I purchase N9181C from the 3rd flying owner. The project had been started by someone who pasted away years earlier. This Volmer, serial #57 was completed in 1987 by Lloyd Cuttler in the Carrabassett Valley area of Maine. I bought it in 1990 with-out the original 0-200 cont. engine that had been on it for 80 hours. I was going to put an 0-200 cont. back on it, but after several months of trying to find one, I opted to put a 0-290 gpu Lycoming on it, and I am glad I did. The performance is very good. The wooden prop is 72 x 54, purchased from Props Inc. of Oregon. I sanded the A/C and repainted it. A larger rudder was added, the elevator surface increase by extending the tips forward of the hinge point. This lessened the stick force at lower speeds and serves to increase elevator authority. A landing gear retract mod was designed into the excisting retract handle, which enables the gear to be retracted 80 degrees more if desired. This helps when getting on the step with two people aboard. The mod is hardly noticable and can be used or not. The plane flys well and can be trimmed to fly hands off, with or with-out a passenger. An amphibious aircraft is great to fly. When I had my Skyhawk and went flying, I would think about which airport to go to, or what area to fly over. In the summer I wear a bathing suit and bring a towel and have the choice of many lakes, ponds, and rivers or Islands to visit. There is one particular Island that my girl friend and I like to visit off the coast of Maine on occasion, though I try to stay away from landing in salt water too much. The beach is easy to taxi on to when the tide is not high, and it is mostly deserted, even in the summer. Afterwards I rinse it off in a fresh water lake or river and that keeps the salt from working on the metal parts. Since I have owned N9181C I have enjoyed about 350 hours of flying and have never regretted buying it. It is truly the best of both worlds.