• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
General Aviation NewsGeneral Aviation News

General Aviation News

Because flying is cool

  • Pictures of the Day
    • Submit Picture of the Day
  • Stories
    • News
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Products
    • NTSB Accidents
    • ASRS Reports
  • Comments
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ad
  • Events
  • Print Archives
  • Subscribe
  • Show Search
Hide Search

From Car Designer To Firefighter?

By Ben Sclair · August 11, 2026 · 1 Comment

Coulson Aviation invited car designer Chip Foose to its manufacturing facility, for some reason, to show him what it takes to convert a Boeing 737 from an airliner to a firefighter.

My father-in-law was part of a build team that built one of Chip’s earlier car designs, the Grandmaster, in 2002. That design went on to win the 2002 Ridler Memorial Award at the Detroit Autorama.

A designer is gonna designer. It is fun to see Chip take it all in and ask questions while walking around the aircraft.

About Ben Sclair

Ben Sclair is the Publisher of General Aviation News, a pilot, husband to Deb and dad to Zenith, Brenna, and Jack. Oh, and a staunch supporter of general aviation.

Reader Interactions

Share this story

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email

Become a better informed pilot.

Join 110,000 readers each month and get the latest news and entertainment from the world of general aviation direct to your inbox, daily.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Curious to know what fellow pilots think on random stories on the General Aviation News website? Click on our Recent Comments page to find out. Read our Comment Policy here.

Comments

  1. jimh in ca says

    August 12, 2026 at 12:16 pm

    That was a great tour of the new aircraft. But why was Chip there.??

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Read the Latest Issue

Cover of the September 17, 2026 edition of General Aviation News
September 17, 2026

Featured Video

https://youtu.be/_5GlVdS1gpo?si=PEX8RGgp1XCz3-uM

Become A Better Informed Pilot.

Join 110,000 readers each month and get the latest news and entertainment from the world of general aviation direct to your inbox, daily.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Comments

  • Art Friedman on Five Things Your GA Airport Manager Wishes You Knew
  • Are Cee on In-Flight Weather Radar Is Failing General Aviation
  • Javier Lifa on In-Flight Weather Radar Is Failing General Aviation
  • Thomas J Young on Fuel-Oil Contamination Leads to Cessna 172 Engine Power Loss
  • Mark Gibson on Picture of the Day: Cycling Past College Park Airport
  • Andrew J Venuto on Fuel-Oil Contamination Leads to Cessna 172 Engine Power Loss
  • ERIC TAYLOR on What I Learned Towing Banners
  • jimh in ca on Fuel-Oil Contamination Leads to Cessna 172 Engine Power Loss
  • Jamie Beckett on Five Things Your GA Airport Manager Wishes You Knew
  • Robert B on Five Things Your GA Airport Manager Wishes You Knew

© 2026 Flyer Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Comment Policy
  • Submit Press Release
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Writer’s Guidelines
  • Photographer’s Guidelines