The Back 40 Museum
  • Entry Level
    • Reception
    • The Rotunda Of Light
    • L/E Bursting New
    • L/E Dinosaur Trax
    • The Media Area
    • The Family Gallery
    • Reading Room 1: Life Columns
    • Reading Room 2: The Fly-away Place
    • Venture Hall
    • The Inspiration Room
    • Milestone Gallery
    • Reading Room 4: The Reference Room
  • Level Two
    • Lecture Hall
    • Administration
    • Snippets Hall
    • Reading Room 3: The Eclectic Room
    • Main Archives
  • The Annex
    • Back 40 Mercantile Lower Level >
      • The Back40 Bookstore
    • The Grounds
    • Acquisition Storage Area
    • Restoration Area
  • Entry Level
    • Reception
    • The Rotunda Of Light
    • L/E Bursting New
    • L/E Dinosaur Trax
    • The Media Area
    • The Family Gallery
    • Reading Room 1: Life Columns
    • Reading Room 2: The Fly-away Place
    • Venture Hall
    • The Inspiration Room
    • Milestone Gallery
    • Reading Room 4: The Reference Room
  • Level Two
    • Lecture Hall
    • Administration
    • Snippets Hall
    • Reading Room 3: The Eclectic Room
    • Main Archives
  • The Annex
    • Back 40 Mercantile Lower Level >
      • The Back40 Bookstore
    • The Grounds
    • Acquisition Storage Area
    • Restoration Area
         Venture
​           Hall
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​                                 ven·ture  ven(t)SHər/ noun
                          1.  A risky or daring journey or undertaking.
 
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Well OK, maybe they are not really all that "daring," but these are some of Larry's   
"interesting" undertakings from over the years.
 
 
Hi, my name is Evie (e-vee) Strump.  It is so nice to meet you.  I wear many hats around here.  And one of them is "Interpreter for Level 1" of the Museum. And, it's my pleasure today to welcome you to                                   Venture Hall .                         
Your are now at the
Oshkosh / AirVenture Exhibit
~ Larry Goes to AirVenture at Oshkosh
And he hasn't stopped talking about it since! 
Memories of Oshkosh 2022 
Maybe the best AirVenture of all time

O>Portal Exhibit 
Unlike Anything Else
by
EAA / Sport Aviation
O>Portal Exhibit 
Friday AM Departures
by
EAA
O>Portal Exhibit 
Crazy Crosswind Landings
by
Lepp Aviation
~ The Durable Light Construction
​You are at the Durable Light Construction Exhibit.  In the late 80's Larry began to experiment with techniques to build these light and less expensive but durable buildings for specific purposes.  He referred to these structures as  DLC's for short.
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This was the Burnett's first home.  Larry built this house in the late 80's in Mississippi. It was a kind of precursor to the later, true DLC's. It was just not quite so 'L' as the later buildings.
By the mid 90's Larry's buildings had been noticed by a ministry called Teaching The Teachers which built Christian schools in Africa.  Larry became a staff member in charge of their movable classroom project, among other responsibilities. 
​ The DLC classrooms were prefabricated in the U S and shipped in a sea going container to Africa where they were then assembled.
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​Donna, Larry's wife, says she could see this coming a mile away...

<< A DLC Home

There were actually two of these full-fledged DLC homes for the Burnett's.  However, there are no extant pictures of the 2nd home.  Nevertheless, it was also a two story.  However, it had quite a different shape.  It was a six sided structure.  It looked very much like a typical space observatory.  And, it actually did have a small hatch on the tip-top where, on occasion, you could see a child's head protruding through.  The family occupied that home for a little under 2 years.
Home             Spectrum
    A Brief Study  in   Architectural Tastes
~ The Fleet That Larry Flew
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Larry has had a fascination with  airplanes since he was a little boy.  The planes above are the various aircraft types that he has flown, on and off, over the years.  Typically, it has been the budget which has dictated both the "on" and the "off."  Click Here to read an article involving his flying days.  

Artful Aviation
​           The Magic Of An Airplane
​What is this song that an airplane sings
to my heart upon the wind?
What is this drawing upon my soul
By this siren made of tin?

From whence this spell
which makes  me see
airfoils, wing shapes, and engine nacelles
when ere my mind is free?
​
And what makes me stop and stare
with every skyward pass
until it is gone?  And every time,
be saddened that it did not last.
​
​Perhaps it is the shape,
streamlined, sculpted by the wind.
Function and beauty sweetly expressed
in a rare and perfect blend.
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Or maybe it's those larkish stripes,
the promise of movements yet unmade,
so that even while it merely stands,
still it seems to fly away.

Or is the magic from flight, itself,

when wings rise up to spoof the earth,
but  then return to kiss her softly
and plan tomorrow's mirth?
​
No - I think an airplane's  magic
must surely flow from rhythms deep 
which bid my spirit, "Go aloft!
​and know sweet freedom's highest peak."
​                                           ~ L. Burnett
~ The T*Boat Exhibit
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     And, then there are the T*Boats.
​ ​Larry's long running hobby - T*Boats.  He began designing and building them in 2002.  In this T*Boat Exhibit there are pictures which range from the earliest versions of the T* to the T*-5 (5th generation).  And, the T*Boat continues to evolve.  He is now working on the T*5i (for "improved" T*5).

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 ^ To The Annex ^
Accelerated Construction Steps - Hull
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~ The Furniture Gallery
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High there.  I'm Celeste; and, I will be filling in for Evie as your interpreter while she is at lunch.  The exhibit where we are presently standing is what we call The Furniture Gallery.  Larry has built furniture for may years, everything from Commercial, to Church, to Domestic pieces.  
Larry's furniture making began as a hobby.  But, for some years he earned his living, doing it professionally.  His pieces actually total more than a thousand. And, He still does special order pieces now and then.  
The pieces you see on display here are merely representative of his work.
The Contemporary       Gallery
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​Larry began the professional phase of his furniture making with his own company called Original Wood Designs.  OWD produced many in-house designs, but there was also a multitude of custom designs as per the client's specs. produced by the company.  

  

The Reproduction       Gallery
~The Pavilion Project
Hello again.  This Pavilion Exhibit furnishes an interesting way to look at the construction of a pavilion which Larry designed and built with the help of  some great volunteers on the campus of the Scottsville Camp and Conference Center near Marshall, TX.
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     ~The Place Where T*Boats Are Born
​Larry's Backyard

                  ~The Warp Drive: 
Larry has tinkered with barrel based wood heaters for years.  He says, "They're just fun to build.  And, they make the shop more efficient by utilizing its scrap wood." 

​This new heater typically puts out 150 cubic feet per minute of 100-200 degree air as needed.  It keeps the shop toasty even on those frosty Arkansas days.
         2018 Version
~ A Bucket List Item...
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​
​Building the "Whisperflite," below, is an item on Larry's Bucket List.  He says, "Maybe, maybe not - we'll see. The 'runway' may already be to short to get it off the ground."

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You Are Here:  On Level 1
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           ^ To Level 1^
                Locator
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​    ^ To Level 2^
        Locator
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​     ^ To Annex^
         Locator
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   << To Level 2
                To Annex >>
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