane on Youtube. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jmCL1ouptM

Hey Kilr4D,
Yep - terrible music and taken quite a while ago but that's the aircraft. We've got her back in the workshop now, got the rear engine started and cleared the way internally for the various inspections.

We've taken a brief pause because I'm doing some renovations to one of our workshops that I intend to cycle the major parts of the 337 through during the restoration. That should (hopefully) be finished by early next week and we can get her moved across and get cracking.

I'm not entirely sold on the paint job. I may opt for something a bit more modern but let's see where we get to.

Cheers

Chris

VERY NIVE man!!!!