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The Online Construction Record of Russ Milham's Taylor Coot-A Amphibian

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A deluge of treasure from Fran in Cathlamet, WA

On a fine summer day not too long ago, Darryl Holman and I jumped in my Volvo wagon and dragged the decrepit, but satisfactorily large trailer (AKA the Coot Scooter) to Cathlamet, Washington.

Or mission: We received word that there was an old Coot project in a barn that hadn't seen the light of day in decades.  It owner wanted it gone and we are on the case!

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What we found when we got to Cathlamet was a fresh pot of coffee, a plate of donuts, and a barn filled with not just a lovely wooden short-hull on its gear, but also most everything needed to fabricate a Coot minus the wings.  We also met a delightful gentleman named Fran who was ready to talk Coots and then ready to see us haul the whole thing away!

In addition to a treasure trove of completed parts and assemblies, we also discovered several molds some of which were clearly Henley-Rasor tooling for fabricating windshields, right and left canopies, and engine cowlings.  There were also molds for making left and right wingtips.

Here is picture of the whole kit and caboodle as we prepared to hit the road back to Seattle.  Just think how excited our wives will be to see all this great stuff being unladed into their respective garages!

This is the hull as of September 2006; nestled into my humble Cootery (a former one-car garage).

Note that I have removed the main landing gear crossover tube and assist springs so that I can get to work on the retraction system.

Temporary aluminum "bullets" are serving as main gear down-locks and a small vice grip clamp is holding the nosegear link in the down over-center position

Current hull weight as shown: 313 pounds

Looking forward from station 168 (which, on this "short" hull is actually 168 inches aft of datum).  The aft termination aileron torque tube assembly and the aileron differential arm (P/N 425-1) are clearly visible just aft of station 127.

Looking forward from station 96.  The aileron/elevator control assemblies (Dwg 409) and rudder pedal assemblies (Dwg 454) can be seen temporarily installed for fitting.

This is an intentionally tight shot of the most organized area of all my parts racks.  I have a lot of inventorying and organizing yet to do! 

Looking at this picture reminds me that I still need to beg, borrow, steal, or fabricate a lightening hole flange die for my tail parts.