Fri Feb 28. 1245z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
Wishing you and yours a
happy, safe and RV-filled weekend!
Landing on snow
Picture of C-GKSZ Van’S RV-8 sn:
81084 (2003). "Planenut" landing on Tapanee frozen
lake during Sainte-Anne-du-Lac (Qc) fourth annual winter
fly-in ;-) Collllllllld! windy day
Jean-Pierre Bonin photo
N819DJ first flight ...Jackm
Special thanks to Mike Seager for
his trust in our work to do first flight. Mike is a
Legend...one guy we all respect and enjoy his style!!
...
(57) Deer in (18) minutes.
...from the RV-6 yesterday in a
near-metropolitan setting (between Dallas and Ft.Worth, TX).
I'd be surprised if I got more than five miles from the
airport. Zoom lenses are a wonderful thing.
View the photo album.
Bahamas ...
MarkW trip writeup
One of the main reasons I built an
airplane is that we are so close to the Bahamas I wanted to
be able to fly there on a regular basis. This is our first
trip in the new plane. A couple of trips in a 172 but this
is the trip that paid off all the hard work.
...
What could you do in one week of flying ...Vlad
Advanced flight systems in N819DJ...Jackm
From Abby at Flightline Interiors...
From Perry in West Kelowna BC Canada
...managed to fly Jan 4th, and Feb
22 this year, so that's better than average. Darndest thing
today, a fire at a fibreglass manufacturing plant has filled
our entire valley with acrid smoke, making it totally IFR,
and you can TASTE it!
Thu Feb 27. 1249z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
First Flights Listed on the Mothership
...9/9A reaches 900 milestone.
RV-12 reaches 300!
Back in the air! ...our friend Brantel
Got back in the air on Saturday for
the first time since January 4th which was 2 days before
surgery... All I did was bore holes in the sky and do
some doughnuts while calibrating the D6 compass. Was a
little behind the airplane but still well within the safety
zone and I made a decent landing!
...
Feb '14 progress ...Strike69
Many pictures...
Pix of the new GRT Horizon Hxr Installation ...jjhoneck
Presenting a short story in 3 pictures instead of 3000 words.
From Danbury-ECi-Titan Aircraft
Engines...
Wed Feb 26. 1248z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
N996S First Flight ...bpattonsoa
(Independence, OR)
After 21.5 months of work, a new
RV-10. Flys like a dream and lands not quite like a -6A.
Thanks to Mike Seager for working with me Sunday to learn
how to land these things. They do take a systematic landing
approach compared to their smaller versions.
...
You think YOUR build space is unique?
Roberto in Mar del Plata, Argentina
lowers his wing 24 feet to the ground.
Early '14 Update ...riseric
RV-8
Flying my RV9A in SoCal - Chino to Laughlin, NV ...pmccoy
video
Uncommon View… ...Ironflight
Rivet spacing conundrum...NorthernRV4
Fuel line support...Veetail88
I have to support the fuel line from
the mechanical pump to the horizontal fuel servo and I
cannot see any good attach points to anchor it to.
...
Are there any (PC) computer folks out
there....
...that
work at a company that can nudge me in the right direction
for a 3-4 monitor setup? Sometime this year I would
like to replace my Gateway desktop with something 'better'.
It was quickly purchased one afternoon when the old Dell
gave up the ghost a few years back.
I have two HP 2511x monitors right
now (replaced the single Dell) that have been wonderful the
past couple of years. My HP laptop, the one that goes
to/from the airport is still rockin the casba - no worries
there. The ultra mobile hardware is an iPhone 5.
Anywho, here are two pics (right) I found on the web of a
three and four screen setup. Believe it or not, when
you get all the VAF authoring stuff, browsers, pic capture
app, email, forums, forums management, server management,
backup utilities, voice to text dictation software and
accounting stuff up and running....you kinda need more
screen acreage then what I got now.
Sidenote, I've been headquartered in the upstairs guest
bedroom these past ten years. Purple walls (previous
owners). My desk is the first table Susie and I bought
after getting married. From Target. $39 I think.
It stays. VAF will always come to you from this table.
2014 is the year we finally paint the walls and replace the
two decade old carpet in 'the office' with fake wood.
I'm excited too!
For grins....the current
setup.
Tue Feb 25. 1255z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
So, the washing machine started throwing up on the floor
yesterday. Turned out to be the fill hose clamp that
failed after a measly 25 years (pic at right). I handed
Tate the busted clamp and dropped him off at the door at Lowes.
"Let's see if you can find a replacement for this. It's
OK to ask for help." Forty six cents bought a fifty
year supply of replacement clamps, installed by Tate using my
Dad's tools. How's that for the 'ol circle of life?
Maybe he'll be maintaining the family RV-6 forty years from now, or at
the very least tearing into his broken washing machine with
PawPaw's SnapOn socket set. Wouldn't that be nice?*
*Who we kidding?
There won't be washing machines in 40 years - you'll push a
button on your phone and a new shirt will just appear.
First Flight ...beav
After 5 years and 2 weeks of
building, I took my RV-7 up for its maiden voyage yesterday.
I completed transition training with Mike Seager on Friday,
so I was well prepared for the flight.
The flight lasted about 30 minutes and was completely uneventful. We
orbited overhead at high power for 10-15 minutes and then
slowed down for some slow flight and stalls. My buddy Greg
flew chase in his Bonanza, and we were able to confirm the
airspeed and altimeter readings are virtually spot on.
videos
Free Dinner ...Berchmans
(Alaska)
It was a CAVU day yesterday
and the wife (Peggy the riveter) and I decided to fly to
Talkeetna for a little dinner at the Twister Creek Brew
House. We had a gift card therefore I view this as a not
cost outing. The RV still drew some visitors even in the
land of turbine otters on skiis...
AeroLEDs new product announcement ...VAF advertiser
AeroLEDs is proud to announce a new
landing/taxi/recognition lighting solution for the Van's RV
wingtip location.
The product is called the Aerosun Vx, and will fit any RV-7
or RV-8 that uses the W-715-1 wingtip that has the 6" long
back face on the lighting cover:
more
Out the shop recently ...
www.upnorthaviation.com
Mon Feb 24. 1248z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
First flight ...9Driver
After two years of sweat and fun,
RV-12 N40RK, s/n 120622 took to the skies this evening for
the first time. My son was at the controls. Approx 40 min
flight. The only issues are slightly heavy right wing, and
rudder trim tab needs to be adjusted more. He said it was a
joy to fly.
Finished ...paul330
I seem to have run out of bits so I
guess she's finished!
As you can probably see, there might be just a
little fiberglass "fettling" left to do...
Yesterday...KRviator
Take off run - first decent day after a while ...Luke in
Italy.
Well I finally did it! ...bhester (painted)
RV White Pages
Updated
...courtesy the lovely and
talented Audrey Reeves (home from college for some of the
weekend). RV contact info for
3,215 builders/pilots . 41 page PDF file
that you can save to your smartphone or tablet and take with
you everywhere.
RV Hotel
List Updated ...courtesy the lovely and talented Duh
Greaves.
SB Complete ...Danny King
I completed my SB repair and test
flew a couple of days ago. The job is not that difficult,
but it did take a little longer than "Just a few Hours". It
took me an hour and five minutes to disassemble the Doll's
empennage. It took me several hours to put it back on!
...
In Flight ...Harvey
(Australia)
In Flight ...Vlad
Full day of flying ...scard
Bird Strike Video ...1min 45sec mark
Fri Feb 21. 1259z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
Happy Birthday Mom
(This Saturday) Some nice
people worked out the NASCAR schedule so it could start back
up on your birthday weekend. Exactly what you wanted
;^).
Thanks for bringing me into this
world. I (and Audrey and Tate) owe you everything.
I love you.
Lots of Pics and Videos of Turbo Flight Sebring ...turbo
Tip- Drilling holes in wheel pants ...Michael
Burbidge
I used glow sticks to help line up
drilling holes in wheel pants with the holes in the brackets
underneath.
...
Welcome
www.AircraftWraps.com
...ad in the Previous Day's News section
RV Cowling Winter Jacket
Another accomplishment by my wife...woodmanrog
I had to brag that my wife, Myra,
passed her IFR check ride on the first try. I guess I'll
always be in the right seat now,
Thu Feb 20. 1247z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
Audrey Reeves makes SMU Honor Roll
(link)
...the 'AR' in N617AR.
Found out last night - could be no
other top story today. Your yearly VAF donation
dollars being used wisely, with heartfelt gratitude from
both Susie and me. Congratulations
Audrey!
fmi:
www.smu.edu
Welcome Kevin Spooner RV-6 ...Spoon
in the forums
...Started in approx 1990 (serial
20621) flew first flight in January 2014. O-320 with
Sensenich weighs 1041. Now halfway thru phase 1 and loving
it.
SB kit came in today...bret
Looking at the kit, there is 5.00 in
plate nuts alone and a ton of rivets, and they even through
in a SS plate to protect your skin while trimming, I don't
think they are making any $ on this kit. Just a BIG thanks
to Vans Aircraft for taking proactive and honest actions in
addressing this issue!
8/8A side consoles ...pics
RV-3A SN 10934 About Finished ...dlomheim
Here is a shot of the RV-3A that
I've been restoring for the past 1.5 yrs. When it flies, it
will be some 12+ years since it last did that, so hopefully
it hasn't developed any bad habits in the inter-rim. Alot
has gone into this project to include an engine (O-290G)
tear down, carb overhaul and mag 500 hr. inspection, add
carb intake snout (RV-4) and filter, carb and cabin heat,
redo the electrical per Bob Nuckols ideas, remove and
discard the 8 lb "remote indicating compass", add an old
Garmin GPS and NARCO transponder and encoder, Ray Allen
electric elev. trim, Odessy battery, skybolt fastners on top
of cowling, etc, etc, etc. Also ended up building a new
vertical stab. due to cracks and wallowed out holes in the
old one that had been repaired via stop drilling and
slapping another piece of alumimun over it. Anyway, some
350+ hours of work later, it finally is about good enough to
call an airplane again and it hopefully will be a reliable
platform to start doing some cross-countries in!
Blue Skies,
Doug
Garmin Pilot Adds Synthetic Vision
•Synthetic vision will be featured
as an option for premium iPad and iPhone customers
•When Garmin Pilot is used with a GDL 39 3D, back-up
aircraft attitude information is superimposed overtop the
Garmin Pilot SVX display ◦Traffic information is also
depicted when used with the GDL 39 3D
•When used without a GDL 39 3D, a three-dimensional
topographic landscape is available which also incorporates
GPS-derived airspeed, altitude, and vertical speed
information
•Topography, water features, obstacles, and the runway
environment are available on the SVX page, enhancing
situational awareness
•When an active flight plan is present, a horizontal
situation indicator (HSI) offers course guidance; estimated
time enroute (ETE), distance information, and the active leg
of a flight plan are also displayed below the HSI
fmi:
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-go/apps/garmin-pilot-/prod115856.html
Five Deer and Two Turkeys (I think)...
12 minutes in the RV-6 two days ago.
No zoom (to prove I wasn't buzzing them). Upper
right.
That's a turkey at the top...
...I say turkey because this was about thirty yards away.
Wed Feb 19. 1243z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
RV-8 I-LOVI Capt. Marco Ricci ...Italy
This is the story of a project that was born in a
conversation inside the hangar. My friend Marco, owner of
the RV8 told me, "I would like to do a new panel for my
plane, but I can't do it alone, it's quite a few years I
have this idea"
I told him that I could help him out, so the same night I
sent him a CAD Project of a panel, he was very anxious of
the idea so we spent the next 10 nights with teamviewer and
skype spending hours and hours of mutual confrontations.
The first difficult was the space, there's not allot of
space in an RV8 panel so we couldn't underestimate every
aspect! front obstructions, back obstructions and
composition of the instruments. after so many tries we had
the final draft, so the next step was the cutting of the
panel.
more
Quick Facts at 1000 hours ...Vlad
My tach turned 1K hours on 2-16-2014. Hobbs time was
more, counted by a Russian Bear clock. Approximately 2 %
more. The difference was mainly because of two dissimilar
counting systems. Tachometer is cable driven and Hobbs is of
a spring winding variety. <g>
more
6th annual ice cream social ...March 15th (Inyokern, CA)
Well it is that time of the year again. I turn one year
older. The 6th annual ice cream social will be held at
Inyokern, CA airport on March 15th from 1100-1400. It will
be held in the area next to the airport office. The red
circle on the picture below indicates the area.
...
It Smokes!! ...Dayton Murdock
Here's the first video of my -4 smoking.
more
From Cleaveland Tool...
"On 2/20 at 7:30 CDT, Cleaveland Tool is going to show
some tips and tricks on how to use simple tools to get great
results. You may still want to have the fancy tools as they
certainly make the job easier, but we appreciate that many
folks are building on a shoestring, and quality is
achievable for everyone with a variety of tools.
Check out the Google Hangout on 2/20:
http://bit.ly/CAThangoutFEB
If you're looking for archived hangouts, check out our
YouTube channel:
http://www.YouTube.com/clevtool
RV Haikus
Oh no, too bumpy!
The wife grabs for the barf bag.
We are landing now.
Less is More
Hangar office project at theVanCave.
Rack/stairs replaced with hammock that hangs on wall when
not in use. Two additional shelves identical to desk
added. Subject to 100% change...
Tue Feb 18. 1244z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
John Goodloe working smart (not hard).
Conditional inspection underway. Seen at theVanCave
this past weekend. Old office furniture getting a
second lease on life...
Alton Bay NH Winter Carnival ...Vlad
Fierce February here in the North East. Winter storms
rolling one after another. Snow and snow and more snow every
week. Flying conditions are very unique but there is some GA
activity even during this harsh winter. Couple stoic RVators
decided to go to Alton Bay B18 for their annual Winter
Carnival. I had another plan and was about to launch in
opposite direction to VA but somebody persuaded me to go his
way. <g>
...
Lake Havasu Formation Clinic 2014 video link...George
Ford email.
Here’s a clip of our RV fun and a 20 ship RV formation
that happened a week ago down in Lake Havasu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fst6xtWZksQ
Polished Hangar Floor Underway
Clayton hired my son Tate (background) this past Saturday
to drive a scrubber fitted with grinding pads in his hangar.
Five hours and forty one minutes by Tate's watch <g>.
He turned the money earned into skateboard parts less than
twelve hours later. He's thirteen...(I'd have done the
same).
Developing...
Status: 'BigD' RV-10
Starting to Lose that Canoe Look. Cabin top fit and
drilled. So far not as bad as feared, but the
fill/sand/repeat hasn't begun. And there are a couple of
places that will need help...
My RV is too flippin' fast!
Apparently some guy writing code in the fraud prevention
department of Citibank decided "there's no way someone will
do $100-plus charges for fuel 100 miles apart in less than
an hour."
Took my daughter back to school yesterday, 8 hours round
trip. Fueled just fine in North Carolina and Florida, but
got denied at the pump for the top off back home.
A conversation with the night shift customer service rep was
less than productive.
__________________
Mike See
Mon Feb 17. 1248z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
Valentine's Day Flights...tc1234c
Since last Summer every Friday evening from one hour
before sunset we have a party and formation fly by in our
community. Tonight we had two RV8s flew above Daytona Class
C airspace to draw a heart. Down below four rockets, four
RV7s, two SX300s, and a flight of 8 consisting Great Lake,
Cessna 140, Turbine Maule, Grumman Lynx, Jabiru, RV9A, RV9,
and Dova Skylark did our formation passes. It was a
beautiful day after many bad weather days.
...
Add another 9A ...RV9A
Bill
Sunday feb 16 N789BT flew for the first time. Handles
like an RV. Couple of electronic issues to address. Based
Lubbock international, which always sounds pretentious to
me.
RV-10 First Flight in Melbourne, Australia (details)
...AMac
...I haven't experienced rates of climb from any
aircraft that I've flown previous to match this! ...
Lake Michigan Ice Flight...Paul
K
Safety Glasses vs. Face Shield ...longranger
I've always used wrap around safety glasses when running
the cutoff wheel. Tonight while trimming the longerons, I
found that glasses, even the wrap around type, aren't
adequate eye protection for the task. Evidently the glasses
had slid down my nose slightly and either a piece of
abrasive or aluminum dust found its way into my left eye. I
was hoping the massive amount of tearing would flush out
what ever it was and relieve the irritation, but it was not
to be.
Another half hour of flushing with saline and direct spray
in the shower with no improvement convinced me it was time
to head for what passes for an emergency room here. Two
hours later I was diagnosed with a corneal abrasion. The
good news is that the doctor saw no remaining foreign
objects in my eye, and it should heal in a day or so.
The anesthetic only lasted an hour, and the doctor warned me
not to use it more often than I absolutely have to, so I
currently am not a happy camper...
Bottom line: FROM NOW ON I WILL ALWAYS WEAR A FACE SHIELD
WHEN RUNNING A CUTOFF OR ABRASIVE WHEEL!
Houston Bulder Gathering ...flytoday
RV fly-in March 8th 2014 SE of ATL...brianwallis
Catered, donations accepted for food. 62GA Seven Lakes
(not GA62) 122.9 land to the North, takeoff to the South.
Parking at north end of strip. Just shy of 3k grass. 4 miles
west of base of Lake Jackson. South of Covington and halfway
between ATL and Macon. Will have transportation to town if
anything needed. Family friendly. Bring your own dish for
judging. 10am till it ends... private field. Raffle with
prizes. PM ME PLEASE TO RSVP
Will try and have some version of redneck Olympics for a
contest. COMSINK gave approval, race in the works, stay
tuned. (Bikini contest terminated by COMSINK) Race details,
it will be a timed event. Stopwatch starts, plot route
(short) to secret destination, estimate time, fly and
recover. Stopwatch stops when wheels stop turning.
(Destination known at this time, photo required of certain
object) Winners shall be based on how close the planned time
is to the actual time.
Got Canopy ...scard
Another reason to have new eyes look during Condition Inspection
...Flying
again!
Just finished the condition inspection on my RV-10 and
saw again the value of having different eyes looking at the
plane.
I bought the -10 Aug 2011 and this is the 3rd condition
inspection. This year I decided to have another A&P look at
it after having another A&P do the first 2.
When David was looking at the tail he found that there were
9 rivets missing from both the top and bottom of flanges
HS-1002 and HS-1013! these were match drilled and dimpled
but the original builder neglected step 2 on page 8-6 of the
plans which tells you to install 9 rivets on the top and 9
on the bottom! This is easy to see once the fairing at the
base of the rudder is removed. Tail came off, rivets
installed and put back together.
This was in plain sight and was missed during the original
airworthiness inspection in 2005, the subsequent annual
condition inspections, the week long very thorough
airworthiness inspection in Canada when it was sold there,
and by the DAR here when I re-imported it in 2011 and had to
have another airworthiness inspection. At least 16
inspections and it was not caught until now! I can't believe
I missed it too!
Just wanted to show how things can be missed and a new set
of eyes can be very beneficial.
Fri Feb 14. 1254z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
Twelve minutes off the surface yesterday and
too many deer to count - stopped at twenty. iPhone pic
right caught (15) in one image - click it. Twelve minutes
well spent! I gotta remember to take the good
camera
in the plane. Landed and then did the photoshoot for Grady
at GLO (below). What a beautiful paint job.
Related....Danny, I found you
a motorcycle to match yours and this plane. You're
welcome.
On to music: Listening to Ryan Adams 'Cold Roses' on the
drive home on alt radio, poked around online later
to
find it. Been too long since I've heard that, and I'd
forgotten how good it was. Found like every song he's
written
here. Amazing what you get now with ten seconds of
typing. Is that good? Well,
here's
a live version wearing Ace Frehley boots. That's good.
All over the map today....but hey, Friday.
Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend. I hope
our friends in the snow and ice are safe and sound.
View the photo album / related:
glocustom.com
Rob 'Smokey' Ray in his RV-'X' Post SB Shakedown Flight
...3min 48sec video to enjoy instead of working!
Daughter's V-Day Card
Charity Cap Sighting ...Lanikai, Oahu (Joe Walker)
Charity caps?
When hobbies get in the way of each other - What can I work on
now?
Wishing Aaron a speedy recovery (brewing accident).
Houston Area Monthly RV Builders Lunch - February 2014
The third Saturday (February 15th) is upon us, so lets
get together for lunch at our monthly RV luncheon. This
Saturday we will meet at Carl's BBQ for some good BBQ.
Nothing will get you more motivated to finish your plane
than our RV get together and some good Texas BBQ. Carl's is
located at Weiser Airpark on HWY 290 frontage road between
Telge and Huffmeister in the NW part of Houston. We meet at
11:30 am.
Reading VAF in Bed, or Other Low Light Conditions?
Tip: Try setting your phone on 'Invert'. For
iPhone and iPad, go into Settings > General > Accessibility
> Invert Colors. A shortcut is to scroll down to the
bottom of that screen and choose 'Accessibility Shortcut',
and assign 'Invert' to triple-clicking the Home button.
Thu Feb 13. 1254z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
Hoping my RV friends in the path of the ice/snow storm rolling
up the east coast are doing OK.
David Morrow sent me some SketchUp ideas to get me started with my hangar
office project, and that motivated me to spent some time
yesterday re-learning some of the software. Thank you,
David! The nudge I needed. I think I can pull this
off, design-wise.
What I came up with below. Efficient, within budget, leaves as much
of the fake wood floor visible as possible and will cost pennies
to keep cool/warm. Will all this happen? I dunno.
But man, an office like this would make work almost fun!
Sleeps one (me).
Seats (3) comfortably. WiFi. A/C and heat.
RV-6 twenty feet away...
24 Gallons of Avgas ...update on our friend Brantel
...I am 5 weeks out as of this past Monday. All pain is
gone, all incisions are healed. Starting into my exercise
regimen...
Flapper Valve ...David Paule RV-3B
Bob Collins Paint Scheme Renderings
...I've incorporated many of the changes suggested by
people
...
From the factory....
(Video) Garmin Virb down Hudson Corridor, NYC
RV-10 Status ...Dave
Wyzepilot
So I managed to complete the first "test" with only a few
small bruises on the skin. That middle nose rib was kind of
a pain to get to but a little "puddy and paint will make it
what it a'int". I am very pleased with the final product and
look forward to moving on to the the rudder. Thanks for all
of your help so far. I'm sure I will call on all of you
again as I move on in my build.
Well I was told it will be an emotional roller coaster and I
would have to agree. I found myself going from Fun to
Frustration to fear then back to fun on more than one
occasion. All and all it was a great experience. I learned
so much and most importantly I built an air worthy Vertical
Stabilizer <g>.
Wed Feb 12. 1258z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
So, it's in the 20's outside and I'm playing
with ideas for the hangar office - stuff to do on a budget when
you can't go outside. After eight months or so, the walls
are painted (white, but could change) and the fake wood floor
looks kind of like
this.
It's tiny. Around 55 sq. ft. Elevated with the
windows facing out into the hangar. RV stuff in view.
I've been looking
at pics of 'tiny home' interiors on Google for pointers.
For cripes sake, look at
this one! And
this. Amazing. All those decades in a cube
fostered a Stockholm syndrome of sorts. Must have small,
efficient office. No waste.
I'd like to maybe have a nap-i-loo after lunch every now and then, so
something to lay down on. A work surface for my HP laptop
looking out into the hangar, and a couple chairs for guests?
Bookshelves? TV? Jello wrestling tub?
Alas, I'm not the creative type. If any of you folks (or spouses)
have mad interior decoration skilz with access to modeling
software, and want to use the Van Cave office as an example of
what you can do, I'll let you. Like nobody's business.
I have a copy of Google SketchUp, but the free version stops working in 7
more hours of use, and well, you know, pilots have this thrifty
streak. Mostly I just don't know how to do this stuff, and
I figure since folks might stop by for a visit someday, might as
well try to keep it from looking like the set from Sanford &
Son.
Dimensions clickable at right for your amusement (done in Photoshop), and
feel free to ignore all this.
Rambling thoughts on a yucky day. And good morning...
from a few months back. moving the a/c up above the
windows soon.
Harare, Zimbabwe ...Ed Fleming RV-7 Z-EDD Begins
Hi Everyone!
The journey begins for me, but in a uniquely frustrating
way! A small delay to the ship meant that the kit got caught
up in the Christmas traffic, and then the complete shutdown
of almost all industry and transport that paralyses Southern
Africa every January. I had arranged vacation so I could get
started, but in the end I had to leave on a three week trip
just 4 days before it arrived. So the pictures here were
taken by my wife, and are still all I have seen of it. But
its time to start getting excited again as I'm starting on
the way home and should be cracking open the crates on
Friday!
There is of course a silver lining to this delay. If it had
arrived on time I might just have finished the HS by now,
and then face having to rebuild it to comply with the SB!
Anyway, here are the photos of the arrival and unloading,
African style! Never any shortage of labour to carry heavy
stuff around here <grin>.
related:
Where is Harare?
Frustration Ensues ...JDBoston
Continuing my tail for the 9A for now, but running into
what I would call beginner issues.
Has anyone else run into frustration with bucking (or
squeezing) the rivets on the powder coat brackets on the VS
pieces (I assume it will be the same on the HS)? I end up
with bent over rivets as if they were too long to begin with
or perhaps my technique is poor.
I am using a pneumatic squeezer, but for the rivets in the
center of the bracket closest to the bend I use the gun with
a tungsten bar. On the builder sites I don't typically see
these called out as problematic but they seem to
consistently dump on me. I have seen others call out
problems with rivet lengths that are too long but I assumed
the plans would have been corrected by now. If I ever have
the means to switch over to the 14 I wonder if they fixed
those issues as many of these tail parts are the same.
I am venting a bit perhaps I need to just practice my
riveting more to get more consistent results.
Nose
Gear Bolt Break Update ....pics
Q:
Polish the RV-12 landing gear?
A: No. "Polishing the main gear legs
on an RV-12 is not advisable. The polishing process would
cause material removal from the surface of gear leg. These
legs are heat treated aluminum and shot peened (hardened)
for fatigue resistance. Any modification like this may cause
an untested and/or a weakened condition in the gear leg.
Read more about the process here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_peening"
Vladsky
That's the view of Freehold airport and adjacent Mohawk
River on Feb, 2014. Not even a single Polar Bear down there.
Tue Feb 11. 1247z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
The making of
the world's most famous photo. Mike S. fwd'd me the
link. Amazing, and something to distract from the freezing
rain today here in N.TX. Yuck. Hope better in your
neck of the woods.
PS: Audrey scored a 91 on her Bio exam Monday.
RV-10 In Australia About to Take to the Sky ...AMac
VH-BUY received her Special Certificate of Airworthiness
today! Seven years of work will see her take to the sky this
weekend for phase 1 testing.
Airworthy! ...beav
After 5 years of building (almost to the day), I received
my airworthiness certificate on Saturday. No issues were
found during the inspection (though it wasn't incredibly
thorough).
I'm heading up to Oregon next week to train with Mike Seager
and should take it up for the first flight within two weeks!
Sebring Sneak Attack ...GLPalinkas
OK, it's not Sebring Weds RV Breakfast.... however,
A good friend of mine, Greg Vine's birthday is today (the
number isn't important... but it's 59
)
Greg is a former Mooney owner and pilot who hasn't flown in
a looong time so I thought maybe a little RV magic would
motivate him.
I decided a birthday breakfast recon trip to Sebring on a
Monday was warranted. I rang up the usual suspects. They
obliged and the rest is history.
Easy Time-Lapse Video ...chris
in WI
My family got me a Brinno time lapse camera for Christmas
that I've been experimenting with to document my build.
It's a piece of cake to use - set it, forget it, upload the
fully-processed video to your computer. . I'm still
tinkering with which combination of pre-set capture &
playback framerates is best. Biggest benefit: saves me
time while proving I'm actually building this thing!
A Milestone of Sorts ...longranger
Somewhere under the cockpit floor the 10,000th rivet
installed in the project so far is helping hold the center
fuselage bottom skin to a seat rib. You say counting rivets
is anal? I say NO; knowing exactly which one it is would be
anal...
Some Interior Shots Showing What The Flightline Interior Kit
Looks Like...Tony_T
Video of Sporty's sweepstakes RV-12 ...Jzimmerman
On 2/20 at 7:30 CDT, Cleaveland Tool ...
...is
going to show some tips and tricks on how to use simple
tools to get great results. You may still want to have the
fancy tools as they certainly make the job easier, but we
appreciate that many folks are building on a shoestring, and
quality is achievable for everyone with a variety of tools.
Check out the Google Hangout on 2/20:
http://bit.ly/CAThangoutFEB
If you're looking for archived hangouts, check out our
YouTube channel:
http://www.YouTube.com/clevtool
Tina's Pilot Shop Valentine Specials
817-490-0046 MON-SAT 9A-5P CST
WWW.TINASPILOTSHOP.COM
Tagged ...Rob Hatwell
Last year with a couple of hours to kill in Schiphol
airport In Holland I wandered into the gadget shop and left
a bit of graffiti on the demo tablet.
Rob 'smokyray'
Ray's Plate from 98-99
Hello World ...berck
(Divide, Colorado)
Hello
from the newest RV-10 builders. A friend and I have ordered
an RV-10 tail kit which arrives tomorrow, but the paperwork
got here today, so it seemed time to say hi, and I know
everyone wants to know what the latest number is...1535.
Looks like most questions have been asked already, and I've
probably read a hundred posts just trying to decide which
tools to buy.
We're handy with tools, but have pretty much no experience
with aircraft construction or sheet metal, so we're starting
with both practice projects this weekend.
Thanks for all the help so far, and I'm sure you'll be
hearing from us.
Bridge from the RV ...Vlad
Tappan Zee Bridge, NY. This is the old bridge
construction of a new colossal structure is about to
begin...
Status ...akarmy
Wrapping up the basic fuselage riveting. Starting the
Canoe stage I guess you would call it!
Mon Feb 10. 1259z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
SMU
men's basketball. My daughter's college. Ranked
(almost certainly) for the first time since 1985 as of today.
Beat #7 Cincinnati Saturday, and it wasn't even close.
Audrey didn't watch a second of it - spent the evening on our
couch studying for a bio test she has today. Not
interested at all - same as me at that age. Susie and I
sure watched it, though <g>. Once the doormat of college
basketball,
now transforming into something wonderful.
Something to do when it's too cold to fly the RV.
From ESPN: "SMU improved to 13-0 at home this season and the
Mustangs are beating teams by an average of 21.2 points per game
in their 13 home games. Before this season, SMU hadn't won
against a ranked opponent since 2003. This season, in the first
4 games against ranked teams since Larry Brown became the SMU
head coach, the Mustangs have won 3 of those 4 games, including
their first win against a top-10 opponent since 1987. The
Mustangs have 3 wins against ranked teams in the same season for
the first time in 29 years."
Thanks for letting me brag on my kid's school. Hope you had a
great weekend.
First flight of N987J ...BJohnson
Hello Seattle ...Stephen pics from his RV-7
The
RV is already showing me a great time! ...DougJ
A Wee bit Nippy! ...PeteHowell
Florida Seafood Festival ...MarkW
Failure of Nose Gear ...flytoday
AX-O Status Update ...many pics
Danbury/ECi Launches Titan Aircraft Engines
(Kevin 'Relentless' Eldredge)
"I have accepted the leadership position at Danbury Aero (ECI), to
lead their newest company, "Titan Aircraft Engines" in San
Antonio, Texas. We will focus on building & overhauling
experimental aircraft engines for the experimental and LSA
market.
I love huge challenges and building dynamic teams. Work never seems
like work when you're serving customers in an industry you
are passionate about.
Stay tuned..."
Cap Sighting ...Joe Blank in snowy Oregon
"What else are you gonna do with 7" of snow? Tricia and
I decided to put it to good use...!"
fmi:
The cap
Fri Feb 7. 1252z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and
RV-filled weekend.
Caulking Gun Gets a New Use ...Ivan Luke
Here's my take on the syringe v. Semco question. I bought
veterinary syringes, drilled the hole out larger,
"hot-glued" a short piece of plastic tube in as a nozzle and
then put the whole thing in my generic caulking gun. I did
this because I found the syringe itself too hard to squeeze
by hand. Of course in retrospect, that's probably because my
proseal was cold. I'm in New England and heat the garage
while working but I never thought to take the proseal inside
to warm up-- probably would have been better, but using the
caulking gun worked just fine too.
From the factory...
NTSB Infomation regarding recent Service Bulletins
Important Service
Information:
SB 14-01-31
Hoizontal Stabilizer Cracks
SB 14-02-03 Superseded by
SB 14-02-05...Why?
fmi:
http://www.vansaircraft.com/pdf/sb14-02-05.pdf
Cracks in Elevator Spar
Service Bulletin Parts
Panel Upgrade ...Al Girard
Bought a ram mount today for the Mini...
Scheduled Site Maintenance 2/8 11pm CT - 2/9 6am CT
Our regularly scheduled maintenance window will be used
to install critical patches to servers on the network, in
order to keep your data safe and improve the reliability of
your experience. Readers will experience intermittent
service accessibility during this window.
Is This OK for Support During Repairs?
I utilized my 2 post car lift and tried to make a couple
of support cradles...seems to work fine but I don't want to
put too much stress on belly and cause any damage. I
plan to build a wood frame at some point and place on some
castors for mobility...but can at least get started removing
engine mount now...and it will sure make for an easy belly
cleaning!!!
I would really appreciate comments/feedback constructive
criticism on my supports.
Welcome
www.TiWings.com
...new advertiser in the Previous Day's News section.
(from
Travis - owner) "If you’ve ever daydreamed about using
some specialty hardware in your RV, TiWings can help.
TiWings.com specializes in Grade 5 Titanium
(titanium-aluminum-vanadium alloy) fasteners that are
stronger than AN series fasteners, but are about half the
weight and just as corrosion-resistant as stainless steel.
They have a wide selection of AN replacement, Standard, and
Metric sizes.
Very excited to be a part of the community!
Happy landings,
Travis
http://earth.nullschool.net
Yeah, it's cold (yesterday). I clicked on the 'Surface
Wind' and 'Temperature' overlays (click the word
'earth). Might as well play around on this site.
I mean, it's not like I'm going outside for any length of
time.
compared with the South Pole at the same
time...
Thu Feb 6. 1237z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
This isn't RV-related, but I just have to say how much
I like the site
www.ifixit.com.
The step by step iPhone5 battery and lightning charging port
replacement was just amazing. Internet and the free market
at its best. Phone mo better! Up yours, toilet!
You don't win this round!
Gary Bacon's Panel ...heavily influenced by
Brantel's example
click to enlarge
Check your Nuts! ...polishpilot
I was able to get my wings installed with the help of 3
fellow RV friends on Jan. 29; but not without a funny
incident. I had trouble attempting to get a nut attached on
one of the close tolerance bolts. Anyone who has been there
know how difficult it can be even getting into a position to
get these nuts on. I literally took about a half hour
struggling with the nylok nut. And then, out of the blue, I
decided to check and see if the threads were damaged. They
were not; in fact, they were not even there!! You got it.
nut never finished the machining process----no threads.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWGi_HL8eUw ...posted Jan 30, 2014.
February is
Online
Wed Feb 5. 1242z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
RV-8 Tom Powers #83300
Wow its been a while since my last
update and today was a big day because I was able to move to
the airport. I was running out of room in the garage and was
able to get a hanger. Still have lots to do but will now
have have room to do it in. From my last post I was
able to finish the panel and get every thing wired and up
and running, I installed the engine/Prop, ran all the engine
control cables, started the engine baffles and got the
engine cowling fitted.
RV-12
Milestone 600 hours 2-3-14 ...John Bender
It has been a very cold and windy winter in Iowa. Got 2nd tank mod & vent
done, and able to fly again. Smooth, but temps were not too bad. About 18F
on the ground.
...
Tsam gets the Angles…
Last Oshkosh we got a deal from a
fellow builder on a new-in-the-box AFS AoA Pro system.
Having flown the system in the RV-8 for a year or more, both
Louise and I have grown to really like the added insight
into the lift margin that you get, and decided that having
it in the RV-3 would be a big plus.
...
RV7A
rudder penetration for tail light ...Bob Collins
In addition to allowing me the opportunity to move up my annual
inspection date to typical "no fly" months, the recent service bulletin and
subsequent removal of the tail has given me the opportunity to correct some
wrongs when I built.
On my RV7A I didn't want to drill through both the tie down bracket and
rudder spar to run the wires for the tail light and strobe. So I had to
cockeye it off to one side.
...
Service Bulletins and Such
They are part of the engineering
process, and will help keep you safe. And I drove a Ford Pinto
once...I know what I'm talking about!
'Right. Learn it. Know it.
Live it.' -
quote referencee
Bookmark this:
http://www.vansaircraft.com/public/service.htm
related:
Link to SB parts
Mounting
a Tablet to the Panel ...Joe Dubner
That sounds like what I did: single Dynon 10-inch SkyView and a 7-inch
Android tablet on the right side of the panel with a gimbal mount.
It would look a lot better if my homemade fiberglass tablet holder was
painted gray instead of white :-)
New openings at CubCrafters
[ed. Posted for my friend Randy
Lervold. dr]
Tue Feb 4. 1254z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
Sorry for the
abbreviated edition today. Felt a bit under the weather
yesterday and spent most of the afternoon and evening in bed.
Below are the biggies....
Important Service Information:
SB 14-01-31 RV-6/6A,
RV-7/7A, RV-8/8A
Horizontal Stabilizer
Cracks
discussion
Important Service Information:
SB 14-02-03 All RV-3,
4, 6/6A, 7/7A, 8/8A Flying aircraft
Cracks in Elevator Spar
discussion
Related to the new SB's...a
free magnifying glass app for your iPhone
Lets you zoom in under
light, and take a picture. Google 'em...they're there
for all brands.
Mon Feb 3. 1300z ....some
interesting tidbits plucked from the
VAF forums (posting
guidelines)
Snoozer on the Super Bowl - no fun when they aren't
remotely close. Congrats Seahawks and fans. The sixty
seconds the Red Hot Chili Peppers had the stage at halftime was the high
point for me. That and the Go Daddy puppet commercial - 'Chow
Baby!' (link).
So long football and hurry up Formula 1 (green flag drops in 41 days).
And hurry up spring. Winter, you suck.
Hope you had a nice weekend.
Giving Chase ...Brent
