AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2021 - 58

" When you picked up your airplane
brand new from the dealer in 1968 this is
what it would have looked like and this is
what we were going for. " -Dennis Ozment
An example of Ozment's painstaking attention to detail involved the lettering embossed into the plastic of the lower instrument panel. He painted
the panel with SEM plastic paint and then used the tiniest brush he could find
to fill in each embossed letter with Testors white model paint.
After two big projects, Ozment could probably add a doctorate in aviation
restoration to his résumé. " Every piece on the airplane was touched, " he said.
" When you picked up your airplane brand new from the dealer in 1968 this is
what it would have looked like and this is what we were going for. "
THE RESULT

After the restoration was complete in 2019, Ozment made a beeline for Oshkosh-
an annual pilgrimage he's made with his dad for more than a decade. " There no
question about whether we're going or not, it's just what we do, " he said.
Surely, he believed he might have a chance of winning another Gold Lindy.
" We were doing a restoration to do the restoration. There was never a goal of
winning at Oshkosh. We were going to do it right. We weren't going to take it
for granted. There's lots of nice airplanes that show up there. "
" The theme for [AirVenture] 2019 was 'fun and affordable', " said Halfpap,
" so the 150 fit right into that. It's an introductory aircraft, too, as far as learning to fly it doesn't get any better than a 150. They're affordable; they're cheap
to operate; insurance is reasonable. "
Ozment added, " It just so happens that the thing that I like, which is originality, is the thing that they like up there, too. They're all about originality
and I am too, so it works out pretty good. " The judges at AirVenture appreciated the Cessna's faithfulness to the original enough to present Ozment a
Grand Champion-Gold Lindy, his second in three years.
CESSNA 150 ZEN

Ozment's happy place is in the cockpit of his Cessna 150. " It's not an overly
taxing airplane, " he said, " you're not worried about landing gear coming up
and down. It's just an airplane to go fly. And it's about flying, it's not about
going somewhere, it's about flying. " He flies each of his immaculate Cessnas
for about 45 minutes every weekend the weather cooperates. It's his opportunity to get away and enjoy time in the sky alone.
Halfpap, who ran a paint shop on the field and restored many aircraft, said,
" This is a lot more fun, it really is. [With other customers] we start on an aircraft that basically needs restoration, go through the entire process, and once
you're done with the airplane the customer would take the airplane and fly
away. Well, that's the end of it for me. But with Dennis it's totally different
because now we've not only completed the aircraft, we get to take it and show
it and be part of that process, as well. In the end it's been very rewarding as
opposed to just getting a check cut to you for your efforts. This way you see
it all the way through to the end, and you also get to fly it. "
" That's right, " said Ozment, " Rodney has the keys to everything and has
free reign to do whatever.
" I love this airplane, " said Ozment. " It brings joy to me because it's a nice
fun airplane that at the end of the day, despite all of the stresses you've had,
all the problems you've had to deal with, you can come fly this airplane and
just enjoy life. "
AOPA
EMAIL kollin.stagnito@aopa.org
58 | AOPA PILOT June 2021

SPEC SHEET

1968 Cessna 150 H
BASE PRICE, 1968: $7,295
($56,000 IN TODAY'S DOLLARS)
SPECIFICATIONS

Rate of climb, sea level | 670 fpm
Cruise speed/endurance w/no reserve, std fuel
@ 75% power, best economy

7,000 ft | 117 mph/4.1 hr (5.5 gph)

All specifications are based on manufacturer's
calculations. All performance figures are
based on standard day, standard atmosphere,
sea level, gross weight conditions unless otherwise noted.

A CESSNA 150 JOYRIDE along the Mississippi River (top).

The Cessna logo did not escape Ozment's keen
attention to detail (far right). The green stripe is
painted, but the black stripe is vinyl. If the airplane
were red, the stripe would be painted red. An
astonishingly clean nosewheel strut (right). Note
the lacing tape on the steering rod boots.

AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2021

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