Cessna C-182 Skylane N5419E was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1983.  She was issued her airworthiness certificate on 13-April-1983.  At the time of the purchase, the Civil Air Patrol was still part of the Air Force.  In 1992 after CAP had incorporated,  she was re-registered to Civil Air Patrol Inc. 

We first met sometime in 1999.  Here are some of the first photos taken of CAPF1520 in her original paint scheme on the ramp at Bowman. She appears with stablemate N96839er which was the first aircraft our squadron received.

The next photographs were taken at Grissom Air Reserve Base in Indiana in the February 2001.  Several members of the KY214 flew there to attend the "Train the Trainer" class so we could begin educating ourselves.  We flew ahead of a strong storm on the way up and we were travelling at over 200 Kts. on the way up.  On final we landed into the wind, with full throttle and were doing about 50 Kts.  (Tony and Fosberg correct me if I'm wrong).  Tony Koenig and Kevin Fosberg are flying in the first photo.  (As usual I'm in the back seat!)  Here she sits on the huge ramp area after we have been picked up by someone from the base.  I had to include a picture of the KC-153s with their tails sticking out of the hangars.

Then in summer of 2001 we took her to a SAREX down in Fulton, Kentucky (1M7).  Larry Mettling (Wing Finance Officer) loads her up.  This picture was taken at Mayfield, Kentucky (M25) since we overnighted there.  The second photo was taken from N96626 while both held short of 36. Picture three shows Stan Mullen and Larry Mettling tying her down at Fulton with the assistance of a cadet.

The next time we saw 5419E she had been damaged in an landing accident.  The squadron had been on a group outing to Owensboro and several other airports (airport rodeo) and we landed at Elizabethtown on one of the legs.  Here we saw what had befallen our trusty steed. She was sitting in a hangar awaiting her future. (sniff....) The pictures say it all.

It was decided that CAPF 1520 could be repaired.  Some of the work was done in E-town.  It was put into flyable shape so I could be taken to be repainted and refurbished inside and out in Arkansas. Sam Gray and Kevin Fosberg flew the plane down to have it redone.

When 5419E is reborn she is a beaut!  Here are some pics of the way she looked after her comestic surgery had been performed.

Finally she is back on Kentucky Soil.  Here are some photos taken off her after her rise from the ashes. These were taken at a SAREX held in Fulton County.

See there really are happy endings.  Here she sits back where she belongs at Bowman Field.

(Page revised on 21-Oct-03)