J.A.WILLOUGHBY
WELCOME TO GRETCHEN'S GARAGE!
Gretchen's Garage is a video series chronicling the
construction of a 5/8 scale experimental aircraft, the WWII German dive bomber known as the StuKa.
The series covers everything from inception to First Flight (which is yet to come) and details the actual build
via videos, slides and on camera hosting by Jeff Willoughby.
This is NOT a step-by-step tutorial on how to build an airplane. It is a journal about this airplane's history of construction and methods and materials used.
Many people have contributed to the advancement of the construction through donations of materials and funds. If you would like to contribute any surplus equipment, instruments, aircraft building material or tools, click here. What cannot be used will be donated to my local EAA Chapter.
FIRST EPISODE
"The Backstory," highlights Jeff's inspiration for wanting to build "Gretchen," his desire and predisposition for the love of flight, and a brief history of the original aircraft used throughout WWII. Running time: 12:27
OUTTAKES FROM EPISODE ONE
Building an airplane is serious business but we have fun making the videos. All the mistakes are right here, edited for your enjoyment. Running time: 3:14
SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATIONS OF EPISODE POSTINGS
GRETCHEN'S GARAGE OFFICIAL TRAILER
Video clips and still frames edited into a one minute story of Gretchen's journey so far. The soundtrack is Wagner's "Prelude to Act III" of LOHENGRIN as is played entirely on acoustic guitar and bass by Jeff Willoughby.
SECOND EPISODE - POSTED APRIL 23, 2017
"Rock and roll, The First StuKa Replica, and Gretchen's Arrival," highlights Jeff's transition from the world of rock music into the hobby of building an experimental aircraft, its design inception, the learning process and the building dilemmas he faced in the beginning and the continued engineering challenges he faces with each new area of Gretchen's construction. Running time: 12:29
THIRD EPISODE - Q&A - POSTED NOVEMBER 19, 2017
In this third episode of Gretchen's Garage I answer questions from viewers. Running time: 9:42
FOR LATEST UPDATES VISIT GRETCHEN'S PHOTO ALBUM ON FACEBOOK
On June 30, 2018 an extremely generous donation was made to "Gretchen's Garage: a 1946 Ercoupe. Calvin Roth of Scotland PA donated the salvaged aircraft for the betterment of the project. The aircraft has so far yielded many usable parts and has caused my progress on Gretchen to be stepped up. So much so that I am now working on the aircraft more than I am the videos about her! That's the way it should be.
DONATIONS ARE APPRECIATED
MUCH OF WHAT YOU SEE OF THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE BY DONATIONS OF MATERIALS AND IN SOME CASES, CASH. IF YOU HAVE SURPLUS MATERIALS YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO GRETCHEN'S GARAGE, PLEASE CONTACT ME AND I WILL MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR PICKUP
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE CASH, JUST CLICK THE DONATE WIDGET TO MAKE A HASSLE-FREE ANONYMOUS DONATION TO MY PAYPAL ACCOUNT.
ALSO, PURCHASES OF MY BOOKS, ART AND PHOTOGRAPHS ALL ARE REINVESTED BACK INTO GRETCHEN'S GARAGE.