Airplane owners and pilots’ associations look for free in the store

His extraordinary restoration of the first production Cessna 172, with its aluminum body polished into a mirror, attracted a large number of admirers. Ozment won the championship with his efforts-Jin Lindy (see "Flying Treasure", sidebar).

Two years later, on AirVenture 2019, the participants walked past the Fun and Affordable Corral in front of the Vintage Red Barn and found a 1968 Cessna 150, which seemed to have just rolled off the factory floor. Its dark green and white paint are perfect. Its interior is so real that a young pilot exclaimed: "This is what the brand new Cessna 150 looks like!" Another admirer mentioned that the restoration work was carried out by the first production race two years ago. Sna 172 brought it to Oshkosh by the same person. After repairing the historic Cessna 172, who can restore the Cessna 150 to perfection?

Ozment lives in Quincy, Illinois, which was once a prosperous transportation center along the Mississippi River. "My father has always liked aviation," he said. "When I grow up, my mother, when she goes to the store, she will bring home an airplane book. [Aircraft] always grows up around me, even if we don't have an airplane, our family doesn't have a pilot." Oz Mente flew an airplane for the first time in the Army. His training to become a flying doctor required him to fly a Bell UH-1 Huey alone. "I was the first person in the family to actually fly. Then I left [the army] and I was able to get my license at a speed of 150." Ozment inspired his father, brother and uncle to obtain pilot certificates.

"When you picked up a brand new plane from a dealer in 1968, it should look like this. This is what we want."-Dennis Ozment explained), but he has been accumulating repairs to the aircraft. Required skills. "Only me and my mechanic Rodney Halfpap. We have worked together for many years and we are good friends. There is a good friend of IA. Speaking of annual plants, I took everything apart and he walked over and looked at it. "Yes, it looks great to me", and I put them together again. He taught me a lot...Before I had 172, I had never done an annual event assisted by the owner."

The Ozment hangar at Baldwin Airport (UIN) in the Quincy region-where both planes are repaired and painted-is clearly not the surgically cleaned one. "This is our repair shop," Ozment said. "Looking around, this is a very trash store. But it's about airplanes; it's about making these the focus of things."

Dennis Ozment used a historic aircraft for the first restoration-the first production Cessna 172, N5000A, serial number 28000. It was built in 1955 as a 1956 model and first flew on October 6, 1955.

Ozment stumbled upon an ad claiming to be the first Cessna 172 on barnstormers.com. “Sure enough, it appeared on the cover of Pilot’s Magazine as the first 172,” he said. (See "Celebrating 50th Anniversary", AOPA pilot in April 2006.) He and longtime mechanic Rodney Halfpap spent seven years repairing it. "We want to restore it to the way it was when it came down from the showroom floor," Ozment said.

The inside is as close to the original as Ozment can do, while the outside shines-literally. It took Ozment 400 hours of polishing for several years to refurbish the exterior. "It takes 45 minutes per square foot to restore the surface to a mirror finish. Polished airplanes are not suitable for people with a guilty conscience," Ozment said.

"172. It needs to be right, price is price, and this is how it is. I didn’t use budget to get into any of them. It’s been a matter of years, I just said, “Well, it’s just like that, it’s either Right or wrong.'" Obviously, this is right. EAA approved the restoration with Gold Lindy. The Lindy Awards, named after Charles Lindbergh, recognize the tireless efforts to build a truly "best of the best" aircraft. Grand Champion-Gold Lindy is the highest award in each aircraft category.

Ozment sees himself as the caretaker of his ever-growing restored Cessna fleet. "After we leave, these planes will continue to exist," he said. "I think it's very important to keep them in flight. I have someone mentioned, my goodness, this needs to be in a museum. In fact, I don't believe it, I I believe that these airplanes need to be flown, maintained, and taken out for people to see." —KS

Ozment's decision to repair Cessna 150 was based on his emotional attachment. "Growing up in the process of reading "Trade Aircraft" magazine, I have been watching Cessna because it looks like something I can afford one day," he said. "Historically, many of our pilots started with the Cessna 150. That was the first thing we flew-I learned to fly on the 150. And, you will only see so many 150 sittings. On the ramp, it was not taken care of. For me, I think it would be great to bring back the aviation industry, which is very special to all of us."

Ozment found a completely original candidate aircraft that had never been operated by a flight school and had only 1,800 rpm. "When I saw the photo of Barnstormers of the 150-green and white-I said,'That's it.' I knew right away that it would be that. I saw it as 1,800 hours, and it was TBO. I I want us to make the whole airplane. Let us not just overhaul the engine, we do it in the shop. So, we did a complete repair from start to finish."

Ozment purchased the 1968 Cessna 150 sales brochure on eBay, which became an important source of information for determining factory paint schemes, seat fabric colors and stitching, and gauges. It also helped him determine which items on his Cessna 150 were not original. "Everything here is Cessna," Ozment said. "There are no duplicate parts anywhere on the aircraft. All the plastic is either the original aircraft or the old and new stocks from different sources. Just trying to find the parts... is part of the fun of repairing these aircraft. Use Your different sources can find these parts that have been in use for 50 years or more."

The control yoke is repaired and powder coated by SairCorp/Flight Boss Ltd. "The yoke is held in place by semi-tubular steel rivets. You can still buy those rivets from Cessna, but they are very expensive. If you mess up, it's a $70 rivet. Fourth time," Ozment Say. Air Mod refurbished the seats, comparing the vinyl materials they had to use with the samples in the manual. The carpet comes from Airtex Products. Ozment installed the new windows, using rivets instead of screws to fix the window fixing strips, just like Cessna did in the factory. He even found a rare hat rack for the luggage compartment, which was the factory's choice.

An example of Ozment's meticulous attention to detail is the embossed lettering on the plastic of the lower dashboard. He painted the panels with SEM plastic paint, and then filled each embossed letter with Testors white model paint with the smallest brush he could find.

After completing two major projects, Ozment may add a PhD in aviation restoration to his resume. "Every part of the plane has been touched," he said. "When you picked up a brand new airplane from a dealer in 1968, it would look like this, which is what we want."

Those interested in the origins of the Cessna 150, Cessna 172, and all other single-engine Cessna should read Cessna, Wings of the World: Single Engine Development Story. In this paperback book, the retired Cessna engineering test pilot William D. Thompson reveals that he was helping to develop many of America’s best-selling general aviation aircraft (from the Cessna 140 in 1946 to the Cessna in 1984). ) Caravan of trials, tribulations and successes experienced during the period. From an engineer's point of view, Thompson's story is a bit technical-but it's great for a Cessna nerd like me. It can be purchased on cessnawings.com, plus shipping and handling fees of $25. ——KS

After the restoration work was completed in 2019, Ozment went straight to Oshkosh-a pilgrimage he had taken with his father once a year for more than a decade. "There is no doubt whether we are going or not, that's what we did," he said.

Of course, he believes he has a chance to win Jinlindi again. "We are repairing for repairs. There has never been a goal of winning in Oshkosh. We will do it right. We will not take it for granted. There are many beautiful airplanes out there."

"The theme of [AirVenture] 2019 is'fun and affordable'," Halfpap said, "So the 150 fits this point. It is also an entry-level aircraft, and in terms of learning to fly, it is no better than the 150. They are cheap to operate; insurance is reasonable."

Ozment added: “It happens that what I like, originality, is also what they like. They are all about originality, and so do I, so it works very well.” AirVenture judges praised Cessna for his loyalty to the original version. Presenting Ozment the big champion-Gold Lindy, this is his second time in three years.

The happiest part of Ozment is the cockpit of his Cessna 150. "This is not an aircraft that is too laborious," he said. "You don't have to worry about the landing gear lifting. This is just a plane to fly. This is about flying, not about going somewhere, but about flying." Every weekend When the weather is good, he will let each of his flawless Cessna planes fly for about 45 minutes. This is his chance to escape and enjoy the sky alone.

Halfpap, who runs a paint shop on the field and repaired many aircraft, said: “It’s more interesting, really. [With other customers] We start with an aircraft that basically needs to be repaired and complete the process. Once you complete the aircraft, the customer Will fly away in a plane. Well, this is the end for me. But for Dennis, the situation is completely different, because now we not only complete the plane, we can also take it and show it, and become this Part of the process. In the end, it’s very beneficial, not just getting a check for your efforts. In this way, you can see it from start to finish, and you can drive it.”

"Yes," Ozment said, "Rodney holds the key to everything and is free to do anything.

"I like this plane," Ozment said. "It brings me happiness because this is a very interesting airplane. At the end of the day, despite all the stress and all the problems you have to deal with, you can fly this airplane and enjoy life."

Base price in 1968: US$7,295 (US$56,000 in today's US dollars)

Specifications Powerplant | Continental O-200-A, 100 hp length | Wingspan 23 ft 9 | 32 ft 8 in seat | 2 Empty weight | 980 lbs maximum gross weight | 1,600 lbs payload | 620 lbs fuel capacity, standard | 26 Gallon luggage capacity | 120 lbs

Performance climb rate, sea level | 670 fpm cruising speed/endurance, no backup, standard fuel @ 75% power, best economy 7,000 feet | 117 miles/4.1 hours (5.5 gallons/hour)

All specifications are based on the manufacturer's calculations. Unless otherwise stated, all performance data are based on standard day, standard atmosphere, sea level, and gross weight conditions.