Jeff Parker and Tom Swartzlander’s RV-8 | Norfolk, VA RV-8 #82866
Congrats to Jeff on the first flight of the RV-8 he finished in tribute to the original builder. He writes to tell us about it:
I took over this build from Tom Swartzlander (RIP) in June 2019. I had hoped to finish it before cancer took him but I lost. This is his plane, I just finished it for him. I’m certain he was riding along on that first flight. It was wonderful! We’re going to call it “Tom’s Dream” and paint it in the 357th fighter group colors. He always wanted a P51. His wife will be the first passenger once I finish the test flights and have 40 hours.