My Ultravia Pelican PL was started back in the 1990s by Dick Randolph, a WWII P-47 fighter pilot who served with the 313th Fighter Squadron 50th Fighter group. As a First Lieutenant he was involved with battles at Ardennes and Rhineland in Central Europe. Dick may very well have flown missions over battlegrounds where my dad was fighting as a sniper with the Canadian Lincoln and Welland regiment.
Dick was active in EAA chapter 444 when he started the Pelican, but he didn’t get to finish the aircraft due to failing health. Bob Stafford bought it in 2013 but then determined he didn’t have enough time to work on it. I was very lucky to acquire it from Bob in 2014, and to have the opportunity to complete it over the last 4 years. It was a privilege to continue the work of a member of the Greatest Generation. Dick passed away in 2015. I hope he would have been pleased with how his plane turned out.
N712PL has a Rotax 912ULS, Warp Drive prop and AVMAP panel. First flight was in April 2018 and it flew great, but maybe that has more to do with Dick’s work than mine.
— Barry Haley, Haines City, Florida
