That rudder was hand-beaten back to "shape" and further flown on to the Dickinson, TX home field by my employer, having learned of my ferry-flight from it's previous wreckage in a field near Citronelle, Al by a new-hire who had flipped it out-of-gas. (S&S PIpeline Patrol was a tightly-run and well-regulated company.) When Mr. Stevens (the owner) was told of my having returned the airplane upright and flown it from Alabama to Louisiana and landed during a safety-seminar.... he decided that the right wing being bent downward outboard of the strut, the caved-in left leading edge, the straightened prop, and the Exxon motor oil, missing battery and carb air-box was no reason it couldn't make it all the way home to Texas as long as a new tailspring was installed before flight!
(I think he was embarrassed to not continue what he'd encouraged me to do as his employee.) It's amazing what some, young unnamed idio.... err, ... pilots will do for flight time when building time for the airlines.)
I have also thoroughly tested that single bolt attaching the tailwheel casting to the leaf spring, and that can also be supported by the crew and pax of the Trans-Texas Airways Convair that had to go-around as I blocked the both runways intersection at Lufkin, Tx.*
The STC we acquire should also contain approval for the common black-iron bolt found at the Lufkin hardware store which stayed on that airplane, as far as I know, for the remainder of my pipeline patrol experience. (Although admittedly, that was on a lesser gross wt C-140.)
The airplane was green, if that means anything.
* (1972-73, hoping for statute of limitations)
