“Actually, I believe Don Goetz, a long time past employee, installed the first 320 engine in the 235 airframe.”

We were at Santa Paula in 1988 for a 3 week 320 Builder Workshop when Don Goetz put a 320 with angle valve cylinders in his L-235.  At about 7:00 am he set the upper cowl on the new engine, eyeballed it, drew some cut lines for cylinder clearance, cut the holes with a jig saw, hot glued some foam in the holes, sanded to shape, glassed it up and went on the clock for Lancair by 8:00 am.  The finished cowl looked great. 

Don is one of those “unforgettable characters” you meet in your life.  He did most of the test flying of prototypes and customer first flights when he was there.  He had over 15 engine outs I am aware of and always made the runway whether it was a test flight or cross country.   There are many Don Goetz stories that are highly entertaining, anyone?

Steve Colwell  Legacy