RV Builder's Hotline: This one's for Tom



August 4, 2007	Subscribe

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This one's for Tom
by Bob Collins

Wedding day for the Walshes

There was no mail delivery on January 2, 2007, but Dr. Thomas Walsh didn't know that when he walked across the street from his Waterville, Ohio home to pick up the day's delivery after a day at work as cardiologist and heart surgeon at Toledo Medical Center.

A moment later, Walsh, 57, was dead, struck by a passing car, leaving behind a wife, two small children, and an unfinished dream.

Other than offering support and comfort, and flying in a missing-man formation at Walsh's funeral, there wasn't much RV-6A builder and pilot Tony Kirk could immediately do for the family. But he decided he could do something about Walsh's unfinished dream of building an RV-8, to the benefit of the Walsh family.

Walsh learned to fly when he was a teenager, taking flying lessons from an old World War I pilot in Ohio. He had his first ride when he was 5, became an airport bum, and got his pilot's certificate when he was 17.

He met Tony at an Experimental Aircraft Association chapter meeting about four years ago. "He was a fun guy to be with; just a silent kind of intelligence. You could talk about anything, and he never let his profession or overwhelming knowledge get in the way of general BSing around," according to Kirk. "He was a heart surgeon; he ran the heart transplant program for the Medical College of Ohio. He also had a degree in quantum physics, and he played guitar in a rock 'n roll band from the time he was a teenager. But his hobby was aviation, for sure."

Tony Kirk built a 6A in about 3 years; a project that started as someone else's project. "The learning curve is pretty steep when you don't do the tailfeathers," he said. Walsh had started building his RV-8 airplane before Kirk's was finished. Kirk had hooked up Walsh with John Furey in an RV-6A at a pancake breakfast, attended by several of the Ohio Valley RVators.

"Tom was in pain that day. He had hip replacement surgery shortly before that. It was pretty chilly out; kind of a blustery day. We helped lift him up over the side and helped him out. And all the pictures just show him grinning ear to ear; the typical RV grin," Tony said.

Kayla and Nicholas Walsh.

Walsh suffered from Ankylosing Spondylitis, a painful rheumatic disease that causes arthritis of the spine and sacroiliac joints. He had three hip replacements and spinal fusing, "which made it impossible for him to turn his head or neck. He had some physical challenges and I think that's why he was determined to build this "8" from a slow-build kit -- just his determination to see this project through."

Kirk acknowledges that he wasn't "extremely close or best-of-buddies" with Walsh, but he knew him well enough to know he was a "loving, caring husband and father. He'd been married to Joanne for about 6 years. They tried and couldn't get pregnant, so they went to China and adopted a baby girl. In the process of adopting Kayla, she actually became pregnant. Whenever Tom would come to one of our chapter events, whether it was helping build the hangar or a pancake breakfast or whatever, he had the family in tow and they just loved to do whatever he was doing. They were a great family."

Kirk says he felt helpless after Walsh's death and he wanted to do something to help out the situation. "He loved flying Young Eagles and aviation was more than a hobby for him," Kirk said. "He put in so much effort into his project over the past three years. I loved building my plane and I knew I was going to be a 'repeat offender' at some point; I just never thought it would happen this way."

Walsh's RV-8 project is now Kirk's RV-8 project. Or, more accurately, the RV community's RV-8 project. Kirk vowed that, somehow, he would finish the RV-8, and then sell the finished airplane to the highest bidder, and the money would be used for an educational fund for their two children -- Kayla and Nicholas, both 4 years old.

In a picture taken in April 2007, Joanne Walsh helps Tony Kirk rivet the turtle deck skin of an RV-8. (Photo: Tony Kirk.)

There's only one major obstacle: the money to do it.

"Tom had finished the empennage and had the fuselage a little beyond the quick-build stage," said Kirk. "I brought it to my house. I've had Joanne come over and help rivet the rear turtle-deck skin on. We've inverted the fuselage and mounted the gear legs and worked on the lower floor pans and forward skin. At this point we don't have an engine, so consequently we don't have a finishing kit, avionics, interior -- there's a whole lot left that we need for Tom's RV-8. Until we get the ball rolling and get some of the things we need, I'm almost at the point where I'm going to be out of things to do."

So Kirk set up a Web site to document the project (http://www.tomsrv8.com), and then headed to Oshkosh last week to see about finding the things he needs to finish Tom Walsh's RV-8. He knew what he wanted to find because Walsh had shared his plans with Kirk before his death.

At AirVenture 2007, Kirk printed up and distributed business cards which said:

My dear friend and EAA Chapter 582 Vice President Tom Walsh was tragically killed in an automobile accident on January 2nd, 2007.

For the previous three years, Tom had been building a slow-build RV-8 kitplane from Van's Aircraft. After Tom's death, it was decided by his family and friends, that Tom's RV-8 should be completed in his memory and honor.

After Tom's RV-8 is completed and his family has seen Tom's dream become a reality, Tom's RV-8 will be sold to the highest bidder.

All proceeds from the sale of Tom's RV-8 will be returned to his widow, Joanne, to be used for an educational fund for their two four-year-old children, Kayla and Nicholas.

I gave my word to Tom's family and friends that I would finish Tom's RV-8 without compensation or personal profit.

Tony Kirk
5632 Northview Dr.
Sylvania, OH 43560
(419) 376-4536
tony (at) TomsRV8.com
Builder, owner and pilot of award-winning RV-6A N57TK

"I got the Web site up a couple of months ago but didn't realize how I was going to promote it. Then I thought, 'Heck, I'm going to Oshkosh. Everyone's going to be there, so I might as well tell my story,'" Kirk said in an interview this week. "I met with the vendors of items that we'd like to use -- Trio (editor's note: Trio is going to supply an autopilot) and Grand Rapids, Hooker Harness, Aircraft Spruce, Lycoming Engines. I tried to hit big and small; I wasn't being particular, it's just the items I know we can have a good need for here. We're getting some responses. It's been slow, but we're getting the message out there."

The current status of the RV-8 project. (Photo: Tony Kirk.)

Doug Reeves at vansairforce.net posted the Walsh story on Monday and by Monday afternoon, according to Kirk, some contributions from the RV community had already been made. The RV Builders Family Reunion BBQ at AirVenture ended up with surplus funds this year, and $1,000 has been donated to the RV-8 project.

"I'm so happy to be doing this. You search for things you can do to help solve a problem that's unsolvable. You just have to move forward," Kirk said. "It's just paying it forward."

"There's no doubt it's going to get done. I won't give up on this one any more than I gave up on mine. It's Tom's dream and we're going to make it a reality."