AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2016 - 63

is an accomplished engine builder and for
years was the crew chief for Gary Davis
and his Scarlet Screamer, which raced in
International Formula One at Reno. He even
designed a prop for the Screamer that helped
it win second place in 2008. When he and
Steve Hill of Twisted Composites built the
racing prop, they used everything Stephen
could learn of propeller design and all the
high-tech gadgets now in existence, including lasers and CAD.
And yet, Stephen can't give his Breezy
partner Dave enough credit. "The man is a
mechanical genius," he says. If a project is
too complicated or involved for Stephen, he
takes it to Dave.
The third partner, Tim, owns a directional drilling service that installs everything
from electric cables under roads to 48-inch
pipelines under the Mississippi. Both men
are "scary smart," Stephen says. They are
also aviation nuts.
A tour of the various hangars revealed
a Cessna 182, a Cessna 152, a Pitts Model
12 with a Vedeneyev M14P supercharged
360-horsepower radial engine, and a Piper
Cub. "Our goal," Stephen confided, "is to fly
them all, every day."
Meanwhile, he is busy rebuilding a round
Continental engine for a Stearman and is
reconstructing four Champs he owns with
various partners.
After lunch the fog burned off and the
ceiling was up to about 2,500 feet, so they
rolled out the Breezy and strapped me in.
They wanted my verdict. Had all the tinkering and improving made a difference?
Well, hell, yes! That was obvious taxiing
out to the runway when the airplane rolled
along straight. Adding power, the airplane
darted ahead and was ready to fly when I
pulled the stick back at 60 mph. That new
prop drove it up into the sky. I eyed the tach.
Holy bananas! 2,800 rpm. With the old prop,
the only time I saw that number was in a dive.
Soon I was cruising along at 70 mph,
maneuvering gently, marveling at the way

she flies. The phrase "like a real airplane"
occurred to me. In the past, her tail was sort
of loosey-goosey (an esoteric test-pilot term),
but no more. She behaves herself.
After three landings to get current and
one to grow on, I taxied in and the three
partners strapped my wife, Deb, into the rear
seat. Away we went over the Texas countryside, making gentle turns and feeling the
chilly winter wind tear at our clothes-that
Breezy feeling. The passenger has to look
around the back of the pilot's head, but the
pilot looks at nothing but the land below, the
sky above, birds circling, clouds swirling.
Flying won't get any better than this unless-
and until-you qualify for angel's wings.
No doubt Stephen, Dave, and Tim put
some real money into the Breezy, plus a lot
of Stephen and Dave's time. I originally paid
$10,000 for N7BK in 1991 and put another
$40,000 into it giving the airplane and the
engine a complete frame-up overhaul. I didn't
have the courage to ask how much the partners have just invested. If you have to ask....
Did they get their money's worth? Yes
and no. The airplane certainly flies better,
but was the increase in performance worth
the cost in time and money? Probably not in
accountant's terms. In enthusiasts' terms, a
resounding yes. Three men bound together
by friendship and aviation spent many
happy hours at the hangar discussing every
change, trying it out, and in the end, giving
everyone they knew who was willing to go a
ride through the sky on their new toy.
You can't take it with you when you go.
Better enjoy it now, invest in aviation, and
revel in the friendships that come with it.
And if someday you drop into Coulter
Field in Bryan, Texas, and see a Breezy
buzzing around, ask for a ride. Tell them
Stephen Coonts sent you. Afterward,
like Deb, you'll get to push the ride
counter.
AOPA
Novelist STEPHEN COONTS owns a Cirrus
SR22. His latest novel is Saucer: Savage Planet.

THE BREEZY'S SIMPLE DESIGN

lets pilot and passenger feel
the wind in their faces. In front,
the pilot has little to separate
him from the world below. The
Breezy formerly owned by the
author was built in 1972.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2016
