random photo by doug
reeves (unless noted on image)
Fri 07/23 - Thu 7/29
Well, it's OSH time again. The two links below are my attempt at
simplifying (my) life at the show. Once a day I'll try to upload
all the photos I've taken, and when I can I'll post a PIREP in the
thread dedicated to it below. I'd encourage other folks there with
laptops to do the same. The whole point of these two links is to
provide the folks who couldn't go a way to share in the experience.
I might be a little less reachable than usual. Apologies in
advance if you try to contact me and I don't get back - it's one crazy
week.
Fly safe. Doug
(RV-6
'Flash')
●
Doug's Pictures From OSH'10(HOT)
...will be hosted at this location. One
separate folder at the end of each day there is plan 'A'.
●
PIREPS from OSH'10(HOT)
...a thread dedicated to updates from OSH'10 from the
RVators there.
● Flash's 'Pimp My Plane'
Status...my RV-6 will be parked outside the Garmin area
at OSH'10.
Well, after eight years of flying my RV-6 with nothing but primer
on the armrests, I can finally say they are covered <g>.
The plane flies more quiet now and it feels like I'm in somebody else's
airplane. It'll be parked out in front of the Garmin area all
week. The canopy should be up, the avionics ON and a Garmin rep
standing there to address any questions. Come take a peek.
Oh, and the little cover for the back of the panel made out of
nylon and velcro'd into place? Monkey's wife Kate made that custom
for me - I have the prototype. I think she will be offering them
in the future - somewhere around forty bucks. If you're interested
you can email the Monk ('monkey at vansairforce dot net').
Without my A&P's help (Randy 'Monkey' Richmond) all this work could
not have been finished in the month we had to do it. He knows his
stuff and is the best crew chief a guy could ask for.
I think the panel is now set for the foreseeable future. IFR
rating...here I come.
-
Garmin
Forums (from Tim Casey) The “industry experts” I
have rounded up to be available at the 1:30 PM Electrical Systems for Kitbuilt Aircraft are Stein, Dave Buckwalter, Jason Smith or Gary
Wirrell from Aerotronics, and Marc Cook, Editor of KitPlanes. Garmin
will also have several of our own “home builder expert engineers”
available to answer questions. Should be an educational and enjoyable
experience. 'Avionics for Experimentals' (G3X, G900X and more)
will be presented by myself (with a little help from engineers) and
cover the G3X features and a short preview of the G900X both followed by
demonstrations in the “Area G3X”
Garmin forum schedule
● First Flight: Bob Northrup
RV-8A
Fifty years ago today my father bought me my first airplane ride
for my 8th birthday. And today, after 12 1/2 years of building/fund
raising, RV-8A, N714BV took to the skies for the first time. What a
thrill. I've flown a lot of RV's but there's nothing like flying your
own! Slow build, Aerosport IO-360M1 with an MT 3 blade. Blue Mountain,
Garmin 480, SL40, GTX327, Ultra Auracle engine monitor. She came off the
ground like a shot! My only regret is that my Dad isn't here anymore to
see what happened to the passion for aviation that he instilled in me.
Many thanks to all who have mentored, assisted, and just hung out at the
"hangar" over the years, encouraging me to finish the project. One of
the upsides of taking so long is that I got to fly with Mike Seager a
LOT and I highly recommend him if you get the opportunity. Ken Barto,
who taught me most of what I know about building airplanes, Dan Baier
for the time in his 7A, Kevin Horton for his fuselage jig WAY back when,
and to my family for sharing the dream. Phase One, here we go!
Bob Northrup
RV-8A (80578)
N714BV
●
Mike Rhodes Pink Slip: RV-9A
Yesterday was a HUGE milestone... the FAA inspected my RV-9A and
issued the Airworthiness Certificate!! Spent the rest of the day putting
inspection covers on. Need about 6 more hours to have it ready for first
flight, which is targeted for 31 July! 4 years in the
making............... ahhh.... to be flying again soon!
Event News ● LOE'10 (Lots of
Experimentals) Date/Location set:
Oct 1,2,3...mark your calendars.
- Location: Weatherford, OK (KOJA)
- Camping allowed.
- Friday night sunset beer social.
- Home of the Thomas P. Stafford Air & Space Museum (link)
- Charity, pre-registration, rental car and hotel info to come.
-
Tour the field ...courtesy Ron Lee
More to come...here's a map showing a 400nm circle around the
field.
Advertiser's Corner...sent in by the advertisers of this
site. ● Help Test The iFlightplanner
METAR/TAF Widget
...from iFlightPlanner
VAF Calendar
45 Days Out
Please format subject line like this when adding
events: (ST) City: short description
● Project 'Pimp My Plane'
Status Updates...my RV-6 will be parked outside the Garmin area
at OSH'10.
- Everything but fuel gauges now calibrated on the MFD. I now
have fuel flow for the first time! Shows 1.9gph at idle.
- XM WX squared away.
- Engine run yesterday morning - no runs, drips or errors.
- Danny painted the cowl louvers (thank you Danny)!!!
- OA seat cushions, stick boots and tonneau cover look amazing
(OregonAero.com)
(still in plastic until the very end to keep the dirt off - pics to
come).
-
Abby's sidepanels and flooring going in - top notch stuff!
(FlightlineInteriors.com)
- Flying the plane this morning (plan 'A').
-
Updated pics...
●
N446RV first flight! ...Steve
I would like to report the first flight for N446RV on July 20, 2010.
I picked up my 9A from a fellow builder on June 17, 2005. He had started
quite well on the build. He had completed the tail feathers, ailerons
and flaps. I picked up the rest of the crated project and transported it
across the country (from Syracuse, NY to Tuttle, OK) and began work. 5
years, 1 month and 3 days later I flew N446RV. It was a short flight of
about 20 minutes but she flew well. There were no major issues with the
flight characteristics. The engine ran very smoothly and considering the
temperatures outside, all CHT and oil temperatures were well within
limits.
N446RV is an RV9A with an ECI IO-340 stroker engine with ECI
forward facing cold air induction fuel injection system and Vetterman 4
pipe exhaust. It has one Slick Mag and one Lightspeed Plasma III
Electronic Ignition. I have a Catto 3 blade fixed pitch prop that is
very smooth and quiet. Plus it adds a bit more clearance for landings on
our 3000' grass strip. Yes, I am landing my nose gear airplane just fine
on a grass strip!
The panel is all glass with dual GRT HX 8.4" EFIS systems with dual
AHRS and EIS4000, a panel mounted Garmin 695 GPS, Garmin SL40 comm,
Garmin GTX327 transponder, Vertical Power VP-50 power control unit,
TruTrak Digiflight II VGVS autopilot and PM3000 intercom. The interior
is from Classic Aero.
The empty weight came in at 1033 lbs.
I have to especially thank Clark Taylor for spending 5 years of
assisting me with bucking all of those rivets.
I could not have done this without his help. I also have to thank my
wife Mary (see picture above standing next to the engine) for all the
support, and help when needed. She did a great deal to help with the
construction. She was even willing to help buck rivets a time or two.
There were a great many other individuals too numerous to mention
individually that helped greatly. Either they were around to lend a hand
or were willing to give their advice and expertise to resolve a problem.
I thank all of those who did so. I also must thank Doug and all
you fellow RV builders here on the VansAirForce.net forum. Without
access to your expertise I know I could not have built this wonderful
machine.
I thank everyone involved with this construction and lastly I thank
Mr. Richard VanGrunsven and all of the employees at Van's Aircraft for
designing and providing a fantastic airplane.
Steve
N446RV is an official airplane!
First flight with the RV Grin on JULY 20, 2010!
(pictures)
● Project 'Pimp My Plane'
Status Updates...my RV-6 will be parked outside the Garmin area
at OSH'10.
- Screens configured, calibrating fuel sensors, labeling switches,
etc. These screens are unbelievable. Some pics:
related: G3X mini site
- Advanced Flight Systems AOA mounted.
Mounted so as to be where your eyeballs are
while on 180° descending left turns to final - swiveled slightly to the
right. I was previously think of cutting a little notch out of the
glare shield so it could stick half above and half below, but after more
thought this solution presented itself - no metal work. The glare
shield acts as a great 'hood' for the AOA, making the LEDs brighter than
ever. Been thinking about mounting it here for years, moving
little pieces of cardboard taped to the dash during touch and gos to
find the spot I was happiest with. I love this AOA (web)
because it's just HUUUUGGGGE and so easily interpreted using only
peripheral vision, and now the placement is right where I want it.
- New prop cable installed (old one worn in a spot)
- Control sticks reinstalled (and shortened to make room for new
stick grips)
- Autopilot disconnect for grip tested (worked).
- Running engine this morning (testing values on G3X) and starting
paint touchup (with help from Danny 'Sky' King). Interior
sidepanels and newly recovered seats next....
Construction ● It's Starting to
Look Like a Fuselage ...Colin. P
● Last Rivet...Alton
DeWeese
VAF Family ● Back Home
RV buddy Jim Pappas emailed yesterday from the house. He's
out of the hospital and back home. No clots. Daughter
recently home from Iraq will arrive at the house today. Can't
think of a better person to visit Jim. dr
Troubleshooting ●
Strange vibration
About three weeks ago I was on the last leg of a 2500 mile cross
country and had just started the final descent from 8000 ft when my RV-8
started to vibrate/shake. I could not identify where it was coming from
(controls, engine, tail, wings, etc,) before it stopped (after
descending about 1500 ft).
Upon landing a thorough inspection of the plane turned-up nothing
and all following flights were perfectly ok. In hindsight the only thing
I could come up with was that perhaps I had failed to disengage the
autopilot and that the shaking was the servo trying to resist the
descent?
Last week on returning from another cross country, I had just
climbed to 9500 ft and leveled off when the shaking/vibration started
again. I immediately disengaged the autopilot and turned right and left
(didn't stop it), flew up and down (didn't stop it), looked at all the
control surfaces and they all seemed ok, checked the engine and it was
ok......then, touched the brakes and the shaking/vibration STOPPED!
Problem solved. Evidently, at just the right angle, or airspeed, or
something (only twice in 110 hours of flying) one or both wheels started
turning and at a high enough speed one is slightly out of balance.
Just wanted to pass it on in case it happens to someone else.
Hope it helps save someone a little anxiety.
Tue 07.20.10 1137z
I was thinking last night about how most folks rarely end up with what
they thought they would end up with, and how the creative process
evolves and technology changes throughout the build. Going through
some pictures last night on the hard drive I came across the two images
below of what I had mapped out for my RV. They were created back
in 1996, the year I ordered my tail kit. (How
it actually turned out) And yes, it's still evolving. Doug
(RV-6
'Flash')
● Project 'Pimp My Plane'
Status Updates...my RV-6 will be parked outside the Garmin area
at OSH'10.
- Abby's Sidepanels, armrests and floor panel arrive! (pics)
related:
www.FlightlineInteriors.com
- Panel has power! Configuring screens now.
- Touch up painting has started....well, at least the masking <g>.
●
What do Brits do on a Saturday afternoon?
...Pete
Why, they fly a 9 ship formation - what else!
The largest formation many of us have been in - too turbulent at low
level for a fly-by, but we managed a few pictures from within the
formation. Thanks to Myke for sorting the brief!
● From the Mothership....
Construction ●
BUILD SUNDAY #2 ...Rudi Greyling (RV-12 / South Africa)
We had 4 of the 5 teams present. This is the first time the team
had to work on their own parts, with me assisting when they run into ???
End of day Result:
100% completed Rudder
100% completed Center Section
100% completed Servo push rod
33% completed Trim Tabs
33% completed Tailcone
Finally got my engine sensors. Been waiting since Feb. I started
working on it a little bit.
I am waiting on my mixture and throttle cables. Had to special order
them. They have been on back order for about 6 weeks. Once those come
in, I should be able to start finalizing my FWF.
My tail wheel assembly finally came in. I sent it to Bill Sousa in SOCAL
and he did all the work for free. He cut the old spring and machined the
end to accept the API fork. He also installed a taper pin vice a
standard AN bolt. He even bought the pin. RV people are amazing for the
most part. I will be balancing his prop soon.
Same thing with my tail wheel. Dayton exchanged my tail wheel with a new
one because the axle on the new API fork was a different size and the
bearings would not work. No questions asked. Nice guy if you have not
met him.
Did some work on the Horizontal stab angle of incidence. I added a 3/8
of an inch spacer under the front spar. It is the same spacer Dayton is
using on his RV-4. We should be configured almost identically as far as
weight and balance. That spacer yielded a 1.35 positive angle of
incidence on my aircraft.
Did a little more work on the bottom fiber glass cap. I needed to add
the tail/strobe light. So I fabricated a cone to accept the tail light.
I also have been working on my elevator trim. It was manual before I
changed Dilemma's mission. I wanted to add an electric trim without
cutting my elevator. I spoke to Randy (RV-3 builder) and I am doing
something similar to what he did with his -3.
By the way, I am not that disorganized. I have a lot of different
projects going on at the same time because I live in the middle of the
Mojave Desert and it is difficult to find parts. I have to order
everything via web and wait until they show up.
Motivation ● Rob Prior's RV-6
N196RV was built by Robert Sipes of Silverdale, Washington in 1996.
Two owners later (January 2010) I bought it and I am having a blast with
"Tweety."
We officially opened the runway last Friday, 23 days after the project
began.
On Saturday no less than 5 different airplanes had a go at the new
operation off of asphalt, including a first flight by Bob Talir in his
new Flightstar.
Everyone is pleased with end result, even the die hard grass pilots. We
went to great effort to redo the grass area and although it will take
the better part of a year to get it operational, it is much improved in
terms of grade and area. Much dirt was moved here and there to get it
right, especially drainage. Our most pressing challenge is to get grass
growing before erosion sets in. To that end, we are considering an
immediate planting of wheat to get things started.
The hard surface is very smooth from one end to the other, something
that did not exist before. The grade is such, you can coast your bike to
the west without pedaling, but the return is not much work, one hardly
notices it.
Perhaps the most noticeable change other than performance is no more
dirty wheel pants and fewer dead bugs on the airframe after a flight.
Mon 07.19.10 1140z
RV buddy Jim Pappas called last night from the hospital and gave me a
quick update. Having issues controlling the pain from his recent
surgery, so in order to rule out a possible clot they kept him
overnight. Jim said he'd call again when he knew more. His
daughter is back from Iraq and on US soil in Kansas as of a couple days
ago, Jim said. Doug
(RV-6
'Flash')
● Project 'Pimp My Plane'
Status Updates...my RV-6 will be parked outside the Garmin area
at OSH'10.
- Avionics IN! (pics)
dr
-
Downloaded the new
software for the G3X screens ...v3.20 has some new features.
●
N124CS takes to the Sky!
RV-12 #80 with the N124CS gold tail number took to the sky for it's
first flight today. Carrie and I received our Airworthiness Certificate
last Friday and we spent two hours each with Mike Seager in Van's Red
demo aircraft yesterday before letting our little lady fly today. Carrie
and I plan to leave for OSHKOSH Friday or Saturday this week...hopefully
we will get to meet a number of you there.
Jay and Carrie Sluiter
N124CS
Albany, OR (S12)
●
First Flight - after thirty years. ...Scott Hess RV-4
N5534 flew today thirty years after the project was first started.
S/N 377 was started around 1980 or so by a friend of mine who worked at
STOL aircraft (building Twin Bees) getting most of the airframe done in
the early nineties. It was sold and languished for the last seventeen
years. I picked up the project last summer... rebuilt the engine, added
all the systems, etc. and flew it today for the first time. Thirty years
must be close to the record.
It has an IO-320, smooth cowl (rear baffle intake), Sens F/P, basic
panel with a D6. Flew great, pretty much hands off.
●
First Flight: Jon Clements RV-7
Three and a half years of building resulted in the first flight of
my RV-7 on Saturday 17th July at 2.15pm. Pete James was my trusted
Test Pilot and all went perfectly as hoped. I was in the back of Ken
Browns RV-8 flying chase and yes I am still smiling!
Thanks to Mick Haynes (guru mentor), Pete James, Ken Brown, Graham
Beggs, Rod Thynne, Darren Barnfield, Hugh Satchell and the many others
who provided ongoing advice and support throughout my project.
Particular thanks go out to my wife Elisa and my two boys (Hugo and
Cooper). My passion for aircraft building has meant a lot of absence
over the past three and a half years and I am looking forward to getting
my "other" life back as much as i am looking forward to taking them
flying. Thanks of course to Doug and all on VAF. This site has
been my primary resource for information throughout my build and I can't
imagine building an RV without it. The ongoing generosity of so many
people who contribute such detailed and considered advice (often
professional) never ceases to amaze me.
A large part of my RV grin has come from sharing the journey with
you all.
Thanks
JON.
__________________
Jon Clements, Melbourne Australia.
VH-JWC
RV-7 (finishing)
ASP IO-360-M Elec Ign Inv Oil
Hartzell CS Blended Airfoil
Dual GRT HX and other electric stuff
There are women who share the love of
aviation with the men in their lives. There are women whose passion for
flight prompts them to become pilots. There are even women who build
their own airplanes. Then there are the rest of us—women who never
imagined they would one day be traveling in a single-engine aircraft
that was built in their garage; women who are a wee bit apprehensive
about climbing in and taking off into the blue.
When my husband began seriously entertaining the idea of building an
airplane, I asked the usual questions: Are you kidding?! How safe is it?
How much will it cost? How long will it take? Is there really enough
room in our garage to build an airplane?
I had my doubts as to whether or not the project would come to
completion, but as a committed friend of my husband’s excitement, I
became an enthusiastic supporter. I was a willing participant in many a
discussion about whether “this or that” might be the best course of
action. As Scott geared up to begin the project, we took a family
camping vacation that involved driving 36 hours and 2,400 miles
round-trip to attend a builders’ seminar and shop the seemingly endless
hangars and tents of aviation “stuff” at AirVenture.
Once Scott had made the decision as to which aircraft he was going to
build, Mr. Brown began delivering those large wooden crates. As we set
about the task of unpacking and inventorying parts, I remember thinking
that the project was going to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r.
I just could not envision the countless bits and bobs being transformed
into an airworthy flying machine for two.
Knowing my husband as I do, I
should not have been surprised by his self-driven motivation; but I was.
During the four years that it took to finish the RV9A, I became a
builder’s widow. When not traveling for business, which he does quite
frequently, Scott spent every spare moment in the garage. On the rare
(wink, wink) occasion that I became snarky about the time, attention,
and money that was being lavished on “the aluminum mistress,” he bucked
me up with talk of all the fun we’d have traveling together once the
plane was airborne. But, as I was quick to remind him, flying was his
thing—not mine.
Prior to building, my involvement in Scott’s flying activities was
minimal. Between the time he earned his wings in July of 1997 and my
first stint in the passenger seat of the RV in 2006, I had flown with
him on just three occasions. While I’m sure he would have welcomed more
participation on my part, my lack of interest wasn’t of major
significance.
When talk of building began, however, it became clear that Scott’s
mission had changed: He intended to put some serious miles on the RV,
and yours truly was to be his flying buddy! It was easy enough to muster
enthusiasm at the prospect of flitting about in a home-built airplane
while it lay in pieces in the garage, but the time would eventually come
when I’d have to follow through. Fast forward four years …
Once friend and test pilot Dave Petri had put N339A through her paces,
and Scott had gotten up-to-snuff with his aviating skills (following a
seven-year hiatus and a significant change in topography), the
long-awaited day finally arrived when I buckled into the passenger seat
of the airplane I had helped to build.
At some point during the building phase, Scott
began telling me about a group of folks who had traveled to the islands
in their RVs. This was all quite interesting, of course, but not
something I had a strong desire to do. As rumors of a return trip to the
Turks & Caicos began surfacing, Scott pulled out all the stops in
getting me onboard with the idea.
Although I had about 30 passenger hours under my belt by the time we
journeyed to the British West Indies, I was still a relative newbie. The
list of things I had yet to experience at this point included a leg
longer than 1.25 hours in duration, more than 2.5 hours of total flight
time on any given day, flying with a group, flying amongst the clouds,
flying across the water, flying in the rain, and flying through the
dreaded wake turbulence. The majority of my flight time had been of the
$100-hamburger variety.
It’s important to note that while 30 hours were relatively few before
embarking on a 5,100-mile voyage, it was a solid foundation upon which
to build. To my pilot’s credit, he’d had the good sense to take things
slow and steady up to that point. Had he not been insightful enough from
the get-go to appreciate the importance of his flying buddy’s state of
mind, my first ride in the RV might well have been my last. Scott’s
calm, cool, and collected behavior was instrumental in easing my
anxieties on the Turks trip—the last thing a nervous passenger needs is
a nervous pilot! While Scott may well have been anxious on the inside,
he never let me see it.
●
Fuel Tanks Passed 1.000 psi Pressure Test ...Wayne Gillispie
Used 2 qts proseal then brushed PR-1005-L buna-n "cherry juice"
over top of all joints inside and out. Installed drain fitting, fuel
outlet with AN cap, short piece of 1/4" aluminum tubing on vent fitting
to connect to an electronic manometer, Van's deluxe locking fuel
cap(without duct tape). Pressurized through drain valve with blow gun
until reading 1.050 psi (29.06" H2O) on manometer using very low
pressure 2-3 psi. It dropped back down to around 1.000 psi (27.68" H2O)
after losing the heat of compression. I sprayed leak detection fluid
(used in hvac business) on all rivets and joints which cooled the air
inside the tank and dropped pressure down to about 0.980 psi. Found a
leak at fuel cap, tightened nut inside of cap...leak fixed.
Just for fun I tested several different balloons/gloves to see what
kind of pressure they exerted when filled. All balloons tested between
0.300-0.600 psi except for one...the long skinny ones you see being made
into funny shapes...that one exerted 1.5 psi at full length (4').
Nitrile and latex gloves were close to balloons. Balloons would burst
between 1-2 psi hence the reason for Van's recommendation.
__________________
Wayne Gillispie, A&P 5/93, PPC 10/08
Grayson, KY Bldr# 40983
Ord complete kit 8/24/09; DB Sch del 11/20/09
Emp 12/01/09-3/15/10 333 hrs
Wings 3/15/10-
Milestones ●
Phase I Complete ...Tony Phillips RV-9
Just a final post in this thread to say that I finished my Phase I
flight testing. Last Wednesday I crossed the 40 hour mark. It took about
a 30 days to fly off the time. Although I have to say that I probably
still consider myself in "flight testing phase 1.5". There's lots I
didn't discover about the flight envelop in the the 40 hours. Those of
you that have read my posts know that I had oil temp issues for 10-15
hours. That really consumed much of my attention early on. Then it was
fiddling with gear leg fairings, that was another 5 hours. 20 hours were
spent figuring out why I can't fly my RV like a Cessna. The balance of
the hours was spent doing stalls, steep turns and looking out the canopy
while flying a 40nm arc across SE Wisconsin.
more
Event News ● LOE'10 (Lots of Experimentals) Date/Location set:
Oct 1,2,3...mark your calendars.
- Location: Weatherford, OK (KOJA)
- Camping allowed.
- Friday night sunset beer social.
- Home of the Thomas P. Stafford Air & Space Museum (link)
- Charity, pre-registration, rental car and hotel info to come.
-
Tour the field ...courtesy Ron Lee
More to come...here's a map showing a 400nm circle around the
field.
Sat 07.17.10 2359z
SPECIAL
Avionics IN! Updated pics begin
HERE. dr
Sat 07.17.10 1800z
SPECIAL
OA Seats arrive. Installed. Panel screwed in
for final time. Hooking up final wires/switches rest of
day/tomorrow.dr
Fri 07.16.10 1119z
Wishing you a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend. Doug Reeves
(RV-6
'Flash')
● Project 'Pimp My Plane'
Status Updates...my RV-6
will be parked outside the Garmin area at OSH'10.
dr
- All wiring/sensors firewall forward is FINISHED and secured.
- Panel in the paint booth (final coat drying as you read this).
- Newly recovered Oregon Aero seats arrived yesterday (pics Monday)
- All panel / cockpit improvement pictures
HERE
●
Great Vibration Mystery - Solved ...John Bender (RV-12)
For a few weeks I have been 'occasionally' having vibrations at
high speeds, and high power settings.
Sequence of events :
1. Plane flew great all winter.
2. Installed wheel pants when available - picked up speed as
indicated. No problems.
3. Weather got warmer ( KEY NOTE ) 'sometimes' would have a
vibration in the front, but not always, at higher speeds and RPM's.
This morning, I finally figured out what it was (warm today again).
The front wheel bearings are sealed, and in warmer weather ( and wheel
pants ), the front wheel was spinning up to high enough RPM's it caused
vibration because I had not gotten as good a balance as I needed while I
was still building. It was cool then, and the wheel would not
self-center the heavy spot on the bottom due to more rolling resistance
in the bearings. With the warm weather today, the wheel would let me
know exactly where it was heavier. I put on enough weights so I can not
find a 'heavy' spot now, and the vibration went away. The tire is still
spinning a bunch likely when flying, but not causing vibration. Sorry -
long story, but it might save someone else a 'mystery' someday.
●
Just installed my new Beringer nose wheel.. ...Walt Aronow
Although I was happy with my Grove nose wheel and never have had a
flat, I just loved the idea of finally getting rid of the "Go Cart" tube
for good. When the opportunity arose last week to get one of these for a
good price (Osh special) I went for it.
Not being sure what to expect I anxiously waited for the wheel to
arrive. As soon as it got here (today) I immediately headed for the
airport to start the install process which I figured would take the
better part of the day. Well I was wrong, this thing is beautifully made
and it fit perfectly with no cutting, grinding, adjusting or trimming. I
just unbolted the grove and bolted on the new Beringer wheel. Took me
longer to get the wheel off the ground than it did to change it. The
quality and attention to detail on this wheel in outstanding, I am very
impressed
(continue
/ pictures)
Milestones ●
1000th post ...Mr. Bob Kelly
Five and a half years ago, I came to VAF as a newby. Looking back,
I decided to take the occasion of my 1000th post to express what VAF
(and all the members out there) has done for me.
10. VAF has saved me money. I have found "deals" and learned what not to
do.
9. VAF has made me a better builder. So many tips and finding out about
so many pitfalls to avoid.
8. VAF has put me in touch with the best (and most honest) vendors.
Shared experiences save the problem of finding the right company for the
extras.
7. VAF made me a better troubleshooter. I know where to look, and
usually who to ask.
6. VAF has made it possible to enjoy the experiences and trips of
others. I really enjoy reading about dog rescues and trips to places I
have never visited.
5. VAF has made me a better pilot. Again, just reading about flying
situations and their outcomes has added to my skill level.
4. VAF has helped me learn more about me. Shared experiences let me
better understand my strengths and weaknesses.
3. VAF let me share my knowledge/experience. As I gained more building
experience, it is most enjoyable to be able to easily pass it on.
2. VAF helps me appreciate just how blessed we really are. Having the
ability and resources to do something as special as building an flying
our own planes is an incredible thing.
1. VAF has brought me some of the finest friends a man could have. There
are people out there whose faces I couldn't pick out of a police lineup
that I feel I know very well. There are others I have met that hold very
special places in my heart. I would have never thought this possible
when I came here with post #1.
...
●
New Video From Pat
VAF Video guys, I installed a new camera that looks aft and tested
it on our lastest trip to the backcountry of Idaho. If you have not yet
been to Johnson Creek, you need to put it on your bucket list. This is
just a short takeoff and land at JC.
Pat
The largest formation many of us have been in - too turbulent at low
level for a fly-by, but we managed a few pictures from within the
formation. Thanks to Myke for sorting the brief!
