Apr '14

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	Wed Apr 30. 1146z Aero Friedrichshafen '14 PIREP ...by Richard VanGrunsven First bit of building since the homebrewing accident ...Aaron Miller RV-8 Today I was able to work on my plane for the first time since my accident. My friend Cliff (RV-14 builder) came over to help me and double check my work as it's been 3 months since I've worked on the project. We worked on the leading edges of my ailerons, drilling the water pipe counter balance and all. Turns out cleco's and cleco pliers are good for PT too. You can see most of the scar from my home brewing incident. I am ecstatic to be working in the shop again! May Wallpaper Calendar ...Turbo (Ed Hicks photo) A Visit w/Carlos at Embroidery King So, you know the VansAirForce.net charity gear? I drove over to see Carlos at Embroidery King yesterday by my house (where I paid to have the site logo turned into sewing machine language). I was talking to Rob Ray the other day about a hat he wanted, and I thought I'd go get one myself to see how it looked: 'Khaki' with 'Ivory' logo. Pics soon. Anywho, when I walked in, I saw two VansAirForce.net charity caps on the machine being made and three on the table about to get shipped. Five caps going to I don't know where....purchased by I don't know who. Made me smile. Thanks for ordering these caps, and more importantly, for honoring the charity aspect of the deal - the most important thing IMHO. RV INTERIORS NEWS Please take a fresh look at Aircraft Extras, Inc. custom aircraft interiors. Presently, we are offering interiors for models RV-6, RV-7, and RV-9. If you would like to purchase interiors for other models, please contact us. 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. Also, check out our newest products at www.aircraftextras.com. fmi: www.aircraftextras.com/Interiors.htm www.aircraftextras.com/E-Zout.htm Tue Apr 29. 1151z Team AeroDynamix. About the Sun/Mon Site Outage Sorry again. If you speak nerd hardware, a detailed timeline of events of the outage can be read here. I created a twitter account (@VansAirForceNet) as a way to get information out the next time the site has an outage. I don't expect much content there at all, but you might want to make a mental note to check here if someday you can't get to the VAF site. That's where the updates on repairs/downtime will be posted. Excellent Commentary by Jeremy Constant First flight RV6 VH-AJK ...AJ Wessels Video Fred, Tom and Kristie's Trailers ...Vlad trip report Departing San Marcos My Wifes first RV Flight ...Charles C Probable Cause Published ...attempted to land w/14kt quartering tailwind. The pilot’s decision to attempt a downwind landing in gusting wind conditions likely resulted in his loss of airplane control and subsequent impact with terrain. The airport was also equipped with a 90-degree intersecting runway, runway 30, which should have been the runway of choice given the prevailing wind; it was not clear why the pilot did not elect to use this runway. acam37 RV-4 Status Pics Doug Lomheim's 'Restored' RV-3A New product- tie down ring control arm ...Flyboy Accessories What to do after work? RV-8 shadows and lines Status: Fuel Lines! ...akarmy Smok'em if you got ' em Bart and Sue Coming South for Summer!!! Mon Apr 28. 1606z Sometimes it just doesn't work. This site was unreachable for part of Sunday and Monday due to technical issues at my ISP. They called it an 'extended outage'. 'Level 2 switch issues' or something like that. VAF servers were fine the whole time, but the web couldn't see them (along with about a thousand other servers they host). You know all that talk about uptime guarantees, equipment redundancy and technology keeping us safer? Yeah, me too. It's not lost on me that some of this translates well to our flying hobby - single-engine IFR and night flying, and the technology that makes it (mostly) work. Sorry again for the downtime. Stupid computers... Related: http://www.tumblr.com/search/status.fpweb.net and http://status.fpweb.net and https://mobile.twitter.com/fpweb were helpful for me to follow along on the repair activities. I bookmarked them for future reference. Fri Apr 25. 1127z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend! My new Aluminum Spinner ...Eddie Seve (Sydney, Australia) I finally decided to upgrade my fibre glass spinner to an aluminium spinner from Cummins Spinners (Allan is an advertiser on this site). Last Easter Monday I flew into Bendigo airport Allan’s home base, his workshop is also located at the airport and makes flying in really convenient. I went through the steps of fitting my new spinner with Allan’s help which sped things up a little even though the installation process is very straight forward. The spinner is sold as a kit that you install yourself; all up it takes about 4 hours and starts with removing your prop, drilling the spinner to match new front and back plates, installing nut plates and finally reinstalling your new spinner onto your aircraft. I also wanted to have a highly polished finish, so Allan gave me a quick lesson in polishing, the end result is just amazing, but for the uninitiated takes about 2 hours. continue Blocked elevator ...Herman -7 (Germany) Seeing all these nice RV videos here I thought I also need a GoPro camera. Bought one and made a mount for the wings and tail. So a few days ago I tried the camera and the mount on different locations and while doing this did some mild aerobatics also with negative G´s. I made three flights relocating the camera on intermediate landings. On the third flight the camera was mounted on the vertical stabilizer top. All went well but on final approach during flare the elevator would not move - blocked!! continue Grand Canyon Helo Evac, Lessons ...Bryan Douglass This thread isn't strictly RV related but it's aviation and safety related and it certainly has safety lessons that could be of use in the event of aircraft emergencies. Sorry if this is long... On March 30, I launched on a private Grand Canyon Float trip with 15 others. The trip was scheduled for 19 days, 280 river miles. I've rafted big whitewater but it was my first time on the Grand Canyon. There were 75 combined GC trips between the other boaters - lot's of experience, which is one reason I went. The National Park Service (NPS) tells you to bring a satellite phone for emergencies, which we did. For the heck of it, I also packed my VHF comm radio, Spot Tracker, and Personal Locator Beacon. All was well, water was clear, weather was good, rapids were run, until Day 11 when one of our rafts (the boater with the most experience by far) flipped in a rapid near Mile 113. He and his wife were both ejected from the boat but she was trapped under it. He was able to pull her from under the boat below the rapid but her arm/shoulder had been injured. He was in shock and very cold, we couldn't rule out injury to him, but he was in no condition to continue. Both are approximately 65 years old. After righting the raft and stabilizing the injured, we floated downstream to find a landing zone and started trying to get out on the Sat phone. No connection. continue To APRS or not to APRS- That is the question ...Bill R. I have been on the fence for a long time with regard to installing a device in the plane to allow anyone to track my flights. That has changed over the past few weeks as a friend and neighbor disappeared in the swamps north of Zephyerhills, FL on the 5th while flying his Sonex. They still have not located him or his plane and I'm positive that had he put an APRS unit on board, he would have been found by now and possibly saved. Thus, I start my quest for APRS knowledge. Pics ...Crabandy ...of the shortened canopy rail and he new brace I made from scrap .063. Future maintenance will be nicer as well, nothing but screws to remove the baggage bulkhead covers. I cut the bulkhead cover around the tie down too. It's short enough to be behind the car seat now, I added some high density foam just in case. Site Scheduled Maintenance 4/26 10pm CT - 4/27 6am CT Used to perform network upgrades. Customers will experience intermittent service accessibility during this window. Thu Apr 24. 0955z Bucket List ...David Maib Checked a small item off the bucket list today when Mary and I stopped at First Flight Airport, in Kitty Hawk, NC on our way home from visiting friends in VA. Sebring Today (18) RVs and Usual Suspects ...GLPalinkas Another great Wednesday breakfast run to Sebring. Last count was 18 RV's and a bunch of "others". Usual suspects attended. 000: AVIONICS COMPONENTS 101, LRU's, ADAHRS, SERVOS... (A video by SteinAir) "VERY basic overview of various components that make up modern aircraft instrument panels. LRU's, Displays, radios, transponders, compasses, servos, engine monitors and more." Multi-Model Video ...1080P HD Here is a special video featuring the Van's RV series of home-built planes. In this video you can see seven unique aircraft, ranging from the RV-4 to the RV-7A. See below for a full list of the aircraft in this video. Van's RV-9A C-FHRE, Van's RV7-A C-FUXI, Van's RV-4 C-GEAU, Van'S RV-6A C-GRBK, Van's RV-4 C-FKEE, Vans RV-6A C-FXLC, Van's RV-7 C-GTKL. Johnson Creek Recommended SOP ...Rev. 14-01 SkyView Touch is now shipping / 10.1 software available ...dynonsupport Two quick bits of news from us: First, SkyView Touch is shipping! Full details are over on our Preflight Brief site. If you have a non-Touch SkyView and are looking to upgrade - we haven't forgotten about you. We're working on the details on the program and will have details soon. To be clear - we're not yet accepting existing SkyView displays for upgrade just yet. Second - we've just released a small SkyView System Software update. It does not contain any new features, but it does fix several minor software issues that have been discovered since 10.0's release last month. Version 10.1 is available for download on our site. As always, you can see the change log / what's new page for a complete list of the improvements in this release. Mike Schofield Marketing Manager The Tater Since I don't do Facebag, I occasionally put a family pic up here to keep the family tree apprised. Tate has gotten into the habit lately of going fishing after school - there's a pond by the middle school. Last week he rode his skateboard to WalMart, bought a rod/reel/bait, and started fishing with friends. Yesterday Susie and I went out for dinner, dropping him off at the water on the way (his request). On the way back I took the pic below. I like that he has a few interests outside of airplanes and technology. Wed Apr 23. 1148z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) RV6 Completed. First Flight this Friday! ...AJ Wessels (Perth Australia) N516RC has a birth certificate ...Robert Cutter Mid week last week the (Dr.) Vic Syracuse made a visit to the stable to deliver a birth certificate to our baby. N516RC has been born. Though not off the ground yet Moonpie II is an airplane. After having several of the local RV group inspect the plane, another set of eyes did catch a few minor things and we have fixed them. After 7-3/4 years RC and Moonpie have completed, for now, Moonpie II. A mostly stock RV 7, TW, slider. More info and thanks to all that have helped will come soon. ... An introduction to homebuilts. (Send this link to the uninformed ;]) Ten Year Anniversay and Some Comedic Comments ...from the mothership FB page New Product- Whelen LED landing light for your rectangle ~ Duckworks lights ...Mike Stewert Racers as of today ...Hill Country Air Race 4/26 From Tina... Tue Apr 22. 1149z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) Tsam and Stars Ron Townson's RV-8 ...Summerland B.C. Where is N666BK? Composite prop wear and tear Low Pass over Patrick AFB Ran 2 low passes after lunch in KMLB today. RWY 2 low pass - only restriction was do not land! She's on her feet! 19,000 Passed the 19,000 registered accounts milestone in the VAF Forums yesterday. Thank you again for goofing off at work. Mon Apr 21. 1149z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) First Flight of N5771H ...Bruce Hill 9A First Flight ...Vinod and Sunit in Ratzeburg, Germany Newbie flight ...Chris Pratt -8 Married my sweetheart a month ago. She's from Thailand and this was only her second flight with me in a small plane. I think she liked it. That's good because she's going to Oshkosh with me this year <g>. Daryl S. and Another Van's Employee Enjoying Germany (Daryl) "Attached is a pic of Van and me working hard in Germany. Pic is at Lake Constance in Freidrichschafen, Germany. We had a great time and the weather was---well you are looking at it in the pic." A good day at Ramona (KRNM)! ...Dbro172 wings stabbed How to pay back your neighbor, years of pounding noise ...video Easter help ...crabandy There is a distillery in PA ...Vlad trip report $275/mo Rental Space Available N.Texas Tim Blake hangar at 52F in N.TX (Tim 8-A in the forums). The 6A in the shot here is being sold and the space is coming available soon. I was riding by yesterday, saw Tim, he told me, I took a pic with my iPhone, you now know what I know. Notable Bridge Entry ...Pascal 7A This one is in France, the Loire River side canal is crossing the Loire at Briare. Ships are crossing the river via a bridge. Fri Apr 18. 1155z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend. Reborn VH-VLY ...Robert Maddams, Western Australia First Flight ...Randy Pflanzer RV-12 N417E became airborne this morning. Jim Winings did the honors. This was his 14th first flight and he has now completed a first flight in all of Van's designs except the -14. The wind kind of kicked up so I will wait until tomorrow morning to make my jaunt. I've waiting 6 years, one more day won't hurt. Everything worked great. Heavy left wing and right rudder tab needed. Otherwise, she flew great. RV Art and Artists -- Take a bow! ...the 'Van's RV room' at Amelia's Landing (VAF advertiser) EAA SportAir Workshop Sheet Metal Course at Lakeland May 5-6 EAA's SportAir Workshops will be offering the Sheet Metal Basics course in Lakeland, FL, at the Sun ‘n Fun Campus on Monday and Tuesday, May 5-6! Instructor Mark Forss (featured on EAA’s Sheet Metal for Kit Aircraft DVD) will walk you through the basic skills and, more importantly, help you gain the confidence to build or restore your own airplane. Limited spots are still available so sign up today! EAA SportAir Workshops are proudly sponsored by Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Company. ... Garmin Pilot Android Updates This update includes the following features: Ultralite compression riveter model 702. Welcome USTool (new advertiser). 2,200 lbs. of force. 1/8" aluminum capacity. 60th year manufacturing tools in the US. ustool.com Ad lives on the front page. NationAir Podcasts ...Aviation Insurance 101 S-LSA RV-12 Tour Info ...June 17 - June 30 Thu Apr 17. 1142z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) First Flight....Kurt W. 9A I'm happy to report that on Tax Day, April 15, N425KW took to the skies for the first time from Benton, KS (1K1). continue Status Update ...multiple pics from akary Ok, it's time to put some wires in this thing! Starting from the rear avionics bay with Transponder, ELT, and ADSB. Antennas are in the rear fuselage so that makes the runs short and easy, then it's serial, and power/ground x 3 to run forward. continue New Fuel Filter ...Bruce Hill 9A After a bit of a search, I found a suitable fuel filter that would fit in the current location. I also ended up taking off the antenna doubler to find a pristine layer of epoxy primer underneath on the interior belly skin. I removed the primer and got a good radio check with the antenna. Don at Deltapop sent me out a new antenna to help with the troubleshooting. Thanks Don! I reinstalled the doubler and antenna and was still able to reach the tower from inside the hangar. I will be pulling it out and doing more radio checks before first flight (maybe Friday -- weather permitting). Garmin Virb Elite / GoPro Hero 3+ comparison [ed. I really enjoyed watching the scenery. Run in in 1080p^HD full screen if you have the bandwidth! (click on the little gear looking thing) ] Wed Apr 16. 1141z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) Young RV Grin ...Clarkie A little late, but this is my youngest after his first ride in the -6. He loved every minute of it. Orcas to Paine over the Tulips...704CH Here is a video I took Sunday flying home from Orcas Island (Eastsound) to Paine field where we took a quick detour over the Tulips. Days like Sunday are why I build and fly in the northwest. Bakah and even our dog Ariel had a great time. The video is the entire flight but I fast forwarded sections to get it into 4.5 minutes. The plane has been left at the paint shop ...Bob Collins (Midwest Aircraft Refinishing) in Hibbing. I "blued" up the teal a little bit. Total cost will be about $8,000. New panel in the -6 ...Clarkie Before and after... Finished my (pilot) Phase 1 this week! ...catmandu Since purchasing my flying -6A on December 6th, I have racked up 54 hours, 84 landings, and an infinite number of RV grins. continue Emergency Goggles & Bird Strikes ...wera710 Well, after three near bird strikes last few weeks (Vultures the size of C-180s and an Eagle that was looking as disconcerted as I was!), I finally broke down and dug out my 90’s era issue military goggles. Talking about the current iteration of the old WW2 Polaroid B8/M-1944 goggles, now days known and still issued as “Goggles, Sun, Wind and Dust.” If you are not former military, you can find them brand spanking new online for about $12.00. They come with one tinted and one clear lens. continue Team Aerodynamix on Louisville TV New Product Offering From Aircraft Specialty and TSFlightlines ...remote oil pressure transducer mounting kit for the 912 engine... Tue Apr 15. 1156z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) Crystal River with Diana ...bsacks05 Front Floor Side Alignment ...RV-10 This seems a little weird. When match drilling, all was good and right. But now that I am installing the front floors, the outboard-most hole alignment is off (These are the holes on top of the joggle that attach to the channel which is in turn attached to the skin). The miss-alignment is off the same amount on both sides of the airplane. I can flex the skin/channel enough to get clecos in, but it seems to take a lot of force. Has anyone else encountered this? RV-7A Success Story ...mothership FB page Enjoy Vlad's RV Travels ...using the search feature. Should keep you entertained for about a month! An example of using 'Advanced Search'. Fill it out this way.... Get these results... Welcome Taildragger Tow Bars ...ad in the Previous Day's News Section Is this OK? Getting ready to rivet my fuselage center section and was wondering if there was any reason I shouldn't rivet with it upright as shown in the picture below. Will make it a lot easier to access both sides and to do alone. Thanks. Mon Apr 14. 0611z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) Got my RV Grin Today!!! ...nbachert RV-7 OZRV10 Transported to Airport RV-4 and the Skagit Tulip Fields ...Steve Rush 3 mtns in under 2 hrs - pacific NW ...kjlpdx 6A To have RV friends ...Bob Collins Over the years, I've often said the best part about building an RV is you make a bunch of friends along the way and at the end, you also have an airplane. continue Stall Warner Install ...David Paule Bruce's Steam Upgrading from Vans std tailwheel to a lightweight TW- here's the numbers I found Arlie Conner RV-4 Status "Clean" but not green Smoke Install in a RV7/6/9 ...Bill Schlatterer Fri Apr 11. 1135z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend! RV-4 and Cobra ...Saber25 Taylor 150---April 12 TEXAS Eagle's News Spotlight on Orlando Campus ...Ernie Major milestone! PPL in hand ...Al Gerard (9A fuse) I'm almost finished building my 9a. So I thought it time to finish up with my PPL. Man great feeling! Can't wait to be flying my own homebuilt plane. Vlad Goes to SnF ...Part III Vlad Goes to SnF ...Part IV Seen at Richmond Aircraft Service Yesterday (on my field) Randy built up a nice stand to do HS service bulletins on RV-6/7/8 models. Below is the RV-6 HS that belongs to Rocks. Randy can be reached at rrv8er 'at' yahoo 'dot' com if you'd like him to do your HS SB. Let There be Light!! (Mikey goes LED…) ...Paul Scheduled Site Maintenance 4/12 11pm CT - 4/13 6am CT "...regularly scheduled maintenance window will be used to install critical patches to servers on the network." Thu Apr 10. 1145z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) First Flight ...bjconst RV-8 We towed the plane to the airport at 9:15 on 4/6/2014, at 10:00, it made it's first flight. Here is the needed first flight pics and maybe video's, if it work. The only issue is the fuel gauges don't work, but the fuel flow was, so I flew. No heavy wing, it flew hands off. ... To Sun-n-Fun for one day and back...Vlad The trip to 40th Sun-n-Fun started on a rainy Friday afternoon without sun but with some fun. continue part one... Part II New FlyboyAccessories web store launched! Blake and I are excited to announce the launch of our all new web store. The URL remains the same: www.flyboyaccessories.com The new store has many more built-in functions to streamline your shopping experience. And it looks cool, thanks to Blake's efforts. I liked the old store, but like all things computer related, it had grown kinda old and clunky. The new store is much more adaptable. Because it's a new software package, our previous customers will need to re-enter their name, address, etc. since there was no way for us to transfer the data. After all, we're airplane geeks, not computer wizards. I hope the VAF community will continue to find things of value on our humble, little web store. And, of course, thanks for your support in the past. We value all feedback and welcome any comments or suggestions. Thanks!. Year One Update ...Michael F. 8A One year ago today, I began my journey of building my experimental airplane, a dream I have had for many years. My goal when starting this project was completing a kit per year. Year one and I almost made it, all that is left today is drilling the two control horn and bolting them together. The fiberglass tips will wait until later. The wing have been ordered and were shipped last week, just waiting on them to arrive. Year two the goal once again is completing the wings within the year timeframe. Sure have learned a lot the last twelth months and sure I will continue to learn as time progresses.* To look at my construction Blog, select the link below. Alway like hearing the feed back and realy enjoy the reading forum of other that have gone before me. Mothership First Flight Totals Wed Apr 9. 1149z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) Team Aerodynamix/Eagle's Nest at SnF ...Bob Kelly Many times we have said, "It don't get any better than this," but this time I mean it! Mutual friends, great connections, and especially great people made SnF very special to us this year. First were the aircraft. EN-1 was flown to Florida from Indiana by Austin Malcomb, making good use of his three month old PPL. Ernie Butcher brought EN-3 over from Houston, and Scott Malcomb brought EN-6 in from Orlando, only one week after its first flight. Earlier, Mike Stewart suggested that Team Aerodynamix showcase these planes in the Friday morning flying. Mike and Scott Malcomb, Chief Mentor of the EN-6 build project at at Circle Christian School, had made the arrangements for the week's activities. By Wednesday, the stage was set. continue RV12 video with 2 camera view ...Dvalcik Flight video from this weekend with 2 cameras capturing the taking off and landing. A little editing magic to sync the 2 videos in a split view. One camera in the cockpit and the other mounted on the belly of my RV12. I just got a GoPro for the outside of the plane and in the cockpit I'm using a Contour that is wired to the comm. Borescope / endoscope review ...Mike D Just a quick review on my new borescope. I have a 5MP dental cam, but this is much better and no modifications needed. ... Flight Data Systems New ADS-B Receivers ...for experimentals Finished N369WR ...dwrichey After 5 1/2 years build time, first flight was on 1-1-2014. I was so nervous on the first flight that I didn't really enjoy the flight, but since have come to realize what great machines these are. Tue Apr 8. 1132z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) William Gossen bluebonnet departure RV-3B Austin-Executive Airport. Taken w/filter to enhance the colors. RV-4 Status Report - and questions ...Arlie Conner of Lufkin, TX I just replaced the lower firewall on my project and have run into a slight problem. It seems that the engine mount on the left side hits the firewall ever so slightly. After looking at the old firewall it appears that it hit also because it had the same "ding" in the same spot as my new installation. First question: is this a common problem possibly due to the airframe not being perfectly squared up in the jig during the build? Second question: what can I do to fix the problem before the mount is permanently affixed and the engine is hung? When I removed the mount I noticed the center mount bolts had a bunch of thick spacers. After the new test fit these spacers are no longer needed, or at least not as many. I cant figure this one out either, because all I did was replace the lower firewall and engine mount weldments. GRT Tech Suport - Above & Way Beyond! ...I flew my RV6 from Pennsylvania to Florida this year for SNF. I have a GRT Sport which has been installed for about 5 years now. I have not kept up with the firmware upgrades. (I would rather not get into the actual problem I was seeing here in this forum, because it is rather confusing and I am certain that it will cause the EFIS nay sayers to jump in and flame away). When I explained the problem I was seeing to Greg (at GRT), he was very interested and suggested that we go out to the HB parking area where I was parked, and take a look at it. Greg found that the problem was related to a very old firmware version that I had installed. We installed the latest firmware, and it solved the problem. I have flown the plane for 7 hours since loading the firmware and it has worked perfectly. For Greg to leave the GRT booth at SNF and help me goes above and beyond. Thank you Greg and Katie!... My Arrival into SnF ...Alton DeWeese video In the flare for the orange dot... Status Report ...Larry Larson (7A) Yea! I have two leak free tanks. I know it's no big deal but to me it rates as a pretty big accomplishment. Status Update ...Dale in Omaha (RV-7) Last night I did the wingtip lenses, tonight I cut out mirror acrylic for my wingtip cutouts to go behind my Ztron Labs LED nav/strobe lights. Cutting and finishing the acrylic was not nearly as difficult as I thought, and I didn't create any unintended scrap along the way. Hence, I think I have enough 1/8" mirror acrylic stock left over for 3 more sets. I'll probably use some for another project. This pic looks less than spectacular because I still have the protective plastic film on the acrylic. Tomorrow night I'll finish and polish the edges and see about securing the plastic to the wingtips with some nut plates and #6 screws. New ADS-B Receivers ...from Flight Data Systems Mon Apr 7. 1138z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) Heads up for the N.TX folks that the NASCAR race yesterday got rained out....trying again today at 1100 (more). Traffic, TFR, the works. And good morning. Family first flight after phase I ...Pat Garboden 9A Smoke ON for Safety? ...Sonex 541 Well flying a fully polished airplane can be near invisible in the sky so I hear , while flying into my local class D airport I was number 2 on final and there was a cirrus on the downwind , he was goin back and forth with the tower trying to locate me , and kept saying he couldn't see me , would it be acceptable to turn the smoke on for a few seconds to make myself visible , I was so tempted to turn it on but wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do while on final , I have had this issue before of not being seen in the traffic pattern , and has anyone else had this issue and turn the smoke on , Btw I had my led nav and strobes on the entire time . Adam S SnF Pics ...by turbo's friend. RV-10 Engine Out Over KOCF ...RNewman Monday afternoon at 7000 ft. right over KOCF on our way to Sun-n-Fun I had the opportunity to put all that engine-out training to work. The good news first: This was the best case possible, no one hurt, no airplane damage, flew the plane, declared emergency, landed on the paved runway, made the first taxiway. Guardian angle working overtime!! Now for the important details that I believe can have a positive effect on others building or flying RV's. Root cause of the engine failure was that the filtered airbox came off the throttle body, wedged under the intake portion of the throttle body and disrupted the airflow through the metering venturi. This caused the mixture to go way out of wack as the engine went to an extreme rich condition, I saw fuel flow rates pegged at >30 gph as soon as the event occurred. continue Sump to intake seal ruined ...Camillo G3X "Exchange" Project ...Stein and friends For those of you looking to either sell your current G3X screens and upgrade to the new touchscreen, or for those of you looking to purchase some either "new or almost new" screens to assemble a G3X kit, we have come up with a solution. We have worked with Garmin to come up with an "LRU kit" at an affordable price that will allow you to procure some of these lower priced screens and put together an attractively priced G3X system with the GDU 370's and GDU 375's. continue Tanner Evans 9A Grand Canyon Trip Write-up Russian Sighting? ...his friends at SnF Out with the old and in with the new (Whelan wingtip nav/strobe) ...L.Hose Inspection: CHECK! ...bruceh 9A ready for first flight Cockpit Smoke! Yesterday, while riding with a friend I experienced smoke in the cockpit. I was stunned at how quickly the cockpit filled with smoke and how quickly the smoke obscured the windscreen.....[ed. RV related! dr] Departing Sun N Fun Sunday Afternoon Terry Teer Panel Status Status Update ...Mike Messer 8A (multiple photos) Thanks GRT & Team Aerodynamix! ...RobFloyd My nephew, Daniel Stevens, enjoyed a flight in the back seat of an RV8 with Team Aerodynamix at Sun-n-Fun Saturday morning as a result of GRT's Facebook contest. Fri Apr 4. 1150z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) On April 4, 2007 I left the corporate world and jumped into running this web site full time. Thank you for helping make the past seven years so satisfying (and here's to the next seven!). Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend. RV-14A at the gas pump. Van Cave visit last week. dr photo. New improved digital sectionals "Effective 3 APR 2014, the Sectional Aeronautical, Terminal Area, and World Aeronautical Raster Charts are greatly improved. Instead of using scanned chart images, the new d-VC is created directly from our digital files, resulting in a crisper and brighter image with improved georeferencing. Thanks to helpful customer feedback, we have also improved the rendering of type and features." High fuel pressure (52 PSI) on a Lyc IO-360. Normally 27 PSI. Any ideas to why? Today was the 11th flight with my new -7, tach was around 19 hrs when it happened. Until today, the fuel pressure has been steady at 27 PSI during flight. About an hour into todays flight, (2:30 mins planned) I noticed that the fuel press was 32 PSI. I kept an eye on it and about 10 mins later it was 35. 5 mins later it was 40. ... One Year Anniversary! ...Bob Bogash Today marks the One Year Anniversary since making the First Flight in my RV-12 N737G. Yesterday, we made the 160th flight in the airplane! ... Skyview Version 10 PIREP ...Bob Bogash Been running the new SV 10 and am very pleased. Despite my being a vocal touch screen hater, I think I will spring for the touchscreen upgrade as well. They've done it right. Things I really like: ... I Finally Did it! ...Carl Peltzrer We did it! New to the forum. We ordered the empennage kit today at Sun n Fun! My wife and the guys from Team AeroDynamix helped me make up my mind. Steam ...Fastwind67 Bruce Hill 9A Inspection w/DAR Scheduled Feeling a bit nervous. It's almost like having a child. I think this thing is finally ready to fly! I'll find out on Sunday 4/6 An open invite to any of the locals who want to poke and prod before the inspection, come on over on Saturday and see if you can find anything amiss. I'll be trying to fill out all of the log books and get the paperwork in order. More transition training scheduled for tomorrow. April Experimenter Thu Apr 3. 1153z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) RV-14A looks on as a relative takes flight. dr photo. Birds and flight testing ...Brice Johnson The weather has cleared, spring is here, and my travels have subsided so I am starting to get more flight testing in. But so are the birds. In the past few weeks I have had three "close" encounters with birds, all in the vicinity of the home airport, Auburn WA. The first one was short final I found myself flying right through a flock of 20 seagulls circling in a thermal 1/4 mile from the end of the runway. ... Seen at SnF ...GLPalinkas post Some of the RVers were Turbo Eddie, SkyKing Bob and Cathy, Gman Gary and Sandi, Hideous Steve and other assorted airplane enthusiasts. 2014 SUN-N-FUN SHOW SPECIAL PRICING ...from the factory Save $1,000 by bundling your engine and propeller order 'Steam Panel' Entry ...Don Thompson My plain jane panel. I also have a garmin 396 that I suction mount but I'm going to try to resist the temptation to bling up the panel. And the outside ...Don Thompson RV-6 Hanger Rash on Rudder ... Fixable? ...Jerry -12 My -12, located in a community hanger, was pushed back by a lineman into the rubberized leading edge (de-icer) of a larger craft and my -12 sustained damage on the lower surface of the rudder ... Bent and oil canning. Can it be fixed without re skinning the rudder and having to remove stabilator in the process? Any ideas? Rivet mistake in aft bulkhead ...Moondog This type of mistake I’ve made more than once. Very frustrating since it was truly avoidable. If I try to drill out the bad rivet with an angle drill, it will not be pretty. A tailwheel is not under consideration, so would it be ok to replace the rivet with an AN3-xA bolt? Here is the deal: ... April is Online... Wed Apr 2. 1144z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) End of 1st Quarter Reminder (and thank you) Incredibly, we're already 25% done with 2014. With that in mind, here is your quarterly reminder that this site is actually powered by two engines, and their names are donations and advertisers. It stays in the air only if they are both producing power. If you're a regular and haven't donated yet in '14, please review the business model on the donation page and give some thought to supporting VAF on a yearly basis. Running VAF is more expensive than you might have guessed. Our family has spent more than $100,000 over the past decade on I.T. services and infrastructure, with the hope that regular readers will send in $2.08/mo on the honor system ($25/yr). The debt has to get serviced, and that's where you come in, my friend! To those who support this American small business with their hard earned money, thank you very much. We are honored to call so many of you friend, and we will continue trying our hardest to do you proud with a good product. I'll remind you again at the half-year mark. Kindest and best, The Reeves family Vlad Visits Block Island, RI ...trip report. A week or two ago Agent Orange (Andy) and I were hungry with nothing to do. After big breakfast at Nashua NH we got some octane booster at Parlin Field and launched to Block Island for desert. GRT SNF Show Special- 20% Off HX or HXr 20% off any Horizon HX or HXr system package or additional display unit! Free GRT VFR WAAS GPS with any HX or HXr system purchase. (Or, take 50% off a GRT VFR RAIM GPS) 20% off GRT autopilot servos (mounting kits & wiring not included) Free mapping with any Mini-X above and beyond the introductory special. (That also includes free mapping if you have already placed your Mini order.) Seen at SnF ...turbo Engine Start and Taxi Tests ...Randy Pflanzer RV-12 FAA Makes Progress on Dual-Pilot Phase One Testing KITPLANES magazine met with Mark Giron of FAA headquarters on the opening day of Sun ‘n Fun to discuss progress on the concept of giving builders the option of having two pilots on board during Phase One testing of new Experimental aircraft. The proposal is in response to NTSB recommendations attempting to lower the accident rate in Experimental aircraft, and points at the problem of inexperienced pilot builders doing their own testing while solo because current Operating Limitations for Experimental aircraft only allow required crew members to be onboard during initial flight testing—and most light Experimental aircraft can be flown by a single pilot. ... Avionics Arrive! ...akarmy YES, My two boxes from Stein arrived last night. Lots of fun new toys to start installing. Upcoming Webinars... Visit Titan Engines New Website Tue Apr 1. 0941z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines) "Stir in the egg whites, THEN add the vanilla." Complete (sort of) and First Flight ...Bill Thomasson RV-10 I finished assembling all the access panels and fairings, Installed the interior, and fixed my outstanding squawks this week. (DAR inspection was last Saturday). Was ready for flight on Thursday, but called it off as it was getting close to Sunset and the winds were still gusty and close to a direct crosswind. Had rain all day Friday and Saturday. Winds were strong all day Sunday as well, but straight down the runway, and forecast to diminish near sunset. ... A cheap, easy way to label wires ...BSwayze Maybe I'm not the first guy to think of this, but I just found an excellent, cheap way to label all my wires. For a very long time, as the wiring project drew near, I wondered about how to label my wires. ... Notable Bridge Entry ...Turbo Marble canyon bridge. Great place to land for breakfast! Received the 1st box ...supik RV-10 in Slovakia I am happy to announce, that we have received our 1st box today RV-7 and B-17 Fly Into Sedona ...Dave Binkley Status Update ...Tom Beiser RV-14A SnF Begins.... I created a thread for the event so there will be a unified spot for PIREPS, photo URLs and whatnots. photo from the Van's facebag page