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Suzanne Swearengen

Tom, as many have said, there are really no words. Know that you are appreciated as the class act you have always been, and as one who suffers the pain of loss that we have all shared in our own ways through life. You are in my prayers - truly.

I ask for you to have strength, comfort and peace going forward, and for the eventual appearing of joyous new things as this slowly and inevitably works for your good.

Be blessed, my good man, and don't hesitate to reach out with whatever need you feel at the moment. There are hundreds of us here for you, just as you would be for us in the same circumstance.
 
The loss of Suzanne is a loss to all of us. She was such a courageous person. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

Richard and Lori Gurr.
 
Tom, we have never met but be assured your influence and assistance stretches much further than North American shores. You have assisted me with brake and fuel hoses and fixed my errors without hesitation, judgement or added cost and for that I am grateful. I am so sorry for your loss. Please look after yourself, take the time to grieve. Thoughts are with you from down under.

Regards

Clive Whittfield
Auckland
New Zealand
 
Tom - My sincere condolences for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this very difficult time.
 
Thank you all--

I just wanted to take a minute to thank all the VAF family for the outpouring of support shown after Suzanne's passing. It was really unbelievable.
Its been a couple of weeks now, and yes its getting easier. I'm doing more cooking now, ( well ok Me and Zaxby's, Subway, etc) but as some of you have noticed, I've been working alot more. Yes it helps! My role has actually changed alittle from doing most of the hose assembly building to more of a concept/creation thing. I want to give a selfish plug to my business partner Steve Tschurwald of Aircraft Specialty, and our joint company AS Flightlines. Without him, alot of things that transpired the past 2 years would not have been possible.
When we came up with the idea of merging some parts of our 2 companies to better help all of you, neither one of us dreamed --or had a nightmare, depending on your position, that the merger concept would actually allow me to spend a bunch of time with Suzanne, and get her the best medical care available. If I was doing everything like I was at one point, she would probably have suffered MUCH more than she did, and at the same time, all of you clients possibly would have too. So, Steve---a toast to you my friend.
When bad things happen we sometimes dont have a clue who is affected. Suzanne didnt know alot of you, or had any actual contact with you. But she knew of you, and I can speak for her in saying that she appreciates the outpouring of love an support you have all shown. Its made both her and my transition easier. House is still quiet, but its feeling warmer, and I think its because shes near.

OK----so 2019 is leaving us, and 2020 is tonite. Steve and I have several new things that we'll be releasing. A few of which have already gotten out there. I wont go through them all, but some are already on the joint website asflightlines.com. LOL---my tsflightlines.com website is so outdated, and gee I'm not a computer guy so its just kind of sitting there. So most of the newer things ar on the AS Flightlines site. A couple of possibly relevant things-----I'm going to finish my 7A---Sue said she'd kick my butt if I didnt. Gee that means I have to straight out the shop, but it also creates more room. The intent here is to build several full scale mockups so we can do more R&D inhouse to speed things up some. These might include from baggage bulkhead to engine mount the cabins of 7A/9A, 10, 14A, and several other aircraft. In addition, due to popular demand, engine and accessory mockups for IO360, IO390, and IO540. Lots of different sump/servo combinations that you just cant plan for unless you have an actual engine sitting there equipped with the accessories youre trying to build data for. So, the idea is to have some of this here, so we can bolt on a sump and servo and get actual data on things----to make your lives easier. And at the same time, actually install the engine on the mockup and get real live dimensional data. Sounds crazy, and we probably could do it in Solidworks, but need the data to begin with. And---well its experimental, so everyone has a little different take on how they want their plane to be.
So we may be asking the VAF group if you have parts you want to sell/donate etc. Anyone priced a Superior cold sump lately? Or an Avstar servo---see it adds up FAST. All of this in due time---but its something that we think will be a huge benefit to all of you.

So--2020 will be here shortly---it will start off sad because my beautiful Suzanne is in heaven and not here, but knowing she beat cancer, and is better now gives me alot of peace. With the things we have in the works and planned, we will be busy, and that helps too. Several NEW projects are in concept stage now, and we'll be able to work on them.
One last note--Many of you over the years have asked about us doing a booth at AirVenture. Due to expenses, and time away from the shops we havent done one. But---with the new things we will be releasing, and some skunk works things too, maybe its time to do a booth. Those of you that do exhibit there know the money part, the time involved, and the total effort to make it happen. Some have said its a loosing proposition. Maybe so, but we think its a great way to get the word out, and let you see whats happening. Might surprise you!
More later on that--
Again thanks to all of you my friends, for all the kind thoughts and expressions of support over this difficult time.

Tom
 
Tom,
you have very eloquently underlined that this community is more than just about airplanes.
Wishing you all the best for the new year.
Bill Brooks
Ottawa, Canada
 
Tom, I am wishing you a good new year and many more. The mortality of the human race should make us humble and caring and allow us to dance when we get the chance. You will dance again. Steve
 
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