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rescuing the silver stallion

By: Neil Amonson

By KAVU

February 19^th, 2019

follow along to learn how the silver stallion was brought back to life

This is a story that I’ve been sitting on for almost a year. Some of the best adventures take time to evolve and can’t be completed in just a day or a week. I’m excited to share a glimpse of the project I’ve been quietly working on for the past 10 months.

Last April, Joe ( a mechanic friend) and I took a road trip to Yerington, NV to look at an old airplane. I had been searching for a plane to buy for the past year and had made more then a few offers but none had worked out. This plane in particular had been sitting in the owners barn for two years after it was disassembled and driven down from Alaska where it was a working bush plane. The owner intended to build an airstrip on his property in Nevada and get back into flying, but after two years of not making progress on the runway he changed his mind and decided to put the plane up for sale.

Now before we go any further, if the idea of buying an airplane gets you excited but you think you can’t afford it then, I have some news for you. The cost of a certified two passenger airplane is close to that of a used car, and for the average cost of a new car, you can get a four passenger airplane.

For me, it’s all a matter of priorities.

rescuing the silver stallion

After nine hours on the road and a night in a motel, we showed up bright and early at the farm to check out the beast, a 1953 Cessna 170B. It took a little imagination to see her potential..... as she wasn’t in flying shape. Her wings and tail were still off and she had a healthy coat of dust sitting on her from her long slumber in the barn.

rescuing the silver stallion

The airframe was in great shape for being 65 years old, but what made her really special was her engine. Originally she ran on a 145 horsepower Continental, but had since been upgraded to a 180hp Lycoming O-360.

This modification is highly sought after as it takes an already solid vintage airplane and gives it an amazing boost in performance. After a thorough pre-purchase inspection, I got the thumbs up from my friend Joe the mechanic and we sealed the deal.

We were taking the Silver Stallion back back to Utah with us!

rescuing the silver stallion

Normally when you buy an airplane, you get to fly it home. But, in this case we loaded her on a rented 30’ flat bed trailer. I hadn’t towed a trailer in a while so....

hauling an airplane was extra exciting!

rescuing the silver stallion

About two hours and twenty tie-down straps later, she was ready for her journey back to Salt Lake City and greener pastures. If you look closely you can see bits of foam and pool noodles we used between the wings and straps to try and protect the sheet metal from getting damaged.

When installed on the plane, aircraft wings are very strong and do their job well, when removed from the plane they are quite fragile and easy to damage.

rescuing the silver stallion

rescuing the silver stallion

We made the drive home without stopping except for gas, food, and restroom breaks.

Heidi the German Shepard was about 4 months old at the time and it was fun to have her tag along;-)

rescuing the silver stallion

Early in the dark hours of the morning we arrived back in Utah.

Being too tired to drive home I slept on the couch in the pilots lounge. When the sun came up we were greeted by high winds that made it dangerous to un-load the trailer. We probably could have gotten the fuselage off, but the wings would have been a whole lot of trouble.

Ever tried to hold onto an umbrella in the wind?

Now imagine doing that with large, light-weight airplane wings whose sole purpose of creation is to generate lift! Needless to say, we waited until the next day to un-load the bits and pieces from the trailer which, fortunately went without incident.

rescuing the silver stallion

rescuing the silver stallion

Little by little, I assisted Joe in getting the airplane back in flying shape.

It was an exciting day when the wings were put back on, although without the tail she still looked a little funny. The expression on Heidi’s face seems to say she was not impressed with the frequent trips to the airport instead of the dog park.

rescuing the silver stallion

You might have noticed in some of the photos that there is a cinder block where the tail should be.

Believe it or not this cinder block serves an important purpose! Its job is to help the plane not tip over on it’s nose when the weight of the tail isn’t there to hold the back end down. Most of the weight is on the front of the plane where the engine is, so without that humble cinder block the airplane could nose over while we worked on it.

rescuing the silver stallion

rescuing the silver stallion

rescuing the silver stallion

This story wouldn’t be complete without sharing a little more about Joe, also know as “The Airplane Whisperer”.

Anyone thinking about buying an airplane should know that the best thing they can do is to seek the advice of a trusted and experienced airplane mechanic. Joe’s adventurous spirit allowed him say “Yes” to driving with me to the middle of no-where in Nevada to look at this plane, as well as patiently putting it back together and letting me be part of that process.

Working on old planes is a labor of love and a mechanic like Joe is worth their weight in gold.

rescuing the silver stallion

One of my favorite things about small airports is that the pilot community is tight knit and everyone generally knows everyone and helps out when needed.

Here you can see Joe replacing the wind sock using the non-standard “loader bucket” method. I’m glad the parking break stayed in place.

rescuing the silver stallion

Each day we worked on the plane I fed Heidi her lunch inside of it. I wanted her to associate the airplane with good things, and being food motivated this was one of the easiest ways to warm her up to eventually flying.

clear!

The first day we fired up the engine was a great one.

The airplane had sat without running for two years so, she was long over-due to have some fuel pumping through her veins.

The starter had gone bad so we ended up having to hand prop her.

rescuing the silver stallion

Hand propping is an old school way of starting an airplane that doesn’t have an electrical system. It’s actually really neat though, not very common these days as modern planes have a battery and starter.

Although in a pinch hand propping is a valuable skill.

rescuing the silver stallion

test flight day!

After two months of turning wrenches, ordering parts, and re-connecting wires and fuel lines she was ready to fly.

Since I didn’t have my tail-wheel endorsement yet, I had to rely on the friendly pilot network of the airport to help get her in the air. Most modern airplanes have “tricycle gear” where the small wheel is under the nose. My plane is called a “conventional gear” also knows as a tail-dragger, where the small wheel is under the tail. The FAA requires an additional endorsement to fly a tail-dragger that I didn’t have yet so another pilot took her up after re-assembly. It was deeply satisfying to watch her fly and to appreciate all the hard work we had put in while getting her back together.

rescuing the silver stallion

rescuing the silver stallion

what a kavu day!

Equipped with large tires, fowler flaps, big brakes, the 180hp engine, and a STOL (Short take-off and landing) kit, she leaped into the air and landed with ease.

Now for me, the adventure continued over the next few months while I worked on getting my tail-wheel endorsement. Getting tail-wheel instruction is becoming harder and harder as less flight instructors are current and qualified to teach it. Due to my schedule and the schedule of my instructor it ended up taking longer then anticipated to get signed off.

However, the wait was well worth it.

rescuing the silver stallion

Fast forwarding to early 2019 and the Silver Stallion has been the source of so much joy and excitement. Heidi has become a comfortable and confident flying pup and Maureen is an excellent co-pilot. We now go on regular flights as family.

Here you can see our celebration voyage after getting engaged on Christmas day!! When I’m not flying with Mo and Heidi, I take tourists for scenic flights around the Great Salt Lake. It’s a great way to share flying with the public and I’m expanding my pilot resume.

It wouldn’t be a true story if I said this process wasn't without it’s hardships. Bringing the Silver Stallion back to life wasn’t all fun and games. Many times I was filled with doubt, frustration, and stress about the finances, logistics, and general unknown of leaping into aircraft ownership.

However, at the end of the day I’m glad that I did it. Many times during the process of looking for a plane I had to channel my inner “T Bradt”. Tyler is another member of TEAM KAVU who sailed around the world in the Wizards Eye, a 45’ long steel hull sailboat. His adventure was filled with challenges that covered the full spectrum of surprises and hurdles, but in return he went on the adventure of a life-time and was able to include many friends and family members in the process.

That kind of life experience is price-less and I hope to do something similar with aviation. You might not be interested in sailing around the world or flying an airplane, but it’s safe to say that many of us have a need for daily adventure and finding ways to connect with our friends, nature, and the magic of being alive. I encourage all of you to look deep inside of your hopes and dreams and come up with a plan to bring those things to life.

The universe will thank you for it.

rescuing the silver stallion

Footnotes

Neil Amonson is a pioneer of living with a KAVU spirit! We hope you are lucky enough to see his smile somewhere around the world!

FootNotes

Neil Amonson is a pioneer of living with a KAVU spirit! We hope you are lucky enough to see his smile somewhere around the world!

© 2026 KAVU

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