RESTORING DAVE
PATRICK’S AIRPLANE
Photos by Dave Patrick and Nick Ziegler | a100dork3@yahoo.com
NICK ZIEGLER, from Moline, Illinois, shared a story about restoring a legend’s model airplane.
“Three years ago, I was offered an airplane by a friend. It was a Dave Patrick Finesse Pattern airplane, but I thought it was just one made by Carl Goldberg Models. My friend picked it up and brought it back to Illinois.
“This was a beautiful, well-preserved Finesse, but something seemed off. It was bigger than the others. This one was 78 x 78 inches. The Goldberg Finesses were 74 x 74 inches. I decided to find Dave.
“Dave was a designer and senior vice president for Carl Goldberg Models back in the day. He was also a Top Gun champion and a Tournament of Champions pilot. I posted my find on one of the many Facebook groups that I run called ‘Pattern Planes of all Eras.’
“I got a post that said, ‘Hey, that looks like my old plane.’ I sent him a message and lo and behold, it was indeed his one-of-a-kind 2-meter competition Pattern airplane that flew worldwide. He was surprised that it is still around. Not many airplanes survive 30 years, especially ones that have been toted around the world then left in a barn. Yes, this is a true barn find.
“It still had the original YS 1.4O engine with the Hatori pipe and Johnson header setup. It didn’t look promising. The mice had eaten the leading edges. The old Futaba gear and the SR battery were still intact. The wing was honeycombed with contest sheeting and Coverite on it and the tail. The fuselage is fiberglass with carbon-fiber inlays all throughout. Structurally it was solid, and the paint and covering had held up amazingly well.
“Approximately a year later, I decided to clean it up. I sent the original YS engine to Richard Verano at YS Engines for an overhaul, and hand-polished the pipe to look like new. A friend, Don Vicroy, took the wing halves home, fixed the leading edges, and re-covered the white on the wing.
“I started restoring the Klett tail wheel assembly and worked my way forward, keeping Dave involved the whole time. I asked questions to make sure that I left the airplane as authentic as possible on the outside. It still has the original retracts, struts, wheels, and even the Dave Brown aluminum spinner. Dave told me that he had painted the spinner red, so I didn’t do a touchup or repaint it. The fuselage paint is original and held up well after being wiped clean.
“Dave flew Futaba then and the original decals were missing, so I sourced them through social media. I replaced the servos with a newer brand of the same specifications. I replaced the tank and fuel lines, installed the rebuilt engine, included a new APC propeller like the one Dave had on it, and it was back to flying condition. We talked almost every night. It was like he was right beside me restoring his old airplane.
“I sent the canopy to Dave for him to sign it and note where it traveled around the world. My brother, Jeff, clear-coated it to preserve it.
“It’s been an honor to redo and preserve a competition Pattern airplane flown around the world by a well-known pilot who found me on social media. We have since become good friends. I have learned so much about Dave’s past, and I’m glad he is still flying. He plans to compete in Pattern events with a new Finesse that Jeff and I are building for him.
“Now my garage is full of Dave Patrick history that people would love to own, from Finesse prototype plans and ones that were never made or released, to non-released Carl Goldberg prototype plans, and even posters from the Poland and Japan F3A World Championships where the Finesse was flown.”
