PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, INC. – for FLIGHT SAFETY – T-6A Ejection Seat

T-6A EJECTION SEAT

EJECTION SEAT – ASSEMBLY LAYOUT – SIDE

EJECTION SEAT – ASSEMBLY LAYOUT – FRONT

EJECTION SEAT – PANEL DETAIL

EJECTION SEAT – KNURLED KNOB

EJECTION SEAT – KNEE 7

EJECTION SEAT – BEAM MOUNT 1

EJECTION SEAT – BEAM MOUNT 2

EJECTION SEAT – BEAM MOUNT 3

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – RAIL 1

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – RAIL 2

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – RAIL 3

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – E-BLOCK-MID

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – SPUD

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – SPOOL

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – QUAD ROD

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – QUAD KNOB

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – QUAD CAP

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – QUAD ASSEMBLY

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – GLIDE BLOCK

T-6A EJECTION SEAT – KIT – HANDLE

The above project is a trainer ‘replica’ ejection seat for the T-6A Joint Primary Air Training System (JPATS) turboprop (used to train fighter pilots).  During the late 90′s, I was contracted to complete this project under the direction of Alphonse Wolter, Sr. (PureSafe Water Systems & Project Development Inc.), who was sub-contracting for Flight Safety, Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, Bombardier, and others at that time.  When not designing homes, I was a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) instructor at a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Technical School, where I taught 2D/3D AutoCAD.  One of my students was Al Wolter, Jr.  When the course was finished, two of my students approached me and asked if I was interested in working for their employers.  I ended up working for both companies on a contract basis (Living Color Enterprises and Project Development, Inc.).

While living in Boca Raton, Florida, I traveled each morning to Al Wolter, Sr.’s private family residence in Coral Springs, Florida (several hours to/from work each day).  At first I got to work between 7:00 am -9:00 am, but over the weeks and months ahead, the days become longer and I ended up working sometimes till close to midnight, 7 days a week.  Al had some difficult deadlines to meet and it was wearing on everyone.  I started coming in late, around 10:00 am or 11:00 am, depending upon how late I worked the night before.  This bothered Al, but it was my choice and my health at stake.  Those records are deeply archived, but I believe my hourly rate was somewhere around $30-$40/hour.

Al, his family, and I really did get along well and I enjoyed working with him, but he was struggling to survive after major military cutbacks and other personal issues.  I really like the guy, and I got along just as well with Al, Jr.  A couple of months went by and Al still had not offered me any compensation, other than meals with his family.  I was spending lots of money on fuel, using my automobile, my computer or portable hard-drives, and was completely exhausted working seven days a week.  Al wanted me to be a “team player” and hold out till the contractor issued a check (possibly months after completion, and that was far off).  I finally could no longer pay my rent and told Al I had to have some money.  BTW, his sons also stated they were patiently waiting to receive any money).  He did give me a check for $1,000, which covered my $850/month rent and some fuel, but little else.

Boeing and Flight Safety big-shots were very impressed with my work, especially my 3D skills.  Al Jr. and I even took a course in Mechanical Desktop software to advance the company’s skill set.  Al used that as a marketing tool to assure them that his company was up and running strong and could provide the necessary services to compete with other sub-contractors.  We even seriously talked about opening a new business in West Palm Beach or elsewhere.  Al told me that he really wanted to compensate me more and pay we what I deserved to be earning.  He said that when the contractors finally paid him, that he would make things right between us.  A couple of months later, shortly before I completed all of Al’s projects/drawings, I was seriously in debt and informed Al I had to have some money.  He asked how much, cringed, but did write me a check for $2,000.  I never received any more compensation from Al.

It was near the end of 1999, and I had grown tired of the boiling mid-90 degree temperatures eight months out of the year.  I was also craving something other that FLAT land in every direction.  I informed Al that I was moving to the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina.  He was definitely disappointed.  Unfortunately, that move didn’t last long.  I was occasionally designing nice custom homes, log and timber homes, and also taught evening CAD classes at A-B Technical Community College (on the old Vanderbilt property, next to the Biltmore Estate).  After 9/11/2001, the custom log and vacation home market crashed, along with everything else, and I was forced to abandon my owner-financed home (at a loss) and move back to SE Florida.  At least in Florida, there was always a steady flow of work, even in tough times (lots of land left).

I was now back in Boca Raton full-time, working from home, designing houses and other contracting jobs.  Eventually, I went to work for Living Color Enterprises, working on projects for Disney, Universal, Woods Hole Oceanographic, and custom ultra-luxurious residences.  While working there, our fabrication department needed some unique skills and I immediately thought of Al.  I convinced the owner, company engineer, and the head of the design department, to hire Al Wolters for several contracts.  Living Color suffered major financial problems and the owner ended up giving up ownership to the major investor in the company.

I went back to designing homes again and contracting my design and CAD services to architects, engineers, and developers. While working with one luxury home developer (average price around 3-4 million), I was designing and modifying some very unique mansions with custom home theaters, massive salt-water fish tanks, elaborate “sandy beach” swimming pools with “infinity” edges, and some very unique themed environments (one house had a “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme).  Some of the custom luxury features required some very unique skills and talents.  Once again, I thought of Al Wolters.  I also brought in Jason Pollack, senior designer from Living Color Enterprises to make bids.  Al went on to start a construction business and now holds several prominent positions with major corporations, including his own businesses.  Jason went on to start an ultra-luxury car and yacht detailing business that caters to a unique market.  Last I heard, they were both extremely successful, but I have never received a reply to any of my attempts to contact them via phone and email.