Life with a Van's RV
A site championing the fun and friends that come with
Van's RV
aircraft ownership.
Published weekdays by
Doug Reeves.Home
of the
VAF Forums
(register).
Online since 1998.
random photo by doug
reeves (unless noted on image)
Mon 02.08.10 1234z Good morning!
Yesterday before the weather rolled in, which is staying around for a
couple days at least, I Miata'd out to 52F while the getting was good
and took the RV up for a bit. The mission was maintaining
proficiency. It had been six days since the last flight, I was
starting to get a little twitchy for it, and needed to get my fly on
pretty quick or it was going to get worst (the weather and my skills).
We were OVC at 1800' with viz in the five mile range, but that was
plenty good for some touch 'n go practice. It was in the high 40's
on the drive out, and that calls for the coat and cap on, the top down,
and the tunes and heater cranked up. Love driving like that.
Had the field mostly to myself and spent my time in the pattern
practicing landings in various energy states and flap settings.
Didn't dork any of them up too bad - some were even acceptable.
Spent the rest of the day doing house stuff and on my @ss watching golf
and the Super Bowl. Made some good progress on the garage slash
aircraft shop project - didn't take a picture like I said I would, but
I'll get to that today.
Congrats to the Saints, their fans, the crew of Endeavour and those that
make her fly. Hope you had a VFR and safe RV-filled weekend and that your
Monday goes smooth. Doug Reeves
●
First Flight: RV-12 s/n 120186 ...Vern Hendershott
7 February at 1230 EST Capt. Mike Kelly (Retired United Airlines,
EAA Flight & Technical counselor, RV-8 builder/owner, and A&P) test flew
RV-12 Sr. No. 120186 N397JC for its first flight at Spruce Creek (7FL6)
Florida, the aircraft flew very well and Mike commented that the control
balance was better than a RV-8. This RV-12 was built by Vern Hendershott
(retired aviation executive, EAA Technical Counselor, commercial pilot
and A&P) and his partner Chester in about a year with some time lost
while waiting for the next kits to be released. The aircraft has been
sold to Jim Corley of Spruce Creek who built the fin, rudder, stabilator
and anti-servo tabs from another RV-12 kit and these units were used on
his new aircraft. Vern Hendershott will complete his second RV-12 when
the rest of the kit previously started by Jim Corley arrives this month.
●
Trip Write-up: Central America 2010
The following is my daily log of my third January trip in my RV6A
to Central America. Joan decided not to go this time so my friend Bob
Each joined me for this adventure. We flew to Guatemala City with
friends in a Bonanza, Bruce & Tobey Taber. We left on January 13 and had
a rough plan of where we would stop and what we would do, but we had to
be flexible as life intervened. For instance we were not able to join
Darrel Shy and his 3 passengers in Roatan due to unexpected events which
will be revealed.
continue
VAF Family ●
Seattle Area RV-12 Builders Gather
Three Seattle area builders got together yesterday to compare notes
on our RV-12 projects. Gary (L) has empennage in progress in Maple
Valley, Tony (M) is on powerplant kit in Burien, Hal (R) is just
starting the fuselage in Spanaway.
more
●
Helpers ...Hans Conser
I continue to improve my plane on a regular basis, and find helpers
to be so useful. Someone to bounce an idea off of is nice, and certain
helpers have special skills; like electrical.
Troubleshooting ●
Paint is going to be the end of me ...Randy
I am in the middle of a painters worst nightmare. A little
background. I tried spraying the fuselage myself, and that turned out
pretty bad. I tried to fix it, and that turned out bad as well. I took
it to a paint shop, followed their instructions, they shot it with
basecoat again, and all the flaws are coming back up. So the only thing
to do is strip all the paint off and start again. My Bad. You live you
learn, I think I have taken the whole experience in stride pretty well.
But, I helped the painter prep the wings, VS, and HS. Those got shot a
couple days ago, by the painter, in a paint booth, and he is a pretty
good painter. The next day we pick up the parts from the paint booth and
right off the bat, there was more orange peel than I would have liked
but nothing a little elbow grease can't fix up, till we took the parts
outside. Severe tiger strips, and the clearcoat doesn't even flow out
over the basecoat where it was put on too light. I am not really looking
for painting advice per say, but I must ask the question.
Has anybody else gone through this kind of painting HELL? I have
countless hours into this paint and I feel as if I am getting further
and further away from flying with every spraying. Has anyone had to get
out the stripper and strip their fuselage. I am not looking forward to
stripping the fuselage as I am afriad the stripper is going to get
inside the fuse and cause me further grief.
Building Tips / Techniques/ Mods ●
RV-10 Parking Brakes Illustrated ...Bob Leffler
Here are a couple pictures of my parking brake valve installation.
Ongoing Maintenance Issues ●
Slick questions ...Paul Dye
Well, it looks like the left Mag on Louise's RV-6 is finally
calling it quits - best we can tell from the logs, it has 1800 hours
since new, and the only things done to it along the way have been timing
checks. It has been getting harder and harder to start (ignition key
that grounds out the right mag in the start position), and we'd rather
not get stranded. I took it off and did an E-gap check (close) and
internal visual inspection (looked good) today, but now I can't even get
it to time right. I consider these to be 2,000 hour mags anyway, so i
figure I'll order a new one Monday morning. A couple of questions came
up though thought I'd throw them out to the brain trust...
1) The O-360-A1A has a 4373 on the left 4370 on the right. My
TMX-0360 has a 4371/4370 combination, which I thought was
standard....but looking up the Unison App table, it calls for 4373/4370.
the only difference I can find in on line references is the lag angle
4373 is 20 degrees, 4371 is 25 degrees. Anyone know if this really makes
a difference? My Mattituck built engine has preformed exceptionally with
the 4371....
2) What would make a mag check fine on the bench for E-gap and
point opening, but not do a thing on th e"buzz box" when hooked back up
on the airplane? That's what I've got now - "It's dead, Jim....". It
bugs me that it appeared to be working a little when I took it off - now
I can't get it to do anything.
3) Anyone know of a good deal/great price right now? I need to get
one first thing Monday morning - Louise uses it to commute, and I'm
gonna lose my airplane if her's isn't flying!
Miscellaneous
● Wanna Be In The New RV
Marketing Video?...from Ken Scott at Van's
Hey, Dougie...
I need a couple of RV builders, far enough along to have
recognizable airplane parts, to volunteer to let a film crew video their
project. We're upgrading the RV Story video and need some hands-on
builder's shots within fifteen or twenty miles of Aurora. I'd like to
get this done in the next few days.
Of course, if any RV builder elsewhere wants to send us footage
(HD) of work happening, we'd be glad to archive it and use it where we
can.
Prospective movie stars can call me at Van's. (503) 678-6545
8:00a-4:30p pacific time
Thanks,
Ken
Fri 02.05.10 1300z Friday!!! Worked in
the garage slash aircraft factory three evenings this week. About
2/3rds of the walls/shelves are painted now and most of the shelf
contents are on two freestanding shelves up in the attic. I'm
pretty sure I'm going to put down a light gray epoxy floor from
UCoatIt.com ($249) with matching color latex on the ceiling. It's
going to be a MUCH more conducive place to work on the RV-3B project
(and the cars for that matter).
Matt Johnson, your shop pics lit a fire in me. I'll get a
updated progress pic over the weekend.
Wishing you a VFR, happy and safe RV-filled weekend. Doug Reeves
●
Acts of Charity Section (using your RV) Created...in the
forums.
Haulin dogs around. Delivering blood/supplies to areas that
need it, etc. A place to talk about using your RV to give back. I'd ask the moderators to start moving these threads over into that
section as they come across them (with the 'Leave Expiring Redirect'
option set
to one month).
arrow shows
location
● RV Airlift Duty ...Vern Darley
An elderly gentleman from another state who spent 42 years
in the USAF/ USAFR has proven difficult to get to various family events
and doctor/ lawyer appointments UNLESS he is flown there! I've been
called upon to fly him to these important events. He is unable to get
in/out of my 6A by himself so I must arrange for helpers on both ends.
He has proven ornery and difficult for family members but when he gets
around me and my plane, he is charming. So, my little occasional airlift
duties have allowed the family to manage his affairs. It's a small thing
in return for someone who served our nation from 1946 onward.
Vern Darley
●
A Milestone Day ...RV-12 Tony Tessitore (Seattle)
First install of the wings today with the help of retired airforce
pilot Randy G. (on the right) and match drilled the Flaperon Torgue
Arms.
(more
pics)
●
Forum Posting Rules
Every so often I like to put a spotlight on the
rules for posting. I took a few moments yesterday to clarify a
few things and fixed a few grammar errors. If you haven't read the
posting rules in a few months (or ever), please take a moment to give
them a glance. It won't take but two or three minutes.
It continues to amaze me that with over 11,500 (mostly) alpha male
pilot types in the same room typing away there is so little friction.
Very unusual for an online community, and a testament to the caliber of
the RV community.
Advertiser's Corner...sent
in by the advertisers of this site. ● Tina's Pilot
Shop News
Here is the latest offering from Tina's Pilot Shop.
Our OEM LightSpeed Headsets....prices going up March 1, 2010 from
$20.00 to $35.00 depending on model.
V-11P Passive Only ~~~ $89.99 ~~ Retail $109.99
V-12P Passive w/ Cell adapter ~~~ 129.99 ~~ Retail $159.99
V-ANR w/ Cell & Audio ~~~ $249.99 ~~ Retail $279.99
All Headsets purchased will include a free mic muff & headset bag,
as well as FREE Ground Shipping.
Also for February, License Plate Frame~~ White Plastic with Blue
lettering "I LOVE FLYING"
Retail $9.99 Special while they last ONLY $5.00 includes free
Ground Shipping.
Embroidered on both sides 'REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT " key chains Retail
$5.99 Only $3.99
www.tinaspilotshop.com and/or (817) 490-0046.
●
JDAir Pedal Extensions
JD air is excited to announce the release of our next new product, pedal
extensions for the RV 4/6/7/9 series.
The Pedal Extensions improve the RV rudder/brake foot geometry so
it’s much easier and safer to taxi, take off, and use full rudder
defection without inadvertently touching the brakes. The improved angle
prevents “dragging” the brakes causing premature brake wear and over
heating. The pedals were designed by Jason and CNC machined utilizing
aircraft aluminum. Jason also did the machining. Each piece is hard
anodized in black to minimize wear. The pedals are great looking and
install in minutes.
I was skeptical as to how beneficial the extensions would actually
be. Well, after flying them for just a few hours, I don’t know I flew
without them. Before the extensions I was always concerned about
dragging the brakes, especially with a tail wheel airplane. Now, rudder
control is positive with the possibility of brake interaction during
normal rudder use eliminated.
Keep in mind, the pedal extensions aren’t to get your feet closer
to the pedals but to improve rudder/brake geometry and improve safety.
Once you experience the pedal extensions from JDair, I think you’ll
agree.
We have the extensions in stock and ready for immediate shipping.
The special introductory price is $65.00 per pair plus shipping. Visit
www.jdair.com to
order. Several new products are in the works to make your building and
flying more enjoyable and safer.
JD air is excited to announce the release of our next new product, pedal
extensions for the RV 4/6/7/9 series. 
