Valiant Effort LLC Website Is LIVE
At the risk of being something of an Eddie The Echo (yeah... we're dating ourselves there haha), the website for Valiant Effort LLC is LIVE! Our deepest thanks go out to Ms. Tia Esguerra, the wife of one of our team members, for creating it! We hope that this site will answer all questions you may have about the restoration of one Annie, our 1941 Vultee BT-13A, serial number 41-21218!
And with that said, we think it's a good place to start to tell you all where we are at right now. As of this day, Annie currently sits at the Five Rivers FBO ramp at Livermore Airport (KLVK), where she has been since this all started back in October of 2018. Much of this wait has been for the availability of a hanger, which is crucial for any restoration project. In the interim, the time has been spent obtaining ownership of the airframe, and slowly gathering parts for the repair. Here and there, these items have been obtained, some through donation and some through purchase. Perhaps the most critical of these are the two main gear struts! As we close on July, when the hangar is expected to open up, we will be installing these struts onto the aircraft and adding the wheels we already have, allowing us to move the aircraft over to her new home.
Beyond that, a firm game plan is currently up in the air. Besides allowing us to move her, getting Annie back on her feet will also allow us to REALLY get a look at what we're dealing with. Sitting so low to the ground and with no means to lift her up, inspections of the underside of the aircraft and what lies inside have not been possible. This is why getting her up on good struts is priority one! Only after that we will know what we are dealing with.
But we have few worries. We have an incredible team and tons of support from fellow BT-13 owners, as well as from various warbird aficionados all over the world (such is the case in the warbird community). If anything, this inspection serves to only solidify HOW LONG this project will take. It could take a year, it could take longer. But it's only after a full inspection that we can make an estimate.
At any rate, in conjunction with our Facebook page, we will be using this blog to keep you all up to date on Annie's status and how the restoration is progressing.
Cheers,
VELLC