Honoring Our Veterans: John Larsen - Part 2
 | Author:
Matt Nelson
MT43 News Correspondent |
This is the second part of the "Honoring our Veterans - John Larsen" article.
“About 1975 I started working on my pilot’s license and finally got it in 1980. Eventually, I went to work for Avid Aircraft in Caldwell, Idaho, writing their construction manual and also worked as a freelance author for Kit Planes magazine. I also wrote monthly newsletters for Avid Aircraft. I owned an Avid Model Type 3 and modified it so it became a Mark IV production kit. This was also an upgrade from the Type 1 and Type 2 models.
“I also designed the Mark V which had a fuselage 18 inches longer than the Mark IV plane, and it also had aluminum landing gear instead of bungee cords and numerous other improvements. I called it the Pursang, which is French for Thoroughbred. Eventually, this design was sold to the Airdale Aircraft Company in Minnesota.
“In 1982 I went to work for the city of Marsing, Idaho as Maintenance City Superintendent. Marsing has a methane gas that comes up in the city water. I developed a method to capture this gas and used it to fuel the generator that ran the city water pump and also fueled a furnace that heated the city shop. When I came to work Marsing had a bad reputation for drinking water due to the presence of Chlorine mixing with Methane. I designed an aerator that removed the Methane from the drinking water so that it wouldn’t react with the Chlorine. I formed my own company called Energy Recovery Services and served southern Idaho.”
John is a very strong Christian and spent 30 years working in prison ministry. Locally he is the go-to guy for the musical group called Johnny and the Wingnuts. They have played at the Canton Church and the Mountain Valley Bible Church. Also, he and his family go to the senior centers and sing and play music for the residents.
Article Images
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PhotoCredit: Matt Nelson
Image 1 Caption: John Larsen - Paratrooper
Image 3 Caption: Pursang Kit Plane
