Shultzie,
I am lucky enough to know Addison Pemberton through my work with the Antique Airplane Association - I am President of their museum. FYI - the Antique Airplane Association is like the AMA for old airplane restorers - http://www.antiqueairfield.com/
Addison Pemberton and his sons, like most of the people I meet around antique airplanes, are all model airplane fans. Like us, if it has wings and flies, they love it! If you're ever wondering around Oshkosh or any other gathering of old airplanes, don't hesitate to mention to the people that you are a model builder/flyer. It may just start a new friendship.
Addison "Jack Knight" Pemberton had a lifelong dream of getting this Boeing 40 flying again. It's the only one left in the world! The airplane flew again for the first time last weekend. This link will take you to some video of the first test flight http://www.hangarbuddy.com/addisonpemberton.aspx
Here are Addison's "Factoids for the Boeing 40 project"
1) Project required my wife Wendy to prepare 416 hanger meals with an average of 9 place settings. This required 7400 paper plates, 104 gallons of tomato sauce and 1000 bread rolls.
2) 221 gallons of dope/reducer and 120 yards of 102 ceconite fabric. 12 gallons of polyurethane paint for the sheet metal.
3) The wings have 33,000 individual parts in them.
4) The airplane weights 4080 lbs empty and has a gross weight of 6075 lbs. It's 34 ft long and 13 feet tall with a wing span of 44 1/2 feet. Wingloading 10 lbs per sq ft and power loading 10 Pounds per HP (same as our Super Cub). Should cruise at 115 mph at 28 GAH and 32 GPH at 120 mph. It carries 120 gallons of fuel in three tanks.
5) We used 350 2" brushes and 6 gallons of West Systems epoxy. 181 rolls of paper towels.
6) There were a total of 62 volunteers who worked on the project to some degree and 21 volunteers who did a significant amount of work and 9 that worked continously over many years.
Thank you all for the interest in this dream and I will enjoy flying the airplane and sharing it will all of you. Look for the Boeing 40 to come to an airport near you!!!! We will take the airplane to Oshkosh, Blakesburg, Broadhead and then to New York and then to San Francisco on the original transcontinental airmail route this summer.
A grateful and humble Addison Pemberton family and friends, Spokane, Washington.
Mike Gretz
PS If you don't know who Addison's hero Jack Knight was, go here http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/airmail/pilot/pilot_rest/pilot_rest_knight.html