June 15, 2018.   Issue #4,588.
   Back in the saddle!  Thursday 0900 I flew the RV for the first time since last Saturday. I *tried* to hop over the KAFW and do a quick 16L ILS starting at WIGZU for a tight .2, but they were working four planes besides me, one of which a FedEx heavy. So over Justin I opted to slip out the back Jack and called up Denton for their 18 ILS instead - pattern to myself. Good practice I think to go from being set up to do one approach, throwing all that out the window, and resetting for a different airport slash approach ten miles away.  Lotsa buttons, and opportunities to muck it up.  Joined at PINCK and at mins scooted back direct 52F.

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  Of note are the overshoot on the localizer (I was fast) and the sorta circular overhead break with base just over FM1171.  Flaps 1 about 90* from final and flaps 2 just lining up with the centerline….concentrated on keeping the circle a circle while honking that flap handle up (I can sometimes see in the track where I grab for flaps).  Crosswind makes the circle even more fun, and the short bursts of concentration get addictive.  Screen grabs from Garmin Pilot on the iPad below.
  It was good to get off the surface again.  I missed it.  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.

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48 States in 7 Days - Day 7 ...larrynew

Day 7 - Friday, June 1st, 2018

We were up early at cousin Mark and Gayle's house with Uncle Tommy arriving at exactly 6 a.m. to cook a delicious southern breakfast including grits with Aunt Lois helping. Much better than my powdered milk and cereal in a ziplock! On the way to the airport, we visited with Jeff, cousin Laura's husband. He owns a big company that builds huge electric motor starters. We got the nickle tour and parting gifts of Yeti cups. It was super interesting to see in inner workings of a small factory. Another cousin Dwayne worked there and we visited for a few moments. Remember not being able to throw a rock without hitting a cousin? We didn't mind the somewhat slow start as the morning clouds in Florida had our destination IFR.

When we departed for Marianna, Florida (KMAI) the weather was already VFR. There were multiple helicopters making practice approaches to the field and it looked like it used to be a very large training base of some sort. We parked next to an RV but didn't go in to visit, only taking a quick picture. We were both beginning to feel that this was the last day of the trip and we need to keep pushing and finish. No so much get-home-itis but more keeping the momentum going.  ...

Vladspotting ...Dutch Harbor, Alaska

"It was nice meeting you Andy. You should bring your RV9A to Dutch Harbor. With all your busy working schedule you won’t be able to fly much though. Tom sold me 20 gallons of avgas he said he will keep a stash for us. Good people are at the airport the manager rocks!"

Houston area monthly RV lunch (June)

It's that time again! Looks like we're due to rotate back up to Hooks for some B-52 burgers. Same time as usual, 11:30, this Saturday (6-16).

I am unsure if I'll make it, as my parents are in town visiting for a couple days. Depends entirely on whether they're interested enough to want to attend and listen to the fun stories.

Finished RV-12 ...Cdenora (Mexico)

4 years in the making.  Ivo prop constant speed.  all else very much original.

Do I need to relocate my oil cooler? ...boulderick

Recently bought an RV-6A that flew first in 1995. Now that it is getting hot in Colorado, I'm having trouble with high oil temperatures. We're going through the steps I've seen in other forum posts - checking the baffles for leaks (there are some places to tighten up), checking the oil cooler for flow (expensive to have it cleaned, but we may do that), checking the oil temp sender and gauge and doing a compression test (tomorrow after work). The one thing that seems odd about this aircraft is the position of the oil cooler. It's just inside the left hand intake, mounted horizontally with a piece of 5/8" aluminum angle behind it to help direct some of the airflow through the cooler. Seems that airflow would largely bypass the cooler mounted this way. Has anyone seen this kind of configuration? Do I need to change it to the more traditional firewall mounting with a SCAT hose from the back of the engine baffles?

June 14, 2018.   Issue #4,587.
  Update on the wifey's '07 car......bad fuel pump.  New one on order now and should be back on the line in a couple days.  Easy fix and glad Audrey didn't need the Honda at grad school.  Minimal hassle for the spousal unit.
 

48 States in 7 Days - Day 6

Cowl flap thoughts ...crabandy

7A Rebirthing Status Report ...jcarne

Just Cant Stop (even at full lean!)

This is pertaining to an IO360-A1A injected engine with the RSA fuel servo.

I think Gremlins broke into my hangar. I just performed a routine oil and filter change after installing silicon rocker cover gaskets and a new oil quick drain. I touched nothing else. Before re-installing the cowl I ran the engine and allowed the oil to heat up in order to check for oil leaks. After reaching 170 degrees, I pulled throttle to idle and mixture to full lean to stop the engine. The engine wouldn't stop! It just kept on purring like a kitten. No real roughness, etc. Without giving it a lot of thought, I just switched the magnetos off in order to kill the engine. My first thought was that the lean cable came loose somewhere and lost adjustment.

I checked the linkages along with the local IA. Everything looks good. When lean is pulled, the lever on the fuel servo goes all the way to the stop. A fair amount of fuel (more than usual) drained out of the sniffle valve from the sump. It had to be a fluke! Went to restart engine. It was very hard to start (which is unusual for my experience with this engine. Remember that I killed it by grounding the magnetos so fuel was still going into the cylinders since I cant get shutoff at full lean). Once started, and smoothed out, I pulled lean and saw EGTs go up. I then pulled full lean and it kept right on running. I killed the engine this time by shutting the fuel off.

I had AirFlow Performance Overhaul my servo and basically replaced the full injection system with new parts and lines, restrictors, etc. back at the start of the year.

Am I missing anything here or is this a call to Airflow to troubleshoot? I am not aware of any additional adjustments for Idle shutdown other than making sure the lean lever on the fuel servo goes all the way against the stop.

Your input is appreciated!

Ben

52F Fish Fry

...Phil cranked up the fryer, Jackie made some coleslaw and Liz and John brought the brownies.  Around 25 ended up eating the crappie Randy, Phil and Clayton caught not too long ago, and the usuals had a nice opportunity to hang out with a cooling breeze and RVs in the background.

RV Life...

Pic from Mr. X ....Golden Gate (left) / SF (right)

June 13, 2018.   Issue #4,586.

Tate earning some extra summer money out at 52F Tuesday.

Osprey question

So I returned to my home base at New Kent (W96, Richmond, VA USA) the other day to find that a V-22 Osprey was doing touch-and-goes. Or whatever you would call it when a tilt-rotor aircraft practices landings.

The V-22 is just a flat-out amazing aircraft. I was going to join the pattern and land so that I could watch it in action, but then it occurred to me: what is the wake turbulence like from those things?!?

Fearing it might be extra nasty, I motored on for some additional sight-seeing elsewhere.

Any theories on how much room to give to a V-22?

48 States in 7 Days - Day 5

RV IAC Aerobatic Competition Standings - 2018

Four RV pilots competed this weekend in two separate contests. Jerry Esquenazi and Randy King dominated the Sportsman category at the Southeast Aerobatic Championships in Rome, Georgia taking second and third place among a very competitive field of twelve. Bill McLean had a good thing going for the first two flights in the Intermediate category but faltered in the third flight. (You don't get to count the best two out of three!)

Still to report is David Schmitz who is competing int Salem, Illinois this weekend. Weather has delayed the contest and we are still waiting for final results. More news to follow...

From Mothership FB Page

June 12, 2018.   Issue #4,585.
  Colonoscopy went well.  Zero polyps.  One hemorrhoid caught, banded, tagged and released w/tracker.  Still sleepy and have (not medically trained) a condition I choose to call 'Butt Fire'.  Taking it easy.
  See you Wednesday. 

June 11, 2018.   Issue #4,584.
  Saturday morning 0720 I flew down to Lancaster, TX airport to eat breakfast. Checked in with approach and got cleared into Class B (hoping for a flight over the top of KDFW). Didn’t get it and the restaurant was closed (vacation) if you can believe my awesome luck. ;^)  Used the powder room and hopped back in the plane. Called up approach again and this time asked for a ‘photo pass over KDFW’. Granted! Flew over my old workplace in Las Colinas, then over the top of DFW from east to west at 4,000’. Jets taking off and landing underneath me. How cool! I took a few pictures, landed, texted Monk to see if he was around (0830) and we drove over to Justin for breakfast at the Lonesome Spur. Everything turned out fine, and I finally got to overfly KDFW after nearly 16 years of having a flying RV.
   Tuesday’s edition might be a little watered down (pun). I have my first colonoscopy scheduled for Monday. Pushing out (again w/the puns) the Monday edition early so I can take the prep med that turns my Estes 1/4A3-3T into a Saturn V F-1. I talked with Monk about saving some money with the camera he uses to inspect engine valves with, but no dice.
  Hope you had a nice weekend and I’ll let you know if the doc finds my head.

PS: If you’re my age and haven’t had a colonoscopy yet, read this.
PSS: The new recommendation to begin screening is age 45. 

48 States in 7 Days - Day 2 ...larrynew RV-7A

Day 3 | Day 4

Build Status ...RV7ForMe

So on the second attempt I had to push the lip up while pulling the pop riveter.

Worked out in the end but cost me about 30 min and was completely unnecessary. Wont be doing that again on the right flap!

First Start ...Claude Pitre

After fixing a couple small issues discovered while pre-oiling my zero time IO-320, we got it started up for the first time. Does that ever make it feel like an airplane, don't have to make my own airplane noises anymore. A couple of minor squawks, lost my oil pressure sensor after start - came back after shutdown, probably a loose connection. I've got a bit of fuel leak at my fuel flow transducer and my #4 CHT sensor is offline. Unfortunately, my left fuel sender is still stuck on empty. The local guy that I had build my engine was pretty pleased with it, so that pleases me lots. Only ran it for a few minutes, we'll give it another start in a few days after fixing the issues we discovered. Planning my final inspection for the week after next and if that goes well, the RV-9 counter will be jumping up by 1 in early July.

RvPilotLife_TR#2 ...Josh 9A

I recently had the pleasure of flying twice to Madison to see Guil’s 9a project. We also flew around. The trip up this last time had some incredible cloud formations. Did a quick blog on it. Hope you enjoy!

Razor Blade Trick ...snopercod

Early heads up....Ironflight's 60th birthday (Louise post)

Save the date! We will have a birthday breakfast/brunch fly-in at our place (A34) in Dayton Valley Airpark, Nevada, on September 22nd. 8 am to noon. No presents. All VAFers are welcome.

Obviously, more information closer to the date.

Build Update ...David Paule -3B

Build Update (RV-10)...1001001

June 8, 2018.   Issue #4,583.
  Got Susie’s car towed to the hangar with the help of a friend's trailer and Rob Reece's 'Optimus Prime' truck (OP).  Troubleshooting soon, and thank goodness for friends.
  Tate's summer began Thursday afternoon.  He's washing OP Friday for $$$ and interviewing for an airport mowing position (air conditioned cab).
 Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.
 

New Pilot

...Laura Starkey.   "...this would have been my dad’s 98th birthday. He was my inspiration as a child to fall in love with flying. He was a WW2 Navy pilot whose love for flying rubbed off on me! Took his navy logbook with me on the flight today. Dedicated to my dad’s memory!!!"

(Mike Starkey's better half - you know Mike....the unofficial VAF greeter ;^) ).  Congratulations Laura!!!!! (link)

Day 2

Sunday, May 27th, 2018

Up early for our second official day of the trip. The Travelodge was quiet and comfy and we got a good night's sleep after watching NBA basketball. After a drive-through breakfast of McDonald's bacon, egg and cheese biscuits it was an easy drive back to the airport. Today will take us to California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota. Here are the bomb bunkers leaving Hawthorne

Best way to fix this dumb mistake?

....his words.  While working on the flap positioner, running the flaps up, the plug on an extension cord wedged between the flap and upper skin resulting in these dents. Don't really have a way to get inside the flap to push it out, so was wondering if anyone had some repair suggestions?

jamesdavid <$100 Arduino/Bluetooth/GoPro Mount Sensor Pod

Last year, for EAA's Founder's Innovation Prize competition, I made a < $100 sensor pod with an Arduino variant connected to a differential pressure sensor, with Bluetooth to an iOS App. The general idea was that the pod would attach to a GoPro style mount and provide pitot static data to an iOS device and cost about as much as a "Stratux" DIY device, but for pitot-static and other flight data instead of ADS-B.

I did not get selected by the EAA -- other similar things were selected to present during AirVenture. However, other than the $2000 Levil BOM Pod, I have not seen anything further in this space, and nothing further from the other EAA Founders Prize Finalists.

I have not tested it in flight (I just got a steam-gauge RV-6A that I may try this out on once I get transition training and comfortable with the airplane), but, when I saw this thread, I figured I would share this for educational/discussion purposes here:

More Pics from 'Big Toot' First Flight Wednesday

Five Hour Phase One ...Iron

Yesterday I completed the shortest Phase 1 flight testing program I have ever done - it was for a neighbor's ELSA RV-12, an airplane I have been watching him build for the past five years.  ...

June 7, 2018.   Issue #4,582.

Milestone: 5,000 Hours ...turbo RV-6A

i finally passed the 5,000 hour mark on my trip yesterday from FL to CT. it was a great flying day of mostly vfr wx and some ifr challenges in the NY-CT area but my old faithfull rv did it again and again and again. thought i would catch the hobbs turning over and get a screen shot or note where i was but it didn't happen. landed about 4 tenths later at mount olive NC, w40, rnav 05 coupled ap synthetic vision in severe clear conditions. squeeked it on as usual, rolled to mid field and turned off. topped off with 31 gallons and continued as usual. glad you are all here to share the moment. be safe out there and enjoy those blue skys and wet clouds.
see you guys tomorrow at jafrey nh for lunch.

First flight

...ppowers in Kingsport, TN.  RV6 N46WP flew for its first flight today.

Day 1 - Saturday, May 26th, 2018 ...larrynew

We departed Dumas, Texas early on the first official day of our attempt to visit 48 states in 7 days. Today, we visited Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and spent the night in Nevada.  ...

Can’t get oil gurgle after 10 months idle ...Jim McCarter RV-12

My RV-12 Rotax 912 has not been started for 10 months while doing ACI, brake job, satisfying SB’s, etc. l recently thought it would be a good idea to turn the prop by hand to pump the oil back into the oil canister. (A fresh oil change was done just before my final flight 10 months ago). Well, the first thing I noticed when I started turning the prop was that the engine compression seemed low. I kept turning the prop - about 100 revs - and I never could get the “gurgle”. Can someone explain what is going on an tell me what to do. I don’t intend to try starting the engine until I’m sure everything is back to normal.

‘Big Toot’ Flies ...

Not RV, but neat and close to home!  I had the distinct pleasure of witnessing the Tommy Meyers and Phil Witt designed ‘Big Toot’ put air under its tires for the first time.  S/N 1 aviated Wednesday morning at 52F around 0630 with Gary Platner at the controls.  Randy Richmond flew chase in an RV-8 with me as ballast.  Took a few pics while Randy and Gary talked about more important stuff (anything falling off?, etc).  Some teaser shots while I process the take.  I'll have a folder up later in the week.

Congratulations Tommy, Phil, Gary and the rest of the gang who helped this become reality. 

'Little Toot' now has a brother...

related: www.littletootbiplane.com

First Post, Couple of Questions on RV-10

Hi folks,

So I haven't yet made the official jump on purchasing a kit. From what I can tell I think we (it'll be a family affair) will be ready to start in about 2 years. I'm gathering as much research as possible to help prepare ourselves for the marathon ahead.

A little about my family and I: My wife loves flying and so do my two little ones (2.5y/o twins (boy and girl)). My son is OBSESSED with airplanes (he wears my GA magazines out before I can read them) and my wife wants to get her PPL. We take up our AA5B Tiger about twice a month to get pancakes and during the cooler months we fly to CA to visit the in-laws and my brother and sister-in-law (2 hrs flying vs 5.5 driving). I'm a corporate pilot by trade and have a ton of free time on my hands (kids take a lot of that up for now). I'm also an A&P and really enjoy working on my airplane when the need arises. As an aside I went to A&P school after the Air Force and I noticed that I really excelled in sheet metal and thoroughly enjoyed working with it (composites were okay), which really led me down the RV route versus Velocity. My mission requirement is a 4 place aircraft with the range to make most of the west coast possible from AZ (including over mountain treks). I honestly believe the Vans community is where I want to hang my hat with and I look forward to pressing on with a family project.

A couple of questions:

1. Does someone have actual experience to compare the AA5B and the RV-10? Numbers clearly look superior for the RV-10 in terms of speed and payload, how do they differ in flying?

2. How do you successfully finance the build? I know I can sell my AA5B for around $65k, of which I have around $35-40k in equity. I'm a corporate pilot (in light jet category) so I don't make 20 year Delta Airlines pay, but I do okay and the future is bright in terms of compensation growth. How much can you finance? I understand the RV-10 will cost around $120-160k to build out the door, I'll likely go with the slow build because my wife wants to be a big part of the project and we can save some there. I know I'll want a EFIS IFR panel, but I'm okay with a modular approach to avionics.

3. Has anyone built an RV with their little ones? I'd like to shoot around 4.5-5y/o for my kids to start to help. I'm sure my son would be super interested and I'd like to get my daughter hooked on something STEM related at a young age. Obviously I'm planning on them being 8-9 by the time we are finished (assuming a 3-4 year build time).

4. Any pieces of sage advice to give to someone who is planning on a build with the family? I'm sure there's quite a few out there who had the chance to build with their family members.

5. Anyone in the Phoenix area with an RV-10 who would be gracious enough to give a demo flight? I'd happily pitch in for some fuel. I'd like to be able to compare notes and really get to know the aircraft before I start shooting rivets.

Thanks!

All the best,

David Marques

rel: RV-10 forum

Mystery Runway ...Vlad

Tight spot in a picturesque valley. Any idea where?

June 6, 2018.   Issue #4,581.
  Susie's car wouldn't start Tue afternoon (she volunteers at Medical City Denton) so I spent a chunk of the afternoon/evening getting her home and squared away in Audrey's Honda.   I *might* have a trailer lined up, but if that falls through I thought it a good idea to 'Ping the Force' locally for a trailer to get the car from the hospital to 52F so I can work on it (17.9 miles - map at right).  A guess is fuel pump - 240,000 miles.  Let's hope that simple <g>.
  Unrelated, the VERY nice sunrise we had in DFW Tuesday - took two pics before driving out to the field.  1 / 2.  
 

Ground Shot ...Simon remembering a friend.

First Flight  ...Robert M

As of 8am this morning, (June 5), RV-9 N556RM, made its first flight at the Chester Catawba Regional airport in South Carolina.

The plane performed as expected for a Van's Aircraft - perfect!

Wind was from the North at 4mph, temperature was 65 degrees, barometric pressure was 29.89. Took off, climbed to pattern altitude at 100mph, made the turns in the pattern, throttled back, flaps at 80mph, got 70mph on final, the mains touched, very slight hop, mains back down - stuck, tail dropped a short time later, taxied back to hangar.

What a glorious day! She flies!

Started this project in April 2006, first flight 12 years and 2 months later.

'Bought dern time!

Jam nuts :( ...Vic

I am about ready to start a movement like Nancy Reagan's "just say No to drugs", only mine is going to say "Just say NO to loose jamnuts!"

I thought I had started a thread on this some time ago, but I can't find it right now, so you get to hear me again.

I performed a prebuy on an RV-10 today that has been flying for 8 years. So that's an Airworthiness inspection, and at least 7 Condition Inspections, and amongst the 800 hours, hopefully some preflights.

I found 7 loose jamnuts on the tail surfaces! They had never been tightened, as there was no scoring on the mating surfaces. I just reached in with my fingers and turned them.

So, please go check your jamnuts on your next preflights. This is a high stress area to begin with, with a SB even being issued across most of the models for cracking around the nutplate rivets. Perhaps someone on this forum can set up a poll that says "I have checked my aircraft jamnuts." It would be interesting to see if we could achieve 100% in the next year.

Added Screaming Eagle Tailwheel to Original Small RV-3 Spring

Thanks to Blake and Vince at Flyboy Accessories. I talked them into making the option to have a tailwheel socket with a smaller inside diameter so the original RV-3/4 small diameter taper springs could be modified to a full swivel Screaming Eagle tailwheel. That was about 18 months ago and I just now got around to adding the modification to my RV-3B.

The smaller ID of the socket is 33/64" yielding a thicker wall thickness of the socket as it is the same OD as the standard one. This requires machining a 2" area off of the spring to a constant 33/64" diameter to fit the socket. Flyboy also has a similar modification for the RV-4 that utilizes the standard socket as the RV-4 spring has a larger OD.  ...

Classic Aero Designs Power Outage 6/6/18

Hi Everyone,

We just got word this morning that the Power company will be replacing a power pole out here at the airport that feeds several buildings including ours. I'm not sure what to do except to try to get word out to our customers the best I can. I'm sure the city knew about this sooner than they told us, but not a lot we can do about it now.

They are saying from 9:30AM to 3:00PM PST. We moved our business to the airport about 10 years ago, and we've never had anything like this before

If it's okay with Doug, I'll probably bump this once or twice just to let a few more of our customers know what's up.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

__________________
Luke Doughton
Classic Aero Designs

RV-4 Progress Report ...MS1095

Making progress...There has been a lot to fix along the way, but it is finally starting to come together.  ...

RV-10 Rudder Trim ...how 9GT did his

I used the hinge method with a Ray Allen servo. Hard to see in the photo but the servo is mounted on the inside of a removable access panel to the left of the threaded rod fairing. I installed during the build but it still would be an EZ retrofit to a flying plane with minimal paint touch-up. IIRC I used about 10" of hinge and That would give a little over a full ball either side. I found it an invaluable accessory on my -10, especially with various loading and winds aloft.

Plane Ownership & Complacency

I see this often since I spend so much time now at the airport hanger working on my -9A. (KGDW is a very nice rural airport but has little activity) I see so many pilots who own their own planes do a VERY limited pre-flight inspection, if they even bother to do one at all! Last weekend on Sunday took the cake for me. I could not believe what I had witnessed. The owner drove in, opened his hanger, pulled out his plane, (not an EXP), closed his hanger up, hopped in, started his engine and immediately began to taxi. He did not even bother to use the taxi-way. Cut across the grass to the runway and just took off. No pre-flight inspection, no run-up or mag check,,,,nothing! Not even a radio call! About an hour later an incoming plane announces his position and intentions and advises their is a second incoming plane with inoperative radio, his buddy who took off earlier. I think a lot of people who own their own planes feel since they are the only ones flying the plane, they know it well enough to get away with this type of stuff. Wrong!

Pic from 'Mr. X'

...Charlotte, NC

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FOD Walk Take ...52F 6/5/18 0800 (Monk and me)

June 5, 2018.   Issue #4,580.

Interesting 'Follow Me' Vehicle

Michael...RV-10 HB-YNN (Switzerland)
"I took the family in our RV-10 to Bologna/Italy and was quite surprised to be lead by the most stylish 'follow me' car ever."

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10,000th RV at Oshkosh ...mothership

"This year we celebrate the 10,000th RV completed and flown. Van’s Aircraft will have this RV-7 built by David Porter on display at the homebuilt area close to Boeing Plaza. There will be room for ten RVs to join David’s RV-7. We would like to have one of each model from the Van’s lineup on display for most of, if not all week. If you would like to have your RV on display contact Sterling at Van’s at Sterling (sterling ‘at’ vansaircraft ‘dot’ com)"

48 States in 7 Days - Overview & Day 0

The Plan
With the plane finished and well tested, we wanted a signature trip. Why? The adventure, the challenge, the quality time with father and son. And, to beat our uber-competitive family members racing to visit all 50 states.

The plan was to fly to and land in all 48 lower states in our Van's RV-7A airplane and put our feet on the ground at each stop and take a picture, not just a touch and go. And do it in 7 days! In an airplane we built in the garage!!  ...

I’ve been pink-slipped! ...sbalmos

It’s a funny feeling when the day finally comes. A bittersweet feeling in a way. The end of an era. Some even say that it really is easier if it happens on a Monday rather than a Friday. And after 6.5 years in this same position, I had a feeling this event would happen to me at one point or another. I guess it really is time to move on and try out a new title.

... I’VE BEEN GIVEN A PINK SLIP!!!

RV Builder/Pilot Gets Interviewed About Previous Job ...MCC Flight Director

...Paul 'Ironflight' Dye (RV-3/6/8)
"Thought that you might be interested in these - the EAA put up the video of my talk at the museum (an hour long) and the podcast audio interview “The Green Dot” that is about forty minutes. Just telling stories of MCC...."

7A 'Rebirthing' Update ...kentlik

I have a gig starting tomorrow so might be the last post for a little while, and not much of one at that.

Need to cut canopy sides about here:

Pics from ‘Mr. X’: Aspen and Leadville

Aspen (enlarge)

Leadville (enlarge)

June 4, 2018.   Issue #4,579.

First Flight Pics ...Chris Engler

Follow on video, first year and paint

I forgot to post this last week....if anyone is interested, I have a follow on video to the documentary about building the RV-12. This covers my first year of flying, including some upgrades to the plane and the painting process. This one is only 18 minutes, so people are much less likely to fall asleep

RV-Lancair Brotherhood Day

Public Service Announcement about buying airplane "parts". ...Mel Asberry

Recently there have been notices for sale of "parted out" aircraft being sold without registration and/or airworthiness certificates. Be aware that, with the possible exception of Experimental-Exhibition, there is currently no path to legally "recertify" an aircraft of this type.

To certificate an amateur-built aircraft, one must show proof that more than 50% of the aircraft was built by amateurs. An ELSA would not meet this requirement.

To certificate as an ELSA, one must show documentation from the kit manufacturer, that the aircraft was built from a certified ELSA kit (by serial number).

A few of the parts from an aircraft of this type might be used on an amateur-built aircraft but some sort of proof of compliance with the 51% rule must be shown.

 

AirVenture 2018 Homebuilt Patch Honors Van’s Aircraft

Pic from 'Mr. X'

...Canyon El Grande

enlarge

June 1, 2018.   Issue #4,578.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.
 

Sam Daniels and daughter enjoying the 6A.  52F.

Rusty pilot with dusty RV-6 seeks advice/assistance

Hi all,
I am a longtime lurker who finds myself with more free time than I’ve had in years … time to (finally!) once again become proficient, well equipped, and start chasing some long-deferred dreams.

First the pilot … I earned my ticket 30 years ago, flew a hundred hours or so, then jobs, family, houses, moves, kids in college happened. Now – newly retired, with the last kid a senior in college I have the time and money to reconnect with the wonderful world of aviation. I have recently earned a Glider rating and am having fun learning to fly again. I have virtually no tail-wheel time and will be essentially starting over with an instructor in power craft soon. I live in Tampa, FL.

Next, the plane … a very nice, basic, RV-6 with an fixed pitch 0-320 and a full panel of lovely steam gauges inherited from my father. Its an original slow build constructed lovingly by my father and a partner … both now “gone west”. First flight – and Phase I flown off in 2009 and 2010. My father’s medical condition prevented further enjoyment. The plane has been in (careful) storage since … pulled out occasionally for a ground run to move the oil around. It was maintained in annual until 2016, but now needs a battery and Condition Inspection (and I hope not too much else other than a pilot!). The plane lives (for now) at an air park near Houston. Documentation is complete in all respects.

Finally, the plan…
1). Get the future pilot (me) competent with an instructor in/near Tampa … ideally in a tailwheel equipped trainer.
2). Complete a condition inspection in Houston. Ideally with someone well experienced with RV’s. While I provided occasional help bucking rivets, my father built the plane (his second after a previous Long-EZ) with a building partner. I see the workmanship as good to excellent, but don’t feel either competent or well positioned to judge. My primary interest is to be sure the plane is safe and also possibly learn what improvements might be made (or more modern options may be beneficial).
3). Have a competent pilot ferry the plane from Houston to Tampa.
4). Complete transition training in an RV6 – Ideally this one (!) if there is a willing and competent instructor in the area – or in another RV with an instructor experienced in transition training.
5). Hours consumed VFR happily turning avgas into smiles, pursuit of the $100 hamburger, maybe share the RV grin with a few young eagles.

If you’ve bothered to read this far, you can help with:
a). Any advice, suggestions, or encouragement – I appreciate fully that I have MUCH to learn.
b). Recommendations for an instructor near Tampa – bonus points if he/she would be interested in ferrying the plane, double points if willing and able to provide transition training in it once here.
c). Recommendations for someone to do an (extensive) Condition Inspection in Houston and make recommendations – beyond clear airworthiness needs if any – on how the plane could be improved/made safer/more reliable. Major enhancements (eg Glass panel) not anticipated.
d). Recommendations for transition training in/near Tampa. Is it feasible to find an RV experienced CFI that would be willing to do instruction in my plane? Is this insurable? Is a LOA required?

Recommendations of third parties appreciated via the forum for all to see, interested principals are welcome to PM me directly if preferred.

Thanks in advance,
Peter

June Wallpaper Calendar

I went artsy fartsy this month....how the shadow adds depth and character to the fuselage made my eyebrow lift.  From the 'VAF Drone' at the cave.  BTW, this RV-8A is for sale by a person at my field.  Call Randy Richmond (817) 4 Zero 1 - 8 Zero Nine 6 if interested for pics and more (specs).

"It's difficult to enter into this work because of how the optical suggestions of the facture notates the distinctive formal juxtapositions." - Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator (link)

FOD.  Day III

Mashy and Monk's 0700 finds in 'FOD 1'. 

A more comfortable ride in turbulence-

Although I'm hopeful that the current round of physical therapy will help my spinal issues, there's no hope that my spine will ever again be good for more that 2 Gs (five level fusion, L1-L5, and additional recent symptoms). And the other day, it's newest complaint was whining in moderate turbulence (enough that the downdrafts would lift you out of the seat a little, but not slam your head into the canopy.) The sharp edged updrafts were the uncomfortable ones.

So what to do about getting a better ride in turbulence?
* I talked to the good folks at OregonAero, and their suggestion was to make sure that I wasn't slouched over in the seat. I climbed into the -9A on the ground, and guess what I was doing? Yup, was slouching, but when I sat up straight, my upper arm was pressed against the side rail;
* Fly slower. The RV-9A has adequate speed for cross country, but I'd hate to have to slow down whenever it got bumpy;
* Get a faster plane and fly it slower. That could be a -7A, -10, or -14A. I've already been spoiled by the Garmin G3X touch system for IFR, and that's $40K to replicate in a new plane. The -7A has the same fuselage as the -9A, but I could slow it down to RV-9A speeds. The one time I tried, the -10 seemed heavy enough that I probably shouldn't try pushing it on the ground. RV-10s are also pricey, as are RV-14s which are rare on the market. An -8A is a possibility, but the ride in turbulence is not good for the back seater, and I don't know that the G3X yaw damper will work on an -8A.
* Get a (horrors!) spam can with springs in the seats.

Hate to do it, but the time has come to sell the RV-8, which I love to fly. And the -9A is also a candidate for replacement if I find a reasonable alternative. At this point, however, the easiest solution is to keep the -9A and slow down in turbulence...

Anybody got any better ideas, other than turning the clock back a decade or so? Surely other folks have gone through this, or very similar...

__________________
RV-8 (steam gauges), RV-9A at KSAV (Savannah, GA; dual screen G3X with autopilot, GTN 650)
Previously RV-4, RV-8A, AirCam, Cessna 175

 

Seen at Richmond Aviation (Monk's) 

Cool little wire clips from Summit racing Randy is using to clean up the wiring install on an RV-8 in the shop.

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RV-10 Milestone: Fuselage kit!

I received my fuselage kit yesterday and have been working my way through the inventory sheets...Now I just have to finish up these wings

Summer Office ...ENGAGE

At the Van Cave after the morning workout, I'm too lazy to move the portable cooler over to the couch.  And there is no table over there anyway, so I clamped a board to the tail lift and just use the weight bench as a chair.  Blower keeping me conscience at far left.  It's going to be 100+ all next week.

Surprisingly comfortable.  Not so much two feet to the side. 

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Crosswinds! ...-12

I was landing yesterday at Byron with turbulent winds coming down off the Altamont mountains at 38 gusting to 44 KT from 200º, making runway 23 the favorable one with a crosswind component of 19-22KT. It was a bumpy landing, but mostly a non-event in the Baron.

However, I'm getting ready for my airworthiness inspection and hoping to be flying soon - which made me consider about crosswinds in the RV12. I've read other posts about it, and obviously the Van's POH that states 12 KT max crosswind and 35 max total wind.

How would you think the RV12 would handle landing in yesterdays winds on RW23?
__________________
Ron Gawer

SERVICE BULLETIN 18-05-21 for Fuel Injected Lycoming Installations

Installation of plug in fuel spider gauge port

Another "Special" RV for sale. ...Mel Asberry

Ann & I don't do much cross country any more, so the RV-6 is going up for sale. February condition inspection. Will open up for pre-buy inspection.

RV-6 Tip-Up $73,500
Built by Mel & Ann Asberry, 1989-1993.
1126 hrs. TT, Empty weight 1040 lbs., Day/Night VFR., NDH.
Lycoming O-320-E3D, 9.5:1 compression, Roller rocker arms, (Aprox 172 hp).
850 SMOH, Dual impulse mags, Service bulletins complied with. Feb 2018 Annual.
Catto 3-bld w/NLE & Screwless Spinner, 2 spare props, Catto 3-bld (climb), Sensenich Wood.

Hotel/Whiskey Extended Range Fuel Tanks (47 gals total fuel).
GRT Sport EX EFIS w/Safe-Fly 2020 GPS (new).
Garmin GNC 300XL com(1)/gps, Xcom com(2), Trig transponder. ADS-B out compliant.
Electronics International engine analyzer (UBG-16), fuel flow/pressure, dual fuel level.
TruTrak Vizion 380 2 axis autopilot.
Dual Brakes. Manual Flaps and Trim. Nice canopy cover that covers cabin vents.
Awards include:
“Best All Metal” S&F, “Outstanding Homebuilt” S&F. “Grand Champion” All American Sport Aviation Fly-In. “Mechanical Excellence Award” EAA 168. and More.
Serious inquires only please.
Mel
972-784-7544 rvmel@icloud.com

May 31, 2018.   Issue #4,577.
  Heads up Texas.  TFRs 5/31 (Thu) Houston and Dallas. 
  POTUS.
  Houston: 1515Z - 2015Z
  Dallas: 2015Z - 2330Z
 
 

Geysers ...Vlad the Amazing

On a Yellowstone tour. Old Faithful was still packing the steam for eruption we couldn’t wait for too long. Grand Prismatic was awesome.

Another RV8 First Flight

After 5 1/2 years the airplane and I had a near perfect first flight yesterday! Winds were calm, some rain showers had passed through and the afternoon high temps had cooled to mid 70s. After some marathon sessions at the hanger these past few weeks tweaking, checking, rechecking, by around 6:30 PM yesterday, I had that strange "there's nothing left to do" feeling so I called the camera crew (aka my wife), pushed it out of the hanger, and did the pre-flight.

Started the engine, taxied to the end of the runway, completed the mag check and takeoff checklist. With everything in the green, took the active and advanced the throttle. The airplane tracked perfectly and with about 60 mph indicated, nudged the stick back and it was airborne! The thing that surprised me the most was how solid everything felt....zero need for trim on either axis and just locked on the heading. Got to about 5000 feet in very little time and throttled back to check response at slow cruise - all good. Then slowed down to low 60s with flaps to check slow speed handling....again, completely straight and predictable. After 20 minutes or so, went back to the airport to set up an approach. Bounced a bit on the first landing (the typical pulled power to idle early and flared a bit too soon) but a blip of throttle settled it in. What amazing airplanes these are!

Went back out today and flew to a couple of local airports and filled the tanks....a couple hours in and feeling very comfortable.

One of the things I was concerned with during the build was cooling. The engine is an XP 400 but between the large oil cooler using the RV10 firewall mount and tight fitting baffles, the highest temps I've seen on climb out is around 190 (ambient temps around 80 today).

Of course some thanks are in order....first to this great community for providing the massive knowledge base to help with those head scratching moments. I don't have any active builders nearby but help was always only a post or search feature away. Not sure if a day has gone by during the build that I wasn't logged on at some point. Next, a big Thank You to Bryan and Showplanes. I used his fastback conversion and cowl and have been delighted with both products. More than that, I've lost track of the number of times we chatted over the past 5 years (even RV8 questions not related to his products). Whenever I'd call I get hear the same steady and calming voice offering years of wisdom from one of the great builders....never rushed and happy to send pics to help explain his answers.

Lastly and most importantly a BIG Thanks to my wife! Regardless of all of our lots in life, building and airplane is a big commitment in terms of both time and money and I was very fortunate to have complete support in both regards.

If the weather cooperates, hoping to get the 40 flown off in time to see some of you and Oshkosh this year!

I'll see if I can get some pics posted soon...and change my signature from "Under Construction" to "Completed"!

__________________
Chris Engler, Greene, NY

 

Longeron and F-01234 match drilling ...-12

On page 23-02 step 5 the forward edge of the F-01234 needs to be flush with the marked line on the longeron. Before match drilling. I decided to put the outside of the forward edge of the F-01234 flush with the outer point of the line on the longeron. And kept going. But maybe I made a mistake doing it that way?

This way?

Baggage compartment shelf...Ed W. update

So it's almost done.

Very similar to what Noel suggested, I have a U-channel atop the longerons just forward of the lower baggage bulkhead, but it transfers no loads to the bulkhead. Rather, I have a screw through the U-channel, bulkhead and the upright in the center of the plane to carry vertical loads in the center, and on the edges, the U channel rests on the longerons. No, I'm not concerned about negative G loads. At least, I sure hope I don't need to be.

At the front, the plywood rests on the crossmember supporting the seat backs. And in the middle, I have a piece of hardware store angle that rests on the longerons and is yet to be glued to the plywood.

And although I haven't yet figured out how to support it so that I can reach it in flight, this design will allow a cutout or a slot for an oxygen bottle ahead of the rear bulkhead.

Materials: one piece of foam board to make a pattern (would have been nice if the foam board was big enough to cover more than just one side at a time), a 2' x 4' piece of 1/4" plywood, a 4' piece of 1/2" U channel, and a 4' piece of maybe 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/16" angle. And one screw, washers, and a bolt.

Now for the real measure: four or five trips to the hardware store, one to Walmart for the foam board, and probably more time spent thinking about how to do it than on actually doing it. And when I returned the unused materials that supported all the aborted ideas, they totaled $82.10.

Elevator Trim Tab Fold -- Acceptable?

Hey all,

I'm working on the LH elevator and trim tab and have gotten the bends on the elevator itself and the outboard tab pretty well done, but the inboard tab has turned out somewhat "less perfect". That said, I'm not certain that another go at it will necessarily produce a much better outcome, and considering that it will be covered in paint and such, my gut is to just build on. That said, I thought I'd ask your collective opinions before doing so:

A Day in the Life ...my home field.

Pictures from Wednesday at 52F.

FOD walk. 0630.  Hand model Rob Reece.

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FOD from yesterday afternoon.  In the grass between
the runway and taxiway.

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Track from morning .3 flight.  Flew over
our friend Bob's house (sick) letting him
know the gang was thinking about him.
Joined 16L ILS at WIGZU (KAFW) to
missed then back.

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Grump, Matt, Sid, Scorch 4-ship practice

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Break at initial.

play

Deck (no stairs yet) at the new airport office.
Built by Carey Sharp.

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May 30, 2018.   Issue #4,576.

Sid (7A) and Matt (6) in the Break

...I heard 'um coming up initial and got my phone out in time.  Had to sidestep a little there at the break to keep them in view (they didn't move laterally like a UFO) ;^)

Why a Regular F.O.D. Check Can Be A Good Idea

...found on the runway YESTERDAY at my home field.  Yesterday.  And yes, that's a 13" long piece of rebar.  Randy Richmond has volunteered to drive his golf cart the length of the runway daily at 0630 with his handheld checking for FOD.  Randy found another gas cap a couple of weeks ago.

Click either pic to enlarge...

Strange discoloration on flywheel after prop removal

I removed my prop the other day to take it up to Northwest Propeller for some edge work. After I got back to the hangar, I decided to take off the flywheel and change the alternator belt. To my surprise, I discovered the two mating surfaces between the flywheel and the crank where stained (see below). The mating surfaces on the other side between the flywheel and prop are clean.

This is off an RV-4 (1992) with about 850 hours on the engine and 300 SOH (2008) on the prop.

While the stains look oily they are not. There is very little build up and they are dry. Any ideas about what is going on?

Thanks,
Scott

Finish kit has arrived!!! ...dwranda 9A

My finish kit was delivered today. I was a little worried when I saw the crate since it had 3 holes in the side. I took plenty of pics as I opened the crate to check for damage. Luckily it looks like everything is OK. I deleted the cowl since I am going with the James version. Doesn't look like many parts for over $6K. Super excited and a little worried to get going on the canopy.

Pic from Mr. X ...NYC

RV-12 Panel Update ...Ron Gawer

I'm going to be moving my airplane to the airport in a couple weeks, but it's essentially done.  I meant to add that once I finished up, I found I had to remove a little material at the upper outboard corners of each display to prevent any contact with the canopy bar. It would open and close, but rubbed. Rather than trim the bar (allowed in the drawings), I decided milling off a little plastic easy. I meant to go back and put some black paint on the corners, but just realized when I saw the picture online that I forgot that. Anyway, I had a "I have made fire" kind of moment when I turned it on and it all actually works, including all of the engine telemetry. Now, on to the actual engine noises...

Milestone: 'The Cut' ...kentlik 7A 'Rebirthing'

May 29, 2018.   Issue #4,575.
  (207) emails in the 'ol inbox.  Digital tectonics seems to be pushing Mt. Email up more than usual.  I'm working on it...and the PMs...and good morning.  Hope you got some time with your RV this weekend.
 

Just painted ...pstraub

Flying a neighbor over Lake Camanche in Northern California!!

New Rv-10 owner!!!wtb fuselage, wings

Hey guys I would like to introduce myself. I’m Allen and I finally purchased a RV-10 empennage that is partially built. In a couple of months I am going to order I’m thinking the fuselage quick build kit before the wings. Before I order is there anyone that is looking to sell a fuselage or wing kit?

 

"First Flight: Journey to a Dream" a film my son did of my, well you know...

Executive Summary:
After a little over two years, I conducted my first flight in N5427W, an RV-7. My son (a film student), was good enough to video the experiance and create this short film (only 6 minutes). I almost titled it "Five of the Best Landings I Ever Made", but I settled on "First Flight: Journey to a Dream."

Turn up the sound and enjoy!

Exhaust Spring Rubbing On Cowling Air Duct ...-12

The spring on the left front of the exhaust (just below the #2 cylinder) has been rubbing the cowling air duct. The rubbing has gone through the heat shield and is now working on the fiberglass. The air duct is dimpled to make room for the spring; but, in my case, it looks like it could use another 1/8” to 3/16” of space to keep the spring and air duct from rubbing together. This is the original exhaust system on the 912ULS. This condition was found during the 200 hour engine maintenance (replace spark plugs, etc.).

I am thinking of cutting an oblong hole around the spring’s mark on the air duct and fiber glassing in a bubble to make more room for the spring.

Any suggestions?

Don't make this mistake installing the wheel fairings! ...-12

Page 36A-06. When installing the left outboard main gear fairing bracket (U-00002 and U-00004) with the long AN3-40A bolts, I broke off both bolts in the holes in the axle. Sounds pretty dumb but here's how it happened.

As I screwed the bolts in they became tight with about 1/8" left to go. I was puzzled so I turned the small 1/4" socket wrench carefully and then, snap, the bolt broke off. I thought I had a bad bolt so I carefully tightened the other bolt and it snapped off as well.

I tried to drill out the bolt shanks but was unsuccessful. I believe the problem is that the holes in the end of the axle were not tapped deep enough for the bolt. I bought a 10-32 tap and tapped the other axle until the tap reached the bottom and the AN3 bolts worked perfectly.

I spoke with Van's a couple time and they will send me replacement bolts but for the axle, they referred me to Matco. Matco asked me to send the axle back and I don't know if they will charge be for a replacement ($71 + shipping on their website).

So this is an easy mistake to make that could cost you $100 and a couple weeks to fix so the moral of the story is: if your bolt gets tight before it should, STOP! Go buy the correct tap and tap it deeper. That solution would have cost me $5.77 and an hour of time.

Just because it's a machined part doesn't mean it's right.

 

Bogash RV-12 Adventure

Bob Bogash ferry flight of Don's RV-12 from Port Townsend, WA to TX. Great reading and lots of pictures:

Caribbean Adventure!

So, I had a friend who recently started flying helicopters/seaplanes on St Thomas in the U.S. VI's. He was joking around one day and said, "you should fly the -7 down!". I had been itching for a change of scenery. So, I decided to call his bluff and was like, "alright!". The next day I had the customs sticker on it's way in the mail.  ...

Repeat Offender -- this time around is an RV-10

Hello again, VAF!

Long time, no write! I have built and sold and RV-7, and fast forward several years, I am now a repeat offender with a brand new RV-10 project. My family has expanded since the -7, and the -10 is going to be the perfect travel machine for the entire Johnson family.

We recently started the empennage, and I just wrapped up drilling the vertical stabilizer skin to the rib/spar structure. Making good, steady progress, and I am absolutely loving being back at it building again.

Anyway, please feel free to check out my progress at the link in my signature. Thanks for still being here and for being such a great community!

 

RV-8 and the Glad the Plane's Fixed Flight

With all of my recent maintenance issues resolved, it was time to just go out and have fun. Fortunately Sunday was a great day for it.

AviationNation--another solo!

The second student-builder at Jennings County High School soloed for the first time today. Thomas Schuler is the Student Project Manager on our RV-12 build project. He did his 3 T/O's and landings in fine style. Congratulations, Thomas! We have another student about ready, and our 12 is nearing completion.

Our students are our products; the plane is a by-product. We are very pleased to see them chose aviation as life-long careers, and we believe the first two to solo, and the next in line (plus several others) have done just that.

Bob

 

2018 OSH Social

Hey, 60 days till Oshkosh! The Beer Fairy has again dragged her butt up the basement stairs and declared she was ready to party, so mark your calendar. It's Monday evening, July 23rd, opening day at OSH. Location is the back yard at 1366 W. Waukau, west of the control tower, just outside the EAA gate.

 

Cedar Meadows 2018 Fly-In

A few video clips from yesterdays event. Note the unique 'RV parking' sign !

Jim Thill worked his buns off last week keeping up with the rain and growing grass. He had the runway looking like a golf green. Way to go Jim!

First flight! and a question

Saturday before the big Florida storm hit I was able to do a first flight. Everything went well with no big surprises. One question: my pitch trim works fine on the ground but in flight I found that at cruise that it wouldn’t move past neutral to allow me to trim it out completely. For some reason it showed power going to the trim as I pushed the switch but it wouldn’t move past neutral. Tried it again on the ground and it worked fine. I have a VPX system and I’ve input the positions with plenty of space on each end of travel so not sure hat it is? Any suggestions welcome.

Kevin

Novel alternator circuit protection

I'm not sure if this qualifies as a safety item, but it certainly is an oddball. Had an RV in our shop for an unrelated issue that required cowl removal, which led to us having a look around, and we spotted this. The builder (not the owner of the airplane) had installed an ANL current limiter base in the B lead circuit for the alternator, but rather than spend the princely sum of $15 or so for a proper current limiter, the gadget in the photos below was assembled from a combo of a blade fuse and some brass sheet. Arguably the slow blow fuse shown in the photos has similar, though not identical properties to the current limiter that would fit in the base, but still. Cheapskate or ...?

May 28, 2018.   Issue #4,574.

Memorial Day.

(photo credit)

HEADQUARTERS GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
General Orders No.11, WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 1868

i.The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

(photo credit)

We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

(photo credit)

If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.

Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from hishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.

(photo credit)

ii.It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to lend its friendly aid in bringing to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous compliance therewith.

(photo credit)

iii.Department commanders will use efforts to make this order effective.

By order of

JOHN A. LOGAN,
Commander-in-Chief

N.P. CHIPMAN,
Adjutant General

Official:
WM. T. COLLINS, A.A.G.

How To Observe Memorial Day

"We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security, is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or the coming generations, that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided Republic. If other eyes grow dull, and other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remains to us."
---General John Logan, General Order No. 11, May 5, 1868

The "Memorial" in Memorial Day has been ignored by too many of us who are beneficiaries of those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and liberty. Often we do not observe the day as it should be, a day where we actively remember those Americans including our ancestors, family members, loved ones neighbors and friends who have paid the price for the blessings of liberty. You can change this by doing the following:


•By wearing your Memorial Day Button from the first of May until Memorial Day.
•By visiting cemeteries and placing flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.
•By flying the U.S. Flag at half-staff until noon. Memorial Day is a day of "National Mourning."
•By attending religious services of your choice.
•By visiting memorials.
•By participating in a "National Moment of Remembrance" at 3:00 PM local time, to pause and think upon the meaning of the day and for taps to be played where possible.
•By renewing a pledge to aid the widows, and orphans of our fallen dead, and to aid the disabled veterans.

May 25, 2018.   Issue #4,573.
  A group of us were going to fly our RVs over to Breckenridge, TX to see the warbird fly-in Saturday, but some sites/emails/calls confirmed a new policy: no umbrellas (they allowed them last year).  Since it's forecast to be 97*F this weekend and there is zero shade at that airport, we'll fly somewhere else and eat.  Skin Cancer Avoidance 101.  Can you imagine flying in and having to sit/stand on an asphalt ramp in direct sunlight around 100*F all day waiting for the airspace to open back up at 5pm so you can fly home?
  We're crazy, but not that crazy.  ;^)
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and shade-filled RV weekend.
 

RV-4 Refurb Update ...BruceMe

It's been while, time for an update.  The overhaul was a challenge, but I have it back on the mount, all the parts are on and I'm ready to time the mags and do a final check and turn it over.

So far I've...

- Overhauled the engine
- Swapped fixed pitch for constant speed
- Switched to a Skytec starter for weight
- Fabricated a blue-anodized prop lever
- Repaired a leak in the left fuel tank
- Repaired a lose (finger tight) vent line _inside_ the left tank
- Added a return line to both tanks
- Re-plumbed all fuel lines from the fuel tanks to the valve
- Swapped the stock brass fuel valve for nice positive-lock duplex
- Wired the fuel-level sensors to the G3X and removed the old fuel gauges

I'm going to Bill Gill look it over once as well. But I plan to put it back and get some hours on it before I do the canopy or the new cowl (which I have).

-Bruce

Pics and video from Wisconsin Celebration of Life for Tom Irlbeck ...Alex Peterson post

Here are some updates, pictures and video from this past Saturday's Celebration of Life event at Tom's hangar in WI. There was a similar event in FL last month. Tom really had a profound effect on many, many people, both in and out of aviation.

Eagle's Nest Projects - EN-19 Montgomery HS (TX) - Inaugural 1st Flight ...R.E. 'Ernie' Butcher

Eagle's Nest Projects
Saturday, May 19, 2018 - KCXO

Montgomery High School (TX) celebrates the inaugural 1st flight of "Bear Force One". The celebration was a community event with over 200 in attendance and the high school marching band added to the excitement. Following remarks from school and city dignitaries, the Eagle's Nest student-built aircraft (EN-19) was officially unveiled and then followed a drawing to see which students would receive the "first flights". The weather was outstanding and the event was a huge success.   ...

Rocky Mountain Crossing PIREP...Smokey Ray for Vlad

I've crossed the Rockies and landed at Leadville too many times to count. I normally did it as a proving point for delivering new RV owners airplanes as to the capabilities (and limitations) of the design. They also have cheap gas.

As far as crossing, early morning or late evening near sunset is always better. I actually like crossing the Front Range further south. I stop at KLHX (La Junta). http://www.airnav.com/airport/KLHX
Why?

1. Nice former military field with big ramp and runways.
2. They have 2 courtesy cars that they have always let me keep overnight.
3. Great (cheap) Mexican food in town next to Hampton Inn.
4. Cheap (relatively speaking) Self Serve 100LL.
5. Easy climb out distance to 12,500' following I-50 up the Pueblo Valley over Fremont.

Leadville is a great stop and overnight if you have time. There is a great, old Hotel in downtown with several good restaurants and a brew pub across the street, all well above 10,000 feet MSL.*
Sounds Fun...
До скорого!

Smokey

PS: If you're absolutely set on the "landing box" you posted, I like Longmont as a fuel stop.

PSS: *Warning: Use of alcohol is discretionary...;^)

Milestone: RV-14 Emp Kit Finsihed ...azflyer21

185.0 hours and I have completed the Empennage kit, some fairing work remaining

RV-10 Cowling Heat Sheild ...Bill.Peyton install

ACS adhesive backed insulation

May 24, 2018.   Issue #4,572.
  52F airport manager Rob Reece running the rented roller Wednesday at my home field.  Smoothing out the grass areas, making the airport grass cutting crew's job a little less off-road.  Getting better all the time!  www.Fly52F.org is our field's URL.

New RV-7A Owner Checks In ...Joe Kohn

Thanks to all of you that answered my ad when I was looking for RV7A, 8A, or 9A a few weeks ago. I found a pristine RV7A, that was right under my nose and 15 minutes from my house in Arlington, Texas. I love it and I am proud to show her off. I bought my first RV a couple years ago, RV9A, and sold her and regretted it ever since. I have already flown the 7A almost five hours and there is nothing like it, especially the Garmin G3X Touch. Looking forward to weekend fly-ins.

Found During Condition Inspection ...bruceh 9A

I'm in the middle of doing my annual condition inspection, so the wing tips were off again. I had disconnected my J Pole antenna and put the APRS antenna that I got with the tracker inside the wing tip back several months ago. The changing of the antenna solved the issue I was experiencing with packets not getting heard. I was back to spitting out packets reliably. When I did this change, I just left the J Pole antenna in the wing tip (figuring I might need to use it again if the other antenna wasn't the solution).

I pulled out the J Pole antenna and found this on the end.  ...

RV-14 Flap Travel: Reflex ...Scott

"The RV-14 (and RV-10) have a custom designed airfoil meant to reduce induced drag in level flight at high speed cruise. The ailerons are rigged to match the desired reflex shape of the airfoil but since the flaps are movable, they can be moved out of the reflex position. This essentially makes the wing act like it has a bit more wing area, improving climb performance slightly.

The way we fly our RV-10's and 14's is to take-off with whatever flap setting you choose (1/2 or zero), and then position them to zero for climb.
Then position them to -3 as you level off and set cruise power.
After decent and leveling off to enter the pattern, return them to zero and then use flaps as desired (within the limitations of Vfe)
In simpler terms - reflex position for cruise and decent - zero for everything else.

We have G3X (with GAD27 module) in our RV-10 and had no problem setting up the indicator for -3, 0, 15, and 30 degrees.

...its specific to the airfoil design and a reduction in induced drag.  Otherwise it would be beneficial to all the RV's, regardless of what model."

fmi: http://www.vansaircraft.com/public/rv14.htm

Intersection Fairing, Rain and Birdsh*t Tape ...Steve Melton 9A

"...the plane sat on the ramp in Wichita for 10 days while I painted my father's house. before I departed I placed tape on the intersection fairing thinking it would keep the rain out. it worked well and it also kept all of the bird **** out too. you would not believe all of the bird s h i t running down the vertical stab.

cleaned. picture of the tape. ...

Customer Interior Shots ...Luke D

Here's another beautiful RV from France. Lot's of nice features. Thank you for the pictures Alain!

Intel Wanted  ...Vlad the Traveller

In couple days my buddy and I are westbound. I've been over Denver couple times crossing the Rockies back and forth but alone and I took the beating in the middle of the day. This time I am going with someone I would like to keep comfortable. Could be a future RV owner. I am wondering what's the reasonable overnight place would be in this quadrant?  I would like to jump the Rockies in the morning heading to the highest elevation airport.

Flight Data Systems News

(Charles Newman) "We have started producing the LC-50 Lighting Controller again and would like to make the VAF community aware it is now available.  http://www.fdatasystems.com/lc-lighting-controllers/ for more info. "

Fuel Injection Star Wheel Adjustment

Q: Hi All,
My IO 320 D1A idles roughly and there is no rise in RPM moving to idle cut off. This, and black smoke on start, indicate it is running too rich idles at 700 RPM once warmed. I've read on carbs engines the mixture adjustment needle is turned out one to one and a half turns in most cases from closed. I have moved the star wheel in the lean direction a number of clicks (10) and still have rough idle and no rise. Do I need to make several turns as opposed to moving it clicks. Anyone able to give me a starting distance between the two blocks where the star wheel is positioned.

A: (Walt)

May 23, 2018.   Issue #4,571.

Pic From Mr. X

Mt. Rainer sunrise.

related: more Mr. X pics

RV-10 Seat Height Q/A

Q: I am playing around with panel layout (Rain kept me from canopy top work). However, I won't have my finishing kit for another month or so. Therefore, I have no real way to gauge seat height. Can someone give me an approximate height of the seat cushion top from the seat base? By base, I mean the rectangular .063 panel with all of the lightning holes in it.

A: It depends.  You'll come to relish those times when you can't work on the cabin top or doors, but do something else instead

That seat height is a fuzzy measurement. It'll depend on how much you squash the seat. The top of the seat cushion is also not "flat" and not parallel to the floor. Here's a couple of pictures that might help:

How To Build a Workbench ...David Paule

I've made eight of these so far. They all are doing their job now. They are relatively easy to make and go together quickly.

I use a circular saw and an electric screwdriver/drill. The hand tools needed are mostly a carpenter's square and some C-clamps. I like Titebond II or III and use 4 deck screws at each frame joint.

Mine differ by size, of course, and some have bolts at the bottom for adjustment and the rest have wheels. These minor details on yours, are left for you. The only real comment is that if you install wheels, get robust ones. The table for my ceramic barbecue, a Big Green Egg, is highly loaded and the urethane tires aren't lasting. The various tables with metal wheels are all doing fine.

Very strange A/P problem - pls help me troubleshoot!

TruTrak Vizion 385 installed with Garmin GTN650 and HS43 module.

Was on a long cross country over the weekend and discovered the AP will only hold course, not altitude, gotta be the elevator servo or wiring right - here's the kicker - elevator control still works for fully coupled approaches!

Here's a breakdown:

1. Flying along, I select an altitude and vertical speed, engage AP, course is flown, but no elevator changes or fore/aft stick resistance to manual control.

2. I manually fly to the selected altitude and AP displays the normal "approaching altitude" and "altitude hold" messages but again, no exerts no actual control of elevator, no servo hum or resistance to moving the stick fore and aft - doesn't matter if I select existing altitude or dial in an ascent or descent or even if I just use wing level feature - in cruise flight, not elevator control is exerted by AP.

I thought it was possibly a bad elevator servo or a bad connection to the servo but....

3. When on a RNAV approach, I was somewhat startled when between IAF and FAF, (get glide slope indication from GPS) the AP display switched from ALT HLD to CPLD and the AP controled elevator servo all the way down for a successful fully coupled approach with vertical guidance.

This is 100% repeatable. No AP control of elevator in cruise - but once vertical guidance comes from GPS - boom it works.

So the servo is working - it's just not getting any guidance except when coupled.

I sent an email to TruTrak too

Status: 7A Rebirthing ...kentlik

IFR Training Status ...Jeremy Constant RV-7A

This is all very timely for me. I started my instrument training in Sept and it was put on hold due to my 300xl dying. I'm in the middle of an extensive rework of the panel with an ifd440 becoming my ifr GPS. It's a long slog.

In the process of thinking about equipment I recalled several local folks who fly down to Southern California reasonably regularly talking about remarkably frequent GPS outages, where there is essentially no GPS signal for significant amounts of time. The theory is that there is GPS signal jamming going on at one of several military installations in the region and one or more of those facilities is actually developing and testing jamming technology. The point being that my sense of warm and fuzzy surrounding the reliability of GPS got a bit of a reality check and the importance of ground based navigation was reinforced.

I'm still working on the panel installation and rat's nest of wiring, but I think I am firmly in the "putting it back together" phase, rather than the "taking it apart" phase!

[ed. Who is Jeremy?  He's the guy with the violin.  Gotta be in the top three best VAF cap photos ever!  v/r,dr]

May 22, 2018.   Issue #4,570.
  I haven't flown the RV-6 from Dallas down to Houston to see my sister in way too long.  The opportunity presented itself Monday to have lunch, and the Wx cooperated (as long as the plane got out of Houston by 1pm).  Pretty clouds, a smooth ride, 167kts GS and 59*F at 8,500' on the return trip.  Pretty dang good burger at Clay's just north of KIWS...and it's always good to see my Sis.  How a person could end up with a better sister is beyond me.
  These RVs are amazing....and Donna Gail says hey to the RV gang. ;^) 
 

Between layers and smooth.

3pm(ish).  Back in Dallas well north of the action.

Adventures in the RV4

Two years of exploring America the beautiful in our little, humble, but at the same time mighty RV4. There are planes better for aerobatics, some faster, some more comfy for XC, some more economical (although not many!), but none will do ALL of these things as well as the RVs! Becoming a pilot and buying an RV was one of the most fulfilling things I've done in my life. Looking forward to many more years of enjoyment.

Bird Attack ...schristo RV-7

A club I didn't want to join...

Earlier this Spring, a red hawk at 2,800 feet, in formation.

I saw the hawk just before the strike and thought it would be a close miss…

BAM!

Level the flight, radio call to route. Had the wings look for visible damage and leaks then did initial stability and control checks. All good.

Back on the ground it looks like we hit a bowling ball. It could have been a real mess if it had come through the windshield or taken out my tail.

I pulled the tank and started making a parts list.

The next morning, ROAD TRIP! to Vans to pick up parts.

Two weeks after the strike... Back in the air!

Build it, fly it, maintain it, fix it

"Slow Rolls," a/k/a Competition Aerobatic Rolls, in the RV

Having a problem doing “slow rolls” (old terminology, now I believe simply called “competition aileron rolls” by IAC) in the RV. Nose always dropping too much, so thought I’d put this question out there for the RV aerobatics guys.

Yes, I know that when inverted you must push forward on the stick to keep the nose from dropping. So the obvious answer might just be “push forward more when inverted to keep the nose up.”

However, my impression is that the nose has already dropped too much by the time I’m even getting to inverted. And I am suspecting the reason for that is either (a) that I should have pitched up at the beginning of the roll, or (b) that the rudder size on RV’s (in my case, the RV-4) is not enough by itself to keep the nose up when in knife-edge flight. That’s where we get to my question. Is it just that my technique sucks, or is it accurate that RV’s, which have relatively small rudders compared to competition aircraft, require some adjustment in technique when doing a slow roll?  ...

Status Report ...goatflieg RV-8

New blogspot entry posted; Little Steps and Big Steps; see link in my signature below. Get comfortable because it's a long read, but there's some good stuff in there. Here are two teaser photos:

Problem with exhaust fitting ...chris mitchell RV-4

"... I received my 4-pipe Vetterman exhaust via Van's. I am fitting the pipes to a Lycoming IO-320 that has a Superior cold air sump and induction pipes.

The exhaust pipes for cylinders 4.2 and 3 (that being the ordered I fitted them in) are all fine. In particular cylinders 4 and 2 sit together very nicely.
THe problem is with cylinder 1. It is far too close to the induction pipe and the only way I can get it to fit at all is with the section after teh ball joint at a very strange angle.

I hope the photos are clear enough to show the problem. Can anyone identify where I've gone wrong?

Here you can see the pipes from cylinders 2 and 4 nicely aligned:"

Plenum PIREP ...rockwoodrv9

On my plenum, a BillL special, the oil dipstick is not in the plenum area. I believe in his photo the dipstick is behind the large orange ducting. At least on a O-320, that is how it works. Here is mine overall, but does not show the oil dipstick.

May 21, 2018.   Issue #4,569.
  Adjusted some Wx map links on the Wx page.  Servers come and go and all that.  One interesting new link is the GOES-East image.  If you click on it (or bookmark it) you get a 2500x1250 pixel map that is updated every 5 minutes.  If you have the monitor space it's pretty sweet.  I'll keep tweaking the links as I poke around over the next few days.
  Hope you had a nice weekend.  
 

Pic Flying to Jekyll Island ...Trapper

Finally Bought My First RV! Looking Instruction SF Bay Area.

Well it took 10 months but I was finally able to pull the trigger on A RV6A built in 1995. The tail number is N89PC. There are 30 pages of builders logs, a complete POH serial numbered for 89PC, complete airframe, engine and propellor logs. I was impressed, especially since I had looked at other RV's without the documentation. The plane flew as advertised with a sustained climb rate of 2,000 FPM for1-2 minutes dropping to 1200-1400 FPM. Wow! I guess I'll need to buy oxygen!
My mission? T go fast safely and...cheaply. Aerobatics? Yes. Formation flying? Yes. Burgers? Yep.
I will post pictures of the plane as soon as I take delivery.

Ron Lem

Check this if you have an injected engine... Vic S.

In the interest of safety I figure I should post this. I discovered it yesterday during a Prebuy inspection on an RV-10 that had been flying for 8 years and 300 hours. The rubber shipping cap had been left installed on the fitting at the injection spider on top of the engine. This fitting is typically connected to a round dial fuel flow gauge, such as in older Bonanzas and Cessnas. Pressure at this point varies in relation to fuel flow, and can be anywhere from 1.5 PSI to over 35 psi! If not plugged or capped properly, a high pressure fuel stream will be the result, possibly causing a fire in the engine compartment. The builder mentioned that the plans never said to remove it. Perhaps others should check their installations? I told the builder I wanted his Guardian Angel!

(For those of you who are used to the newer electronic fuel flow sensors and wondering how this would work, basically the round dial gauge is nothing but a pressure gauge that has a faceplate on it calibrated to read fuel flow.)

On another note, I am still finding way too many RV's WITHOUT the Operating Limitations, especially on RV's owned by non-builders. So, for those of you who may have purchased your airplane, please understand that the Operating Limitations, which should be on FAA letterhead, need to be in the aircraft AT ALL TIMES. The Airworthiness Certificate is invalid without them.

For those of you who are selling your airplanes to non-builders, please remember to have this discussion with them.

Many of them show me a POH when I ask about the Operating Limitations

FltPlan Go: Why or why not??

My FlyQ subscription is going to expire sometime this year. I've tried Foreflight in the past. They both work fine for me. However, I have a friend who has been using FltPlan Go for quite a while now. After poo-pooing it for quite a while I'm thinking of giving it a try.

So, for those who have used it, how do or did you like it?

How does it compare with the paid apps?

What allows them to be able to provide this product at no charge???

RV7 USA Perimeter Flight

My wife and I will be flying our RV7 around the perimeter of America over the next 6 weeks. We are watching the weather and hope to depart KMQJ, Indianapolis, Indiana, Monday, 5/20/18. Our trip officially begins when we fly north and hit the southwest shore of Lake Erie at KTDZ, Toledo Executive Airport. We'll fly eastbound with our first overnight at Niagara Falls, KIAG. If you'd like a little company, we'll be looking for RV friendly places to land.

Overheated brakes

I just replaced the brake pads with a set from Vans on my Cleveland brakes about a month ago. I have about 8 landings on them. The other day I landed a bit fast and used moderate braking to stop. The right brake faded and the plane drifted left but was still under control. Taxiing back to the hanger I could smell a strong hot brake odor entering the cockpit that persisted during the short taxi to the hanger. Upon exit, the smell was more apparent. The next day I removed the pads and found a buildup on the pads as shown in the two photos linked here.

The buildup was easily removed with light sanding. The pins also required cleaning. There was no evidence of any fluid leak. But the was more discoloring of the primer on the wheel pants bracket than I remember from the condition inspection. Things did get hot pretty quickly.

After installing the new pads, when tightening the two bolts on the caliper, something happened that caused a momentary fluid leak. I removed the bolts, and reinstalled them taking care that everything was aligned right. The leak has not occurred again.

What could have caused this brake to overheat and what is the buildup on the pad? I have applied much harder braking on the previous pads without this occurring.

Status ...SJordan RV-4

Getting close!

RV IAC Aerobatic Competition Standings - 2018

Sorry for the delay in posting the new standings. I was vacationing in Scotland for a few weeks. What a wonderful country! But I didn't see any GA activity there, let alone RVs. Any RV pilots in Scotland?

Congratulations to Brian Pham who posted a very respectable score in his very first contest! Brian posted an account of his experience at the Apple Valley, CA contest here on VAF and it sounds like he is hooked.

Randy King came in 5th out of a very competitive field of 14 Sportsman pilots at Sebring. He was edged out by two Extras, a Pitts S2B and a Cap 10. He did it in a borrowed RV-7A. Look for Randy in his new ride soon. He just ferried his new RV-8 home from Colorado. As soon as he installs inverted systems he will be ready to compete. Picture of the new beast below. Very nice!

Flap hinge pin lubrication (and rod ends)

I am doing my 12th condition inspection and looked at the flap hinge and they look a bit dirty after collecting dust for the the 12 years. I typically squirt some LPS2 on them every year and that seems to be attracting dirt. I decided to pull the pins and clean and lubricate.

Questions for the group: How often should you pull the flap hinge pins and inspect, clean, lubricate? Should I be using something other than LPS2 that collects less grim?

This leads to more general question on pulling hinge bolts. I annually pull bolts that something rotates on, like the rudder attach cable bolts and airbox bypass door pull cable, every year to look for wear on the bolt. I do not for rod ends that are clamped up. I will squirt in some LPS2 but it is hard to really get the lubricant onto the rod end due to the clamp up with washers. How often should I pull those bolts to lubricate and look for bearing wear?

Status Report ...jcarne 7A

After a very short match drilling session time for a good ole mass quantity of hours spent deburring. Lots of nooks and crannies in these babies. At least it won't be as painful as the wing ribs!

Think I Got a Bad Fuel Pump

I bought a new mechanical fuel pump (new Lycoming part, hi pressure for injected engine) from Aircraft Spruce last week. While swapping the fittings with the old pump I found that the actuating arm doesn’t move, at all. I know it isn’t supposed to move much, but I would think that some movement is necessary. The old one moves maybe a little more than a quarter inch or so, but the new one, nothing.

Naturally, I will be on the phone with Aircraft Spruce Monday morning, but I was wondering if anyone else has ever seen this. I’ve been in the aircraft repair business (military and commercial) long enough to know that just because a part is new doesn’t mean it isn’t bad but, you know, why me?

Thanks

May 18, 2018.   Issue #4,568.
  Last year some folks suggested I remind the readers a few times throughout the year about my donation-based business model here - so here we are 136 days into 2018, a little over a third of the way.  Why now?  Our family has a perfect storm of medical bills coming up in the next 2 months: colonoscopies and wisdom teeth.  In the $5000 - $7000 range if everything goes smooth ......all out of pocket.  So, the first 'commercial' of 2018 ;^).  Maybe you could give the donations page a read if you're not too busy, and thank you to those who helped our family keep this website going in 2018. 
  Unrelated, but hopefully showing my commitment to doing this site for the long haul, the chart at right is my weight loss data over the past 21 days (no more French Fries, very limited sugar and lots of exercise).  It's working.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend...and sorry for the commercial.

Full Show at Beale Air Force Base ...15 minute video (AX-O)

"...I was finally able to stitch the flight from our last air show. No fancy editing or music but it is cool to see the formation changes and everything else going on."

Note: This is a 360* video
(you can look around during playback)

Is synthetic vision all that useful, or just hype? ...Ed Wischmeyer

In past lives, I’ve worked around synthetic vision displays and considered them more hype than substance. After this last trip in the RV-9A, flying over the mountains with synthetic vision, my opinion is unchanged.

Who has actually used synthetic vision in flight, and to what benefit? Not theoretical benefits, or oh it’s nice to look at, or here’s what the marketing hype says are the benefits, but what useful information did it provide to help you make decisions and take actions?

On this last flight, I was flying northbound over the Smokey Mountains, just to the east of Asheville, NC. It was hazy with clouds ahead almost down to the mountains, and as I wrote earlier, this was a good time to go IFR and get some good terrain clearance.

On the synthetic vision display, I could see the ridges ahead, but if there were any distance markers to the ridges, I didn’t know how to read them. And if there had been a terrain threat, the same database that fed the synthetic vision would have warned me of a potential terrain encounter. I could see from the synthetic vision that I would clear all the ridges ahead at present altitude (if some monster downdraft didn’t suddenly decide to ruin my entire day), but the terrain screen would have told me much the same thing, only with lower resolution.

There may have been times when my synthetic vision system has shown towers and such in a useful format, but I don’t recall. Again, the Garmin G3X system gives aural warnings of obstacles.

Showing the destination runway on the SV is reassuring, especially with the flight path marker over the end of the runway, but that’s inadequate guidance IFR and if you have to use it VFR, you may already be in trouble.

One real annoyance of synthetic vision is that the depicted horizon is some amount below the white line level flight depiction.

So does SV provide any advantages in making decisions and in taking actions? Or only in special cases like the hypothetical engine failure over mountains in IMC or at night? Or is it just personal preference?

I’m inclined to leave it turned off…

Charity Cap Sighting ...Jae J. Yu

"USAF Acadamy Jump Team, Wings of Blue (Instructors)."

Related: About the caps

Perplexed ...Djgeib RV-8

I’m working on my -8 QB fuselage. Drilled the holes for the mid cabin covers and am putting in the nut plates. However, the aft most hole on the right side has put me in a quandary. I have removed the console cover but the angle that it attaches to is preventing me from being able to get a squeezer or my rivet gun in to lay flat on the rivets. Was wondering how others have done this. I have clearance on all the other holes. I’m sure there is a simple solution that has evaded me. Thanks

Staying Motivated ...Strikefinder RV-8

I had a frustrating end to my shop day...I had been humming along, finishing the RH elevator substructure on my RV-8 and was riveting the stiffeners to the LH elevator skin when I managed to booger up a rivet on the inside of the trailing edge fold. I've gotten fairly good at drilling out AN470s, but haven't gotten the knack of drilling out flush heads yet, so when I drilled it out, I ended up with an elongated hole...opened it up to #30 and put an oops rivet in, but somehow that ended up even worse. I decided to put down the tools before I did something more foolish, though I'm fearful that when I drill out the NAS 1097 (and it's bad enough that there's no doubt it will have to come out), I'll end up with an unusable LH elevator skin. I'm not looking forward to ordering the skin and stiffeners, and then doing all the cutting, drilling, deburring, dimpling, priming, etc. again to get back to where I am now...already had to do it with the rudder once, and similarly for one mistake that got out of hand.

I'm not really looking for advice as far as what to do, though...as I'm coming up on the end of the tail section, I admit it's experiences like this that leave me a little daunted about how far I have to go. It's bad enough to have to scrap a few hundred dollars in parts if it comes to that (plus cross-country shipping and the lead time), but I worry about the inevitable screw-up on the wings, when I can't exactly just throw the whole spar out and try again. And I'm still in awe of how much there is to learn--I sort of marvel at all the things that were completely unknown when I started that are now pretty routine, but I just got a starter fiberglass kit and have this sort of feeling that every part of this process is going to make me feel in over my head.

It seems like lots of people around here have made all kinds of mistakes (many of the same ones I have), and have managed to press on...my question is, looking back at where I am now, how did you move past the anxiety of the next steps? Did things just get easier (though not necessarily less time consuming) as you got more proficient, or did you figure out how to fix the mistakes better along the way? Does the learning curve ever start to level out?

I'm not saying I'm on the verge of throwing in the towel or anything--I genuinely enjoy the building process and know I'll feel less frustrated and have a better perspective on what to do now in a few days. I'm just looking for what you guys all think now about where I am, looking back on it...

Bragging on Tate ...my son.

Tate is signed up for a welding class during his senior year in HS.  It's a half day class for 18 weeks - he drives about five miles from the HS to a place offsite.  He did this last year for paint and body work class.  We went to the orientation the other night and were impressed!  He's going to learn stick, TIG and MIG welding - a skill that isn't bad to have on your resume.  It also tickles the art itch he seems to have on occasion.

The Army Vet teacher nearly yelled at the top of his lungs from the start, "First and foremost in this class I teach HONOR and RESPECT!  After that I teach welding." 

He had me.  I wish I could take the class.

From the site: This pre-employment laboratory course is designed to introduce basic skills in structural welding. Introduction to the basic processes (Stick, Mig, and Tig) welding as well as cutting with Oxy/Acetylene and Plasma rigs will be presented in the class (theory) and the shop (practical). Safety, work ethic and career opportunities will be covered. A welding hood, safety glasses, cutting glasses and gloves will need to be purchased. Material and supply fees may be required. The emphasis for this class is working in the shop. Offered at Dale Jackson Career Center Only

I've already asked Tate if he'll make me some nice chocks. ;^)

Pano pic I took

200hp 2010 RV-8A For Sale on my Field (52F)

...posting for a local guy (w/no VAF account).

Contact Randy Richmond for more info.  (817) Four Zero 1 - 8 Zero 9 Six.

I've flown this plane and it is fast - faster than my RV-6 I'm more than a little pissed to say.  ;^)

•Mfg Date Issued: 3-19-2010
•Lyc IO-360 A1B6. 200hp. Angle valve.
•Hartzell Blended Airfoil C/S prop
•Dual P-mags (less than year old)
•Freshly re-sealed prop governor
•Nice/neat firewall forward
•9 pass/tube oil cooler (recently installed)
•Reinforced baffling around #4 cylinder made from thicker metal than stock (supports weight of oil cooler)
•Recently replaced fuel hoses
•Fresh annual (Feb 2018)
•New nose tire and tube
•Main tires in excellent condition
•New brake pads
•Baggage door fits very nicely (unusual for 8)
•Unique way cowl pins come in from the back - insert into slots (no exposed hinge pins)
•Canopy has a 5” crack toward aft end - not that uncommon on 8s. Stop drilled.
•Paint is a 7.5 out of 10

•Few scratches and nicks showing a little bit of its age
•No fuel tank leaks
•Adjustable brake/rudder pedals
•Infinity grip with flaps and trim, fuel pump
•2 fuel gauges next to fuel selector
•Fire extinguisher
•Oxygen system
•Rear view mirrors
•Vertical compass card
•EIS engine monitor
•EFIS (GRT) recently updated
•GMA340 audio panel
•GNS430 GPS/Comm (sent to Garmin - now a 430W)
•Icom A200 Radio
•KT76A Bendix Transponder
•Wired-through circuit breakers (pull off)
•Tru Track A/P
•A/P will track 430 or EFIS
•Dayton Murdock throttle mixture prop control
•Rear rudder pedals
•Vetterman exhaust

•Unique canopy seal (bicycle tube with pump)
•No damage history.
•Electric pitch trim
•Electric aileron trim
•Rear throttle/mix quadrant
•Polished metal spinner
•Duckworks landing lights both sides
•Whelen strobes
•Koger shade
•5 point harnesses
•Fairings where rudder cables exit fuselage
•All new EGT probes
•2 new CHT probes

May 17, 2018.   Issue #4,567.

One Day Across the Country....Running Out of Country ...schristo RV-7

...new personal record for a single day of flying...  We have now done this trip six times in the RV. Twice with Propdog. Lots of interesting flight data along the way.  ...

24 yr old Happy RV-6 Owner/Pilot

(email from Doedo Schipper) "Brooks Mershon bought a local RV6. 125hrs total time. Still flying on his temporary paper license."

Houston area monthly lunch (May)

OK folks, it's time once again for some BSing over ribs or BBQ or what-have-you. Let's get together at Carl's at Weiser this Saturday (5-19), 11:30 as usual.

7A Status Report ...jcarne

I finished the center section bulkhead as well as the 705 bulkhead. The 705 bulkhead took waaaaay more time than I thought it would. Many parts to fabricate and a lot of non-punched parts. I also managed to get most of the way done with the 706 bulkhead. Only a couple more days and I think the bulkheads will all be ready for priming.

Airventure 2018 One Week Wonder build team Update

The planning process is well under way, but there is still opportunity to register as a volunteer.

If you have already registered, you should have received a confirmation e-mail from me, asking you to reply. If you have not received one, please check your SPAM folder.

With Airventure 2018 only a little more than 9 weeks away, the schedule needs to be firmed up soon so if you were intending to participate, please register now.

If there are any teen build groups that are intending to participate, but have not yet registered or contacted me, please do so now.

Thanks

14A Status Report ...rjkulesa

Felt appropriate to share this here: 23.5 hours later, my first -14A completed component - the Vertical Stabilizer. Not perfect, but safe and a lot of lessons learned. Looking forward to keep going!

Garmin Service Alert 1818 Rev B: Degraded GPS Performance

MAY 16, 2018

PRODUCTS AFFECTED:

Garmin aera 660 products with main software 3.20 (and earlier), D2 Bravo with GPS software version 3.10, (and earlier), and D2 Charlie with GPS software version 4.30 (and earlier) are affected.

To check the D2 Bravo and Charlie GPS software version go to the About page (Settings->System->About) and scroll down to display the GPS software.

The aera 660 main software version can be viewed below the Garmin logo on the power up screen.

ISSUE:

The aera 660 and D2 Bravo/Charlie may not be able to acquire a 3-D GPS position fix and/or exhibit degraded GPS performance.

PILOT ACTION:

Connect the device to a wifi signal and download the latest unit software. For instructions on loading the latest software refer to the Garmin aera 660 Pilot’s Guide (190-02017-20), D2 Bravo Owner’s Manual (190-01674-00), and/or D2 Charlie Owner’s Manual (190-02236-00). All manuals can be found on www.garmin.com.

The area 660 software can also be downloaded from the Garmin website (https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/520775).

RESOLUTION:

This issue has been fixed in D2 Bravo GPS software version 3.30, D2 Charlie GPS software version 4.40, and aera 660 main software version 3.30.

May 16, 2018.   Issue #4,566.
  Last Saturday I flew Rob's wife Shannon down to San Angelo so she could catch up with the rest of the relatives for a graduation (route).  Anyone familiar with the DFW to San Angelo route will know that it is mostly this.  Easy flight, all on autopilot, back at 52F before 10am and happy to help my friends.  The highlight of the trip was the WWII hangar at San Angelo that is still standing.  The lady there said they hoped they would last two years when built.  The woodwork was a thing of beauty - of course pictures are required.  Two photos and one pano starting here.  Of the eight hangars built, two still stand.

  And that nearly-always hot TFR near San Angelo?  Predator Bs spiraling up to / down from 18K for border protection (article).
  You know those home improvement shows where they use reclaimed wood?  What do think this hangar with its 77 yr old ceiling is worth?

First flight ...PMLviator RV-12

After 1214hr build over 3 1/2 years 120793 has finally taken flight for the first time today. Yes it has a heavy right wing but flew beautifully and easier than I expected. Thanks goes to all the input all you other pilots put on VAF, it helped a lot during my long build. Thanks, Leon.

First Bahamas trip and things learned

Did my first Bahamas trip over the last 2 weeks. Like others have said, it is very doable and I will return at some point. Thought I would relay a few experiences and lessons learned from my point of view.
I am a 900hr pilot. Finished the RV in 2014. Very comfortable with it and have made about 5 long distance trips. This is my first "over water" trip and first time out of the country.
My plane is classic skyview equipped with ADSB and AP. Garmin 396 also feeds into the Dynon.
After reading other write-ups and using an on-line Caribbean travel site, I was surprised at the weather. It was raining the entire time. Being VFR only, I had more anxiety during the trip wondering when we would be able to come home, than a concern of over water flight, or red tape problems. You forget how much weather data we have access to in the US compared to what is available on Cat and Long Island. Even discussions with US weather briefers led to multiple disclaimers of "well I have limited information, but..."

Customs to and from was no problem. Very user friendly.

I had two plane related problems:
1. My plane stays in a hangar. It has never had any significant rain. After about 15" of rain on long island, I was surprised by hydraulic lock of the engine on trying to start for departure. I pulled the #3 intake tube and drained about 3 cups of water from the sump. Removed the top plugs and cleared the cylinders. That was a bad feeling when I contemplated what I would need to do to get any significant engine repair work done. Started without difficulty and after running on the ground a while, was able to fly home without difficulty. On review of this forum, I was surprised at the limited remarks on this happening to others. I always thought a small amt of water may get in, but now realize all the water from the top of the cowling flows forward and follows the upper radius back into the cowling, landing right on the air cleaner. (horizontal induction). Will address with cowl plugs I suppose. I think the water flow volume would be to much for a 1/8" hole in the snorkel. +/- on the sniffle valve.

2. On my return, one hour from Fort Pierce, my AP released and I had pegged airspeed readings of 511mph and overspend warnings. AI was also going wacky. Alt and navigation otherwise functioning. Backup GPS working well. On my arrival, Dynon dx the problem as a faulty ADHARS-200. They overnighted one to me and that fixed the problem. The plane has 300hrs on it with first flight in 2014. The unit is out of warranty. New one was $1200. Now I have a faulty unit that is a minimum of $250 to diagnose. I don't think it can be used as a backup since the backup unit is a ADHARS-201. I will look in to it.

Beaches were unbelievable and I highly recommend Fernandez Bay Village and Cape Santa Maria.

Didn't get to go island hopping secondary to weather.

I will go again.

__________________
Eric Wiley
RV-8 finished 9/15

Mothership Stats...

Lessons Learned / IFR X-C RV-9A ...Ed Wischmeyer

Learned a few things on a very recent trip from Savannah, GA to SE Michigan and back.

When I flew with my friend in Michigan yesterday, I became aware of how sloppy my flying has become. Several reasons: one is that I used to be really, really good hand flying under the hood, and my recollections far surpass present reality. Second, the planes I've flown, RV and others, have had good handling characteristics, lots of power, and most of them have had high drag when you wanted it. I've gotten out of the habit of flying nice traffic patterns because I've had airplanes that didn't require it. Bad form.

I've also been working on a procedure for engaging the autopilot right after takeoff and integrating it into everything else that needs to be done. So the procedure is: set everything up on the flight director, take off, retract flaps at 80 knots, pitch to 7 degrees, autopilot on, and then fuel pump off. Don't engage airspeed hold right over the runway because the autopilot may dive to get speed.

This procedure worked great twice yesterday, but didn't work on the third takeoff -- the autopilot wouldn't engage! Fortunately, fiddling with the autopilot disconnect button and the TOGA button got the autopilot happy again. I wonder how well I would have handled things on the first takeoff, racing to get out ahead of the thunderstorms (ten minutes after I took off, it poured), if the autopilot had decided not to cooperate...

So what are my new year's (it's gotta be new year's somewhere) resolutions?
* Fly precise traffic patterns and get really good at them again. No more screwing around with the pattern just because I can get away with it;
* Do an autopilot takeoff (almost) every time for practice and so that it becomes routine;
* Hand fly the -9A a lot more. Get really good and really precise at it;
* Always put the checklist down in the same place in the cockpit. Twice on this trip I hid it from myself;
* I know all the frequencies at my home airport so I never write them down. Not writing them down is a bad habit for when I go to an unfamiliar airport, like this afternoon, so start writing down frequencies and such.
* Develop and maintain really good habit patterns. When I was a newbie, good habits made flying easier. Now that aging is a fact of life, good habit patterns will help reduce mistakes and blunders;

I’m aware of the maxim that there’s always something more to learn, but sometimes I’m displeased with how much is left, or how much needs to be refreshed.

__________________
RV-8 (steam gauges), RV-9A at KSAV (Savannah, GA; dual screen G3X with autopilot, GTN 650)
Previously RV-4, RV-8A, AirCam, Cessna 175
ATP CFII PhD, so I have no excuses when I screw up

May 15, 2018.   Issue #4,565.

Beautiful Day in Duluth ...tfriendshuh

I finally got back up in the air after a three week hiatus - the light was amazing

Airport Camping along the Mississippi? ...Tim 8A

I'm making a trip from Duluth to New Orleans later this week and I'm thinking of spending a night somewhere in between - a nice rural airport where I could pitch a tent and roast a marshmallow or two would be ideal.

Courtesy car or walking distance to a town & restaurant would be a close second.

I'm pretty flexible about where - anywhere south of Dubuque IA & north of Memphis TN would likely fit into my plans.

Any suggestions?

__________________
tim
RV-8A

RE: Bottom wing skin to fuselage overlap mismatch

...SgtZim wondering about this too

I know this is an older post, but I'm now doing my fairings and I just match drilled those holes between the fuselage skin and wing.

My issue/question is about the fit of the overlapping skins. my fuselage skin hangs about 1/8" lower than the wing bottom, and clecoing the skins together of course causes major rippling because of the curved surface. I'm thinking about adding a filler strip between the skins just to make a clean joint, but if it is indeed structural - that would not be the best solution.

Also, if it is structural - the whole method of drilling those holes is very poor: You pre-mark lines along the wing skin and then you are supposed to take a stab at finding those holes in the wing by measuring off of those lines and back 3". Far from a good match drill. I had just enough room to squeeze in a hole duplicator, and made good matching holes, but the geometry of the two skins makes pretty bad ripples. Kind of a tradeoff between structure and aerodynamics for me anyway.

I sent my question in to Van's this am, I'll update when I get their comments.

picture of my wing/fuselage joint.

RV7 Empennage Tools- My experience ...RV7ForMe (Europe)

Tools Tools Tools,

I remember before I ordered my empennage kit I spend weeks if not months on this topic. What do I need? What does everyone else buy? What should I buy?

Well. I suppose I should first tell a little bit about me and my Knowledge on this topic: In one word "NON"

As I stated in the beginning of my build log I started building in my college dorm. I had NO tools whatsoever. So I had to buy EVERYTHING!

Since then I have bought a lot of tools and have made a few experiences I would like to share. I'm mainly answering the questions I know I had 2 years ago.

But at the time I had no knowledge on most of these tools or what they are used for. So there is a certain appeal to buying a kit that has it „all“.

In hindsight I must admit that the kits do NOT contain everything you WILL need and contain things that depending on your liking you WILL NOT need. If I had to buy tools today, knowing what I know I would pick and choose only the things I like. But I guess you will not have that luxury unless you go to OSH and play with the tools. Even then I don't know if you have enough time to make that decision.

I was and I still am on a budget so I actually bought what I thought was the least amount of tools for the least amount of money. I decided very early against a Pneumatic squeezer, the DRDT-2 and the tungsten bucking bar. My thought process was that these items were very expensive but not really necessary for the empennage. I wanted just the tools needed for the first kit. I didn’t know if I was going to like building or not, so I did not want to spend a ton of money if I didn’t have to.

ABC’s... No I don’t mean the liquor store. I mean Avery, Brown, Cleaveland tools and there is also Isham/Planetools. (Avery retired and I believe Cleaveland sells their stuff now)

These are 4 tool suppliers that stock „RV-Tool-Kits“ I spend a lot time comparing these kits. I decided on the Brown tool kit. I deleted a few things but mostly bought the kit as is.

There was a lot of talk about: My choice
 

• Pneumatic squeezer vs. Hand squeezer

• DRDT-2 vs. C-frame Dimpler

• Steel Bucking bar vs. Tungsten Bucking bar

• Air Drill vs. Battery drill

...a whole lot more text AND PICS

The Trip Home ...Ed_Wischmeyer

So the RV-9A got me home from southeastern Michigan today, and I learned a few more things... things that I probably should have already known...

I woke up briefly at 5 AM and the iPhone showed a big chunk of weather south of Lake Michigan. That's nice, thought I, and went back to sleep. At 6 AM it was looking ornerier and was halfway across the state. Flight service said we had an hour before it got to us. A mad scramble to pack and get out the door ensued, and a school bus with flashing lights added to the chronological excitement.

At the airport, a light rain had started, thunder was audible, and the clouds looked ugly. I picked up the IFR clearance and taxied out, a little surprised that my clearance void time gave me only 7 1/2 minutes instead of the ten minutes I expected. I kind of forgot about that as I was getting everything ready for takeoff, but got off just in time. Hmm. Bad cockpit discipline.

Weather at takeoff was 2 1/2 miles in haze and clear. I took off towards the better weather in the east (spending a few of my 7.5 minutes to taxi), but I got off before the storm came and it really did come on, not too much later. Surprisingly, I could have made that entire flight VFR (taking off in Class G airspace). Scary VFR but legal. And it was early enough that the tint of the sunglasses wasn't appreciated, but my plain old reading glasses were packed. Hmmm.

When I flew with a friend in Michigan yesterday, I became aware of how sloppy my flying has become. Several reasons: one is that I used to be really, really good hand flying under the hood, and my recalled and assumed still valid skills far surpass my present day skills. Second, the planes I've flown, RV and others, have had good handling characteristics, lots of power, and most of them have had high drag when you wanted it. I've gotten out of the habit of flying nice traffic patterns because I've had airplanes that didn't require it. Bad form.

After the early morning scramble to get off, sitting there in the pilot's seat for an hour looking at low contrast scenery through the haze with the autopilot flying, no radio traffic and a warm sun coming up made for a sleepy boy. However, the recliner with the built in massager at Fleming-Mason airport remembered me, and an hour later, I was refreshed and good to go.

Next stop was at Knoxville to have lunch with my sister. How cool is that, to fly across the country top to bottom and be able to stop to have lunch with your sister just because?

I've been working on a procedure for engaging the autopilot right after takeoff and integrating it into everything else that needs to be done: set everything up on the flight director, take off, retract flaps at 80 knots, pitch to 7 degrees, autopilot on, and then fuel pump off. Don't engage airspeed hold right over the runway because the autopilot may dive to get speed. This procedure worked great in Michigan and Kentucky, but didn't work at Knoxville -- the autopilot wouldn't engage! Fortunately, fiddling with the autopilot disconnect button and the TOGA button got the autopilot happy again. I wonder how well I would have handled things coming out of Michigan, racing the weather, if the autopilot had decided not to cooperate...

The last leg wound up being IFR to more conveniently handle the clouds over the Smokey Mountains (a few hours later, those were thunderstorms). Clouds and showers at Savannah that I didn't recall as part of an earlier forecast made it prudent to stay IFR.

So what are my new year's (it's gotta be new year's somewhere) resolutions?
* Fly precise traffic patterns and get really good at them again. No more screwing around with the pattern just because I can get away with it;
* Do an autopilot takeoff (almost) every time for practice;
* Hand fly the -9A a lot more. Get really good and really precise at it;
* Always put the checklist down in the same place. Twice on this trip I hid it from myself;
* Develop and maintain really good habit patterns. When I was a newbie, good habits made flying easier. Now that aging is a fact of life, good habit patterns will help reduce mistakes and blunders;
* I know all the frequencies at my home airport so I never write them down. This is a bad habit for when I go to an unfamiliar airport, so start writing down frequencies and such.

And what did IFR buy me on this trip? Some really scary VFR flying turned into very non-descript IFR flying. And a very worthwhile trip.

__________________
RV-8 (steam gauges), RV-9A at KSAV (Savannah, GA; dual screen G3X with autopilot, GTN 650)
Previously RV-4, RV-8A, AirCam, Cessna 175
ATP CFII PhD, so I have no excuses when I screw up

RV-7A Rebirthing Update  ...kentlik

Drilled the latch hole.  So, I snuck into the garage and drilled the latch hole. Was a bit nerve-racking, but I managed to do it without trouble. I will go with Sika.

Also, I found that my diligently, I thought, placed center line was whopperjawed somtin' fierce! So I suspended a piece of Tech line and let the belly tell me where the center was, seems to have worked well as the side dim's are good. Still many trimmings to do yet as well.

May 14, 2018.   Issue #4,564.

Legacy... ...smokyray

DR,
With Memorial Day around the corner and incessant babbling notwithstanding, I had to take a moment to reflect, and be thankful...

Legacy
Yesterday my wife asked me to take her to visit the Grand-kids 325NM away in Midland, TX.* The flight in the RVX is under 2 hours with a casual stop for cheap fuel halfway.
Just another RV adventure...
Leveled off at 8500' and with my brain cell challenged aging mind adrift I realized that I have been operating these wonderful little aircraft for nearly Thirty Years.
Thirty years...
RV4 was just the beginning, light years seems like yesterday.
Van's VHS watched repeatedly to failure.
SLOW BUILD should always be all caps. So many to thank, so little time.
Cross Country a literal term. over 50 times "Vlad style" before 9A's were designed...

I remember...
The ID Backcountry, B17 Escort, 20,000' foray, 1V1 with an F16, too many sunrises and sunsets to count...
I remember donating to Cornerstone Ministries http://www.donateyourplane.com/ and strapping a set of RV4 wings and tail to my Truck...
I remember Arvil engineering the impossible: mating of those wings and tail to an RV6 fuselage. Project X was born...
I remember doing the flyby and victory roll over his funeral with a big grin.

Those very same wings I stare at now as the West TX countryside zips past.

My wife smiles at me. I remember her brushing her teeth beside my Harmon Rocket at Johnson Creek in the rising sun.
I remember Dusty, my UPT T-38 table mate who lost his life in a KC135 on takeoff at Dyess AFB, passing just under the left wing. A true Patriot..
I remember Linchmob and I being comm-jammed so bad over Western Iraq and using our "RV common" (122.22) as a get well frequency.
I remember taking Wolfman on his first combat mission in the F16. I remember him in his RV4 tucked in tight on my Four's wing like glue more times than I can count.
Sure miss him.
Brownwood TX slides by. My Dad dead-sticked a T-33 in there before I was born. I remember Dad executing a perfect greaser from the Four's back seat (despite my challenge, and bet loss to the contrary).
I remember him teaching me to fly before I could drive.
I remember doing a formation takeoff at Hicks field with DR grinning in Danny King's back seat of The Beautiful Doll with a big camera, snapping away on the Wright's 100th anniversary (2003).

Freedom...
Thousands of takeoff and landings relegated to "muscle memory" Climb, level, descend, land. Repeat.
Easy to take for granted...
Easy indeed, with the freedoms we enjoy here in the good old US of A.

My wife reads a letter from Franklin Graham at Samaritan's Purse who spent Easter in Iraq. The cities he visited coincided with places I patrolled and bombed supporting our troops. The people now enjoy their first tastes of a very tentative and fragile Free Iraq. Hallelujah, maybe what we fought for is paying off.
Maybe.
Freedom isn't free and having seen both sides of that tarnished coin I am very thankful. Thankful to live somewhere where I can fly an airplane I built in my garage across free airspace in a free country.
Thankful indeed...

V/R
Smokey

SB 18-03-30...RV-10

JanJan's RV7 Mother's Day RV grin

"Today was another great RV event in the Traynham family! Jan (aka JanJan by the grandkids) flew for the first time in our RV7. Her pilot was her youngest son who, by her account, is qualified after flying Warthogs and now Delta airliners. After the flight she not only had the RV grin, she said, "Now I see why you two love this airplane so much!"

Rob Traynham"

RV7 wing progress ...fcordrey

I have been working along on my wings for some time now and today they came off the stands. They are safely in the wing cradle and the stands were taken up. My dad came up and helped my over the last couple days to get the top skins on and I had the Aileron brackets complete so we installed them as well.

Skins ready to be riveted. many pics

Bowstring Revisited ...petehowell

There has been some talk recently of closing a beautiful grass strip up in northern Minnesota, 9Y0 - Bowstring. The RAF put out a call for help, so I wrote some emails and sent the post on VAF from a visit I made several years ago. The real story is bunch guys flew up in person to talk to the county commissioners. It looks like it worked! Airport manager Ken Reichert really does a nice job at Bowstring!  Many pics...and vid.

Wx Update ...Ed Wischmeyer

So the weather cooperated today. Five flying hours, two fuel stops, five minutes of actual IFR.

The IFR was just north of Asheville, NC, which frequently has clouds about. I was at 6500 and pondering my options. The headwinds were 24 knots, and out west, the rule of thumb is that means you need at least 1000 feet over the mountains for every ten knots of wind. However, it was smooth. So the question was, over, under, or through?

I tried over, but it was clear that 8500 would not be 1000 over the cloud tops, and I didn't want too go to 10,500, even though I had oxygen.

My rule for flying under clouds is that it has to be clear, the weather stable so you know nothing is going to change on you, and with at least one iron clad way out. Hazy killed the first rule, 24 knots of wind killed the second and third. So no under.

So I got IFR at 8000 with some in and out, mostly in, for about five minutes. I watched the autopilot do its thing and when we got to the north edge of the clouds (and the mountains), you could see forever, or nearly.

So five minutes of IFR made the trip work. And coming into Michigan, with a big storm area, IFR meant that I could go take a look if I wanted to. Didn't have to, came in VFR and the 15 knot winds were down the runway.

My kind of trip. Except for getting up real early... fortunately, there was a recliner (with massager!) at the second stop. That was KFGX - Fleming-Mason Airport, in Kentucky, near Cinncinnati, was a great gas stop. The local gas station makes really good burgers. On previous trips, I've stopped at Cynthiana, KY, which is also friendly with a loaner to get you into town.

The last 75 minutes had a tailwind (finally!) and continuous light chop, occasionally moderate, as forecast. What was different was that this chop was all mechanical, with no up and downdrafts. I wish the Georgia chop would take lessons from the Ohio chop...

Point of clarification - this was in the RV-9A, not in the -8, if you didn’t pick up on keeping stuff in the passenger seat accessible.

Follow up: looks like I’ll be in southeast Michigan for two more unplanned days. Plan H was to go to Iowa from her, then home. Plan I is togo straight home if that becomes possible befor going to Iowa. Plan J is what I end up doing.

Status Report ...RV7ForMe

Now that the FL-706B wholes are drilled I enlarged the one originaly prepunched whole to ¼ in.  ...

Osh '18 3rd Annual HBC Beer Tasting (Sun 7/22) ...bullojm1

The natives are getting restless, so it must mean it's time to officially announce the 2018 Oshkosh THIRD Annual HBC Beer Tasting - Sunday, July 22nd, 1700 at the NEW AWESOME HBC Pavilion!

First the foremost - Jerry Fischer - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! You are the real reason this is possible!!! Anyone who has access to the sweet nectar of Deschutes Black Butte, toss a bottle in Jerry's tent!

VOLUNTEERS - You are the second most important reason this event is a SUCCESS! Those brave enough to endure the thankless job of fighting off the thirsty restless masses before the 5pm kickoff, I need to solicit your help again this year! Anyone bored on Sunday afternoon who is skilled at putting warm beer in ice buckets is welcome to join our amazing team. DAN LANDRY - you will be missed! Rob, Paul and Frank - consider yourself on the list. PAINLESS - THANKS FOR STEPPING UP! CJ - Looking forward to sampling your cache of Alaskan beers!

Milestone: Panel IN ...MED

May 11, 2018.   Issue #4,563.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend (and my wonderful mother-in-law a happy 93rd birthday).
 

Milestone (and great pic) ...Scott Emerson RV-14A

Wing kit arrives tomorrow.... had to make room in the garage!  [ed. I mean come on....how do I NOT make this the weekend splash image?!?! v/r,dr]

Waiting for the weather ...Ed Wischmeyer RV-8

Discovered some funny psychology while waiting for the weather.

The original plan was to fly from Savannah, GA, up to southeastern Michigan yesterday. Multiple lines of thunderstorms and a forecast strong crosswind at the destination airport made no-go an easy decision. But the plane was already packed (a plastic tub in the passenger seat holds the oxygen bottle, always a nuisance to keep upright and accessible, plus snacks, water bottles, tie down kit, bug cleaning kit, etc). Clothes and such can get packed almost instantaneously, so I had a free day before the trip.

It was amazing what a de-stressor this unplanned free day was. Ran some errands, got new tires for the car and a CT scan for my back, did laundry, paid bills, all kinds of things that would have otherwise been piled up, waiting for me when I got back home. Maybe when time comes for Oshkosh, I'll load the plane a few days in advance rather than just the day before.

So this morning is another no-go, with thunderstorms and IFR. I'm book legal for IFR, but to be honest with myself, I don't want to fly a whole leg of hard IFR. If it turns into hard IFR, I can do it, even if the autopilot fails, but it wouldn't be fun. And if there are lines of thunderstorms to dodge IFR, even with ADS-B uplink, fuhgeddaboutit. Isolated air mass thunderstorms, VFR, maybe.

Plan C, or whatever letter we're up to, is to go half way this afternoon and finish the trip tomorrow. Unlikely, but all it takes is a phone call to check on the weather. Plan D is the whole trip tomorrow, also unlikely. Plan E is an early morning launch Saturday so as to be there by 1 PM or so. The motivation for the trip is a memorial service, and ain't no point in trying too hard to get there and requiring a second one.

As for today, the plan is to be completely packed and ready to go when I check the weather late morning, with eating and drinking in preparation for the trip. If I don't go, then I'll expend energy on exercise, do a few more chores, etc.

"It's better to be down, wishin' you was up, than up, wishin' you was down."

And it's also better to be at home, waiting for the weather, than in some motel room part way. Less pressure, more restful. Lots better than that six day trip from Georgia to Arizona a few years back, waiting out storms in the southeast and turbulence and high winds out west...

Tate Reeves: Artist

I would like to brag on my son a bit today.  First pic below is the digital image that many will recognize as the engine section of a 1980 Honda Passport moped.  Below that is Tate's rendering using only black acrylic paint (click to enlarge) for an art project.  He received a 99 and some nice words from his art teacher.  It's being showcased at his school, and will live someday on my office wall.  He doesn't get that skill from me, that's for sure.

Bellcrank puzzle ...Mark Jackson RV-8

I am getting ready to install the bellcranks in my RV-8 wing. I reamed out the bushings with a 1/4" drill bit. Bolts go in reasonably easily. I used a 3/8" drill bit and a tap wrench to remove some of the powder coating and stuff from the WD-421 bellcranks.

Mystery - The 3/8 inch drill bit slides through the bellcrank easily. The bushing will not go through. It will slide almost all the way through easily, but then gets stuck with about 1/4" to go. It does this from either side, in either orientation. I thought the bushing was bent but the bolt goes through true. Measured the bushing and it is .375 at either end and in the middle. I thought the bellcrank itself might be bent but the drill bit slides through easily. If the welds were intruding into the barrel, it would bind as soon as I started to put the bushing through.

I am at a loss. Any ideas out there.

I uploaded a video to YouTube of the bellcrank/bushing.

In need of moral support.

It's after 1am and I can't sleep. I went to my airport storage to find pigeons had defecated on my (unwrapped) wings. (They can't have been there more than two weeks.) I pulled my vertical stabilizer and rudder to find the beginnings of some pretty serious corrosion.

My plan is to wash and dry all the parts and wrap them loosely in plastic. The empennage is fairly easy to rebuild if I have to but severe damage to the wings might just kill my desire to continue building (and I have just ordered a finish kit)....

Any thoughts?
__________________
Fred Magare
GySgt, USMC (Ret.)

It started.... Mike Newall RV-12

Please save electrons by not saying it has no wings on, that is as old as primer wars. It was a short, idle run to check systems at home and we are very pleased indeed. Once again, just super impressed with what Vans produces and we assemble.

Diagnosing high EGTs - a long sad story...jbell2355

In early October, I signed a purchase agreement on a beautiful RV7A built by a physician here in Michigan. He had his CFI friend fly the plane up to my neck of the woods for a pre-buy inspection. I got the green light from the A&P and sent the wire transfer – the plane was mine!

The CFI and I hopped into the plane for a few landings and then I flew him back home solo. I recall during that first run-up that the engine seemed to run rough on one mag, but the CFI didn’t seem too concerned and it was my first time in the plane, so I didn’t know what was normal. On my 2 hour return flight home, all alone in a new plane, I started getting a high EGT annunciation on cylinder #4. This was disconcerting for me, having never had this kind of engine monitoring info and being new to the aircraft.

Back home, I consulted with the builder who told me that he hadn’t had this issue before. At first it seemed it had to be related to the pre-buy inspection, but what could the mechanic have done that would cause this? We did a little troubleshooting and decided it was probably a bad EGT probe. I flew the plane regularly and found that the annunciation was mostly an issue on climbout and that with proper leaning (or lack thereof), I could mostly manage the high EGT. Cylinder head temps did not appear out of line.

I flew the plane for 25 hours and brought it back to the pre-buy mechanic for a supervised oil change. I uncowled the plane and was shocked to see that the #4 high tension lead was disconnected from the upper plug on cylinder #4 (Lightspeed Ignition). The only good news was that we now knew the source of the problem. The mechanic was very nonchalant about the fact that he left the plug unplugged, and didn’t seem bothered by it at all. I wasn’t very happy, except for the fact that we thought we had solved the problem.

I flew the plane home after the oil change, excited to finally be rid of that irritating flashing red light, but it was still there! For the next few months, I swapped EGT probes, installed a new one, had them tested, checked for wiring problems, and spent a lot of time messing around trying to diagnose the problem. I was about to send the GRT EIS monitor back to be tested, when I shared some engine monitor info with Doug Hamerton at Aero Sport Power (the engine builder). He felt that, based on the data, I was leaning #4 lean of peak and that’s how/why the temp was going back in line with the other cylinders which were leaned ROP.

At this point I had put 80 hours on the engine. I had the mechanic on my field take a look and he told me I had a leaking exhaust valve, so I had him pull the cylinder. Based on the amount of carbon buildup, we decided to pull all the cylinders and have them looked at by Doug.

https://ibb.co/hAkrGJ
https://ibb.co/dPf2Oy
https://ibb.co/i3zJwJ

Aero Sport did their thing and a few weeks later the cylinders were remounted. 2 new pistons, 1 new #4 cylinder and the rest just cleaned up/painted. Once it was all put back together, I fired her up and did the ground run procedures.

Then I flew it, and still had the **** EGT problem!

This isn't the end of the story, but I’m going to stop the story here for a day or two. You should know that we did subsequently find and fix the problem. I’m curious whether anyone would have saved me all this hassle I've been through if I would have asked sooner.

And Klaus, you’re not allowed to answer.

 

Follow up...

Bad coil.

Kahuna, you hit the nail on the head! Where were you $5,000 ago? Neither mechanic I worked with thought of a bad coil. Neither knew that running the ignition without a plug would burn up the coil.

#4 was running rich after the pre-buy inspection. I assume this was because only 1 plug was firing. Eventually, it started running lean - because enough fouling of the exhaust valve caused a leak on the intake stroke. This was puzzling to me at the time, but now it makes perfect sense.

Anyhow, I hope this post saves someone else a few bucks down the road!

May 10, 2018.   Issue #4,562.
  Might anyone have pictures of a frangible windsock pole mount from their field?  We're looking at putting one on our field.  Two actually.
 

Another RV-7A takes its first flight!

VAF Community,
After 7.5 years my "QB" RV-7A finally got airborne last week and I already have 10 hours on her. A great moment and I was able to share it with a builder friend who came with though the FAA Qualified Pilot program. I am concentrating almost entirely on the proper engine break-in/seating of rings. I have a few questions for the VAF guys in the know. As I have close to 10 hrs, I am expecting the rings to seat very soon and CHT's to drop. I am wondering what kind of drop I should see. As I am doing the phase one unfortunately a little too late for ideal cool temps in the Las Vegas area. Oil consumption seems somewhat minimal, buy higher than I would expect if the rings had already seated. The highest I've seen is about 418 for a couple min on the initial climb. It's a new stock lycoming IO360-M1B engine. MT CS prop. Wheel pants are not installed. Nose leg/pant is complete and can be installed, but the mains are not completed yet. Below are some cruise reference numbers to help build a picture...

4500 ft, 7170 ft DA, WOT, 2400RPM, OAT 82F, oil temp 184, 130 IAS kts
CHT's: 388,391,373,391

4500 ft, 7130 ft DA, WOT, 2500RPM, OAT 82F, Oil temp 186, 132 IAS kts
CHT's: 392, 397, 375, 382

4500 ft, 7160 ft DA, WOT, 2450RPM, OAT 83F, Oil temp 184, 131 IAS kts
CHT's: 388, 394, 372, 389

My biggest question is when should I expect the seating to occur? Will it be sudden? What kind of drop in CHT's should I see?

If the temp drop is not significant, I think I will need to make cowling adjustments to lower the CHT's so the plane is useful in warm weather.

Thanks for any insight and input. I have read a bit on VAF about the break-in process, but have not seen what to expect.

Chad Hesterman
N11ZH
Boulder City, NV

How to bind a hairline fiberglass crack w/o access to the back side.

I have a small fiberglass crack between the windscreen and the cowling....its exactly centered and about 6 inches below the bottom of the wind screen.  You can't see the crack in the attached picture, but I put an arrow to show where it is (you seriously can't see it in the pic).  Its about 4 inches long, hairline, and allows the fiberglass on the back side of the crack (closest to the windscreen) to stick up about 3/32 of an inch.

Its been that way since I bought the airplane....and it is not getting worse.

My A/P suggested that I get a hypodermic needle and inject some lock tite (or other) adhesive under it to bind it back down.  My question is, what adhesive to use ? It has to basically be instantly bonded because I don't have a way to hold it down while it bonds.  And I don't want it to generate heat and melt the surrounding material.

Ideas ?

__________________
Scott Martin
N430WP RV-10

48 States in 7 Days ...planning

Planning a 48 state trip in two weeks with my son. Below is our planned route. We'll try to do it in 7 days but truly have no need or desire to push our limits or even complete the trip unless it's easy and fun. We plan to be as self-sufficient as possible but we all know how those plans go. We don't plan on an oil change as we'll leave with fresh oil and filter and flight time is planned for 40 hours. We may need an O2 refill, though. I'll try to do a trip report but definitely don't expect Vlad quality. Thanks to Joe Rainbolt for his kind help with route planning and advice.

Help: strobe quit working

I promise not to clean my tail lens again!

My tail navigation/strobe light lens was extremely dirty so I decided to pull the bottom rudder flairing where the tail position light/strobe light attaches. Getting the two screws with locking nuts out was tough but I got it done. Cleaned the lens and reinstalled everything. Had to replace one ground connection for the position light but didn’t have to do anything to the strobe light connection. Powered everything up and the strobes didn’t work! Not only the tail light strobe failed to work but the wing tip strobes also quit working!

I don’t understand what happened. Why would the wing tip strobes also quit working. I didn’t even get close to them. Does anyone have any idea what’s happened here?

Sills ...AviatorJ RV-10

...I happened to install the Aerosport ones recently so I can tell you what I did. In my case I had the top on, glassed in and the plane around latch all installed. If you are doing this prior to installing the cabin top you could do it different

• Removed 3rd door latch block.
• Measured and trimmed each sill for length and cut.
• Made measurements with a sliding square about every 6 inches and then transcribed that onto carbon fiber sill piece.
• Trimmed the sill piece to match the markings with about a 1/16th extra (ie on the outside of the drawn line)
• Then it was just back and forth holding it up, sanding a bit, holding it back up and sanding some more. Takes time but I wanted it flat on both angles and close to the cabin top filet as possible.
• Roughed up paint and then coated the inside of the sill with 3M two part adhesive.
• Clamped the piece in place and removed any overage.
• Once cured, removed clamps, sanded the bottom of the 3rd latch blocks a bit and called it good.

High Silicon in Oil Analysis Solved (I think)

I think we need to distinguish between the element silicon and the elastomer silicone.

From Wikipedia
Silicon is a chemical element with symbol Si and atomic number 14. A hard and brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre.

Silicone rubber is an elastomer (rubber-like material) composed of silicone—itself a polymer—containing silicon together with carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. In its uncured state, silicone rubber is a highly-adhesive gel or liquid. In order to convert to a solid, it must be cured, vulcanized, or catalyzed. This is normally carried out in a two-stage process at the point of manufacture into the desired shape, and then in a prolonged post-cure process.

The presence of Silicon in an oil analysis normally indicates the presence of dirt, sand, and other like materials usually ingested into the engine through the air filter and induction system.

The Silicon in Silicone rubber is chemically bonded to the other elements, that is there is no free silicon. So running oil or fuel through a silicone rubber hose should not remove any chemically bonded silicon.

RV-8 and the Turn Around Cape Flattery

Sunday (5/6/18) saw some better weather around the Northwest, so I got a trip out to the coast in. The airframe mounted camera is still pretty shaky (better on some says than others), but the handheld shots aren't bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR293zdX2v8

Some thoughts....

I am not a lawyer by any means, and this is not meant to be advice as much as something to think about for all of us. I have had the occasion to perform prebuys as a result of estate sales over the course of many years, and I keep seeing the same thing. The aircraft has been left in a state of disrepair sometimes for so long that the monetary value has greatly depreciated, Sometimes to less than half or more than the value at the time of death. I find it so sad for the family/spouse of the deceased. The aircraft that at one time may have been the pride and joy of the owner or family may now require lots of work and money to even make it saleable.

I know it can be a really tough time for the family, and especially the spouse, but I’ll tell you what I have told my family. If anything happens to me, sell the airplane the next day. Don’t wait. Don’t let emotions get in the way of a financial decision that most certainly have adverse consequences.

Just my thoughts.....

Vic

https://duckduckgo.com/app ..for iOS and Android 

For those wanting more privacy online.  Note the first pic below.  It's the Science section of DailyMail.com in the UK - DuckDuckGo's browser running on my iPhone.  No big deal...looks and works just like Safari.  The other three pics show the 46 ad trackers (THREE PAGES) that the DuckDuckGo app blocked while I was viewing this single page.

PS:  VAF and the mothership show 0 ad trackers.  We both get 'C' ratings because the sites aren't encrypted, but I've yet to find an 'A' site.  'B' seems to be the highest score you can get.  So, you know....passing grade. ;^) dr

May 9, 2018.   Issue #4,561.

Rob Reece post RV flight.  Look how happy he looks...;^)

IAC Contest - Impressions of a first time competitor ...1flyingyogi

I just got back yesterday from the Duel in the Desert Contest in Apple Valley, CA. Thursday was registration day and we got one 15 minute slot for practice. There were 28 competitors, and a bunch of awesome aircraft. I felt like a kid in a toy store. There were over half a dozen Extras, an Edge 540, 4-5 Pitts S1 and S2s, a Super D, 2 Eagles, a Great Lakes, and a very humble 160hp, FP prop RV4. Am I in the wrong place?? Haha. I wasted some precious minutes of my practice slot b/c I was not prepared. (I didn't realize I needed fuel, forgot to buckle the rear belts, etc.) Newbie mistakes, which only left me with about 8 minutes to check out the box and do one sequence. Next time I need to get prepared instead of gawking at the cool planes and chatting with their owners.

Friday, we started nice and early with the pilots meeting at 7am and Intermediate starting right after that. Afterwards was everyone else. I did ok, I thought, with a 77.xx% score, but felt I could do better and felt that I normally fly better than that. The density altitude caught me off guard and I learned that I should have started higher and carried more speed to start the maneuvers.

photos

Second round I felt was better, but the judges didn't think so and I got a 76.xx%. I read the comments, but couldn't really understand what some of the comments meant. And the others, I kinda didn't know what to do about them. It would have been nice to have a mentor/ coach at this time. Any volunteers??

Saturday comes and again we had to wake up early, drive 20-25 minutes to the airport from the hotel and we all looked really tired. It was smoking hot.
I had my best flight that day with a score of 78.xx% and an overall finish of 3rd place.

First and second were Pitts S2s flown by a young kid who's obviously very talented and even at only twenty-something years old was a CFII and was flying with an aerobatic flight school in Utah. He has aspirations to become a Red Bull Air Race pilot. Second was a lovely young gal who flies for a collegiate aerobatics team in Colorado. By the end of the contest we were all friends and joking around with each other about who's gonna win the next contest.

AJ Wilder (he flies for the US National Aerobatic Team), who has been helping me out at my practice days, told me to go get the score and comments at the end of the contest so he could go over them with me and tell me what I need to work on for the next contest. They were really helpful tips, but why didn't he tell me this BETWEEN rounds instead of at the END of the contest?? Haha.
That would have been so helpful! I had a great time and learned a bunch and met a lot of really amazing people.

And as icing on the cake, I met and was hanging out with Max, the owner of a gorgeous Extra 330 the whole weekend. After the contest was finished on Saturday, we had some time and he asked me if I wanted to fly his plane from the front seat. Uhm... Of course!! YES!! The stick was so light that it felt like I just needed to BREATH on it and it moves! It's almost telepathic. It took a few minutes to get used to, but after I had a blast! Super nice guy and great pilot. He ended up with Second in Sportsman.

The best speech I heard at the banquet/ award ceremony was given by Howard Kirker, a 70-something legend in the sport. He said that the best measure of success in this sport is if you can grow old. That's much more important than trophies or titles. The goal is to be able to enjoy this sport until you grow old like him. So safety is of utmost importance. He has been flying since 16 years old and competed for 30 years up to Unlimited. He's now dialed back, but still kicking butt in Intermediate. He won first place this weekend. And the other guys say he always does - in a Great Lakes!!

Thanks to IAC 49 for taking me into their chapter and showing me the ropes. Before about a month and half ago, I never even had flown in an aerobatic box or gotten any ground critiquing or coaching and didn't know what the heck I was doing. Without them, I definitely would not have been here to compete. And thanks to Ron, Bill (willyeyeball), Jerry and all the guys on the IAC RV Yahoogroup for their guidance. You guys are a great inspiration for what an RV can do! And of course thanks to VAF and all the members for the incredible resource that it is. I would not even own an RV if it wasn't for this group. And lastly thanks to EAA 96 for coming "straight outta Compton" to support me! Haha. A lot of the following photos are courtesy of my buddies from EAA 96.

Now I gotta get some rest to recover. It was great fun, but sure takes a lot out of ya! Can't wait till the next one!

7A Rebirthing: Canopy PIREP ...kentlik

I got serious about the canopy finally after several days if not weeks.   In Oregon when the sun comes out you better be quick! Got up to 70 plus, but not 75.

Vent line not blocked, but tank pressurized?  ...sbalmos RV-9A

I'm trying to think this one through, whether it's just a nuisance, or I have to pull and fix my petulant cranky left fuel tank again before final inspection.

Currently, my hangar is 70-ish inside. Both left and right tanks have approximately 11 gallons in them, definitely nowhere near the top where fuel would readily enter the vent line. But my left tank is already dripping fuel out my vent. I'm almost certain this is fuel leaking through from the vent line bulkhead fitting inside the tank, probably the vent line fitting Just Loose Enough [tm].

Question 1 - is there enough normal outgassing pressure from fuel in the tank to push fuel in the vent line up the J-U loops of our vent lines inside the fuselage, clearly above the level of the tanks, until the fuel in the line vents overboard?

Now, the more important question... When I raise the tab on the fuel filler cap, and thus unseal it without removing the cap, I get a large hiss. I'm almost certain this is excess outgassing being released from the tank that didn't make it through the vent line in the fuselage, since the vent line was full of fuel.

This pressurization built up over 2 days, on the ground in my hangar. I'm wondering whether I should be concerned with it in a flight scenario? I'm thinking not, because when fuel is being used up from the tank, now we're dealing with a vacuum situation in the tank, and the vent line is used to pull in air into the tank. It's just going to happen to pull that "leaked" fuel back into the tank.

The real concern I have is whether the vacuum in the tank, in normal flight, will become too much for the tank because the vent line is filled with fuel, and maybe compromise the tank? I'm thinking not, but I'm just posing the scenario. Too many memories of reading too many posts here relating to balloon leak tests and pulling vacuums to pull in Locktite to seal weeping rivets, and posts saying that too much pressurization or vacuum will rupture the tank.

May 8, 2018.   Issue #4,560.
  Susie, Tate and I ate dinner Sunday at 4pm because Tate needed to go into work early.  Nothing on TV so after I pushed out the Monday edition we drove out to the airport, waited until about ten minutes before, then launched in the RV to catch the sunset forecast for 8:14pm - turned out to be 8:21pm at 2,000'.  Smooth air and all the airspace was ours.  Landed just as the runway lights came on and still got home before Tate :^).

 
enlarge

Monday night was spent digging in the yard trying to find a sprinkler system leak that has been 1) watering a big patch of the backyard below the surface (uncommanded) and 2) keeping me from using the rest of the sprinklers (it's turned off).  Bought some PVC knee boots from Lowes for the festivities.  No way am I paying a sprinkler guy to dig....I can dig for free <g>. 

Use auto plugs- NGK- Check those ferrules are tight

You know, the ferrule, the little metal bit at the top of the plug where you plug the wire in.

I just checked my plane -- four out of four were loose and wobbly.
They are brand new NGK plugs replaced at annual only ~5 hours ago. I didn't notice them to be loose when I installed them, but didn't explicitly check them for this. And I've been using this brand/type for the past 10 years, never noticed this before.

I recently had some ignition trouble (old thread here) which I think was caused by this. First I thought it was caused by ignition wires (two of them were indeed flaky when bent just right so maybe I prevented a future failure there), then I thought it was the Lightspeed coil (one coil was indeed bad), but the root cause, according to Lightspeed, was probably the loose ferrule which causes heating in the coil and failure.

And of course who knows what kind of weak spark you get when that thing is loose...hopefully a gentle turn with a pair of pliers will keep them in place.

 

Panel Pic ...Rstansley RV-4

7A Rebirthing ...kentlik

I didn't realize how HUGE the passages were in the originals until I made my own.  This helped a lot for fitment, like, a whole bunch!  Maintained my parallel to deck on the side rails as well.

My RV-12 is painted!! Finally! ...pstraub

http://www.vansrv6.com/

Turbo69bird in the VAF Forums.  His site with a lot of pics.  Like this one...

May 7, 2018.   Issue #4,559.
  What started as a 'Where should we fly to breakfast this fine Saturday morning?' for three of us turned into a close up and personal tour of warbirds, complete with DC-3 and 1930's era biplane fly-bys.   We picked Mt. Pleasant, TX (KOSA) and drove the courtesy car to Herschel's for, what was described by an airport guy we met, as 'upscale Dairy Queen'.  I ordered grits for the first time in 40 years.  They were good.  The unsweet tea dispenser is today's off topic.

  Pictures and videos can be found HERE.  You want to stand in the shade one foot from the folding mechanism of a Corsair for an hour?  With no crowds whatsoever - just pondering the awesomeness of 78 year old engineering?  Mt. Pleasant, ladies and gentlemen.  I updated the VAF Courtesy Car & Food list accordingly.

  These RVs really are amazing.  I forget sometimes how much fun picking a place and just going there to see what you'll find can be.  Randy brought up the point that bringing a lawn chair and just setting there in the shade watching these old planes fly around the pattern on a Saturday would be just about as good as it gets.  I think he might be right. 
  Hope you had a nice weekend also.

From the Mothership...

"When registering your plane with the FAA, please retain the serial number assigned by Van’s Aircraft to your RV project. With over 10,000 RV’s in the sky, replacing an assigned number with an original number may be a nice touch, however, down the road, it is not practical. Scenario: plane is registered with an “original” serial number. Plane changes hands, Van’s isn’t notified, and someone changes the tail number. Now there is no way to track down the original account. In essence, this means that if a service bulletin is issued regarding some parts intrinsic to that plane, the current owner will not receive the notice. I know the EAA has information to the contrary, but with over 10,000 flying RV’s, it is a matter of safety that Van’s has the ability to contact all RV owners should it become necessary.

Blue skies, and be safe”.
Cynthia A. Schrantz
Administrative Assistant
Van's Aircraft, Inc.

New build - bent aluminum question

Hi All,
I'm a new builder staring a -14A. Working on Vertical Stabilizer (after having done the SportAir class and a few practice kits) and really enjoying it.
Today I was working on the top tip rib, part VS-706, on the step where I need to radius the corners at the Tip Rib flange to ensure a good fit when skins are installed.

While making the radius on the scotch-brite wheel, I accidentally caught it wrong and it bounced off of the wheel and slightly bent the forward tip of the rib.
Picture below:

Mallards Landing Fly-In PIREP ...Vic S

Yesterday was a lot of fun. At one time there were 2 Stearmans, an RV-8, A Woody Pusher, a Maule, a Cherokee 180, RV-10, a Champ, and a C-172 in my back yard. There are days like this when I think someone is going to pinch me and wake me up!

But, the HIGHLIGHT of the day happened at the start of the day. I was on my deck with some Young Eagles I had taken flying and was filling out their Certificates. From behind me I hear someone trying to get my attention, and so I turn around and it is a young gentleman who introduces his wife and 9 month-old baby girl. He says he just wanted to come by and say thanks, as I took him for his Young Eagle ride when he was 16, and now he is a commercial pilot.

How neat is that? He is now the 3rd YE that has come back to Mallards and told me they got their pilot's license.

I know many of you do the same, and hopefully have some of the same stories to share. So, keep doing it!!! Who knows whom we will inspire? I bet some of us could be sitting in a rosking chair someday watching one of these new pilots landing on Mars.

Whelen Tail Strobe Wire Routing ...Jeff A

This is from when I had the Whelen strobe installed, but the same idea worked for the Suntail.

Milestone: Private Pilot!

After about 9 months, 55 flight hours, and around $6,000 (estimating, I haven't added everything up yet) I am finally a private pilot. Working around the runway closures at my base airport, I took my check ride this past Monday on a typically gusty north Texas day. It wasn't my best flying, considering the conditions, but I passed!

With training done I will have quite a bit more time and money to work on the RV. I'm still working to get this thread caught up with my actual progress.

__________________
Zach Miller
RV-7 Empennage

Forward top skin tip ...RV-8

I fitted the top skin before cutting out the panel for the baggage door. While fitting I took the left over angle from rolling the lower fuselage skin to make a couple of hold bars between the firewall and the next aft bulkhead. This holds everything aligned for baggage door and cowl fitup.

May 4, 2018.   Issue #4,558.
  Heads up N. Texas, TFR Friday...VIP movement.  Milestone this weekend: Met my wife on 5/5 back in 1984 - 34 years ago.  Nickel beer night (the mullet apparently irresistible).  We're celebrating the anniversary trying to figure out what the cost will be on our first colonoscopies (she and I both 52).  Our self-employed insurance is <expletive> - asking them the question 'How much will my colonoscopy cost me?' apparently requires a Cray supercomputer and a Manhattan Project sized team of scientists.  An hour on the phone with them produced no answer.  Frustrating.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled colonoscopy...I mean weekend.  Sorry, dealing with a lotta shit here. (badump)
  [ed. Update: Email from Steven B.  Try this.  Flat rate.  Steven, thank you! dr]
 

Cedar Meadows RV-12 PIREP ...Vlad the traveller

Today two RV12 landed at Cedar Meadows.  [ed. Fly-in May 26. dr] Dave and Mark followed me all the way from PA and MD good job guys! Landed long and still were able to stop at the middle of 3,000 feet runway. Come back and show them some attendance. <g>

RV-8 Back Seat Stick Base Cover ...Ron RV8

Pretty easy to do in aluminum. Do a card stock stretch-out first... I took out the drink holder, too much chance of water bottle interference with the stick... Water bottle now lays forward of the cover, still accessible....

Carb Update: Problem Solved ...todehnal RV-12

Well, I'm pretty sure that I have found my problem as well. First, a few more details.

After reading everything that i could find on the subject, all things pointed to the cards, and that included suggestions from Rotax gurus. I ordered the small carb kits from Lockwood, and when they arrived, I went to work. By the way, like many things, the scary part of the job was the unknown. After watching a few videos, and reading up on the process, I set up a very clean area with lots of light an a magnifying glass. It was really pretty straight forward, and to be honest, I didn't find the smoking gun. There was a little black residue hear and there which cleaned off nicely. Oh, I guess the choke works a bit smoother now.

After re-installing the carbs and doing a run up, the roughness was still there on Ignition A, and with all of the black plugs, I was still unable to identify the bad cylinder. So much for carbs being the problem. Everything that I read stated that ignition component failure is very rare, but I thoroughly did a physical inspection again of all ignition connections. I tugged on every connector, seated every plug, and verified that there were no broken or chafed parts.

So, I ran it up again and had the same roughness but this time I kept it up at about 3600 rpm, putting up with the roughness for a couple of minutes and the did a radical shutdown. This time I could detect that cylinder 1 plugs were worse. .On a whim, and really not expecting anything good to come of it, I dig out the old plugs, picked the best looking two and put them in cylinder 1.

Wow! It was like magic! So I did the carb balance and everything looks good. Bottom line, I guess I had replaced a bad spark plug with a fresh out of the box bad spark plug. Thanks for everyone's help. ..........Tom

14A Status Report ...didja

Currently nearly completed with the tail cone. Started Nov 1st of 2017. I am expecting my wing kit to arrive in about a week or two!!!

May/June FAA Safety Briefing Online

7A Rebirthing Update ...kentlik

So the weather has been far too cold to cut acrylic. I have since moved to skirting work:

Here are the side skirts:

RV Interiors Press Release ...Rich Meske

"Take advantage of the Spring and plan to add one of our interior packages to your aircraft. We are offering interiors for models RV-6, RV-7, and RV-9. Other aircraft are possible as well. Choose your own materials and we will make your seats, armrests, and stick boots. The seats feature an inflatable lumbar support. An optional EZ-Step can be incorporated in the seat. It is a convenient place for a person to put their foot upon entering the aircraft. See this feature along with our newest products at aircraftextras.com."

May 3, 2018.   Issue #4,557.
Heads up N. Texas, TFR Friday...VIP movement.
 

West Coast Ravens at Beale Air Force Air Show ...360* video (huh?)

...clip sent to me by AX-O.  If you have a smart phone or tablet you can 'look around' during playback by moving your phone.  If your browser supports it on your desktop you can change your view by dragging your mouse.

I wonder if you'll do what I did - move the phone to follow lead pitch up and over to the right, then spin around to AX-O's head and watch him alternate attention between the other three planes and his panel as he gets configured for landing.  Neat video!!!

Gentle Reminder from the Mothership RE: FAA Registration

"It appears that a few members in our community need a gentle reminder that a paper trail of ownership needs to be on file before an 8050-2 Aircraft Bill of Sale can be issued by Van’s for any RV aircraft. A plane may be comprised of kits purchased from several different individuals, and as long as there is documentation in the form of bill of sales in the file for each component, an 8050-2 Aircraft Bill of Sale can be issued. If the documentation does not exist, then the builder will need to contact the FAA and register it using an original make and model of his or her own device."

RV-Lancair Brotherhood Day ...snopercod

Today, Darwin and I flew to Hickory for a cheesburger. There's a great little burger joint right in the terminal. As an added bonus, there's also an air museum there. The docents told us there's having a "grand opening" of the P-3 Orion on the 19th featuring the retired Admiral [?] who used to be in charge of the entire fleet of sub hunters. Burgers and hot dogs will be served.

I'm now an owner -)

Hi everyone. Thought I would introduce myself. After a lot of searching which almost felt like a quest at times, I am proud to officially join the VANS community as an owner.

My first build was a Sonex. The goal was to see if I liked owning and building. One of those was proved true, I love owning my own plane. The other, not so much. I love spending my time in the air, no question about that.

The search for an RV took the better part of a year. After a several failed attempts, followed by a failed pre-buy, my luck changed and a perfect bird popped up not far from my home base.

Thanks to Vic for all the help and time over the past year. I have learned a lot and look forward to learning from everyone.

I am now a proud owner of an RV-9A tip up powered by an O-320. I've logged 14 hours in the past week and couldn't be happier. So glad to be a Vans owner. Hope to meet some of you at Oshkosh this year. ...snip
__________________
Cheers, Josh
N62KG RV9-A

Another small step ...RepmikeBrown

Actually got to take her out for a stroll around the the ramp for first time. A little fuel and taxi back

Improving wingtip fit?

As I'm trial fitting the wingtips, and especially when adding the rib, it looks like there is noticeable distortion when riveting the curved tip to a flat rib. I'm considering filling in that gap with epoxy/flox mix. Anyone else try this, or see potential problems?  more pics

RV flyin at Ramona (KRNM )

Just a reminder the Ramona RV flyin BBQ is May 5, 10-2pm.  Always great to see a bunch of beautiful RVs on the ramp at one time, Checkout the flier or contact me for info.

Ongoing Maintainence ...Piper J3 RV-12

It looks like most ignition mounting bracket failures are the stubby 90 degree brackets on the back of the ignition coils. I have not had this failure, but now at my latest oil change (325TT), I noticed the long front bracket has failed just below the 90 degree bend. This is PN 29 in the attached drawing. The bracket is 0.080” Stainless Steel. I have fabricated a new bracket from 1/8” mild steel and added 1/8” to the overall width for additional strength.

Attached photos show broken bracket and 1st iteration of new bracket to test fit. A second more professional bracket is now installed on the engine

Do you know where I can get one of these?

...asking for a bud.  I started a thread. 

6th (sort of) annual Cedar Meadows fly-in VA/WV ...May 26

Saturday May 26
Cedar Meadows Airpark, located between Winchester, VA and Martinsburg, WV
Runway information: We are not on sectional charts, but Highview Farms (61VA) is about 1 mile SE. RW 9/27 Left traffic.
3000 X 80 good turf. Pattern Altitude 1500. Monitor 122.9
Runway condition is suitable for "A" models. ALL aircraft welcome.
Wi-Fi available. Not broadband, but acceptable.
Schedule: Open at 9am. Food from 11am to 1 pm. Free lunch. Menu TBD.
Formation demonstration courtesy Dragon Flight at approximately 11am. Chicken bombing contest at 1pm.
Restroom on site.
Overnight camping allowed. Adult beverages begin at 5pm (or earlier) Probably grill again for dinner.

May 2, 2018.   Issue #4,556.

RV Hotel List Updated and Current

PH Aviation Flap Actuator Install in a RV-7

Yesterday I finished the installation of a PH Aviation flap actuator. This is a short post of the fabrication and installation process. As the website states, it's not a direct replacement. But it was easy nonetheless

I first learned about this new actuator by reading this thread on VAF.
Here's the website where I purchased the actuator. First thing I did was email Pat Hatch with some questions. Pat answered really fast and was easy to communicate with.

So the installation... Pat's instructions were for a RV-6. After looking the plans over, I decided the edge distance for the pivot bolt hole in the bracket was a little too skinny for my tastes. So I did a little redesign.

I basically used some of the methods Van's uses for their actuator and combined that with the RV-6 plans...shook it up a little and came out with a nice installation. I kept the geometry the same as the plans for the -6, so I didn't have to reinvent the wheel and could use the rest of their plan guidelines.

Just to get orientated, here's a photo from Pat's website showing the difference between the Van's installation compared to theirs.
Pat's is on the right, Van's on the left.  ...

David Paule RV-3B Status Report

Rotating Wing Paint Rig

...seen at GLO Custom.  I just thought it was neat so I took some pics.

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JCarne RV-7A Status Report

Well I received my replacement angle for the firewall so I thought I would finish it up. Priming was on Friday followed by an enormous amount of time riveting the parts over the weekend. I can't believe how time consuming riving the firewall was since the plate had to be elevated for the flange. I must have turned that firewall over a hundred times in the process. Glad it's all riveted and I even got back to the center section. Bolting some of the control pieces on was fun!  ...

May 1, 2018.   Issue #4,555.

Couple of nearly identical RV-8 schemes at Richmond
Aircraft (enlarge).  Made it the May Wallpaper.

Recent Anglo/American RV7 alliance.

Brian Delamater (some may remember him?) spent 5 years (2008-13) building his RV7 then had to stop for three years. He was then able to restart work in 2016 but with much regret circumstances meant that he was never able to finish her. The right decision for Brian was to sell her, and in Jan 2017 she was advertised, on here, from his S.Carolina home.

This side of the pond (on the south coast of England) I saw Brian's advertisement and an Anglo/American deal was born! Brian was meticulous in sending me everything to finish her (except an engine and prop which had already been sold 3 years earlier). She flew for the first time last week, so one more RV7 can be added to the list of flying RV7s, and here's a not very good youtube video of her in flight. https://youtu.be/oGMm01cFKi4

Many thanks to Brian, who did a great job building most of her, and many thanks to those of you who helped Brian and me get her flying.

Happy Flying.

David

VAF Charity Cap Sighting

Chris Pratt at Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 4,2018.

Went looking for ancient alien landing sites as described on the History Channel. I couldn’t seem to find any sites or spaceships. If the ships were built out of sandstone like the rest of the Wat that could explain why no evidence was found – the ships burned up on entry into the atmosphere.

But seriously, it’s a truly impressive site built on a massive scale. A bucket list item.

The spline-drive BC462-H as primary alternator- a success story!

Many hundreds of experimental and certified aircraft sport B&C Specialty Product’s various spline-driven alternators as backups, and by all accounts they have an exemplary record for service and reliability over the past 20+ years. With the recent introduction of the more powerful BC462-H, rated at 60 Amps output in the belt driven version, I began thinking about using one as sole alternator for my “electron-dependent” RV-7A.

The idea of eliminating the belt-driven unit up front along with its HEAVY steel support brackets, getting rid of the belt, and even milling the drive pulley off of the flywheel is compelling. I’d be reducing the polar moment of inertia, lowering weight on the nose wheel, improving CG, and adding the crowbar OV protection built into B&C’s external regulator in one fell swoop. The quality and reliability of B&C products is legendary. ...

Eagle's Nest Projects - Alex McGonegal 1st Solo - Central High School (WI) ...R.E. Butcher

-Text msg received from Jim Senft, ENP Program Director at Central high school, Westosha, WI.
“Ernie, we’re having a problem keeping fuel in the tank of our RV-12, Falcon-1. It goes through the tank, through the fuel lines, into the carbs, into the cylinders, gets burned, and goes out the exhaust. I think the issue is we now have some nice weather and the kids are flying a lot… we now have 650 hours on Falcon-1!”

Shortly thereafter I received this email…

"Central High School STEM Aviation program is celebrating another Solo. Senior Alex McGonegal has become our latest Eagle’s Nest student to solo. It was April 24th, a beautiful day in Burlington Wisconsin just before sunset. Winds were light, favoring runway 29. Alex and his flight instructor, Mr. Dan Lund, just finished his lessons for the day. Mr. Lund then gave Alex some last instructions before exiting the aircraft; “Just fly the aircraft like you have been taught”, he said. Alex proceeded to runway 29, run-up checklist complete, traffic call over the radio, taxied to 29 for takeoff. Alex completed three nice landing before taking back to Eagle’s nest hanger to have his shirt cut. Alex plans to complete this private pilot license this summer before heading to Michigan Technological University this fall to study Chemical Engineering. Congratulation to Alex and is flight instructor Dan Lund." -Jim Senft

Stay tuned for more from Alex and Dan…

650 hrs condition inspection

...still, not much carb heat cable wear

PPG DC concept base paint and vinyl stripes

"Not a fancy scheme but 10 years and 460 hours and still looks as good as new. Photo taken last week, aircraft is hangared."

April 30, 2018.   Issue #4,554.
  Friday I was lucky enough to pull in to the airport in time to see a 4-ship coming up initial (video).  The RVs are all 8's and are (I think) Sky, Plaster and Lurch.  We spotted a new church under the downwind leg for 17 recently (pic / map).  Looks like they laid out the two benches and cross so that the sunrise is front and center.  Nice touch, and very Texan with the nearby deer feeder and cows grazing in the same pasture.  Hangarmate John and I unofficially dubbed it 'Aero Valley Downwind Church'. ;^)  It compliments the Officer Big Mac Jail under downwind for 35...(map).
  Saturday was 00000kt all day so as expected the Granbury pancake gathering was a hit (pics below).  Sunday Mass, yard work and work work.
  Hope you had a nice RV weekend and that your Monday goes swell.

Granbury Pancake Fly-In Pics ...dr

It was nice seeing some folks I haven't seen in too long.  Flying over the swap meet at Texas Motor Speedway on the way back was icing on the cake.

Replacement Ignition Coil Bracket ...Brent -12

Been meaning to post this. I went ahead and fabricated a very basic replacement ignition coil bracket from some scrap aluminum angle I had in the hanger. But, before installing it a friend at the airport dropped by, who has a machine shop and also an amazing basement workshop, and insisted that we fabricate a more durable replacement out of 4140 steel that would be less prone to break again. I shot this short video for our EAA chapter (we're going to visit his basement in a few months). He added a third side to the bracket to strengthen it, but (not in the video) I needed to remove much of that in order to be able to get a small wrench in there to reinstall the bracket on the engine. Those of you have have had to make this repair know how tight it is in there.

Over engineered. YES. But was really interesting to see a skilled machinist in action. After weeks of maintenance in abnormally cold spring weather, several SBs, and this last repair, the annual inspection that wouldn't end is finally done...

P.S. if you check Lockwood's website, the replacement bracket (# 851260) can be purchased for something like $11 (surprisingly cheap compared to most Rotax part prices). So if this one fails, I'm obviously just going to buy the next one.

Esquenazi aces the Carolina Boogie.

The Carolina Boogie aerobatic contest is in the record books and Jerry Equenazi flew his beautiful RV-8 to a first place finish in a field of 10 Sportsman category competitors. Not only did he finish first, but bested the nearest competitor by over three percentage points!

C/S Prop Install on RV-4 ...Chris Olsen photos

...from Dayton Murdock's engine upgrade thread.

Don't Ignore Those Symptoms! ...TomVal

I hope sharing this with all of you may prevent what almost happened to me.

I have been ignoring my difficulties in passing urine for about a year. My annual blood test revealed a highly elevated creatinine level.

I was immediately sent to a hospital for a urinary tract ultrasound. I received a call by a urologist the following day (April 24) to report immediately to his office. I was asked during the call if I was in pain…I said no…I happen to be working on my airplane.

Now at the office, the doctor said, “Do you realize how sick you are?” I said, “No”. He replied, “If you wouldn’t have come in today to begin treatment, you would have been DEAD by May 7th. I said, “Oh my…that doesn’t sound good!.”

So, I am sitting here with a catheter installed and on meds. I see the doc on follow-up next Tuesday to see what menu item he will select.

At age 70+, I have been blessed with good health but I guess my stubbornness to acknowledge those symptoms almost done me in…I must now recognize my ironman days are over.

Please don’t ignore those symptoms.

Now…back to working on the airplane…need to finish by May 7th (just in case)!

Regards,

Borescope Pics - yellow deposits ...Chris Johnson 9A

Working on my condition inspection today, and borescoped all cylinders. All the exhaust valves look excellent (2 years, 200ish hours on the cylinders). Compressions 74,76,78,78

Only odd thing is the yellowish deposits around (not on) the valve face in in cylinder #4. Does not occur in any other cylinders. Any comments?

Mothership Employment Opportunities

April 27, 2018.   Issue #4,553.
  North Texas is greening up nicely (iPic below from short .2 this a.m.).  Some good news at my home field - the new airport office has arrived.  The infrastructure is slowly but surely being made solid - more here.  Nearby Granbury has their pancake fly-in breakfast this Saturday.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend!

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Q: How to build and fly a RV-14 to be QUIET?

Ok guys here's the question, what choice would you make while building and how would you takeoff to be as neighbor friendly and quiet as possible (within reason). Im thinking a vetterman exhaust with a muffler, maybe a 3 blade mt prop? Any other ideas and how would you climb out?

Thanks, just brainstorming some ideas

A: A muffler and then 3-blade to get the diameter down.  If you have plenty of runway and feel comfortable with trading safety with neighbor relations: mark where you get 2500rpm and do take offs with 25/2500....

A: if we look for good examples, (not necessarily practical) you seem to see a trend; more prop blades, lower tip speed, more cylinders, so each has less 'bark' ( 6-cyl?), minimum rpm of the engine and prop, mufflers, and pointing the exhaust up or sideways at the very least.

airframe noise would be pretty minimal, perhaps not worth going after those few decibels! I saw the Lockheed skytamer at Arlington many years ago, it was almost imperceptible flying over at 100'!!!

Garmin Pilot 9.3 Released

...some new features.

FS: Reduced to $59K

SB 14-01-31 ...longranger

I've had the SB 14-01-31 repair kit for a couple of years now, and thought I'd get it installed before attaching the horizontal stabilizer to the fuselage. The number of enlarged holes in the spars, ribs, and angles (some of which date back to the original construction) has been bugging me, so I sent an email to Vans. Sterling concurred, so I am replacing the front spars, attach and reinforcement angles, inboard ribs, and new pre-drilled doublers.

I ordered parts Monday, and they are due Saturday. Yesterday I started drilling out the front spars. 3-1/2 hours into it, I have the left front spar removed, and am about 2/3 the way through the right.

Plexi: 7A Rebirthing ...kentlik

So I got this out of the storage unit today.
I need more room...Not sure what and where to move what is in the way, but I will figure that out tonight. Most of the stuff laying around in here has a value to some project now or in the future.  The plastic is a bother and I plan on removing it and just covering the canopy in tape for the most part as Cajunwings did.

April 26, 2018.   Issue #4,552.

Check those Rudder/Elevator Counter Weight Bolts!

Make sure you are checking that your counter weights are secured and the bolts are tight during your inspections. This one required quite a bit of work to access, but the loose counter weight screws were hanging down and almost ready to jam the rudder

The same precaution holds true for the elevator weights.

This is not the first time I've run into this.

PS: the big cut out was required because there is a bulkhead that had to have holes drilled in it to access the nuts, these tall rudders have these nuts buried pretty good.

Hollywood Overfly How To?

Question for California locals. If you are on a VFR photo mission near Hollywood Sign how would you voice your request to ATC and where? The airspace seems saturated and terrain pretty high. Can I just talk to Burbank and ask? I've been on the other side of San Gabriel Mountains couple times but never crossed toward LA. The terminal chart looks very New Yorkish wondering if air traffic is that organized. Where else to fly scenic in the Basin?

Garmin Aera 660 V3.30 with Internet Weather

Hello,

We are pleased to announce a significant free software upgrade for the Aera 660. The V3.30 release which is available NOW for download includes free internet weather for parts of the world that provide this data. All you need is an internet connection to enjoy the benefits of internet weather while using the Aera 660 at home and office.

The current software supports NEXRAD and METARS/TAFS over the internet, with more internet weather products coming in the future.

Here is an image taken during Sun N Fun when the weather was making arrivals difficult.

G3X Training at OSH 2018

Hi VAF friends, long time no see!

In December I began working for Garmin in Olathe, KS on the Aviation Product Support team. I develop and deliver avionics maintenance and installation training for avionics technicians. So far it's been a great career move and I've learned a ton about avionics systems... even the certified variety!

My team and I will be giving a series of 45-minute training sessions for G3X installation and flying each day at Oshkosh this year, and it's time to start digging in and developing content. So I figured, who better to ask about what to talk about than you all??

If you're planning a G3X installation, what would you like to know? What can we do to demystify the system for you? If you've already gone through an installation, what did you have trouble with? What things could be clearer in the manuals? I've posted a poll here, but if there's something else you'd like to know, please reply in the thread and I'll see what I can do.

Thanks-- & see you there!
Katie

Low compression, bore scope pics, carbon...

Routine oil change and FWF inspection, expected no issues...
But the compression test; 74-78/80 on others, cly 2 50/80 first few tests, rotated prop several times, got up to 64/80.
Late night did not listen for source of leak, but did take the time to scope with new Vividia VA-400.
Other info;
490 hour since new IO-360M1B
Always 100LL
Exxon Elite 20W-50
No fuel or oil additives
Engine has not missed a beat.
Runs smooth even in LOP cruise operations
EGT and CHT normal ranges and matched close.

The proper way to make log book entries

Can any of my brethren here advise me on where to start learning about the proper way to make log book entries (Airframe, Engine, and Propeller) that would help me with requirements and phrasing?

I am just getting ready to transition from building the airframe to installing the engine, and would like to learn the proper way to indicate that SB's and letters have been complied with, and also prepare for the happy day when I can include maintenance as well.

As in everything else aviation, I am sure there are the official regs, and possibly an easier to follow aftermarket book perhaps, but I do not know where to start.

 

One of the Best Uses of Quotes in a Reply I've Ever Seen ...dr

New Flap Actuator for the RV-10!

Great news!

We will no longer have to deal with an external flap position sensor on the RV-10!

I just finished installing one of the prototype flap actuators from PHAviation.com. These actuators have a BUILT IN potentiometer for position information, so say goodbye to the external sensor mounts and linkages.

Here is a side by side comparison of the actuators:

Skidding and Slipping Departures from Controlled Flight in an RV

Forgive the old video; but unfortunately I don't have the originals on my laptop hard drive...

The first clip is a demonstration of a skidding departure in my RV-4. In a skid, the airplane rapidly departs underneath when the critical angle of attack is exceeded. There is very limited aerodynamic warning in the form of buffet and nose slice visual cues. The fastest recovery (minimum altitude loss) is to actually keep the roll going after the initial snap roll to an inverted position:

A Firewall Detail and a Spar Bulkhead Fitting Issue ...David Paule 3B

There are two areas in the assembly of the firewall and the spar bulkhead build-up where a builder might make an error like I did.

The first is on the bottom of the firewall. There's a 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/8 angle that gets riveted to the firewall. It should NOT be flush to the flange. Instead, don't forget to allow a .040 gap for the F-321 forward belly skin.

Here's what it will be when you're done:

High Oil temps - Louvers vs Cowl Flap

Now that summer is approaching, I'm thinking again about what I need to do to lower the oil temps in my 7A.

I have "real" S&W oil cooler mounted on the left rear baffle. I've worked hard making sure my baffle seals are good and that I've sealed all the gaps between the engine and the baffles. Despite all that I've done, when it gets really hot outside, my oil temps run consistenly at 210 F or above. It not unusually for me to see 220 - 230+. I even sent my oil cooler to Pacific Oil coolers to have it serviced.

I just bought a pair of aluminum louvers from Cleaveland tools and started searching the forums for installation hints. In the course of my research I came across some old threads on the Anti-splat EZ Cool Flap.

So my question is: For those of you that have installed either the EZ Cool Flap or the Cleaveland louvers, what impact did they have on your Oil Temps?

I'm particularly interested in reviews of EZ Cool Flap.

FYI. I don't have a problem with my CHT's - just oil temps.

April 25, 2018.   Issue #4,551.
  Tuesday 0630 I climbed in the RV for a flight over to Bridgeport (KXBP) for gas, then over to Propwash (16X) for a 5-ship brief at Lurch's hangar.  Time to sweep out some formation cobwebs.  Today's batting order: Lurch, Scroll, Monkey, me, Scorch.   Three pics below: 1. warm up ramp at KXBP a few minutes after sunrise, 2. track of the formation practice and 3. my heart rate during the flight (starting around 0835).  I think the spikes are the rejoins - the far right one the 5-ship echelon in the bumps up initial <g>.  Great lead, Lurch!
  Couldn't have asked for a better morning - the winds and crud return Wed a.m. so I'm glad we got to do this.

Final Report; 2016 RV-4 fatal accident ...hit zipline.

Analysis

The private pilot and passenger in the experimental, amateur-built airplane were seen flying at low altitude by several witnesses in various locations before the accident. The witnesses reported the engine was operating before the airplane descended into trees. Postaccident examination of the airplane, wreckage path, and a nearby zipline [ed. zipline map dr] revealed damage consistent with the outboard section of the right wing having contacted the 1/2-inch galvanized zipline cable. There were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane or engine.

The cable ran between wooden platforms on the east and west sides of a river about 170 ft above ground level. The location of the platforms in wooded areas and the fact that the cable was unmarked likely made the zipline difficult to see. Witness statements and the accident scenario indicate the pilot operated the airplane at extremely low altitudes throughout the flight.

Toxicological testing of the pilot was positive for ethanol and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana). The blood level of ethanol was below the regulatory limit; however, pilots may be impaired below this threshold. The finding of THC indicated that the pilot had used marijuana sometime before the accident; however, since there is no accepted relationship between blood levels and degree of impairment, whether the impairing effects of THC contributed to the accident could not be determined.


Probable Cause and Findings

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:

The pilot's decision to fly at a low altitude, which resulted in the collision with a zipline.  [ed. location of wreckage dr]

related: RV Accident Probable Cause Listings

Pics from Mr. X

I have friends that work in the Trop.  Highlights from non-sterile cruise that I'll add to this gallery from time to time.

Piano Hinge Failure ...snopercod

I had one of the "lugs" (I don't know the proper name), crack off on one of my gear door hinges. I understand that RVs use lots of these MS20001-P5 extruded aluminum hinges so I'm posting this for discussion:

You will notice that the throats in these old hinges have almost no radius at the corners - I estimate .005" max, and all edges are sharp. It's my belief that a fatigue crack started in the sharp corner where the actuator arm bolts on (the dirty area in the photo). The replacement hinge stock which just arrived from ACS has a nice radius in those corners - I estimate .020" - but the edges are still sharp. So I just ordered some Craytex wheels which I intend to use in my Dremel to break all those sharp edges to eliminate stress risers.

Comments or suggestions?

202kts GS ...Chattin35

...I'm in! Made it with normal cruise config

Mothership Stats

April 24, 2018.   Issue #4,550.

TJ Stack's RV-10 Towbar

...came with the plane when he bought it.  Seen at Monkey's shop 4/23/18.  I thought it was different...so, you know....take some pictures. 

Evening flight with my daughter ...Levi Self RV-6A

My daughter (almost 4) asked to go flying. Even though it was almost bed time, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. I looked at the wife, and she said, "okay". Off we went to the airport for a sunset flight. While flying she asked to go up and down. After maneuvering for a while she said, in a matter of fact voice, "okay daddy, fly straight." I obliged.

I capture a short video of her reaction "going up and down". It will bring a smile to your face.

Flight From KRVH (San Jose, CA) to Healdsburg Plus Santa Rosa Fire Tour

It's been a while since I've flown. Between rain, cold, vacation, dead battery, and just plain old regular life, I just couldn't get in the air. Yesterday I was supposed to take my 1973 VW Thing to the local VW show but it filled up 5 minutes before I tried to sign up. I decided to make lemonade out of lemons and go on a flight.

My primary mission was to fly up and see my good friend Dave and make him buy me breakfast. I'm happy to report, it worked!

My route was the typical one I take up there. I go along the east foothills, east of Hayward (where my love for flying started as a kid watching the planes fly over the mall on their way to land at HWD), east of Oakland, over Berkeley, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and finally to my destination. I fly below the SFO Class B and to the east of the OAK Class C.

I decided to get Flight Following both ways since I'm a bit rusty with those skills. I typically take this route and talk to nobody but getting FF was a good exercise. ...

You Never Know What You'll See

The winds and rain were strong over the last few days, so our local bunch didn't have a good opportunity to go fly until Sunday around sunset, when the winds finally died down.

I took up the RV-6 to hopefully catch the sunset, but clouds mucked it up.  Plan B was to climb up to a cloud shelf that was passing over the area.  Around 6K I reached the edge, and the view was worth the wait.

Some pics:

5 min to sunset.  Cloud shelf upper right.

Above it outside class B.

Driving home.  Venus just visible above the shelf.

Milestone: Wings to fuselage ...Mark Malone RV-7

After 5 moves 9 years and two kids I hit a big mile stone this week. a friend and I built a fuselage cradle for transporting the fuselage to a friends hangar to mate the wings to the fuselage. I have been impressed with this kit how everything lines up and fits with very little effort. We installed the wings and the first time there was only 1/4" forward sweep on both wings. The incidence had only 2 tenths twist between the root and tip. Very negligible. I was able to step drill up to the number 5 bolt. Three days of very rewarding progress with some old friends. Here are pics and a builders link.

Announcement!! JD Air Parts

JD Air parts is alive and well. However, we are making a transition and I'll be taking over the reigns of the company. My partner in this endeavor, Jason Krause, has become highly successful with several contracts to make parts for ATV's and other off road vehicles. In other words, he's making real money and must focus on that. I don't blame him.

With this success Jason simply cannot afford to shut down the machines from the ATV business making thousands of parts to JD Air making 50 to 100 parts in a run.

During this transition we will be there for questions and warranty and service work on existing products. We are not going anywhere!!!

I will keep everyone informed when we are up and running. At this time, I have no exact time frame but I will be focusing on getting things going as expeditiously as possible.

Finally, there will be all the current great products and some new ones as well. I sincerely thank you for the business and support over the years. Be patient and you'll see the new beginning as soon as possible.

__________________
Darwin N. Barrie
Chandler AZ
www.JDair.com

April 23, 2018.   Issue #4,549.

Byrd's Adventure Center

I spent the weekend with four friends at the Byrd's Adventure Center in Northwest Arkansas and thought I'd pass along a little trip report.

This was my second visit. Last time I camped along the river in my tent and spent the weekend hiking around and enjoying the occasional "hitch-hike" ride.

This year's plan was a little different since Zen and Pam (owners) have just commissioned two very nice new cabins - the "Bush Pilot" and the "Aviator" - we decided to sleep indoors. These are brand new and very nice - very wife/girlfriend worthy! Also, no hitch-hiking required this year since I brought my mountain bike and my friends drove in with their motorcycles.

If you're not familiar with Byrd's, they are located in the Ozark Mountains along the Mulberry River. They offer trails for hiking, mountain biking, motorcycling, 4 wheelers, rock crawlers. The river offers kayaking, canoeing, and fishing. A restaurant and store are on site as well.  ...

Van's at Mojave Experimental Fly-in 4/21

Great day weather-wise to fly up to Mojave for the fly-in. Warm temps, not much wind, clear skies.
I took a bunch of photos here.
It was nice to meet up with everyone. I must have run into a dozen or more people from the VAF community.

Caverns of Sonora ...Vlad the Traveller!

A good friend of mine Leo tried hard to help with logistics. Airport van was not allowed to drive that far. There was no rent-a-car outfit in Sonora and there was no Uber. A call to the Caverns office yielded a "maybe" pickup. And then we met Edward.

RV-Lancair Brotherhood Day

I had been waiting for good weather on a weekend so I could fly to Columbia SC [Owens KCUB] and check out the Brewery in the old Wright hangar. Yesterday was finally it; It was an absolutely beautiful flying day. My neighbor I flew down early from AVL to partake of the EAA pancake breakfast (Those guys were great!), and Owen flew in at 11AM to meet me.

Van's Aircraft booth at Aero Friedrichshafen 2018

Hi, Just visited the Van's booth and took this quick photo - had a nice chat with Gus, who's a real credit to the organization. Click on the photo for a larger version. The weather here could not be better!

Mickey Coggins photo

Klaus Peter photo

Hot, start, Click ???? Anyone else?

Short version: flew - landed, sat 20 min, lack of starter engagement on restart. Click - -

Anyone else had this happen with the SkyTec LW starter?

Long Version background:
RV7 - SJ Cowl
YIO-360 M1B - stock - w/SkyTec LW starter
14 hours into PH I

Moderate OAT 45 F, flew 45 min made a good landing and decided take a water break. The plane sat with no wind for 30 min, then got to starting - just a click, 10 times ( maybe more, it was a lot) Click- clearly the start contactor on the firewall, but no other sounds. Finally, kept up the attempts and it engaged and spun and started. Until that, nothing but clicks. The voltage did not drop either.

The plan is to decowl and run some wires to test voltage:
1. to starter via large cable,
2. voltage to the start engage wire from the FW contractor.
In addition, place a thermocouple on the starter solenoid (for SkyTec techs)

Possible issues:

Bad FW Starter contactor - not passing voltage to starter
Hot starter solenoid - needing more voltage for pull in than available

I pull tested all the big terminals by hanging (me) from them. Book pull test is 525 lbs and granted I am only 150, but not loose. This only happens when it is hot, this is the second time for the click event.

 

First Flight Question

Hi All

This one is for those that have gone before me.

The first flight of my RV14 is not far off, and I just wanted to get an idea of what I can expect regarding handling quality.

I notice that a lot of RV14’s have a permanent trim tab on the Right hand bottom side of the rudder, on the opposite side to my RV7 which would indicate the left rudder is generally required. Is this the case for all RV14’s?? Is there any other handling qualities that could be expected?

I know there will be variations from build to build but this one is pretty much a Cookie cutter build as per the plans with IO-390 and hartzell BA.

Rgs Chad

 

Disaster! I’m seriously depressed.

All that was left on my rudder was the riveting of the trailing edge and rolling the leading edge. I used Proseal on the wedge instead of tape, so after it cured I was clearing the holes of excess Proseal and discovered that almost all of the TE holes were double drilled (binocular).

Thinking back I know exactly where this happened. I used a rectangular steel tube to cleco the TE against. I match drilled holes using the TE as a guide. It served its purpose well. I had a perfectly straight TE. I just didn’t use enough care in the match drilling the tube.

The holes look to be about 15 to 20 percent oblong. I think I’m going to buy new parts and rebuild the rudder. I’m not comfortable with such a defect. The cost is about $320 plus shipping. This is a hard lesson to learn. It’s not the cost that bothers me as much as the 40 or so hours I have to spend rebuilding the rudder.

How did you buck these rivets? ...-14

I'm having a hard time figuring out how to buck the rivets depicted in the red oval. Looking for some advice. Please keep in mind that this is a taildragger so there is a large bracket that goes right down the middle of the floor.

Have I just stuffed my Pneu Squeezer?

So today I was using the squeezer to squeeze some rivets for a bracket on the cowl. I was using epoxy/flox on the bracket and I’m 99.99% certain I didn’t get epoxy in the stem of the flat set.

In any case, wherever I try I can’t get the set out of the adjustable piston of the squeezer !!

Does anyone know if I can try to tap it out from underneath? I’ve tried everything!! It won’t even twist in place if I hold the piston with a spanner and try and twist with pliers.

Did I Break It? ...-12

Well, I guess if it ain't broke, I should leave it alone.
At the last inspection I noted that one of the floats was at 4.2. The others were at 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3. Total engine time was 315 hrs.

I had planned to install the new torsion throttle springs anyway, so I bought a full set of new floats and installed them at the same time. By the way, each new float weighted in at 3.2. I fired it up, warmed it up, and performed the carb balance. Everything was great and it ran terrific (smooth as glass). The next morning I was off for a breakfast fly-in, or so I thought. After warm up I did the normal ignition check and found Ignition A was faltering badly. I shut down and did the simple thing first. I swapped all of the plugs top to bottom and bottom to top. Sure enough, the problem moved to ignition B. I don't mess with iffy plugs, and even though this set only had 115 hours on them, I installed a new set. All was well, smooth as glass again and run up was great.

That brings me to this morning when I was planning a nice morning flight. Having just been through some issues, I was very attentive at startup, which seemed good with everything running smooth. After warm up I did the ignition test and all was good. I powered up for takeoff and noticed some stuttering, and promptly aborted the take-off. Additional ground run testing revealed that it is running very rough at almost any rpm, and ignition check shows no difference using A or B. So, I shut down and pulled it back into the hangar. A finger swipe in tail pipe revealed extremely heavy soot. I pulled the top plugs and found #1 and #3 totally black whereas #2 and #4 looked pretty good. Obviously the right carb is running way too rich. ***THIS WAS AN ERROR*** Actually it was spark plugs #1 And #2 that were sooty. #3 and #4 were the ones that looked pretty good. So it ain't the carbs!!! So, my last paragraph here doesn't hold up, but I left it for clarification.........

I think that I have identified the fact the the right carb is running rich. The problem is knowing why, and what happened? I'm not much of a believer in coincidence, so I am trying to figure out how I could have possibly caused this, or where do I go from here.? Any help will be greatly appreciated..... Tom

April 20, 2018.   Issue #4,548.
   Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.  

Hat Sighting...

22° Halo seen above 52F Thurs (storms soon).
dr photo

Status Report ...jcarne 7A

Time for a good ole fashion priming and riveting session. Note: priming the flap brace was a pain trying to scuff it!

I also built a wing cradle with the posts used for the left wing jig.

The 'washer trick' cooling plenum modification. ...Jack Groat

I want to knock a few degrees of my #6 cylinder head temps, and I've heard tell of a quick-and-dirty plenum modification called the 'washer trick' which apparently entails fitting a flat washer on the back side of the plenum to space it out away from the cylinder head.

Looking at and all around my #6 cylinder I'm not seeing a place where that can be done. The #5 cylinder has a handy plenum attachment screw right on the back surface, but I'm finding no such screw on the #6 cylinder.

I've already constructed a plenum bypass duct for the #5 cylinder, which I just completed yesterday and I'll find out this weekend how well it works, and I want to make a quick mod to the #6 cylinder while I still have everything torn apart. If I can just knock 10 degrees off it I will call it good.

BillL photo

Obituary: Mr. Thomas H. Irlbeck

RV-8 builder/pilot.  Friend to many.

Check Those Bolts are Pointed the Right Way ...Sibirsky

Nobody is perfect, not all ...DanH

Nobody is perfect, not all the time anyway. Think about all the crazy stuff builders do, multiply by all the usual airworthiness issues, and the answer is about 7 digits.

It's not easy guys. I was on a TC visit this afternoon. Look at this:

A oval swage sleeve, aka a Nicopress (TM) fitting. Pretty innocuous, yes? Well, this builder was using aluminum swage sleeves, so there are at least 12 of them in the elevator and rudder cables of his Zenith, all totally unairworthy...and all covered with heat shrink tubing. The correct sleeve is copper, plain or zinc plated for galvanized cable, or tin plated for stainless cable.

Pretty good chance someone would have died following a heavy pull on the stick. Any inspection is better than none.

OT:  Bragging on my Wife

Susie volunteers at Medical City Denton.  She and the other volunteers were honored by the hospital at the annual 'thank you' shindig at nearby UNT.  Students majoring in hotel services cooked the food and served it wonderfully.  A nice dinner with some nice people who help strangers who are usually under a lot of strain.

She got her '500 hour' pin that will hang on her tag...

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Pretty neat folks.  I'm quite fond of one them.

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Storing Wings ...John S

Here is what I did for my wings, just prior to roof and sides going on. It is out of luaun with some cedar strips inside to keep the bugs away.

Canopy Rail Support ...RV-12

The roll bar support arm, a part of the canopy rail on the completed Mk 1 fuselage is easily bent. There is a tendency for pilot and/or passenger to put their weight on this piece when exiting the airplane. On the latest fuselage for the iS/U the factory has addressed this issue by adding a supporting gusset.  ...

April 19, 2018.   Issue #4,547.
   Please excuse the early push of the Thursday edition (5pm Wed DFW).  Thank you dinner for the volunteers at the nearby hospital (Susie volunteers there).  Corny dog city for the Tater ;^).  
 

Ground Shot...Nigel's 9A

Tributes to Mr. Tom Irlbeck

(Doug Weiler)
I’d like to add my comments to the passing of Tom Irlbeck. He was one of the mainstays of the Twin Cities RV Builders group. I had known Tom for over 25 years. I gave him his BFRs for the last 10 years or so. A great friend and a great aviator. Here my thoughts on our club website.
 

(Pete Howell)
As others have said, Tom was quite a guy, friendly, approachable, yet larger than life in the best possible way.

Tom gave my wife her first ride in his Blue RV-8 "Bear" where she had such a good time in his plane, but more so with him, that she was grins all weekend! I sent his name in to Van's as the person who referred me so he could get as he called it, "Beer Money"

My favorite Tom story was from a breakfast trip the Twin Cities group took up to Superior, WI for breakfast. One of us would give a position report over a little town on the way up, and no matter what the town, with perfect timing, Tom would chime in with, "I used to know a girl in that town". We'd all laugh, and just knew, Tom was always a true Naval Aviator.

He was the best, and we will all miss him.
 

(Neal Trombley)
Tom was a huge part of our EAA66 at page in ft Myers
He was more than a mentor.
In my two short years knowing Mr Irlbeck he was always available and made time for who needed his advice. The young eagles he flew always had that RV Grin always.

The RV world lost an all star.

My prayers are to his family

For those in Wisconsin

...TODAY (Thursday) 7pm Founder's Wing at EAA Aviation Museum

Culprit ...RV-4

Big milestone today. I finished installing wings, plumbing, wiring and checked all of my aileron up and down movements. The stick movement seemed a little heavy left and right but ok forward and aft. I probably wouldn’t have ever second guessed the heaviness had there not been another RV4 in the hanger next to me. It’s movements were effortless, but I did have the servos connected from an auto pilot installed. I thought maybe this added the extra drag in the controls. Not satisfied I disconnected the aileron servo and still had the heavy stick both left and right. I start with left and right aileron bushings/washers, any possible rubbing of close parts. Moved on to the aileron push rods checking all rod end bearings and washers. Next the bell crank and then the large push rod tubes all moving freely I install them back and still heavy left /right movement on stick. I examine the stick control for binding or interference, and then finally removed the heim bearings for inspection. I’m down 2 days so far, but finally found the culprit. The rear heim bearing has been damaged ever so slightly. The small crease on the brass has also creased the interior of the housing race causing the bearing to bind. I just wished I’d started looking from that point first. Lesson learned.

Van's at Mojave Experimental Fly-in 4/21

They have announced that Rian Johnson from Van's will be at Mojave for the fly-in this weekend. It's not clear if this will be an 'official' Van's presence.

Well, I thought my 223kts GS yesterday was fast

....then Bill Peyton hands me my head with this <grin>

Too much slack in tailwheel chains? ...sorta a primer war

There's another post about using or not using flaps in cross wind landings. Let me throw a new wrinkle in this discussion. I "think" I've got too much slack in my tailwheel chains, making it take longer when I hit the rudder pedals for the rudder/tailwheel to react in strong crosswinds. What say the rest of you guys? Do you have your chains really tight, ie, no slack? Slightly loose? Or really loose?

I think I need to take a link or 2 out of my tailwheel chains---but I'd like to get some input first.

  vs 

April 18, 2018.   Issue #4,546.

256.62mph Groundspeed in Level Flight ...RV-6.

Tuesday just north of 52F.  50kt tailwind (bottom left) at 3,250'.  TAS 174kt.  I took a picture....I thought I might need proof.  Note autopilot scoreboard - ON in HDG mode (and flight path marker on horizon).  I think 2-3 degrees more to the right might have given me another knot.

You might have guessed Tuesday was sort of windy around DFW. ;^)

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I think I've reached a solution!

(from Nihon_Ni's 'Please critique my electrical design' thread)
I wanted to post an update to my design. I really appreciate all the help folks have given me with my design, and all the time they have spent to review my architecture and offer input. Special thanks to Joe and Carl, who sent me tons of info in email and helped me figure all this out.

I contacted EMag and got an answer to my dilemma about where to put the P-mags:

Interesting day today, lots of smoke in the cockpit! ...Walt

So while doing a small panel upgrade for a customer I had a bit a meltdown on his aircraft. The panel mounted Lightspeed CB, with open and bare terminals was connected directly to the battery, and was located right under the xpdr rack I was replacing (within about 1/8"). Well as soon as the rack came loose it came into contact the uninsulated terminals. (of course I was unaware at the time that this situation existed with a hot bus right below the rack).

I can tell you this, there was a ton of smoke accompanied by some small flames as the wiring began to burn, disintigrate and melt. All the switches and master were off so there was no killing this thing and it just continued to burn until the wiring finally burnt thru. I was scrambling to get the cowl off so I could disconnect the battery, but by the time I got if off the wires has already burnt thru and opened up.

So whats the moral to this story, do not run 'HOT' unprotected (no fuse, CB, contactor controlled) wires into the cockpit. This situation could have easily presented itself from any number of causes (loose hardware, wires, breaker, switches getting loose etc.) If this would have happened in flight there was no way to kill power to the burning wires, and trust me with a closed canopy you would be in serious trouble fast. I was really pretty amazed at how much smoke there was, in the air this likely would have ended badly.

For your Hot battery busses (this includes battery charger pig tails) there should ALWAYS be a fuse (or some type of circuit protection) located at the battery to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

MILESTONE - today

John Bender RV-12......1,200 hours.

Panel Porn ...Flying EMT

Here are the before - after shots of my panel after a complete redo. Took one week just to mark and take out the old stuff, I basically removed every wire except the wing runs. Panel cut by UpNorth aviation who was fantastic to work with. Flying with a borrowed 470 until Dynon ships my 472. Dynon has been great to deal with. Ben

Article w/RVs ...

April 17, 2018.   Issue #4,545.
  A little .3 Monday a.m. after an oil change over the weekend.  SMOOTH, calm air between DFW wind storms presented the opportunity to do an overhead break to constant radius, downwind-to-final turn at idle power.  AOA on the donut.  Radius measured later on GoogleMaps at 2,290' from low key.  Groundtrack below from the Apple watch workout app (it thinks I'm on a bicycle). ;^).  No drips post flight.  All good.
  What amazing aircraft, these RVs.  

Baseline Tuft Testing (W/O Sub Cowl)

I removed our SubCowl, tufted the belly and recorded the results. The exit flow from the Sam James cowl was pretty good. Better than we expected. Looking closely at the sub cowl we can see where the radius at the rear lip is too steep, or sharp. We may cut this area out and reglass with a larger radius.   Yep, Experimental aviation is fun.

Related: Coanda Effect...courtesy Mr. Mike Starkey

SnF Grand Champion - Kit Homebuilt ...Pat Hatch post

Congratulations to our friend and hangar neighbor here in Vero Beach, Tom Savrda, who's newly painted (he painted it himself) RV-7 won grand champion at Sun 'n Fun.

I must say this was richly deserved--I have never seen a nicer RV-7 in terms of the quality of the build, fit & finish, and attention to detail.

Here are a few pix:

Top Skin and Canopy Decks ...Tdeman RV-7 pics

In order to finalize the position of the ribs and sub panel, I made a bunch of small angles that spanned the notches/had the cutouts required for the sub panel and stiffener.  ...

Measuring Lycoming Pushrod Length

Consider the "Approximate Length" listed in SI-1060S.

Is the given dimension based on the theoretical tip of the hemisphere (top), or is it measured from flat to flat (bottom)? Or is it something else entirely?

April 16, 2018.   Issue #4,544.

Denali 4-14-2018 ...mbauer trip write-up (multiple parts!)

Denali is the tallest land-based mountain on Earth—with a vertical rise of about 18,000 feet (5,500 m), as well as the highest mountain peak in North America—with a summit of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above MSL.

With a topographic prominence of 20,156 feet (6,144 m) and a topographic isolation of 4,629 miles (7,450 km), Denali is the third most prominent and third most isolated peak, after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. Located in the Alaska Range in the interior of the of Alaska, Denali is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.  ...

Getting PPL While Building ...Andrew Atalla timeline

Is it hard work? yes!  Will you want to quit?  Probably!

I started My PPL training in May of 2014.  Bought my tail kit second hand in September 2015.  PPL Completed in December 2017 - 14 000$ CAD.

76 HRS.  Rudder and Horz and Vert Stab complete Still working on elevators...

Since I started:
Met a girl August 2014
Got Married 2017
Bought a house 2017
Baby Boy 04/07/2018

I'm still moving forward!....Slowly.  Life gets busy and hobby/family balance is more important than anything.  The important thing you need to take from this is Small Progress is still Progress

Baby steps add up to Big dreams.  One day I'll be flying an aircraft I built with my own two hands rivet by rivet!

Cant wait!

Panel Upgrade ...tfriendshuh 8A

"...recently got my IFR rating, so I needed to upgrade my panel :-)"

Ground Pic ...mbauer

Topping off my RV-6 for a local flight. 4-14-2018. Pulled up to the pump and guess what was also fueling for a flight?  Actually it was taking on a load of Jet-A to fly out to Western Alaska.  ...

Milestone ...NorthernRV4

Reached a milestone in my project, got the top wing skins riveted on the port wing. Starting to look like an airplane.

Milestone: Wings ORDERED! ...Lynn Dixon RV-7

"Here is a spreadsheet I came up with to help me on my order..."  ...

Tablet/iPad Tray ...Aerosport1

Status Report ...control -14

Hope it stays this good when the hinges are in place

April 13, 2018.   Issue #4,543.
  Quick reminder that tech support at the factory is out at various fly-ins.  From the site, "It’s a busy time here at Vans Aircraft, several air shows happening around the world and our support team is out there. So, now, is a great time to get out and meet them in person at the shows. They are looking forward to meeting you too."
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.
 

The Texas Loop ...Capt Sandy

Hello VAF'ers!
This past week our magic carpet has taken us from Lake Havasu, Arizona to Fredricksburg, Texas. Of course we did not take the straight route. Here are some highlights - Working Backwards:

Today we’re headed to T31, Areo Country, in McKinney, Texas.

Fredricksburg, T82, Yesterday we arrived at The Hangar Hotel for a bit of R&R, resting from our travels as it were. The officers club is a nice place to relax, have a drink and play billiards. We sort of needed the drink after the 30 knot cross wind landing. Hangar Hotel is plush, but no easily available ground transport. We found a couple of restaurants within walking distance. Hilda’s Tortilla House was our choice. Great Food. Reasonable price, and the tortillas really are handmade.  ...

Canopy Latch Retro Fit ...Tony T RV-12

Installed the new canopy latch and can confirm that it does work a bit smoother and easier than the old set-up plus the safety catch is a more robust design; the old safety catch seems trivial in comparison. The canopy handle rests on UHMW plastic when in the taxi position instead of on the metal rollbar.

Newbie here... Planning on building a RV10 ...Dubai / Houston

Hi Everyone

My name is Huzi, and I am in the planning stages of my RV10 build... I must admit I do not know a ton about these kits/planes, and will be studying up as much as I can through the forums...

I hope you guys can help me with some initial questions:

1) What are the recommended tools (in addition to the list on Vans website) that will help with the RV10 build?

2) What are the recommended mods builders have to the factory kit?

My goal is to have a 4 seater plane that I can fly cross country/neighboring countries with relative ease...

Thank you in advance!

RV-7A Rebirthing Status Report ...kentlik

My slider frame is not moving where I need it to. Aggressive action needed.  Goodish side (below).  Left side pin low and hits receiver block center low...  suggestions?

RV-6 For Sale at 52F ...Monkey Approved.

$64K.  phone: (817) 4 zero 1 - -8 zero nine 6.  (details)

April 12, 2018.   Issue #4,542.
  Gusting a billion in N.TX today so what time was spent out at the hangar was spent fiddling with stuff and working on the laptop.  Sorta spooling up for an oil change, took a picture (below) and did other things between interwebs.  Windy again tomorrow so I'll probably spent some time in dirty oil.  Or not.  Absolutely on the laptop.

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RV-14 Internal Cockpit Covers ...bmarvel

"...My wife got the material at a Jo Ann's fabric shop but we don't know what it is called. It is much thicker than bed sheets and has sort of a smooth waxy texture to it. We used acrilan for the RV-8A cover but it wasn't available here. Anything white will do. The only drawback is that since it is inside, if you have any leaks in the forward edge of the canopy where it mates to the fuselage, you will have to make up some sort of temporary overnight cover if rain is expected. I still need to test this further but my plan is to use some white electric tape wherever I find any leaks."

RV-8 O-360 Temps and Fuel Flow issues

Hello all,

Just wanted to push out to all of you to see what you guys think about some of the engine issues I have. O-360, fixed pitch, dual P-Mags, Dynon D10 EMS. CYL #3 runs VERY hot even on cold days, even in cruise with CYL 2, 4 not too far behind. CYL 1 runs much cooler than the others. You can see some temps I see on climb and cruise taken on a winter day at altitude. Anything slower than a 100 KT climb will have my #3 CHT shoot to above 430 rapidly.

Also on climb out and WOT I will see my fuel pressure typically drop quickly from a nominal 3-4 PSI to .5 and 0 PSI which sets off the alarm. I've noticed this is often accompanied by an increase in fuel flow. Turning on the electric pump will push these up to 4. Securing the electric pump, the PSI will gradually decrease again to .5-0. Once throttling back to cruise settings the fuel pressure will climb back to nominal.

I am wondering if any of you have any ideas on the fuel flow and the over heating. What's a good way to check the baffles? Are there any good plenums out there for my configuration that has shown good success in cooling so I can do away with worrying about baffles? Searching through the threads it seems adding a washer helps with cooling but I'm not quite sure where that washer is being added....any photos to show this?

Otherwise the motor runs nicely and no noticeable performance issues associated with the drop in fuel PSI.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

RV-Lancair Brotherhood Day ...4/11 entry

It's been a long winter, but the weather is finally getting better. Owen, Steve, and I flew down to Spartanburg [KSPA] for lunch at Jason's Deli again. Darwin's RV-4 was down for maintenance, and Bill R. had to work (poor devil). One crew van was out, and the other was grounded for a mechanical problem, so the FBO loaned us their airport truck to drive to Jason's. I bought 18 gals. of 100LL, but the RVs both used Mogas.

The glare from Owen's freshly-polished RV-12 gave me a headache. He also finished his rear spar mod per the SB:

"Washer Trick" Alternative ...Bill

Here is one way, but the baffle would have to be removed for this. It provides air to an additional 15 in^2 of fins. The flashing should be removed and head polished at the same time. Why have the fins and allow them to be blocked off? This provides a .2 X 2" slot for air flow, at 5-15 in-h2o pressure that is a lot of air directly applied to cooling.

Panel Porn ...titanhank

Not the latest and greatest, but alot better than it was and did not break the bank. About $8000 to upgrade by buying all the dynon stuff used.

D180
Ap74
D10a
Ifly 740
Garmin gtr 200
Garmin gtx 335
Ray allen g407 grips
Converted to electric trims and flaps

April 11, 2018.   Issue #4,541.

Tuft Testing RV-8 Sub-Cowl ...JP White video

My partner and I felt we were overcooling our O-360 XP so he designed and built a sub-cowl to reduce the exit opening and reduce cooling drag. We expect the reduction in exit opening will increase the CHT and oil temp. Testing has been limited due to weather and schedule but we have noticed a very modest increase in CHT and oil temp. I tufted the belly around the exit and recorded the flight to get an idea of how the sub-cowl disturbed the airflow. The test was at 3000' and 160 - 170 mph. A link to a short video is attached.  RV-8 with custom plenum and Sam James Cowl. Carbureted 360XP with Mags. FP Cato 3 bladed prop

(Steve Smith input)
"The ramp surface of your sub cowl is separated because the angle is too steep, so there is too much adverse pressure gradient.

I trust that the leading edge of your sub cowl blends smoothly into the round lip at the front of the stock cooling channel? If not, then the flow is separating off of a sharp corner. If yes, then it is an adverse gradient problem as stated above.

This is just one of the reasons why it is far better to throttle the exit by making the actual cowl fair into to a smaller opening rather than add a bulge to the belly. The other reason of course is that the frontal area is reduced at the same time."
__________________
Steve Smith
Aeronautical Engineer
RV-8 N825RV

New guy checks in

Hello all, new member here. Been doing a lot of reading, dreaming and perusing my preview plans set and have decided its time to pull the trigger in search of the RV Grin with an RV-8. Getting my shop set up, working on tooling up and work bench(s). Ready to order my empennage kit. As a new builder any recommendations on getting going with my empennage order? Looks like there are few options for the empennage with the exception of electric elevator trim which I will opt for. Would appreciate any advice, recommendations to get things started off on the right track.

Don Johnson
Fort Collins, CO

Rudder pedal Bearing Block ...14

I’ve been working on the installation of my rudder pedals and the top portion of the bearing block appears to be too thick to fit between support angle and the rudder bar. It looks I’m going to have remove about .075” of material to fit without binding. Has anyone else bumped into this? To date everything has fit perfectly so I’m wondering if I’m missing something. Both ends of the rudder pedal blocks went into their respective holes with no issues or binding.

Status Report ...JCarne 7A

Well another major milestone took place this weekend. After coming back from Seattle and Bellingham for almost a week I finally removed the left wing from the jig. Let me just say, it is nice to have some of my garage back for a bit!!!

My dad and I also riveted the right wing top skins. This side only took us about 4 hours, noticeably faster than the left! ...

Mothership SnF Special

Mothership via FB

April 10, 2018.   Issue #4,540.
  It's the 100th day of the year....and I have no idea why I'm writing this.  Just seemed like a nice round number for the useless trivia crowd (like me). 

Between layers the other day.
Pic makes it look scarier than it was...dr

Eagle's Nest Projects - TI Mentors Help Mckinney Aviation Academy Students (TX)

Eagle's Nest Projects - McKinney Aviation Academy (TX)
March-2018

McKinney Aviation Academy recently received a $25,000 grant from American Airlines. After careful thought and consideration about how to best use the funds, it was agreed that the purchase of Red Bird flight simulators for the aviation classroom-airplane build lab located at TKI airport would best serve the needs of the program and the students. The tutorials provided by Red Bird were well written and the students quickly became familiar with the basic functionality of the machines. In a very short time however, it was apparent that the students needed professionally trained instructors if they were to realize the full potential of the simulators.

Mothership SnF News

Snowbird Classic IAC contest PIREP

The 2018 contest season has gotten off to a good start!

We started off in March with a successful judge's school. I got recurrent and now it was time to start judging. I was hoping to start by judging either Primary or Intermediate. The problem was Primary was combined with Sportsman for this contest as it often is. So I wasn't permitted or able to judge the category since I am a Sportsman competitor. The Intermediate category was being flown just prior to my category so I wasn't able to judge it. So for my first judging experience as a qualified Regional Judge I got to judge the Advanced category! I was bit apprehensive about this since the competitors at this level are very serious and I didn't want to screw it up for anyone. Plus, the maneuvers happen very very fast, making it easy to miss important elements. You know what... the training worked! I was able to successfully judge in a fair objective manner consistent with the more experienced judges. I was as pleased with this as I was with my flying.  ...

The Zippy-Dripless Zip-Loc oil filter change!

This is the technique I’ve been using to change oil filters for 25years. Aplogies to anyone else who has come up with this idea and posted in the past- easier to describe with pictures, all you need is a 1-gallon Zip-Loc bag, preferably the sturdier freezer version. The link below should take you to a set of photos with explanatory captions that you can scroll through- just be sure it stays in “roll view”- Otis

Our Flying Buddy Sid Mayeux Explained in One Picture

...one of the more organized fellows I've ever met.  The condition inspection begins. dr

Volunteer for the Airventure 2018 One Week Wonder build team! ...mothership

If you haven’t heard, the RV-12iS kit has been chosen by EAA for the One Week Wonder project at Airventure 2018. Are you interested in being part of the team that will build an RV-12iS in 6.5 days during Airventure 2018?

As can be imagined, it will require many hands to complete the aircraft build in 6.5 days so a team of volunteers is being sought. Anyone with an interest in being part of the build team, fill out the online application form, accessible from the front page of Van's Aircraft's web site or via THIS LINK.

We don't guarantee participating will make you famous, but you never know (and you get an exclusive/collectible t shirt)......

Teens involved with teen build groups are encouraged to register. (Please mention you’re a teen builder in the comments section)

Our Friend Tommy Meyer's New Project

...based at our field surrounded by RVs (but pretty dang awesome).

April 9, 2018.   Issue #4,539.

Sunrise at E80, Belen NM ...Roy Thoma pic

14A flying feedback after 237 hours ...bmarvel

Hi all:
I rarely post but thought some of you in the early RV-14 flying stages or nearing completion may be interested in some real-world feedback. I first flew our -14A on September 8, 2016 and now have 237 hours on it. Prior to that I put our RV-8A through some 1700 hours so I know the pros and cons of each. Our -14A was a standard full build kit (SN 140134) with an IO-390 from Van's and the recommended Hartzell CS prop. It is IFR with two Skyview displays, GTN-650 navigator and a back up Grand Rapids Mini-B EFIS. It has an impulse coupled mag on one side and P-Mag on the other. I followed the plans closely and only made minor modifications to them.

In no particular order, here are some thoughts, characteristics, performance data and features that may be of interest to you:

1. Both the wife and I find the -14 to be more difficult to get into and out of compared to the -8. One hand on the side rail and the other in the center of the cross bar behind the seats is required to support your body weight, especially getting out. It takes some stretching to do. Don’t let pax grab the instrument panel or canopy, as they are inclined to do. Holding onto the roll bar while facing inboard and standing on the seat, then turning forward while crouched down like a baseball catcher leaning against the seat back is a technique that works. You may end up developing your own method that differs but that’s what I do.  ...

Big Plane, No Runway Lights ...Capt Sandy

"What were you thinking?" my friend Maria said when I told her this story. She'd asked why we didn't get a photo of what we saw at the airport that evening.
"Because it was dark," I replied.
"No, you mean dusk."
"No, I mean it was dark," I insisted. "It was dark."
"What? You were walking on the taxi-way in the dark? Sheesshh.." Maria slapped her forehead with her hand...

Inflight spark plug wire failure (Lightspeed/automotive style) ...Paul Eastham

Thought others might be interested in this recent maintenance issue, didn't see anything like it in the archives.

Was on a short fuel run a few days back when I noticed something painted yellow on my Dynon. Cylinder #4 EGT was hot, 1500 degrees versus the usual 1200. Everything else seemed normal. Was almost home so didn't debug further, despite Mike Busch's admonitions...

On the ground, a mag check showed rough running on the right (Lightspeed ignition) and cylinder #4 going cold. Easy diagnosis, no spark, right?

On disassembly, spark plug tested good and wire tested good. Upstream of that is the coil, but the other cylinder that's fed from the same coil was firing normally, so the coil seems good...gotta be connectors I figured. After a bit of wiggling the wire around at different angles I saw the resistance spike and eventually cut out entirely.  ...

RV Clinic held at Shannon Airport

This Saturday a condition inspection and safety clinic was held at KEZF.

Background: New airport Manager- Phil McLanahan and recent purchaser of a RV-6A suggested instead of a one-off inspection of my plane, that we could gather many RV folks to offer tips, and safety inspection items.

This of course was in addition to the routine cylinder compression checks and other items common to all planes.

Turn out: Despite temps in the low 40's, 8 aircraft owners/builders/ and my son Evan who is just learning about aircraft wrench swinging.

What happened: the most amazing inspection I'd ever seen. This because each person noted something unique. Either a potential safety issue like a wire probe that was rubbing within the engine compartment, to how to detect the need for exhaust cylinder gaskets.

The most skilled in the hangar included (Phil A & P/IA, and Lee Ragsdale also A& P and 9 time RV builder, Bobby Bouchier AP and RV builder) Tom "Smokey" Doran- RV-8A driver and Mechanical and Electrical Engineer, Rich Aquino RV-6 driver, and a couple just finishing their SonexJet.

Each took time to teach, share tools and provide helpful tips.

I'm confident my RV-4 is now safer, more efficient, and perhaps a smidgeon faster.

This could not have happened without fostering a vibrant flying community on the airfield.

I remain thankful and amazed about the RV community here.

Most left with good feelings and perhaps a tip or two.

It was a thing to behold.

Dave "Daddyman" Clinthorne
N262DF The Dream Flyer"

Milestone: Engine Hung ...Pete Miller (Plano, TX)

7A Rebirthing Status Report ...kentlik

I have a slight twist still. After cutting the front bow tubes to length, the front left and right rear corners are airborne...about .200-250". These are the times working with a recovered airplane make me go deep into what is really bent. I have a decent size granite inspection table from my other business off passed so I checked the frame on it to see that it is the frame, not the plane. Also, not sure yet if I cut the front tubes too short, might have by about 60-80 thousand (Turns out after re-reading the manual again I should be good. The side rails are exactly 2.45" across their length front to back).

April 6, 2018.   Issue #4,538.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.
 

Monument Valley ...Vlad the Travelled (9A)

Based on advice from senior VAFers I took a tour of Monument Valley recently. It never gets old. ...

Eagle's Nest Projects - SWA rolls out the Red-Carpet for Montgomery HS (TX) students  ...Ernie

Wednesday - March 28, 2018
Southwest Airlines rolls out the Red-Carpet for Montgomery High School (TX) ENP Students

Montgomery high school PLTW Aerospace Engineering students are building a real airplane at their school, a 2-place Van’s Aircraft RV-12, under a program developed and sponsored by Eagle’s Nest Projects. ABC Channel 13 News recently visited the school’s airplane build project (video) and in a surprise ending to their interview, announced they contacted Southwest Airlines and that SWA agreed to provide the ENP/Montgomery build-students a Red-Carpet tour of their facilities at Hobby airport together with intern opportunities.  ...

Stu 'Falcon' McCurdy's Gathering...this Friday

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to provide you with an update for Falcon's local "open hangar" gathering Friday April 6, 2018 from 1300 to 1500 at the Georgetown, Texas airport.

We are hopeful the weather will hold up and that we can accomplish all that we can on such short notice. We will plan on starting the posting of the colors at 13:45 followed by an eulogy and stories about Falcon. We will perform a missing man in his honor. Any one that has served or flown with him don't forget to bring your nickel. Please think of a short story or quote you would like to share with those in attendance. Remember that this is as much for his family as it is for him. I believe it is important for his grandkids to get to hear these stories they otherwise would not hear. Please think of a brief story if you want to share one. Try to keep them PG as most of us coming from fighter squadrons tend to have some flowery language at times, along with some of our sayings. That said Falcon loved the camaraderie and shenanigans as much as he loved formation flying. He would want it that way.

Please let me know if you need anything further. I hope to see you at the "Falcon Gathering".

Please forward this to anyone you may know that would like to know about this gathering as I am sure I have missed someone, unintentionally.

Blue skies,

Bobby "Luke" Lucroy

Bahamas Update ...Tommy Lewis 7A/10

"It still amazes me 11 years after Mel inspected and finalized the license of our RV7a, that it would be a magic carpet to take us on all these wonderful trips."

New windsock...52F

My home field has a new windsock at the north end courtesy the POA (to go along with the new runway).  And the grass is dark green all around it.

Enjoy the view on short final if you visit <g>.

related: Cheapest Fuel List.

Old and New...
 

pic courtesy Carey Sharp

April 5, 2018.   Issue #4,537.

VFR Wx arrived back in N. TX Wednesday and that brought out the RV locals.  Below two coming up initial 0845 with a third warming up on the ramp.

Later I went up for .3 and got the image below of wind-blown waves on Lake Lewisville.  In the full size you can see where a gust bends the waves in an interesting way.

Every RV flight you seem get something interesting you didn't plan on.

RV-9A Status Report....Andy C. Kalamazoo, Mi

Engine is done!! 

Today's Bahamas Report ...Tommy rubbing it in (7A/10)

Seat Porn ...Luke

"Here is another beautiful RV-7A from Australia that was built by Peter Harkness. This is a good example of very eye catching paint scheme with a tastefully subtle interior. Nice job Peter, and thanks for sharing pictures!"

check out the armrest

RV-8 Heat Diverter- Solution to a Nonexistent Problem?...goatflieg

When I installed Van's cabin heat selector box on my RV-8 firewall I saw two potential problems. The first was routing the push-pull cable; with ground adjustable rudder pedals set full-forward I saw the potential for getting the top of a pedal caught behind the cable during brake actuation with rudder deflection; definitely NOT a good scenario. I decided to modify the flapper lever and route the cable directly from the left gear tower to the lever. This would reverse the operation to push-to-open/pull-to-close, but that's no big deal to me. The other issue was that it looked like the hot air would be blowing directly into the left corner in front of the gear tower; less than ideal, with wiring, cables, fuel pump, fuel lines and brake lines there. I thought a heat diverter would help reduce those issues and redirect the hot air straight aft. So I made this up out of scrap aluminum. It was eyeball-engineered and took some fiddling, but I believe it will help. Having to route the cable through the diverter was a pain, but it works without any interference. Just wondering if any other RV-8 builders had similar thoughts. Did I solve a nonexistent problem?

Georgetown, TX Tango Flight Youth Build

(dan)
"We are having our banquet this weekend down in Georgetown. Would you mind posting this on VAF for a day or two to try and get interest from some of the local folks?  I’m extremely excited that we have Mike Coates, retired shuttle astronaut, and director of NASA as our guest speaker!

Also, Mark King, with GLO Custom is making us a really nice offer. He has donated a number of certificates good for $1000 off of a paint job"

April 4, 2018.   Issue #4,536.
  Anniversary:  VAF has been my full time job as of 4/4/07.  Thanks again for visiting.
 

Geoff Combs' Insane Panel Update

So after flying my RV-10 N829GW for 8 years 2 months, and 1 minor panel upgrade I decided to do a major Panel/systems update.

RV-4 First Flight ...Skip

Runway finally dried out, winds were calm so no excuse not to fly it this morning, so I did!
Temps all good (on the cool side) just a slight heavy right wing easily trimmed out. Flew like I hoped it would. Hardest part was getting it slowed down enough to land...
This is going to be fun
I'm grinning

Skip
RV-4 #1904 (its a airplane now)

Tommy Lewis RV Spring Trip to Bahamas ...pics

Taking advantage of a TDY ...majuro15

I’ve been TDY (temporary duty) at Sheppard AFB, located in lovely Wichita Falls, Texas, for about two months. While this place chalks up to the armpit of the Midwest, I was determined to get out and enjoy myself during the three months that I’m here. Luckily, another class mate, Justin, in my Aircraft Maintenance Officer training is a private pilot and we quickly found a few great places to airport bum meeting some great folks and getting a few flights under our belts. John Hooker, located at Wichita Valley Airport (F14), built a very nice RV-10 several years ago and was happy to show me around and give me some tips. Ironically, a unique feature spurred my memory and after digging through Oshkosh photos from four years ago, I realized I had seen his airplane in person. When we couldn’t find any good reason not to fly, he offered to take me for a quick hop along the Red River and gave me plenty of stick time. I’ve been attending the weekly Sunday evening social at F14 whenever my schedule permits.  ...

Getting Close: Paul Lips

Been lurking a long time on this site. I'm getting closer to flying.  Here is first Picture RV-4 N698PK. O-320 Powered.

Bragging on the Kid

...Audrey was awarded a fellowship from the NSF.  She got the word around midnight last night.

Many of you had a part in this kid's education.  Thank you for that - she's doing us all proud.

fmi: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do?method=loadAwardeeList

April 3, 2018.   Issue #4,535.

Stu McCurdy: Rest in Peace

It is with heavy hearts that Falcon Flight announces the passing of our leader and founder Stuart (Stu) "Falcon" McCurdy (Col USAF Ret). After battling for almost a year, Stu succumbed to esophageal cancer this past Saturday (3/31/18) at his home in Round Rock TX, surrounded by his entire family.

It's no exaggeration to say that formation flying in the GA world, especially the EAB side, would not be the thriving, tight-knit, community that it is today without the efforts put forth by Falcon. His creation of FFI back in the late 90's set the gold standard to which we are all held. It allows dozens of flight teams, consisting of hundreds of pilots, to fly together in safety and grace. It seamlessly brought together pilots from all over the country to set world records, whether over EAA AirVenture, NFL games or the occasional NASCAR race.

An informal “open hangar” gathering is planned for Friday 4/6/18 from 13:00 to 15:00 at Stu's home base of KGTU. Feel free to drop by and pay respects, if so inclined.

Falcon *will* be missed, but his legacy continues each time we “strap on” our aircraft.

Blue skies, good friend.

Falcon Flight Formation Team
[ed. Ron Walker was kind enough to send me this. dr]

Harding Icefield Kenai Peninsula Alaska ...mbauer trip writeup

The Harding Icefield is an expansive icefield located in the Kenai Mountains of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. It is also partially located in Kenai Fjords National Park. It is named for United States President Warren G. Harding.

On March the 24th 2018 took a little local flight. Wasn't planning on anything special, just decided to cruise around. One thing I wanted to do was time a climb from PAEN (Kenai Airport) to 10,000 feet MSL.  ...

Fishing Guide RV Offer (NE. OK) ...friend of mine Clayton (RV-8)

(Clayton M).
Adam Mason is a friend of mine here in North East Oklahoma. He was born and raised in Adair and has been fishing Hudson Lake since he was a kid. He has started up a fishing guide service, and I was hoping to get the word out to the RV community since this would be a great use of an RV. Adam is a Veteran, having served in the Army between 2004 and 2012 - with a tour in Iraq (2006/2007) as a .50 Cal. Infantry Gunner. Not exactly sure what he was up to, but I'm damn glad he was doing it.

Here is what Melissa and I would like to do to help out. We would like to offer accommodations for two different 2 person parties who wish to book fishing trips with Adam. They can come into our grass strip (OK18) on the lake the night before and either stay in the one bedroom apartment we have at the hangar, or if they prefer, they are welcome to pitch a tent and camp. OK18 is a private strip with a "Land at your own Risk" policy, but if they have some time operating off of turf, coming in and out of OK18 should be no problem.

Pics and Contact Info

I would encourage interested parties to first contact Adam about time and schedule. I know he has been having some great results on Crappie and that the Sand bass are really turning it on right now. Melissa and I spent all day Saturday putting them in the boat. Early in the season the Spoonbills are really stacking up and the Catfish will be biting here soon. Adam offers a full services guided trip, all equipment, bait, lures, boat, and fish cleaned for you to take back home. The fishermen/women will be responsible for the appropriate fishing license and their meals. His 1/2 day trips are $300 for either 1 or 2 guests in the boat. I can guarantee you that anyone who goes with him will have a good time and Adam will do all he can to put fish in the boat (remember - he can operate a .50 caliber rapid fire weapon).

Once the party has booked with Adam, I will be happy to brief them on OK18, alternates, fuel, transportation, and how to handle meals.

OK18 (grass) from an RV-8

Adam is a great guy, who I would very much like to see succeed with his guide service - hope some of our pilot friends will help make it happen.

All the Best,

Clayton

April 2, 2018.   Issue #4,534.
  Horrible news over the weekend as word arrived of a 6A crash in Santa Paula, CA with two fatalities (names haven’t been released as of this writing).  Prayers offered up to all those affected.  More when I know it, and if I receive funeral information this week I’ll pass it on. 

AX-O photo.

New RV-10 Guy Says Hey ...David Selden

Figured I should say hello since I will probably be on here asking questions at some point. Took delivery of my RV-10 empennage kit yesterday afternoon. Got everything inventoried except the skins. No damage to anything, so not a bad way to start.

Video: Aerobatic Practice ...Gash

Here's a video of my aerobatic practice today. This is the Intermediate Free sequence that I'll fly in IAC contests this year. It's not flown in an RV, but I guess it's RV-related since I used my RV-8 to get started with aerobatic contests last year. Thanks to Ron Schreck's presentation at Oshkosh in 2016, I learned how to get involved in IAC. Thanks Ron!

Status Report ...jcarne

Well with the tanks and leading edges attached it was time for some top skins. I got them all prepped and even got the left wing riveted. My dad came over to help, we found that the back riveting method did not work for us. No matter how I held the rivet set the rivets wanted to tilt ever so slightly toward the rib web. We switched to bucking with the good ol' tungsten and it worked awesome! Really good results in my opinion. Let me know what you think.

Flywheel to hub alignment ...SgtZim

Hi, basic question here. Does the 0 on the flywheel match to the (smeared) 0 on the hub?

Mobile Dynon Data ...akarmy

Ok, I can't be the only one that has had this happen to. Too many times I arrive at the airport ready to go flying, and upon startup I get the dreaded, your chart data is out of date on my Skyview system. Now what I really want is a wifi cellular mobile download accessory to install into my plane so it's always current. Since I can't have that... I came up with this.  ...

7A Rebirthing Update ...kentlik

So, I finally got the aft deck sorted. The most trouble I have had to date with rivets in NEW holes no combination old and new.  ...

Van Says Thanks

Panel Porn ...Flywad4 RV-14

Welcome SuperbirdClean.com

...ad in the Previous Day's News section.  Jim will chime in with a classified listing shortly.

March 30, 2018.   Issue #4,533.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled Easter weekend. 
 

Ed D'Arcy photo (Turbo)

Crack in Windshield ...dangit

I went to the hangar yesterday to take the RV-6A out after a cold winter's rest. After an extensive preflight, I pulled it out of the hangar and climbed in and started it up. As I was getting everything set up and slowly continuing through the checklist, I glanced up and notice a small crack in the windshield that I hadn't noticed before. I almost had a breakdown right then and there. The crack is about two (2) inches and it runs from the top left-center down and it is not noticeable while seated unless you intentionally search for it.  ...

Apple Watch as a Backup Flight Tracker

(using a Series 3 with GPS)
Select 'Workout' and choose 'Cycle' (the GPS doesn't come on when you select 'Treadmill'.  Go fly.  When you get back on the ground you have a nice map of where you flew....and a measurement of your heart rate throughout the flight.  You can see the elevated portions where I pushed the plane out and back in.

I flew a quick .2 over to the school parking lot to see where Tate's truck was parked (half day classes let out at noon).  The 4-year old battery had given up the ghost and I had to meet him there with tools, then run up to O'Reily's for a replacement.

PS:  The app thinks you're a GREAT cyclist.  It gives you a 'Way to Go!' message every five miles.  Happens pretty quick when your bicycle is averaging around 150mph. ;^)

Air Force Academy bound--AviationNation builder

We are very proud of Eli Edwards, one of the RV-12 builders from Columbus, Indiana. Eli has been accepted to the Air Force Academy. This isn't his first honor; he has been two-time NRA Junior National Champion in high power rifle (shoots one of those evil AR-15s.) That says a bunch about his work ethic and attention to detail. This is my second student to attend a military academy. About five years ago we had one who went on to West Point. These build programs attract the best and brightest, and we try to encourage them to excel in all that they do.

Bob

April Wallpaper Calendar

David Paule Status Report ...3B

The left-hand belly skin under the seat is now glued on. Here it is with the glue curing, the exoskeleton in place, and the tape freshly off. Removing the tape is one of the first things to do after the clecos are in (the first ones are wiping off the cleco tips and filleting any joints).  ...

March 29, 2018.   Issue #4,532.
  It got close to a thousand feet AGL, but the OVC clouds never flinched and we stayed IFR all day at my home field Wednesday.  Treadmill, Whataburger and Mt. Email. 
  Been on the surface too many days for my tastes - more respect gained for those who live in rainy climates.  Texas seems to have spoiled me in regards to sunny flying weather.  Two days of rain is about all I can seem to stand. ;^) 
 

RV-6 and reflected hangar door in OVC conditions.

Richard VanGrunsven Receives AOPA General Aviation Safety Award

25 years of bits and pieces ...Tom Martin

Although I would not call myself a hoarder when it comes to little bits of aluminum I am definitely guilty.

In 1993, when I started, you kept all the scraps. If you wanted to build something extra, or had a repair, little pieces came in handy. When building if you were going to modify a part you needed little pieces. The really expensive piece of small aluminum is the one you do not have! I kept everything, different sizes, different thicknesses etc.

As kits have evolved there is less and less need for extra metal. The kits are pretty complete and there are not as many modifications to make. The baffle kit alone has saved hours and hours of work scrounging for just that right bit of metal.

After completing the RV14 I noticed that I did not go to the scrap yard (under my bench) at all. It was time to clean house.

It took a couple of hours to sort through 5 boxes of odds and ends. I narrowed it down to two boxes of high end scraps!
The rest went to the scrap metal yard

I got a total of $31.55 for my bits and pieces, a memory every one. The interesting thing was that I had a few pop cans as well. They had to be separated as they were worth $0.10 more per pound then aircraft metal!!!

Flying spinnerless

I had some trouble with the screws that hold my spinner dome digging through the dome.

The spinner is on it's way back to the manufacturer where they'll be building me a new dome, but now I'm spinnerless! The manufacturer told me I could fly without the spinner and obviously, I see all kinds of planes without spinners. The propeller is a constant speed.

My question is specifically, is there anything to be concerned about with the RV-8?

Will it effect the cooling? Will too much air enter without the spinner on?

Don't want to do anything stupid. Opinions clearly being sought! Thanks!

 

RV-7 Status ...CubedRoot

After completing the horizontal stabilizer in a previous work session, I decided to continue on and finish the vertical stabilizer. *The Tech Counselor came out this morning and approved all my work so far, and that means its safe to close these guys up and mark them as done! *I started out by clecoing the rear spar back on to the vertical stabilizer skin, we had removed it this morning so the inspector could take a good look at the riveting done inside.  ...

RV-8 Fastback Panel Pic ...Chris Engler for Steve

I don't have dimensions handy but this pic gives you a general sense of the canopy frame "overlap" on the panel. When closed, the bottom of the frame just covers the 8/32 pan head screws around the top perimeter of the panel....the dimension widens from the top to the sides (guessing 3/4 inch at the top to 1 1/2 inches at the sides.

For reference, the two screens are 10.4 inch HXrs and the radio is a GTN650. Note that the panel itself is a single piece of 1/8 inch thick aluminum rather than the standard 3-section panel from Vans.

Status Report: RV-14A Engine ON ...MED

March 28, 2018.   Issue #4,531.
  A bit of a milestone today....it's been exactly one year since I've had a soda.  Growing up in Waco, TX where Dr. Pepper was created (and given to the mascot at Baylor) and having a father who spent his entire working life at a glass plant making bottles to contain it makes for a sort of system shock when you go cold turkey.  And it was.
  Rained all day Tuesday here.  No RV fun to be had.  Maybe I'll go get a soda... ;^)
 

Just waiting for the permit to test on my 7 ...Ian Coates

Hi all

I thought that I should show the group my completed 7, I am awaiting the paperwork for the permit to test. Hopefully not long. I am greatful to all on the forum for invaluable information over the four and a half years of tears and joy.

Panel Porn ...Dany King's project

Danny is helping hangarmate Ned put in newer avionics and harnesses in his RV-8.  I got some large pics of the work in progress.  Click on any pic for a larger version (and choose 'iPhone 6+' after clicking on the little symbol that looks like three cards stacked on top of each other for full size).

Mars Research Station ...from the RV-9A (Vlad)

There is a fascinating place in a Utah desert. It's Mars Desert Research Lab where teams of scientists from different countries simulate living and working in martian like conditions.  ...

From Sonex to RV-8

Hello,

Years ago when I first decided building an airplane was something I wanted to do, I was quickly drawn to the RV-8. As I started researching what it would take to build one, I started realizing that cost to build and the complexity was probably more than I could chew. I found myself migrating over to the Sonex, and after a Sonex builder took me for a quick hop around the patch, I was sold. It had great performance for the price and I was able to see past the somewhat odd look and overall lack of fit and finish.

Fast forward a few years and I am part way through a Sonex tail kit but have started to have a lot of apprehension about finishing. This is mostly due to my lack (and others in the Sonex community) of confidence in the AeroVee VW conversion. With the Sonex B models, the factory will now support several other more proven engine installations (Rotax, UL power, etc.) but that takes an airplane I was looking to spend 30-35k to get airborne to more like 50-60k. While I still feel the Sonex is a great little airframe, I can't see paying that kind of price for it.

So, I've come full circle back to the RV-8, which has always been the plane I wanted to build in the first place. I am going to order a set of preview plans and the practice projects and figure out what extra tools I'll need now that I can't just pull a bunch of pop rivets. Any other building advice/suggestions for a soon to be former Sonex builder would be appreciated.

Looking forward to the journey!

__________________
Josh Grant
Dreaming of an RV-8a build

From MGL...

From AeroLEDs.com (advertiser)

March 27, 2018.   Issue #4,530.

How'd you do that- F-01479 page 10-18 ...-14

After spending two hours last night trying to get this assembly into place, I thought I'd better get some help before bending something. I've checked multiple builder's web sites and seems nobody is having much of an issue with it. Trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong. F-01479 goes between the F-01478 (skin) and the F-01411 bulkhead. I'm not having much trouble there, it's getting the skin to fit aft of this point. By the way, the plans are vague, I'm assuming that the F-01479 skin goes BETWEEN the stringers and the fuse skin.

How'd you do it?

Practice holds in a 30kt wind are fun!

The first outbound leg we *only* flew for 50 seconds. Had to reduce that to 30 seconds!

fmi: About APRS Tracking

Access Panels

I put three access panels in the front skin of my 9 tip up. It’s time consuming to do it. I asked a friend that put them in his 7 if he would do it again and he said yes. So I went for it. They made it very easy for riveting the skin. I’m assuming you have not installed the skin. Important. When laying out the holes, the two that are on the sides run parallel to the longeron. They are trapezoids not rectangles.

Layout the locations on the skin and carefully cut them out, file and clean the edges. Layout and drill #40 holes around the perimeter using proper edge distance. I used a rivet fan to space the holes. Cleco on the skin to the airframe to fit the backer plate. Rough cut the plate oversize as it will change as it curves. Match drill the backer plate and cleco all around. Trace with a sharpie around the hole onto the backer plate. Remove the backer plate and create an outside line 5/8” from traced line, then do the same 5/8” inside the traced line. Cut both inside and outside line, clean and polish edges. You now have your backer plate.

Next make the cover plates. These must be made with the skin cleco’d to the fuse. Rough cut larger than needed. Match drill and cleco. You will need a helper to climb in and push the plate to conform while you match drill. Trace and cut 1/8” outside the line. The plate now needs to be finely tuned to fit the hole. Cut and file to fit. Cleco on the backer plate for support while fitting. When your happy with the fit, if not make another one, layout #40 holes, match drill cover plate into backer plate.

The rest is straight forward. Dimples for rivets and #6 screws in cover plate. Install nut plates in backer plate. Last is to rivet the backer plate if your satisfied with the fit and finish. Otherwise do it all again. It’s only a small amount of 032 sheet skin.

March 26, 2018.   Issue #4,529.
  OVC, BR and gusting to 30+ around N. Texas over the weekend kept the RV flying limited to those braver than me.  My Baylor Girls were knocked out of the tournament Friday, but the Formula 1 2018 season was nice enough to start up the next day (how nice). Spent Saturday cleaning stuff at the hangar and Sunday working on sprinklers and watching Elite Eight games with a laptop (working on VAF stuff).
  Hope the flying Wx is better where you are, and that you had a nice weekend.
 

RV-10 First Flight :-) ...BlackhawkSP

I completed the maiden flight yesterday in my RV-10 !! I wanted to get it done before the spring snow storm we have going on today !! These aircraft are the ultimate in delayed gratification. She fly’s great. All the engine CHT's and EGT's were very reasonable. I closed the cowl flaps right after take off. The engine oil temp leveled off at 206 degrees, and i was running WOT at 5500 Ft. I saw at one point 178 knots TAS straight and level. Now on to the flight test program and teaching myself how to work all the whiz-bang goodies and features in the Garmin avionics and autopilot. I've flown a Super 8 for years, but I am rapidly getting to love this 10 !

Here are a bunch of pictures from the event:

Change of pace (and project)

While browsing the VAF classifieds in January (for one last time before pulling the trigger on a factory QB 7 Fuse), an RV-6 project popped up at a near-quick build stage. A few phone conversations and a week later, a good friend of mine and I made a morning of flying out to Orcas Island to check it out. After looking it over, I decided it was a project I wanted to take on and ideally, be the one to finish.

Please critique my electrical design

I've been working on the electrical architecture for my RV-8 and I'm getting close to a solution, but before I start buying and installing components, I'd like to get some feedback on my deign.

I'm planning an IFR-capable RV-8 with a Titan IO-370 and G3X system with G-5, GTN-650, GTR20, et al. I'm planning to use the Earth-X ETX680 battery as the main, and a TCW 3 Ah backup battery. The main alternator will be a belt-driven B&C BC-460H (60 Amps) with a gear-driven SD-8 backup (<8 Amps).  ...

Status ...jcarney 7A

Things are really starting to chug along now! After riveting the ribs to the spar it was time to finalize riveting the leading edge by finishing the flange rivets. Tomorrow I will prime the left top skins and those will be ready to go on. Things are really moving now.

You can see in this pic I used the Van's approved LP4-3s and 4s to rivet the ribs except for the outboard one. I tried to put all the factory heads on the rib side but there were two ribs I had to put the factory head on the spar. Reaching inside to rivet what you can is an absolute bear if you have big hands!

Greetings from a newbie and another 9A underway

Howdy, I took delivery of my tail section on Wednesday. Inventory revealed two damaged rudder skins, new skins coming. Also my plans had RV8 HS and rudder plans (no 9 plans). So I started the VS first. I’m at 9 hrs on build time and will prime tomorrow.
Been a long time lurker and have come out. Great info here, hopefully I won’t burden with too many questions. Posting pics on pbell1733.wordpress.com

__________________
PBell - 92293
9A Empennage building,

Ivanpha Array from Vlad's -9A

Last fuse skin going on ...kentlik

I have finally gotten back to work on the plane...

March 23, 2018.   Issue #4,528.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.

Very Special RV-6 For Sale ...our friend Joe Blank's RV-6

Being Offered for sale By Tricia Blank.
Van's Aircraft RV-6
S/N:60363
Built from a Quick Build (QB) Kit
Sliding Canopy
IFR

Location: Molalla Oregon
Asking Price: $95,000

(Scott McDaniels)
"This airplane was built, maintained, and flown by Joe Blank.  Up until losing a courageous battle with cancer in Nov. 2016, Joe was a Factory Demo Pilot / Technical Support guy at Van's Aircraft.  The airplane is well know by many within the RV community because of Joe's employment at Van's, his participation as an FFI Flight Lead team member in the West Coast Ravens, and his participation in many other formation events including numerous world record formation flights.

I have been the caretaker, pilot, and maintainer of this airplane since Joe's passing, and will be the contact person for inquiries for additional info., etc.
Please contact me via PM or e-mail and I will get back to you ASAP.  [ed. If you don't have a VAF forum account you can email me and I'll get your contact info to Scott.  v/r,dr].

The attached list of configuration and equipment has been made to the best of my ability; having not personally built or owned the airplane. It is the full responsibility of any interested party to confirm any specific details of interest.

Respectfully,
Scott McDaniels" 

more info on this plane
 

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VImNBuJW3sQ

more videos

[ed. I miss my friend very much, and I hope somebody
takes very good care of his plane. ]

Some Teaser Shots

Monk and Plaster asked if I would take some pics of a -6 coming up for sale soon.  Absolutely....my usual rate (one lunch up to and including $10).  And I get to use the pics on the site if I don't screw 'em up.

enlarge

Thursday a.m. we went up for a quick .2 and got some.  That's Plaster above holding station from the right seat - I know he's cussing me at the time as I was pretty close to being directly between his pupil and the center of the sun.  There for about five seconds the paint on the plane seemed to fluoresce.  The pic here is  untouched in Photoshop.  I shot a burst of about 20 pictures in that five seconds and knew we could go home right then.

enlarge

Once Monk and I landed I stood on the taxiway and got some touch and go passes.  What a beautiful RV.  Some more pics.

Of note is the tiny landing light just above the airbox intake.

More info when I have it...

New RV-6 owner in Northern Illinois ...Jonathan Gruber

Just wanted to test out my ability to post and also introduce myself. Picked up a "finished" (are we ever REALLY finished) rv-6. Very excited to become a part of thus group and I'll see everyone in the sky. Aircraft is based out of KDPA.

Why you do a 360* on the ramp before taking off...

...to see if you're leaking oil during mag check, etc.  Seen on the run-up ramp at 52F 3/22/18.  dr.

enlarge

RV-14 Milestone ...control

Engine mounted

Not torqued yet, I did not really plan to mount it today but when all fittings were in place I just could not help myself from trying. Even without help, I was able to get all the bolts in, in around 30 minutes.

Prototyping Technician Needed

Well Rested Pilots Fly Better (maybe)

I downloaded a free app called Sleep Cycle for my iPhone the other day.  Used it Wednesday night for the first time (graph below).

"An intelligent alarm clock that analyzes your sleep and wakes you in the lightest sleep phase – the natural way to wake up feeling rested and relaxed. No need to place your device in bed - Sleep Cycles uses sound analysis sleep tracking."

Note the snoring blips around 0400.  It recorded (7) snoring events spread out over (19) minutes, and no I won't pay $30/yr to hear them - the free, non-premium version serves my needs.

I asked it to wake me sometime between 0615 - 0630.  It chose 0626 based on the sounds I was making. 

It ties into the health app already on my phone.  Screen grab of the steps page below (guess what day back spasms paid a visit?). 

My Vans RV Conundrum ...new guy Dave chimes in

I have been thinking seriously about trading my Mooney for a Vans RV-9/A. It better fits my mission which is mostly me flying around by myself in good weather with no particular place I need to go. I think it would save me a bit of money in fuel burn, replacement parts and upgrades and it would be newer with not so much history, mechanics, repairs, annuals and the like on it.

My ideal Vans would be the 9/A with an IO-320, CS prop and either a tip up, or slider, I haven't decided. It would also have to have a nice, standard layout panel with at least two axis auto pilot, dual coms, WAAS GPS, engine monitoring and a good audio panel. ADS-B in and out and a 406 ELT would be great too. Unfortunately there are four serious things preventing me from pursuing this plan. In order of seriousness-
 

1. Safety. I like the 9 because it has the lowest stall speed and that means the slowest touch down in an off field landing scenario, but it seems that if you land a Vans on anything that isn't hard and prepared, you end up upside down, hanging from your harness and most times trapped by a stuck canopy. Ditching a Vans in water sounds like suicide, or at least very, very slim chances of a good outcome. I feel much more confident in the Mooney's ability to land off field and in water. I also feel very confident of the Mooney's strength in the airframe. I'm not so sure about the Vans.
2. The wife. I mentioned in passing that I was thinking of trading the Mooney and she was ho-hum about that... until I told her I was thinking of an experimental! She was pretty strongly against that idea! It will take a lot of convincing that it is just as safe and I first have to convince myself.
3. The wife. The cabin in the Mooney is tight, but I think the Vans cabin is even tighter. It feels very narrow to me. As we get older, neither of us is getting any skinnier. There is also poor baggage area access, or capacity. While it has only occurred three or four times in the last seven years, it would be nice to keep the ability to take the wife along for a weekend. I'm not so sure how well the Vans can handle this job.
4. Money. I don't think I can get anywhere near enough money for my Mooney to get a nice clean, well built RV-9 configured the way I want it and then do all the things that will need to be done to make it mine. I will have to sell my Mooney and then likely pony up even more money. While I have the money and could do this, right now is not a financially great time for me to do it.

What do you guys think?

March 22, 2018.   Issue #4,527.

Airshow display ...lucaperazzolli RV-8

In September 2017 we did our first public appearance as Aerobatic Formation Team, here's the final (homebuilt) video editing.

Microsoft Research proposes using existing commercial aircraft to provide worldwide WIFI coverage ...might be using RV-10 as test platform

"Scientists from Microsoft Research have proposed using existing commercial aircraft flights and air routes to provide worldwide internet coverage at much lower cost than proposed solutions such as Google’s Project Loon (which uses balloons) and Facebook’s Aquila efforts (which uses solar-powered aircraft).

...Microsoft tested the system in real life and reports good performance. They note that connectivity would be intermittent and would be more suitable for latency-tolerant communication such as instant messages and email, but that connectivity can be improved by recruiting more flights (there are more than 10,000 in the air at one time) and by potentially rerouting flights slightly for better coverage." ...

fmi: Full Paper

SB 18-03-06 (more info)

"The new spring was conceived at Van's, and then designed under corroboration with the engineering dept of a local spring manufacturer so this should be the end to throttle spring breakage.

As the fleet begins using the new spring, be sure to notify Van's using one of the standard procedures detailed in the maintenance manual, if you have any type of service difficulty with them."

More Pics of Larry Anderson's Newly Painted RV-10

Panel Upgrade and Hangar Cleanout

Hi There
Upgrading the panel on my RV-7 and that means I have several items to sell. All are used of course and all are in good working order. Send me a PM if you wish and we can hopefully come to terms on whichever item(s) you would like. Here's the list:..

1:..Dynon D-100 EFIS module with Wiring Harness, Magnetometer and uncut cable for Magnetometer. Asking $1400
2:..Dynon D-120 EMS module. Asking $1200
3:..Dynon AP74 autopilot control module with mounting tray and harness, asking $325
4:..Garmin SL-40 Transciever with mounting tray, asking $1,000
5:..Garmin GTX 327 Transponder with mounting tray, and Ameri-King Encoder with cable, asking $650
6:..Garmin 496 GPS with remote antennae, aircraft power cord, manual, and various mounts, asking $550
7:..ICOM IC A200 transceiver, with mounting tray, asking $750
8:..Van's C/S fiberglass spinner kit, never used, with unused mounting and front plates. asking $175
9:..2 Van's 4 point seat belts used in my RV-7, good shape, no tears or fraying..$175 for both sets
10:.Falcon electric Turn Co-ordinator. New in box with electrical connector, still in original, sealed plastic wrap, asking $375

If you are at all interested in any of this, drop me a PM with your contact info and we can see if we can make a deal.

Thanks
Dave

Head hitting canopy fix

The sometime sharp-edged turbulence around the local foothills has caused my head to hit the (RV-14A) canopy fairly hard several times, even with the 5-point harness snugged up tight. The problem seems to be the location of the lap belt anchors well behind the seat. While doing a good job of restraining in the forward direction, vertical motion can easily be 4-5 inches. The solution seemed to be an extra lap belt anchored further forward.

I got some seat belt anchors from Van's and located them about 9 inches forward of the stock ones (see first pic). The mounting would have been simple during the build, but out on the tie-down, not so much. The floor beam material is quite thin, so added an .060 angle and stiffener on the side opposite the anchors using plenty of pro-seal and two AN-3 bolts (see pics 2 & 3). Pic 4 shows the installation with the ratcheting lap belt (wrong color, but hey...). This has been very effective, you can ratchet the belt down till your bones bend and you definitely become one with the airplane. My head hasn't hit the canopy since and I also really like the feeling of being glued in place even with the simple acro I do.  ...

Chris Johnson's Beautiful RV-9A ...'YellowJacket RV9' in the forums

March 21, 2018.   Issue #4,526.

Short Field Practice ...vid.

...and (11) more minutes to get the logbook entry to .2hrs.

Tuesday a.m. was one of those cold, windy mornings in N. Texas that allows for a very short landing roll on 35 at my home field.  Since I have manual flaps I like to occasionally (when the conditions are right) dump the flaps right as the wheels touch to shorten the roll.  The landing roll measured on GoogleMaps later was 698'.  It'll do shorter with less gas and smoother air.

My 'fun rolls' are a cross between barrel and axial.  Maybe 1/3rd barrel - just enough to keep all the junk on the floor.  The G-meter showed 2.5 in the loop.

The wind was gusting 21kts about 20* left of the centerline.  The burbles off the hangars make the 35 landing 'dynamic', and the slightly-rising runway there at the end calls for a non-standard flare.  You can see the bumps down low.   Game face on and always something to screw up (which I usually do).

I hooked up the Garmin VIRB that's on loan and played with the edit software a bit.  Maybe an excuse to goof off at work for 2min 40sec if you have the bandwidth and monitor acreage.

Hard to believe how much fun you can have in 12 minutes with an RV.

SB 18-03-06 ...mothership

RV-12 (Powered with Rotax 912ULS) ALSO SEE Revisions and Changes.  Replace the throttle return springs

Rest in Peace: Mr. Robbie Attaway

(George P)
Sadly Robbie Attaway passed away in early Feb. While not active in the RV community the last few years he was in the past very active in the PHX area. He designed and built several nice modifications to RV’s. I own his second RV built and it’s a great aircraft. He was always willing to help anyone with a RV.

9A Status Report ...Av8torTom

The day finally arrived for me to get down to Superior Air Parts and build my O-320. Pretty impressive facility. I'm also VERY impressed with the improvements Superior as made to their engine cases and cylinders.

Started around 9am this morning and by 5pm we had all 4 cylinders in place.

Here are a couple of pictures:

Rv-10 TDI 1st Condition Complete

Well, it took about 2.5 months, but its back in the air- sort of.

The condition inspection went very well. RV guru Vic Syracuse gave the airframe a thorough inspection. He left the engine to me.

Punch list items--
1. Aileron SB inspection- completed- no cracks.
2. One brake master cylinder fitting weeping- resealed all 8.
3. Two small cracks in the inlet ramp baffles- stop drilled.


Modification list--
1. Upgraded rudder stop installed-recommended by Vic.
2. Reduced my aux battery system by half- saved about 8 lbs.
3. Installed an access door in aft bulkhead- Now just 10 screws instead of 35 to check the battery and aft equipment bay.

Another RV-4

RV-4 sr.# 1904 got her airworthiness certificate today, 30 yrs. and 26 days after the order was placed for the tail kit! Talk about a slow build....

Thanks to all who helped me so much to complete this project, especially Bill E. and Jim W. Most of all to Mr. Don Harris who was the original builder before he passed away.

Now for some decent weather!!

Skip
NC
RV-4 #1904

March 20, 2018.   Issue #4,525.
  No flying in N. Texas Monday due to this a few grand above the area.  Hope less windy where you were.

Fun with ramp chalk!
Kyle Lewis photo (RV-12)

Crystal River / Cedar Key ...Don Schwartz 9A

Melissa and I flew our RV 9A down to Florida from Wisconsin.  We landed at Crystal River and rented a car. We also flew to Other airports for fun seeing the area. Including Cedar Key.  We stayed in Cedar Key for a week, wonderful place to relax.  Was a wonderful trip. Seems that the Cedar Key Airport has several accidents. If going please be Careful. Didn’t seem to be a problem but there was a accident.  While we were there.

Difficult situation - need help ...jonweisw

All -

A dear friend of mine needs to sell his RV relatively quickly due to a tragic loss of his medical related to a very significant, incapacitating, health issue.

He completed his 7A in 2005 and it has around 600h on it. IO360-M1B with a Hartzell. Beautifully built (seriously - he is a former Navy test pilot and the attention to detail was nuclear-grade) and impeccably maintained. Always hangared and NDH.

Unsure as to the extent of his recovery and whether or not he would be airworthy again, he and his wife have held onto the airplane but have now decided to sell it. It is out of annual and based at Punta Gorda, FL (KPGD).

I have advised her that getting the airplane an annual and therefore airworthy should be a top priority (it is not safe or feasible for him to do the condition inspection subsequent to his event).

Do any of you know of an A&P in the Ft. Myers area who would be willing to do an annual on an RV? The airplane will be on the market soon, so this may be a good all-around project for a potential buyer as well.

More pictures to follow - or PM me.

Restaurant at Hilltop Lakes Has Reopened ...central Texas.

I just wanted to let everyone know that the Hilltop Lakes (0TE4) restaurant has finally reopened! Just FYI....the local flying club (T-38 club) is planning to meet for coffee/breakfast every Saturday morning around 8:30am, so all are welcome! In addition, lunch or dinner will be available 7 days a week.   The name of the restaurant is Overlook.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Hope to see you soon!

Thanks!
__________________
Tim Kirk
N94TD
RV7

Cold (not dead) cylinder at high MP except WOT ...Rick 9A

I’m observing some behavior that I would like the group’s opinion on.

Setup: O-320-H2AD, 33H Hobbs/19.5H Tach since OH with new cam, lifters, new Lyc cylinders. Ellison, standard dual mag (D3000) also OH. Sensenich fixed, RV-9A. Compressions are 76/80 or better cold.

At full throttle/WOT – 28.5in HG for the most recent flight - at low altitudes (takeoff), CHT and EGT’s line up well. EGT’s are in the 1250F average range for what it’s worth, all rich of peak. At MP’s slightly below WOT to medium throttle – 27in HG to 20 in HG– cylinder #4 EGT falls by 100F-150F and CHT for #4 falls by about 30F-40F versus the average of the other three. The EGT falls fast and settles out with thirty seconds, CHT takes a couple minutes. Below 20in HG, all four cylinders come back together again in EGT and CHT quickly. It is repeatable, centering around 20in HG MP.

There really isn’t any perceived roughness, and even in this 27in - 20in HG cold-cylinder range, #4 EGT and CHT responds normally and consistently with the other cylinders to leaning, they are just doing so from a significantly different place. Since I lean to basically 100F-150F ROP at anything less than WOT, I can’t say if ranging from full rich to lean changes the behavior at the transition points. I believe it’s been occurring since hour 1.5 based on the data (no high power data exists prior to this time, <1.5H is all run-in), and there is no significant metal in the first two oil changes, suggesting I’m not wiping a lobe.

My first suspect is ignition, looking for one side of the ignition falling off on #4. I have not done any disassembly inspection yet, only gross inspection of the ignition harness - no obvious ignition leakage or damage to plug wires, and timing is on target. I did check the intake tube clamps (thanks Ralph, I should have mentioned it).

My plan: Run the Savvy ignition test in flight, in various levels of richness/leanness and MP’s. If it’s ignition, I expect it will show up pretty clearly, and the diagnostic work from there is (hopefully) logical: plugs, harness and magneto get the focus. I’ll probably look at the plugs anyway – a cylinder running that cold may be generating deposits that may point at something (one plug not firing being scuzzy?).

If that doesn’t give any hints, I will confirm my secondary elements: valve lift, boroscope, pushrods.

Any hints or past experience would be welcome. Thanks.

Paint Booth PIREP ...Shawn Jordan

I’m in the middle of painting my RV-4 in my homemade paint booth and boy was I suprised. I have A 7000cfm fan pumping air through 16sq/ft of inlet filter and I can still fully fog up the booth with the SPI high solid clear. I cant imagine trying to close loop this air. If you look in the second picture you can see how dirty the inlet filters already are after just shooting base coat on the fiberglass pieces. Love the scientific approach to this though, don’t see this level of approach on the good old car forums.

March 19, 2018.   Issue #4,524.
  It's hard to believe, but it has been ELEVEN YEARS since three of us flew our RVs over Tate's kindergarten class as part of a lesson plan.  That's Tate in the black shirt and pants - he's now taller than me.  I still have all the thank you cards they made (Tate's is in the bottom center).  Love that kid...
  It goes fast, and I still think it's the best hobby on Earth.

Another RV-10 was "born" today !!!

Folks: After just under 4 years of mostly solo work and 2700 hours of labor, I got my RV-10 inspected today and the Airworthiness certificate issued !!! Needless to say I'm a happy camper. Mr Chris House from the Indianapolis FSDO did the inspection and it was a pleasant experience. This guy knows his stuff ! At the beginning of the build I asked a good friend John Hubble what he would do different if he was doing another 10 (he has a beautiful RV-10). I did everything on his list. It was extra hours, but I'm very pleased. I did the Rod Bower inlet, all Garmin G3X, touch and many other after market items. I bought so many goodies from Aerosport Products, that they sent me a Christmas card last year !!! I'm planning on a week or so for the first flight.  ...

We lost a giant: Jim Winings, gone west 3-15-18

Friends, fellow RVers, Rocketeers, and aviation enthusiasts,

It is with great sadness that I report that we lost a true giant from among us yesterday. Jim Winings passed suddenly after visiting another fellow pilot at a nursing home. Jim was found collapsed in the parking lot by another pilot friend.

Jim had a huge impact on the RV community. He was one of the earliest RVers, owning or building 5 RVs,including one F1 Rocket. He started early and never let up. I talked to Jim about a week ago, and his excitement about flying was unchanged from the first time I met him in the late 1980's. Positively contagious is the only way to describe him regarding aviation. ...

New Builder and Trailing Edge Question

Hello All,
I'm a new RV-14 builder - yes, no 'A' and little wheel in back . I am working on the rudder and have a question for the community. Sorry if this was answered, but I couldn't find any information from searching.

On page 07-09 - steps 1 and 2, the instructions say to use adhesive to bond the trailing edge. However, on page 07-10 - step 2, the instructions say "The trailing edge will have to peeled slightly ...". I was planning to use the 3M F9460PC VHB tape as specified in section 5. Looks like the 3M tape is a permanent bond, so why would we bond the trailing edge, then attempt to peel it apart again? Won't peeling the edge apart potentially damage the skins? Has anyone used the 3M tape for the trailing edge? Looks like Van's used to recommend using fuel tank sealant.
Thanks!

Guess this makes it official...

15Mar18

RV-7A JCarne Build PIREP

Time for some riveting of the leading edges. I started out will all the nutplates for the joint plate as well as the stall warning access plate. Then it was off to setting rivets on the leading edge ribs. My dad came over to help me out with this. We had all the ribs riveted in about 2 hours. It sure was nice to be riveting again and not deal with gorilla snot the whole way. Let me know what you all think of the riveting.  ...

First Flight ...7A

First flight of RV-7A S/N 74594 temporary tail number N859DF from Mallard's Landing (GA04) this afternoon.

Flew about 45 minutes, ran engine hard, then performed clean and dirty 1G stalls and back for a landing.

CHT's with Bill Lane's excellent plenum were better than expected with a new engine. Oil temp rock steady at 180.

A few minor squawks but overall very satisfied with the performance of the airplane. Now on to the rest of Phase I...

__________________
Krea Ellis

Locust Grove, GA

 

Closed-loop spray booth

I set out to make a spray booth inside the garage, so I bought one of these MiCS5524 VOC sensor breakout boards and hooked it up to an oscilloscope to try out as air quality monitor. It turns out these cheap MEMS devices are ridiculously sensitive to a wide variety of organic solvents used in paints and primers.

Next I bought some carbon air filter media through eBay, rolled up some 1/2" chicken wire into a 4"x2' tube as a sort of intake manifold for the Harbor Freight blower #31810 (sans bag), wrapped the entire filter media roll around the chicken wire tube and plugged the other end of the tube with a piece of cardboard. I let this contraption run inside the closed garage, recirculating the air through the carbon filter.  ...

A New RV-10 Builder Here

Thought I would let everyone know that I am now a proud owner of a partially completed RV-10 kit. It has QB wings and fuse, so it's pretty far along.

I have really enjoyed my 6A and have decided that the 4 seats or additional cargo capacity better suits my current flying. I will sell the 6A once the 10 is done and worry about missing the shear fun of tossing the little 6 around for fun. I don't think I can justify keeping both though.

I look forward to sharing ideas and more specifically leveraging the experience of those who traveled the road before me.

Larry

 

Deep Dish Dash ...petehowell

50 and sunny in the upper Midwest today, so ya gotta fly, right? Bernie and I decided that it was time for some real Deep. Dish. Pie. A quick web search turned up a Lou Malnati's in the NW burbs of the Windy City, just a few miles from Lake in the Hills Airport(Tree-Chuck-Kilo) A call to the nice lady at the City FBO confirmed the old Crown Vic would be waiting.  ...

Weigh-In Day ...Scott Balmos

(In boxing match announcer voice) Aaaaaaaand in the silver corner, coming in fully loaded with full Classic Aero interior, every conceivable Garmin G3X Touch gizmo, an IO-320 with EFII injection/ignition, and a 3-blade Catto prop... Weighing a stout 1088.4 lbs, RV-9A 112SB...

Right about where I thought it'd be, all said and done. The interior isn't actually installed, same with the wheel pants and fairings. But everything was tossed in where it would end up being. I freaked out for a moment when the right wheel was about 15 lbs heavier than the left wheel. Then I remembered that's the wing that has the roll servo, my NAV antenna in the tip, the Bus Manager and VPX under the panel, and the ELT, transponder, and ADSB behind the baggage bulkhead.

Yes, I know the math doesn't /exactly/ add up, off by <1 lb depending on whether you breathed on the scales or not.  ...

https://youtu.be/lsQT5RKkrtw

March 16, 2018.   Issue #4,523.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.

Mashy after takeoff.  RV-7.
So cool he requires two pairs of sunglasses. ;^)
scaled / original

A variation on the Dynon Network Hub ...az_gila

For my -6A I used a single Skyview and had less Dynon add-ons. The Dynon network cables make hook-up easy, but splitting power and putting splices in the servo cables bugged me.

So, for my -10 build I came up with a simple alternative idea to Dynon's network hub. I designed a 5 port hub, but added two custom connectors dedicated to servo hook-ups only, all on a single 2.5" x 3.8" ExpressPCB mini card. It's a much cleaner solution to the servo power wiring issue. I can now connect all of my planned network items easily behind the panel and only use one box as a daisy chain. ...

Welcome www.RVPlasticParts.com

Amanda Melton proprietor (Steve's daughter).  The ad is in the Previous Day's News section.

(from Amanda)
"My name is Amanda and I created the website www.rvplasticparts.com. I chose the name because we print plastic parts for RV aircraft. The website was created using Wix and I manage it. I receive orders and send a confirmation email; print the parts, inspect, and box and ship. I use USPS for shipping and send a confirmation email and tracking number. I assembled my own PC and manage the website with it. I add parts to the website when we have a new idea or get an idea from someone on VansAirForce.net. I keep fish and I recently resealed a 55 gallon fish tank that I got off of craigslist. I fly with my Dad to my Grandparents and one time we stopped at Cairo Illinois and saw where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi River.

RV-8 Shot ...Neal Trombley

Houston RV Bunch This Weekend

March 15, 2018.   Issue #4,522.

Breakfast via RV ...

...a breakfast fly-out told in pics and txt via cloud-based photo album (and voice dictation software). 

Literally phoned it in...

Here goes nothing

Well it’s official.
Van’s Builder Number 140477. Empennage kit ordered.
So it begins.

Due in a large part of the all the support from my Family, the EAA SportAir Workshop, Webinars, Homebuilt Help tips, Chapter 643, the Mothership, and of course VAF - I feel (barely) able to take on a project like this. There is SO much to learn and decide, but it’s a blast diving in the past few years and preparing.

I’m humbled by all those, including many of you here, who have come before and blazed the path. It’s inspiring.

One day I hope to know what a roller tapppet is and what’s so special about them

Warm regards,
Rich Kulesa

Static Port Conundrum ...mfleming

Installing the static ports (Dynon) was next on my list.

All was well, I had the port locations marked on both sides of the fuselage, researched wether I was going to use the Dynon ports or order the Van's rivets (Dynon) and was ready to drill the holes.

Annnnnd.... then I came across Van's Static Port Kit instructions.  ...

#3 Running cool

Just noticed our #3 running cool. CHT down 25f, EGT down 100f in the cruise at 23/23. IO-360, 350 hours from new, no other issues.

Pulled through 4 great compressions after the flight with no differences.

EGT probes are old on 1, 2 and 4 - planning on changing soon.

Ran comprehensive ignition check in the cruise, no difference so can't see it is a plug or lead issue.

Suggestions welcomed, may get the shufty scope down the plug hole next weekend.

Aresti Made Simple

For those that may have an interest in aerobatic competition, I realize that one of the things that may seem complicated is the Aresti System. The Aresti System is a system of depicting and scoring the many aerobatic figures and their multitude of variations. It’s called a system because there is method to the madness. It was designed by a Spanish Air Force Colonel, José Luis Aresti, many decades ago and it is used universally for aerobatic competitions. The files below are written for the r/c (radio-controlled aircraft) community and it is presented in a simplified method. Caution, there may be some differences from the actual Aresti catalog.  ...

Yuma PIREP ...Roy Thoma

March 14, 2018.   Issue #4,521.
 

Charles Wickware photo.
 

RV-8 and the Clear Day

Saturday, 3/10/18, was a rare clear day in both Western and Eastern Washington allowing for easy travel over the big pile of rocks separating the two. Awesome visibility and only a little bumpiness down low in the vicinity of Richland. The route took us from Arlington to Richland, to Moses Lake, to Stehekin, and back to Arlington. About 365 NM in 2.7 hrs (my flyin' buddy made it in a little less [his -8 is faster]).

The video is a little long, so you may want to make some popcorn.
__________________
Steve Rush
Arlington, WA

Finally, it’s alive (again) ...Scott 1993 RV-6

I’ll post more soon in the engine section, but I’m just pleased right now to announce that my airplane is alive again, rocking a freshly repaired and upgraded engine.

My original intent was to simply upgrade from 7:1 to 8.5:1 pistons, but after finding a cam issue, it’s now got a new cam, crank bearings, freshly inspected, ground, and sb’d crank, 9:1 pistons, dual pmags instead of one...

After the engine shop ran me through several check / heat and cool cycles, I got to get it in the air again for the first time in two months!

I definitely need to repitch my GA200 prop, and I’m excited to see what kind of gains I’ve actually received!

Can’t say enough good stuff about my home field engine shop. These guys were GREAT!

Skyview Software Update 15.3.3

Comedy 101

Kyle Boatright posts this pic.

Steve Ashby replies, "...your prop looks awful. For cryin out loud, junk that experimental thing and just get a Hartzel."

March 13, 2018.   Issue #4,520.
  The popcorn balls arrive in N.TX!  The Bradford Pears are currently blooming - iPhone picture below from the RV-6 Monday morning.  Really pretty.
  Segue to a milestone of sorts....as of a couple days ago we have 25,000 registered forum accounts.  Thanks again for goofing off at work and helping make the magic happen.

Leo Wipplinger (1945 - 2018) ...RV-7A

It is with great sadness and broken hearts, we share that Leo Wipplinger (my father) — beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather passed away. Although we mourn losing him, we are filled with great joy because he now is enjoying the presence of the Lord, his Savior. We will always remember how hard he worked for our family, his passion for the outdoors (flying, fishing, and hunting), and his love for his family. Leo had a heart to help those in need. If you would like to honor him, please make a donation in his name to Neighborhood Ministries: http://www.nmphx.com/get-involved/donate/ in lieu of sending flowers.

We will be having his celebration of life ceremony on April 7, 2018, at Desert View Bible Church 105 W Carefree Hwy, Phoenix, Arizona, 85086, (Time TBD).

RV-10 Doors and Tinnermans

How do you determine..and fuel levels

How do you determine if you have resistive float senders, or capacitive senders in your tanks?

I am beginning to calibrate the fuel levels in my RV9A for a GRT EIS system, which I didnt build, with a bit of difficulty.
On my attempt yesterday, I filled the right tank one gallon at a time, noting the reading on the EIS after each. The empty reading was 4.2 It began to change on the 4th gallon.
Then, it stopped changing at the 7th gallon, and read 5.7 each gallon there after. this isnt going to work..
Don

A: Resistive usually are just a flat thin metal plate on the outside of the tank and capacitive are usually 1/2" thick and plastic with epoxy filled center. The gauges normally do not read right to the top and if the sensor was not installed all the way to the bottom it might not read down to one gallon.

A: Restive senders have only one wire, airframe is used as ground to complete the circuit.

Capacitive units that I have seen will have two wires, sometimes coax, and use a converter box.

A: OK, As far as I know, I have but one wire.
But..I didnt trace it to the tank.
The craft had the standard Vans 2 1/4 round fuel gauges in it. they seemed to work ok in the 75 hours I flew it before I started the GRT upgrade..
IF I understand this GRT EIS fuel level calibration correctly, They recommend using the reading for full tanks as the level where the float sender stops changing..and the empty reading as the level it stops when going empty..in my case, it seems that I will have an empty reading at 3 gallons, and a full reading at 7. hmm..as I said, thats not going to work for a 16 gallon tank.
I went thru the math several times on the GRT worksheet.
Im scratching my head. If the sender output stopped increasing after the 7th gallon added...I guess it could be faulty..hard to believe it would only have a 3 to 7 gallon range of motion. (if its a float)
aircraft was level sitting in the hanger.

A: First, check the wiring. You should have a wire from the regulated power (4.7 volts, I think) going to a resistor (470 ohms). The other side of the resistor is connected to both the EIS input for fuel level, and the center terminal on the float gauge. The other side of the gauge should be grounded locally.
Turn off the aircraft master switch (power off).
Disconnect the wire from the float gauge center terminal. Put an ohmmeter on the center terminal, and measure resistance to ground. It should be somewhere between 30 and 250 ohms.
If all this works, there are several ways to trouble shoot. My guess is on the wiring.
With the wire still disconnected, but not shorted to ground, turn the power on. Put the voltmeter on the disconnected wire and measure the voltage (other probe on a good ground). It should be 4.7 volts. If not, there's a wiring problem. With the same setup, carefully hold a 470 ohm resistor between the probes (while still in contact with the wire). You should see the voltage drop in half, to, 2.3 volts or so. If grossly off, you don't have a 470 ohm resistor on the other end. You'll need to find it and replace it.
Finally, if you suspect the sender:
Drain the fuel, then start adding it back into the tank. Measure the resistance each time you add fuel. You should see it smoothly go from about 250 ohms to about 30 ohms (probably stop changing as you get with 3 or 4 gallons of full). (I might have it backwards, 30 to 250? I forget.)

Hole in the Rock ...Vlad seen from the air

Article

Like many high schools, Westosha Central High School in Paddock Lock, Wisconsin, struggled to make science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies relevant and exciting.

“Unfortunately, a lot of programs misuse the term STEM,” said James Senft, a pilot for the last 30 years who taught high school physics and is now a college administrator. “Kids are losing that connection to applied STEM knowledge because many schools have eliminated hands-on courses like shop and auto mechanics.”   ...

Falcon RV Squadron ...reaching out.

With over 43 flying RV’s at KFFC (Falcon Field, Peachtree City, GA), opportunities for RV fellowship abound. Formation flights, leaf tours, cookouts, and of course , our every Tuesday Mellow Mushroom Pizza luncheon. It is preceded at the local gun range with some shooting and a little friendly marksmanship competition. Here are some of our Squadron mates enjoying pizza.

If you are in the south Atlanta area come join us! 11:30 every Tuesday! Fly in, call me, and someone will pick you up and throw in a trip to AIrcraft Spruce east as a bonus!

Vern Darley

Reminder...

SB 18-02-02 PIREP ... scottmillhouse RV-12

Just finished this up today and it probably took closer to 16 hours than 6. I prepped, primed and painted all parts before disassembly of the tail. No real pitfalls until reassembly.

Then spent hours getting the pivot bolts and spacing washers in. The newly boxed in structure makes access much more challenging and only from underneath. Connecting the stabilator cable tensioner solo is extremely challenging but I eventually worked out a way to do it solo. Connect the top, pull the lower cable as far forward as possible, wrap tape around the clevis body and clamp lightly with vice grips from the bottom. Insert a piece of cardboard at rear bulkhead to protect it from the vice grips. (the vice grips will push against the bulkhead and lock the lower cable position) With your right hand use the tail leverage to match holes by pulling down on the rear of the stabilator. When aligned insert a short #3 bolt in from the trim motor side. Then slowly from the right work in the correct bolt to the right clevis side to put in the spacer washer and then to the left to install washer followed by outside washer and castle nut/counter pin. Probably is impossible solo to pull the cable tension directly from the clevis and put in the bolt.

Also plan on a lot of trimming to the top rear fuselage cap faring if built per plans. The exposed plates are notched but the notch ends probably 3/8" farther to the front than the clearance previously required for the box spar. Bottom is easy, just the plate thickness.

March 12, 2018.   Issue #4,519.

BillL's Double Offset Rivet Mod ...from this thread.

For the longest time I could not drive a good rivet with a double offset. Tape did not work for me. A couple of clamps and piece of baffle material did the job, cheap to try it out. Good luck, use lots of tape on the set and practice.

HS Inspar rib to front spar-spacing ...Eztroller

I am not happy with the spacing on this particular part. Trying to figure out what is causing it and am having a hard time.... looking through several books and have not been able to find the answer. Can someone point me in the correct direction.

Thanks

Mild Panic Setting in on Antennas ...Michael Fleming RV-7

So first off, I have searched about this topic but have come up dry.

When do I have to make decisions on when and where to install antennas?

I'm building a -7 and only a couple months in on working on a QB fuselage.

Looking around the forum I see QB's that are not much further along than mine with all manner of brackets and holes for electronics and antennas.

The mantra I keep hearing is wait to the last possible moment to buy avionics due to the increasing capability and decreasing cost.

So I guess the other big question is when is the last moment??

I've been hedging my bets on going Garmin or Dynon... and if I can swing it going at least basic IFR.

Build Update ...Bullseye RV-7

Mag Replacement PIREP ...Vlad

"John,

Thank you very much again. Your magneto works like a swiss watch, clocked first 15 hours on it. They made good stuff in last century. You have to speed up and finish that RV9A of yours and we go two ships to Russia. Not in flip flops though...

After buzzing your country side for couple days I came back home to this."

APRS Shoutout to Paul ...Vlad

Amazon Ranch Update ...Vlad

10,000 Year Clock Six Years Later ...Vlad

More Hangar Time ...bobmarkert

How to get more hangar time AND extra points at home.....

Step 1 Install washer and dryer in hangar

Me: "Honey I'm going to the hangar to do some laundry"

Honey: "OK, have a great day, I'll have supper waiting when you get home"

..... You're welcome guys

March 9, 2018.   Issue #4,518.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.
 

Big Bend - Lajitas Golf Resort & Spa ...tcard RV-9A Trip Write-up

I have a friend, 'crazy Marti' according to Scott, that is an amateur photographer and bluebonnet fanatic. We've been talking for a few years about trying to fly down to the Big Bend area in Texas that has a different variety of bluebonnet than what we have in Central Texas.

Ours grow low to the ground in dense fields, but in the desert they are sparse with flower stalks that get several feet tall. The stars finally aligned in 2018 for a 3-day girl's get-away weekend. The lodge in the park was already fully booked, and as it turns our that was good luck for our bluebonnet hunting crew. The option of flying into Alpine or Marfa and renting a car didn't sound very entertaining. The winning selection was to stay at the Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa and land at its 6000' x 100' private airport. Luck was shining down upon us, and I think we got the cheapest room in the joint at $210 a night. ...

Getting Ready to Main Rivet Wing Skins ...NorthernRV4

Well, a little later than I thought I'd be but I'm ready to rivet the top main wing skins on the port wing. Leading edge is fully riveted, and all all ribs are pop riveted and bolts torqued except the inboard 3 ribs which I'll leave until the wing is completely closed. In Canada we have to have an inspection before I can rivet the bottom wing skins in place.

I'm looking for advice to make this process easier and avoid potential pitfalls. Here's what I have so far.  ...

First oil change - ran into an issue...JackinMichigan

Gents,

Attempted to do the first oil change on my Lycoming IO-540 today after 5 hours of engine time (break-in oil) and ran into a problem. When I got the old oil filter off, the one that came with the engine (and it was a BEAR to get off), the threaded brass nipple that I'm pretty sure is supposed to stay in the engine came off with the old filter. It's solidly affixed to the old filter, and there's nothing to grab onto to try to spin it off. I'm leery of cutting apart the filter for fear of damaging the threads (oil and fuel systems are things I try not to get too creative with), so before I continue I want to throw this out to the group:

- How do I get this brass nipple out of the old filter? If that's not advisable, where can I get another one?
- Would off-the-shelf Locktite prevent this from happening again or is there something better?

Thanks in advance. You guys never disappoint.

Hoses with integrated fire sleeves from TS Flightlines ...ronschreck

Check out the hoses that my friend Tom Swearengen of TS Flightlines sent me. I am busy installing my overhauled IO-360 engine after 2150 hours of trouble free service. Tom offers these hoses with "integrated fire sleeves" which give the hoses a great look with a surface that is smooth and easy to keep clean. I sent Tom all of my old hoses and he matched them for a perfect fit. Thanks, Tom for great service and a super product! (I have no connection to TS Flightlines other than knowing Tom personally and appreciating the fine work that he does.)  ...

RV TRANSITION TRAINING SURVEY ...Dick VanGrunsven

(from the mothership FB page)
It is becoming increasingly evident that the fatal accident rate for RVs is considerably lower than that of E-AB aircraft in general. While it is difficult to calculate exact rates, most accident analyses show it to be approximately 2-4 times less than the average. I think that insurance underwriters would agree in that they more readily provide coverage for RVs than for many other E-AB designs. These same insurance providers indirectly contribute to this elevated safety by requiring a prescribed level of specific aircraft type flight experience prior to providing coverage. This is usually in the form of Type Transition training. Fortunately, there are a number of highly qualified TT instructors who offer quality training in various RV models. This training undoubtedly contributes directly to lower accidents rates.

Many years ago this was not the case. Builders of E-AB airplanes either simply became overnight “test pilots”, or at best could garner a familiarization flight with some willing RV pilot. “Take the controls for a while to get the feel of it” and maybe “shoot a landing or two” if conditions permitted was a common indoctrination into the realm of flight test. The thousands of you who have had the good fortune and sense to receive quality TT training can most assuredly see the shortcomings of this methodology. Throughout homebuilt history, accident rates for “first flights” and operations during the “first 10 hours” have been appallingly high. Sadly, for many models of E-AB aircraft, this reality continues. It is demonstrably better for RVs. This is due to a variety of reasons, but superior pilot preparation/training is arguably a prime factor.

I am inclined to believe that in addition to the obvious benefit of exposing the trainee to the unique qualities of a specific aircraft, the requirement that trainees meet a stringent “stick & rudder” standard set by exacting TT instructors yields an elevated level of competence and refinement. This may be a slight overstatement; however it is my belief that our TT instructors impose a higher criterion for pilot performance than is expected by examiners of newly minted private pilots, or by instructors providing biannual flight reviews. If my observation is correct, we may have re-discovered a safety secret; better pilots. Not just better prepared to fly their new RV, but better regardless of the aircraft they choose to fly.

On this basis, wouldn’t most GA pilots develop into becoming safer if they were to receive similar “upgrade/refresher/recurrent” training? You undertook this type-training because of insurance requirements, your fellow RV builders encouraged it, and you possess good sense. Enticing other GA pilots to take “self-improvement” training perhaps may be difficult without the specific goals and motivation you had.
My purpose in writing this is to solicit your input. If you had TT prior to test flying your RV, I’d like to hear your comments on the training specifics you considered most important and reaped the greatest benefit. To name yourself or instructor is not a requirement. Obviously, to validate my observations and opinions as stated above would be gratifying in light of our overall goal of increasing safety but I also welcome differing experiences and conclusions, regardless if being contradictory to mine. We learn from sharing. If you have suggestions for ways of encouraging all GA pilots to take upgrade training, please include them.

I’d appreciate your prompt response so that I may use this as a basis in advocating for more widespread TT within the homebuilt community and beyond. If better pilot training improves RV safety, we need to spread the good news to all in GA.

Thank you.
Dick VanGrunsven
Please respond to Support 'at' vansaircraft 'dot' com. Type” Transition Training” on the subject line.

March/April 2018 FAA Safety Briefing Now Online

March 8, 2018.   Issue #4,517.

0' - 10,000' in 1min 58sec

...world record in turbo rotary HRII (I think).  RV-4 DNA.

Vlad's Mag Fixed

(from Vlad)
An RV builder in Phoenix is removing a magneto from his project as we speak and will be driving to Deming in an hour or two. I couldn’t thanks enough to VAF camaraderie. You guys rock!  track

(from YellerDaisy)
Last I saw Vlad - about 45 minutes ago - he was preparing to depart Deming. Replacement mag installed and working as expected.

John R. (sorry, can't recall your full last name) is a SAINT! He pulled a mag from his project engine, drove it to Deming from Phoenix (350 miles), helped Vlad install it, and now get's to drive all the way back! Well done John!!

[ed. I moved the thread from 'Temp' to 'RV Maintenance' because it just read so dang awesome!  Feel good story of the week! v/r,dr]

AviationNation--first national award!

I was unaware we were even nominated, but received news that we have been selected for the Frank G. Brewer award this year. It is for youth aviation education achievement. The trophy resides in the National Air and Space Museum. Thanks go to Jim Brewer, Chief Mentor of our Omaha project, and I am sure many others. For info on this award (and a pic of the trophy,) see https://naa.aero/awards/awards-and-t.../brewer-trophy

After all these years of hard work, this certainly does bring a nice, warm feeling.
__________________
Bob Kelly, Scipio, Indiana

Panel Porn ...msaltzman14 RV-9A

Millionaire Camels in Yuma ...Capt Sandy Trip Write-up

Today Roy and I were finally back to exploring in the SMC (Silver Magic Carpet) after a month or more of being grounded due to human systems malfunctions. Felt GREAT to be flying again. We flew from Lake Havasu (KHII) to Yuma, Arizona (KNYL). The folks at Millionaire Aviation were oh so kind and helpful. We expected an expensive ramp fee, expensive fuel, and not sure what the courtesy car situation might be. Self-serve fuel turned out to be some of the least expensive around, ramp fee waved with fuel purchase, the facility fee was $5 and included coupons to purchase food at the Millionaire café for $1 each! (We’re not cheap, we’re FRUGAL) And the food was good.

RV-8 Build Status Report ...sapeloson

Just about ready to start buttoning her up for good.......

March 7, 2018.   Issue #4,516.
  The back is still a little twitchy but on the mend.  Turbo, I read that whole book on it you sent years back - thanks again!  So in the mean time I worked on camera technique as some of the usual suspects went out for their RV flights on a nice Tuesday at 52F.
  The 2001-era Canon EOS-1D Mark IIn I'm using takes 8.5 pictures per second at 3,504 X 2,336 pixels (L) with a max burst rate of (48) pictures at that resolution.  I shot (162) pictures, and still mostly suck at it.  I read the camera was a favorite of sports photographers when it came out, but I could argue that maybe these RVs are just as challenging in some regards...if not more.
  There is that fifth of a second where the plane is between hangars with blue sky behind it, not too high or low.  1/200th blurs the prop and about every other picture if you're not smooth as it goes by.  And you're panning out as it goes by, and swiveling.  And let's face it....these planes are FAST.
  I'm trying to get better, and am grateful I'm not using film ;^).  Some highlights for your amusement...click to enlarge.

The rest for this plane

The rest for this plane

The rest for this plane

The rest for this plane

Note: If you cycle through the pics taken of this 8A you can see the pilot take a quick glance at me just after takeoff ;^).
 

 
The rest for this plane

fmi: Understanding and Comparing Canon Burst Rates

Community Wide Ping:

Stuck in Deming, NM with dead Slick 4370 ...Vlad RV-9A

Milestone: 9A Wings Done! ...PilotjohnS

Wings are done. Took me 13 months, but I am happy with the results. A big thank you to all those who helped. Now I need to remove the plastic and build a roadie box for long term storage. Yeah!

I found it easy to do all the work with the wing on the stand. I cant imagine how much harder it would have been if the bottom skins were riveted on while the wing was flopping on a table.

I will add the tips and avionics during the finishing stages; its too early to buy the avionics.

Here is a picture of the pitot and AoA tubes. I just heated them up and slide them on. The metal tube was prepared by plugging the tubing to keep the crud out, rounding the end and abrading the last 1/2" so the plastic tube would stick better. Also visible is the bracket to hold the conduit away from the access cover screws.

March 6, 2018.   Issue #4,515.

scaled / 2,877 x 1,860 pixel full size

It OMGs me sometime at the amounts of money some folks spend on airplanes, cars, houses, boats, TVs and phones, while not spending a couple of bucks a month to store a copy of their digital content in a second location.  IMHO, for me it's the smartest four bucks a month I currently spend - being able to put unlimited pictures on the web in their full, pillowcase-sized glory (also where I backup around 15,000+ of my personal digital pictures...and my phone data in private folders). 

Sometimes I even use a folder to tell a RV travel story.

On to today's picture.  Above is a pic from a month or so ago in its 2,877 x 1,860 pixel awesomeness showing Scorch turning off (just landed to the north) and Scroll back-taxiing down to his Delta turnoff.  I like how Scorch is slightly out of focus and the slight elevation change at the north end is exaggerated.  The 200mm lens was maxed out. 

PS: I keep another copy of all my digital content at a 2nd spot for insurance.  It's what the kids do these days.

RV-8 and the Alternate Plan ...ArlingtonRV (Steve Rush)

Saturday (3/3/18) was a slightly better day on the wet side of the mountains in Washington State. We had planned a trip to the dry side, but lots of clouds over the mountains made that seem unwise. Anyway, it looked a lot like this.  [ed. 11min video!  v/r,dr]

Lycoming Carbureted O-290-D2 EGT out of Family ...snopercod update

The saga continues

I watched the carb temperature all winter and never once saw the temperature get down into the icing zone, even during an idle power descent on a cold day. Enough heat is transferred from the oil sump to keep the carb warm. So I'm confident that my particular engine just doesn't need carb heat on descent. (Of course it's there if I ever need it.) I'm still debating the wisdom of removing the temp sensor that sticks out into the throat of the carb. Several commenters have recommended that and they're probably right. What I have found over the last six months is that the rearmost cylinders 3 & 4 run lean at WOT on takeoff with the mixture full rich. That's probably not a good thing, but to compensate, I pull back on the throttle a little when reaching 500' and the EGTs even out. You can see that in the graph below. It's curious because I would have expected that with the throttle fly vertical, more fuel would reach the rear cylinders than when the fly was aimed more toward the front. I think my next step will be to drill out the "peppermill" holes I drilled in the nozzle years ago to provide more fuel to the rear cylinders. IIRC, they're only #57 now, and in the photos of the Marvel nozzles, they look much bigger. "It's Experimental"

Full Throttle Throttle back Leaned out for Cruise:

N314KC gets new clothes ...KeithB

N314KC was the 24th RV-14 completed. Her first flight was March 8,2017 and she now has 190 hours. Last Friday, I picked her up from the paint shop.

New Paint Curing Oven ...mfleming

Sooooo...first thing I'll say is that my wife is out of town or I might not have tried this new idea.

I painted my brake pedals in my slightly chilly (sub 60°F garage). After drying all night I wasn't happy with far along the curing process was. Our clothes dryer has this insert for things you want to dry but don't want tumbling around.

One hour on high (about 145°F) really hardens up the paint <g>

I don't think I would have put these in the dryer if the paint wasn't pretty far along on curing...not sure what kind of explosive fume paint gives off in the early stages

-7 Elevator Bellcrank Install Issue

I'm installing the F-635 elevator bellcrank assembly on my -7 QB fuselage.

The quick builders drilled the ¼" bolt hole in the F-729A bellcrank rib and angle. They also drilled the hole in the F-728A bellcrank channel BUT did not drill the F-728B angle.

This seems like a critical hole to drill so the bolt is square with the structure.

My problem is how to drill through the angle and not get off center??

Here's the drawing.
 

Mothership Stats

From Audrey Reeves ...the 'AR' in N617AR

(email to Dad)
Thought you might be interested in this article that summarizes some of the work I was doing last semester. That lab is partnered with the pharmaceutical company Novartis, and we met with their research head Jay Bradner while I was there (which is mentioned in the article).

March 5, 2018.   Issue #4,514.
  Nice Wx Fri and Sat in N. TX, but it turned OVC and BR/RA all of Sun.  Got to do a little flying Friday with locals out to the Red Barn Cafe in Sulphur Springs (33.156859, -95.619019) 80 miles east of Dallas.  Pano below suitable for 2-monitor setup.  Some chores on Saturday and spent most of Sunday nursing back spasms (dumb old body) - occurs from time to time.  Much better Sunday night.
  Hope you had a nice weekend and got to do some RV stuff.

scaled / full

Pink Slip! ...Krea Ellis RV-7A

I just wanted to express my gratitude and appreciation to Vern Darley, who came to my hangar at Mallard's Landing in Locust Grove for the inspection of our RV-7A.

Vern was exceptionally thorough, knowledgeable and very pleasant to work with. He found a few minor discrepancies and although I was a little embarrassed that he found anything, he did not make me feel foolish for my oversight. I was most impressed with his attention to detail and professionalism.

Once the RV-7A is flying, I intend to get back to the RV-10 project and I look forward to working with Vern again. I highly recommend him as an EAA Tech Counselor, for DAR services, pre-buys and any other needs you might have.

Thanks again, Vern!

Bendix Still Kicking Out ...Jim Rice

So far, I’ve tried about everything and still having problems. New battery, new cables, new master and starter solenoids and took starter to local armature shop and they say nothing is wrong with starter, yet I am still experiencing same problem. I’ve cleaned and reconnected all connections. After 2-3 blades, the bendix kicks out. Motor continues turning normally, but Bendix disengages. Occasionally, I’ll get 6-8 blades before it kicks out.

Today, after changing cable from starter solenoid to starter with #2AWG welding cable and new heavy terminals voltage drop during cranking was 0.4 volts from 12.5 to 12.1V . Voltage drop on ground side was only 0.15V.

Despite what armature shop says, I think I have an internal starter issue. I guess next step is a new starter. My starter is a Delco-Remy Prestolite. I don’t really want SkyTech or B&C lightweight starter because I need the weight up front the old starter provides. I already have the Landoll balancer ring. ...

Low fuel Pressure Root Cause maybe

I have a fuel inject Superior 320. Over the last few months I have been experiencing intermittent low fuel pressure until now where it is consistently low (5 - 10lb) The backup pump must be run for the engine to stay running. Knowing that the engine driven fuel pumps are very reliable I started looking else where. What I found is what appears to be a failure with the fuel plunger and the cam(see the pic)

So I have two questions; any ideas how this could happen, could this be a defect in the plunger or cam?

Second - To fix this will obviously require pulling the engine and accessory case. What I was thinking was just adding a second electric fuel pump forgoing the mechanical pump. I have dual electronic ign, so I'm already electrically dependent. My bigger concern is hot starts. The mechanical pump vs. the full pressure of the electrical pump on startup.

any help would be greatly appreciated!

Stripped?

Haven't quite figured out the quirks of nutplates yet i guess.

This is the tie-down AEX attached to the wing spar. The bolts here attach a powder coated bracket which I think is part of the aileron actuation bits and pieces.

Did I strip it? If so, do I need to drill out all the rivets to replace this nutplate? Or just change the bolt? I think this happened because my socket was too deep to help push those first few threads in. I have been using a dab of wax on the bolt.

Extending My RV-9A Fuel Tanks: Documented ...9GT

Build PIREP ...jcarne 7A

The airplane factory is back in action!!! After waiting a painful couple of months for the weather to get warm it is time to get back into the garage for perhaps my most productive year yet!

Back in January my fueselage kit arrived, btw, when FedEx shows up later than expected and you think you can move the fuselage kit with just your wife, start making calls to avoid an argument! I underestimated what a pain that box was going to be to get into the house but we got it done.

Like Christmas two weeks later!  ...

Chris Cooper's RV-14 Build Blog

March 2, 2018.   Issue #4,513.
  As promised yesterday, the wallpaper calendar for March is now live (February 30th...some know it as March 2nd).  Drop dead gorgeous photo by Ed Hicks.  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.

RV-3B Construction PIREP ...David Paule

I finally reread the manual for the areas I've been working on. Should have done that earlier, as it would have told me the correct way to assemble that spar bulkhead strip that I had to unrivet. The manual says "The rivet holes through the skins and the bottom flanges of bulkhead F-303 should not be drilled until both skins are in place."

I agree with this with one exception: if you drill through the bulkhead flanges first, then when the skins are in place, you can back-drill through the skins using a 12" bit, and there will be no difficulty locating the holes on the skins. Just watch out for edge distance when you're locating the holes on the flanges and when you set up the skins for drilling.

Also, note that some of the rivets are -4. When you're doing the drilling, if you don't go bigger than #40 at this time, you'll save yourself some time. You can drill those holes to #30 before dimpling. Just don't forget.

I glued the strip on to the flanges. That'll let me remove those clecos during the fitting of the forward belly skin.

A machinist friend made the button at the end of the manual flap handle and cut the slot. The bearing blocks for this are ready now, too. The plans don't show it but the manual correctly says to install nutplates under the bearing block mounting angle to facilitate easier maintenance. Since my seat rib flanges were running low on edge distance (the extruded angle is ample) I made a small plate to rivet the nutplates to, and then riveted the plate to the frame. The other side is complete too.

New (March 2018) Garmin GDL 50/50R ADS-B Receivers ...g3xpert (Garmin)

We are pleased to announce the Garmin GDL 50 portable and GDL 50R remote mount ADS-B receivers that are capable of receiving Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) traffic and weather. Both units also provide built-in attitude sensors and a GPS receiver. The GDL 50 includes a built-in rechargeable battery which provides battery operation for up to 8 hours. While battery and "3D" attitude was optional on the GDL 39, these features are standard on the GDL 50.

Exclusive traffic features such as TargetTrend™ and TerminalTraffic™ further enhance the ADS-B traffic picture and are unique to Garmin products.

Wireless and hardwired compatibility is provided for G3X™ Touch, the aera® 660 and aera 795/796 aviation portables, as well as wireless connectivity with the Garmin Pilot app, giving customers access to a full-featured suite of weather products, ADS-B traffic and more using a single device.

Each of these receivers supports 2 wired (RS-232) display connections and 2 wireless (Bluetooth) display connections for a total of 4 display devices.

One of our most popular G3X Touch installations is one with dual displays, and with the GDL 50R/51R/52R we can now hardwire the RS-232 interfaces to both displays, and leave the 2 wireless interfaces available for portable units.

If you already have a GDL 39 interface mount/cable for your Aera 660/795/796, you can plug it directly into the GDL 50/51/52 since these units use the same connector/wiring as the GDL 39 for power and data.

The GDL 50/50R are the latest additions to the GDL 50/51/52 line of ADS-B and SXM traffic/weather/music receivers.

GDL 50/50R with ADS-B Traffic/Weather, attitude, and GPS (Availalble now for $849) continue

Trying to wrap my head around this .. p45-05 fig 1 ...bkervaski RV-14A

On page 45-05, fig 1, the exploded view shows an inside corner line that calls for an angle that doesn't make sense to me.

I'm looking for some clarity, as this cut would seem to result in a triangle opening in the cowl and omitting it will have both cowls mate evenly.  Confused.  Edit: I found this pic (not mine, it's on E's site). This is correct? Is there an obvious reason for the triangle cut-out I'm missing? Stress relief perhaps?

Fiberglass Painting Tip ...Carl Froehlich

Don’t forget fiberglass and ultraviolet light do not mix well. Put something on it.

This is what I do for flying before final paint:
- Prep all fiberglass to fill pinholes per the Van’s instruction.
- White two part epoxy primer on the inside of the cowl (e.g. PPG DP48LF). Two coats. Do this before first engine start.
- Van’s stick on aluminum heat shield on the inside of the cowl in the obvious places (check for discolor after the first few flights and add as needed).
- One coat of PPG epoxy primer on outside of the cowl and all fiberglass.
- One coat PPG single stage paint in your choice of color on top of the primer. I find a medium blue goes well with the rest of the plane in bare aluminum.

Reasons:
- Anything you can do to prep the glass will be appreciated by your painter (especially if that painter is you). He might even drop the price a little as he’ll see the PITA fiberglass prep is well started. The primer and top coat paint will also give the paint guy material to block sand - that will only improve the final product.
- Even though you plan on painting right after the flight test program, odds are you will be flying like this for some time. The simple extra step of adding a coat of color on the fiberglass will make it look worlds better.

March 1, 2018.   0007Z.  Issue #4,512.
  We've had some damp Wx lately here around the 'ol Van Cave, but by dumb luck there was a gap between rain bands when I pulled into the airport Wednesday morning.  My planned 45 minutes on the treadmill went out the window.  As it should.
  (15) TnGs later I felt much better.  Didn't have the ceilings or clear skies to venture beyond the pattern, but it was plenty fun to just work on technique.
  Then the rain started...and it didn't stop for the rest of the day...and I was OK with it.
  So much OK I forgot to do the March wallpaper calendar.  Tomorrow I promise, he says sheepishly.
 

RV-14 Milestone ...control

Standing on wheels...

Who knew

I received a text from my 25 year old daughter this morning asking if I would have the 40 hours for my phase 1 flown off by July. I told her I have about 25 more to go before I would be out of phase 1. Circumstances, weather, wind and the distance to the airport have hindered the progress of getting those hours flown off. She said she was asking because she was wanting to take the time off from work so she and I could fly up to Oshkosh for Airventure together. She and her husband moved away from us this last year and its an 7-8 hour car ride each way from Kentucky to her home in Springfield MO. I figured its about 3.5 in the RV one way. I know her mother is wanting those hours flown off as well. I don't think she (my wife) was a big fan when I started the project.

__________________
Mike
RV-9A Based K6I2

RV-Lancair Brotherhood Day...2/27 entry

Grand Strand Today

Expanding our range, Darwin and I flew 1+30 From AVL to CRE (Grand Strand AKA North Myrtle Beach) today for some fresh seafood. Darwin left first and I never could catch him in my Lancair. I had him 10 miles in front on my ADS-B screen the entire trip. Those RV-4s are fast! Our ground speeds were roughly 170 Kts. After landing, we both bought gas and then took the courtesy car to Rockefellers Raw Bar for lunch. I burned 20 gallons out and back so this truly was a $100 lunch.

Full serve $5.25 per gallon at Grand Strand, but hey, we're rich playboys, right?

Rv12is Pre Fabricated Rigid Fuel Lines ...Aircraft Specialty update

Thanks to everyone that has emailed us about this project. We have a great group of beta testers lined up.  Here is a sneak peak of the first few of the initial pre production prototype tubes.

N248RV New Panel...LuckyDuck

New

Old

Replacing the Windscreen ...Dustyone

Router with dust extraction is your friend.  I did this last year for a customer.  A router with dust extraction made this a straight forward job.

A Huge Thank You

A very nice secret Santa sent me a new coffee table book by Piers Bizony called 'Moonshots'.  No note...no card...it just arrived at the door.  Thank you very much, and you hit it out of the park.  Cameras and spaceflight...two huge non-RV interests of mine.  Starting the read took up most of my evening last night, and I suspect many more to come. 

Tips hat in direction of anonymous secret santa...