March 28--Earlier this month, Dave Retka and his son, Matt, took their restored 1946 Taylorcraft to the sky for the first time. It was a moment two years and two months in the making.
"It was quite an experience, a nice feeling, especially knowing what we put into it," Matt recalled.
What they put into the old tube and fabric tail-dragger aircraft was thousands of hours of labor in the home shop -- stripping paint, inspecting and cleaning greasy parts and lots of sanding -- to bring it back to life. It had been sitting in a barn for 25 years.
"Every single nut and bolt, everything, came off for this project," said Dave Retka, 56, of South St. Paul.
But the father and son say the plane gave them something, as well: It strengthened their relationship through their shared passion -- aviation -- and taught them a few things about themselves and each other.
"I think it's fair to say there was lots of bonding going on," said Matt Retka, 26. "Work seems to do that."
Dave Retka -- like his father did for him -- made it a point to introduce Matt to aviation at a young age.
"My dad would take me on these hunting and fishing trips. We'd go by his plane. And I would wonder why he would let this little kid tag along with him and his friends," Matt Retka said. "But I had a blast."
Dave Retka, a flight instructor, also taught Matt how to fly. He earned his pilot's license at age 17.
But Matt Retka, who moved to North Dakota for college in 2006 and lives in West Fargo, said they haven't been able to see as much of each other recently as they would have liked. So when the restoration invitation came from his dad, he saw it as another learning opportunity.
"My dad has an A&P (aircraft mechanic) license, and he's restored other planes as a hobby before," said Matt Retka, who works as an environmental geologist for a consulting company. "And I already knew that he's a good teacher."
Dave Retka has been teaching kids for 35 years, first as an industrial arts teacher at South St. Paul High School, his alma mater, and then for the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale school district. He's been the shop teacher at Skyview Middle School in Oakdale since 1996.
But Matt Retka says he initially questioned his decision after seeing pictures of the plane disassembled and stored in a chicken coop of a barn in southeastern Minnesota.
"It was in rough shape, not air worthy, but everything was mostly there," Dave Retka said.
The work routine consisted of Matt traveling to Minnesota once a month to work with his dad and learn a few new steps in the process. He would then bring smaller parts back home to West Fargo to work on.
"I stayed busy, but my dad really did way more than his share," Matt Retka said. "I kept track of hours back home, and I was a little more than 700. I'm guessing he put in three or four times that."
What he appreciated the most was how his dad took the time to explain how to do things, even though it would have been quicker to just do it himself.
"It was a good project and a chance to pass down some things that I've learned," Dave Retka said.
Matt said he learned that his dad is even more of a perfectionist than he ever thought previously, while Dave said he learned "how good of a kid he is and how capable he is."
Mike Hilger, who leases space in Dave's hangar at Fleming Field in South St.
Paul and has been around airplanes his whole adult life, said the father-son project has resulted in one of the nicest Taylorcrafts he's ever seen.
"Matt has a really nice plane now to fly," Hilger said.
Matt recalled what his dad said to him after they flew the plane together for the first time.
"He said, 'A big project like this is just a ton of smaller projects that need to come together,' " Matt said. "It's funny, but he still really gets a big kick out of teaching me things. And I appreciate it."
Nick Ferraro can be reached at 651-228-2173. Follow him at twitter.com/NFerraroPiPress.
Copyright 2014 - Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
