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Editors Note: This article originally appeared in OnTop in July of 2002. We are reproducing it here to document the Chapter project, as we work to complete Gene's airplane.
This month instead of a bio I would like to update you on one of our member's projects. Gene Pascoe is a founding member of our Chapter and has been its treasurer continuously since before incorporation. In fact, he likes the job so well that he has volunteered to do it again this coming year. But Gene has other talents which, until Sue and I visited him, I did not know anything about. He and his wife Jean built most of their home themselves and I don't think the best contractor in the Ozarks could have done a better job. The living area is made up of an octagonal ceiling and in its center is a round open hearth fireplace. It is all very beautiful and artistic. The home, as well as Jean's landscaping, show a lot of talent. We then took a stroll to Gene's hangar. It showed the same rustic flavor that we saw in the house. The floor of the small wooden hangar is made of handmade "clay" (colored concrete) brick and adds to the authenticity of the pioneer style. When Gene's EAA biplane is finished he will be able to make an accelerated take off right out of his hangar down a very nice 1800-foot grass strip. Sue and I enjoyed our visit with Gene and Jean Pascoe very much. Here is Gene's progress report
"Thanks for asking about 'my project.' As you know, it's been a long time process. I started it in my garage when we lived in Kansas City, and since I retired and we moved to the Ozarks it has been stored in our son Rusty's barn in Oolagah, Oklahoma. Last year I started building a hangar on the edge of our hay field. It still has a lot of finishing up to be done, but I have about half the floor bricked, which will give me some working space. Last fall our son-in-law Ken trailered it up from Oolagah, so that's where it's currently housed. I also had a guy with a bulldozer grade a nice little airstrip down the middle of the hay field. Even have a windsock! When we get the hay cut (if it ever stops raining long enough) I plan to have someone come in and give the strip a good rolling. Then anyone who wants to try it out is welcome to fly on in!
"At present the engine is in Tulsa to have it completely gone through. An A&P friend of Ken's is going to take it all apart to check it out, since it hasn't been run for 20 years. After he puts it back together he is going to run it on his test stand to check it.
"I have enough working area in the hangar now to put my wings on and fabricate my "N" struts. When this is done I can order my landing and flying wires. At the present time I'm putting the butyrate aluminum dope on the wings. This is a slow process, for I want to put on seven coats. Between coats I have to wet and dry sand them using distilled water.
"My target date to have the plane ready to fly will be sometime in 2003. This project is a labor of love. The main object is to not give up, but keep plugging away and eventually one day my dream will finally come true. When one takes on a project like this, you really learn things that you had no idea you would."
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Chapter Projects 
