N6504N, a Bellanca Cruisair, was delivered from the New Castle, Delaware, factory in February 1949 powered by a 150 HP Franklin engine with an Aeromatic self-governing propeller and a retractable landing gear requiring 25 turns of a crank to raise and lower. Forty-eight years and 3200 flight hours later, it is better than new, powered by a 180 HP Lycoming engine with a McCauley constant speed prop and an hydraulically actuated landing gear that takes five cycles of a hand-powered pump. 04N cruises at an honest 155 mph true at 7500 ft. using 75 percent power and burning less than 8 gph. It has taken me across the country and to the Canadian border. Its handling qualities are among the best of any GA aircraft making it a delight to fly; its steel tube fuselage and all-wood wings are so strong that I have never heard of a structural failure. Ozzie

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