Oh boy, it’s beginning to sound like the numbers are finally beginning to come up for lowly little Wild Hare Edge-540T. I wish I could help with spare parts, but I sold the one spare cowl I had years ago.

The good news; however, is that this plane is one of the easiest planes to repair than I’ve run during the past umpteen years. For example, my little Edge hit a drainage culvert during an engine-out approach and, like several others, it took out the gear and broke off the nose.

Being careful to pick up all the pieces (no matter how small), I pulled the covering from the wing tube forward and went to work splicing and dicing. A few doublers here and there; a new gear platform; a small repair to the bottom of the cowl and some new covering and it was back in the air.

Yes, it’s a little heavier but still flies great. In fact, it’s my go-to airplane whenever the wind here in Kansas is gusting over 20 and is blowing 90 degrees to the runway. I’ve since put another hundred or so flights on this plane.

Bottom line: treat your friend to a nice lunch or ballgame and encourage him to just set that damaged plane aside. Don’t pitch it yet, but instead queue it up for repair when the weather is too nasty to play. Heck, he may even let you join in the fun of putting it back together again! Just my two cents worth.