August 31, 2017.   Issue No. 4,385.
  Several links dedicated to helping victims of Hurricane Harvey can be found HERE.
 

The annual inspection continues.
Over to Monk's for the final push (needs brake pads).

Message from POVA (President of Van's Aircraft) RE: Homecoming...FB page.

"The annual Fly-in/Van’s Homecoming at Independence Airport has once again come and gone. This year, as the new President of Van’s Aircraft and newly relocated to the west coast, I finally had a chance to once again attend this event. My last and only visit was in 2009. I have come to expect that at any venue advertised as “RV” a host of finely crafted examples of the Vans Air Force fleet will come to roost. This year was no disappointment in that area. Perhaps the eclipse added a few more attendees, but whatever the reason, it certainly was gratifying to see so many airplanes wrapped around the RV grins. The only aspect better than seeing so many RVs is to talk with the builder/pilots about their airplanes and revel in their tales of life in the RV community.

Over the years, Van’s Aircraft’s official participation in this event has waned. This is something I intend to change. The folks making up the RV community are why we exist at all and the keys to catering to you lie with you. As inventive as our staff and engineers are, we sometimes need a seed of inspiration. We are looking to you for some suggestions for what you would like to see Van’s bring to this or any fly-in next year. I bet there are some jewels out there that we could make shine if you would just share them with us. So, if you have one, two or twenty, please send them directly to me at mitchl 'at' vansaircraft 'dot' com . Let’s see what you have in mind.

Mitch Lock"

Day 28 of 52F's New Runway ...Tyler Chance drone video

Note the darker areas.  Those have portland base mixed in and have been watered to basically turn into Sakrete.  They are on sched for the entire runway to be mixed up properly by this Friday.  Water and let cure over the 3-day weekend.  Then it's ready for asphalt.

Day Twelve...Scott Chastain RV-8

The next morning in Umatilla, I took my bags over to the Dove as soon as I woke up. There rested upon her from spinner to tail a garden of pearled water after the rains of the night before. As soon as I pulled off the canopy cover, the bubble fogged up and I could feel the thick heavy air already causing my shirt to stick with moisture to my skin. I packed up, climbed in, and cranked over. The engine coughed and gasped for few seconds with an ingestion of water that had found its way through the filter. I taxied over to the pumps and topped off.

Day Twelve (cont.)

Day Twelve (cont.)

Day Twelve (cont.)

Day Twelve (cont.)

Jeff Point (RV-6 Flying / RV-8 Emp) Flies His Breezy! ...Breezy (video)

This is not a report of an RV first flight but Doug has given it his blessing. After nearly nine years, thousands of hours and a few cubic kilodollars, my RLU-1 project, more commonly known as a Breezy, took to the air on Saturday Aug. 26. This airplane is about as far as one can get from an RV, but it is tremendously fun in a low-and-slow, totally impractical kind of way.  continue

The adventure starts ...Mnemonics

Got the acknowledgement mail from Van's that they are going to ship my Empennage kit to the Netherlands.
In two weeks my RV-7 (building) adventure will start.

Probably need you guys for all the tricky parts. I've browsed the forum and there is ton's of information to help building this great plane.

Status Report in Video ...kiljoy RV-14

I've had hardly anytime to work on the plane the last week mostly because I was blocked by not having enough double sided tape. Got the elevator's trailing edges taped in, foam ribs sealed in and the edges riveted.

On the wing side I've completed all of the large parts inventory. I'm half way through the ball of fasteners and bags. I've checked off all of the bags measured by weight and gone through all of the bags that require counting of parts that contain only one part (like bags of pop rivets). Basically I've gotten all the low hanging fruit and have only the bags containing random parts and bags of multi sized screws and endless nut plates.

Here it is in action:
https://youtu.be/PQe7DmQ9YM8
https://youtu.be/xFtbyS2e8ic

August 30, 2017.   Issue No. 4,384.
  Several links dedicated to helping victims of Hurricane Harvey can be found HERE.
 

Sunset over Hastings ...Pete Howell RV-9A

Minneapolis way off in the distance, lock and dam midframe - clear night after some rain with reflected sunlight. I need to work on "level"......

Electric system diagrams ...Bill Boyd

I had a little episode on a local flight Sunday where my Alt trouble light flickered several times, then stayed on full-brightness followed by an OV warning on my EIS, voltage climbed rapidly to 36V. I popped the Alternator side of the ol' Cessna split master immediately, and continued the flight on battery with a bus voltage of 12.1-12.2 All avionics thankfully worked normally. No smoke released. Especially glad the dual P-mags continued to function normally.

I tried turning on the landing lights to load the charging system and bringing the alternator back online, got 18 volts and climbing, immediately turned the alternator off again. Tried it one more time at lower engine rpm and got a normal 13-14V range that seemed stable, no alternator light. Decided that aloft was no place to troubleshoot a runaway alternator that hadn't (yet) smoked anything expensive, and landed.

Clearly an intermittent problem that went away again before I landed, and I obviously have one of the Denso IR alternators that is not (further) harmed by turning it on and off under load, something I had never done before. I strongly suspect a wiring connector or split master problem brought on by airframe age (20 years) and poor building practices in my younger years. However, it's possible the internal regulator is toast. I'm willing to troubleshoot and to try the remove-and-replace thing. A house fire has left me with no documentation of my electric system as-is. I think I built it per Vans electric plans and when I "upgraded" to the IR Denso unit I just removed the old Vans ER alternator, the Ford regulator, the AeroElectric home made OVP module and bolted the new IR alternator in. But without wire tracing (my next step) I'm not sure of the architecture I'm dealing with.  continue

Smoking Gun Found...Brantel

So after my last test flight with stiffeners....BAM! Did it again.... RATS!

So I landed almost defeated and as I was taxiing back to the hangar I thought to my self: "Self, what else has changed?" And I answered back to myself "Nothing but the recent smoke system install..." WAIT A MINUTE, HOLD THE PHONE!

You see I have flown many flights since installing the smoke system and did not have any issues like this BUT I never flew with the tank almost empty! You see right before Osh, I knew I would be heavy so I pumped all but about a half gallon of the oil out of the tank!

When I ordered this smoke system, I took the option to have the non vented cap along with the spring loaded check valve/vent.

Is this starting to make sense yet?

The SMOKING GUN is the oil tank! It was oil canning due to the changes in pressure around it. The non vented cap and check valve won't let air out and it takes a few psi of pressure to get the spring in the check valve to open so this was causing the tank to oil can.

The force required to make it oil can is significant and when it does it is loud! I now know why I thought it was an exhaust pop in the beginning!

To simulate what is going on, I used my vacuum in reverse to blow air into the tank. BANG! A very sharp, metallic sounding BANG!, press it back in and BANG! Even with the vac running, it is very loud!

Links to video of issue:

https://goo.gl/photos/arhQXRyvDi3zd5f79

https://goo.gl/photos/eQ8ueiNSmn3nq8A87

I am off now to test fly with the cap loose just to be sure but I am 99.9999% sure this is it! I am sure that the reason it did not show up sooner was because it always was always at least 75% full!

Day Eleven ...Scott Chastain RV-8

Sunday night on Jekyll Island, I awoke several times after walking the length of the runway and letting the lights of the flightline, with a warm breeze playing through the grassy islands along the taxiway, soak into my soul after a long day of exploration.

Day Eleven (cont.)

Day Eleven (cont.)

Critique my dimpling and riveting please ...OrenAir

I used a #40 drill to make a hole in a piece of scrap, then deburred with a high speed deburring tool and a #40 countersink bit, dimpled it with the DRDT2 and 3/32 dimple dies. I put the 1/4 and 3/8 flush dies in the pneumatic squeezer and crushed the rivet. I wasn't sure if it was closing far enough so I snapped some pics with my phone. Brutally honest criticism welcomed.

August 29, 2017.   Issue No. 4,383.
  A short note to report the contractors at our home field started spreading the portland based cement powder to the southernmost 500' of our new runway Monday a.m. (video).  Mix that with the existing base down to 12" and you have concrete mix.  They started adding the water later in the day (pic).  All the pics.
  Something uplifting to report...a scarce commodity with all the flooding in the southern part of the state.  
 

Trip to Alaska (video) ...Shawn Li

I have been reading Vlad's Alaska report, and wanted to do that some time. Finally I put that in action, and did a quick one week flight to and from Alaska. Amazing experience! I wish I could have spent more time in Alaska, didn't make to Barrow due to bad weather. I will save that for next trip. I took 900+ photos along the trip, and combined some photos and video and uploaded it to youtube. The plane performed flawlessly, what an amazing machine. For those who are still building, keep on it, you will have an magic carpet that can take you anywhere. The video is bit long.

Rejected Takeoff ...airguy

I got my airplane out of the paint shop today (finally!) and I had pulled my fuel divider off the engine to do some work on the Airflow Performance purge valve while it was down for paint. I reinstalled it yesterday while the painter was doing final touchup, and today pulled the airplane over to the fuel farm and fueled it up. I then flushed the lines quite well (or what I thought was quite well, anyway) and replaced the supply line to the purge valve, flushed it again back to the tank return, then flushed the divider without the spider lines on it, then with the spider lines on the divider but not the injectors, and then finally attached the spider lines to the injector.

Satisfied with all that, I put the plenum and cowl on and decided to fly my bird home (yes, a good mechanical QC of all flight surfaces happened already). I cranked up and did a good warmup and runup right there at the paint shop, no anomalies. Taxied out to the runway, repeated the good runup with no anomalies. Took the runway and opened up full power, and just as the nosewheel is breaking ground the engine goes to ****. RPM dropped down to around 1500-ish, power was almost nothing, and it was vibrating pretty strongly. I instinctively pulled power, let the nose settle down and with light braking made the mid-field turnoff. Taxied back and the engine was obviously sick - still running but barely, smoking, #2 temps were dropping fast and it obviously wasn't firing. Suspecting a plugged injector I pulled the mixture way lean and the engine cleaned up nicely - but was still shaking, and #2 was still dead. Shut down, decowled, pulled #2 injector orifice, and sure enough there was something small lodged in there. Blew it out with air, flushed everything again, and did a couple full-power runups at high fuel flow to make sure - and then flew home uneventfully.

Not sure what I could have done differently - my eyes are pretty good and I had trouble seeing whatever it was in the injector - obviously my line flushing failed to dislodge whatever it was until the fuel flow got up into the 15+ gpm range and then it was just a question of which injector orifice it would hit. Once it did, that cylinder went dead lean and the other three went hyper-rich. I was spring-loaded for a problem after taking it out of paint - but I was expecting a flight control issue or trim issue, not an engine problem.

Live and learn.

 

Day Ten ...Scott Chastain RV-8

In the hazy half-light of early morning, I heard a car pull into the front parking lot of the Georgetown airport just before 6:00 AM.

Day Ten (cont.)

Day Ten (cont.)

Day Ten (cont.)

Not Vlad's Tire ...bhester

No, this is not Vlad's tire!  I had someone ask me about a leak he had on one of his brakes, he thought it was leaking from the o-ring. I suggested that he take it to a buddy of mine who was closer to him and retired, he'd have more time than I did right now. I actually replaced a cracked leaking brake line for him back in Nov. last year, while I was at it I flipped his tires, greased his bearings, and checked his brake pads also. At that time he was wanting a condition inspection and had a list of things that needed attention. He received the list when he bought the plane, from someone that had a pre-buy insp. done and decided to not buy it. I told him that I did not have the time to do that kind work and suggested that he find a shop that could spend the time on it that it needed. He told me a couple months later that he got the condition insp. done by someone else. It was down for a few weeks. Now today is 9 months from when I worked on the tires and brakes and maybe 7 months since a condition insp. was done by someone else. He showed up at my buddies hangar today to get the leak fixed. When he took the wheel pant off he could not believe it. He told him right away that he had bigger problems than a leak. He showed him the tire and the guy said he did not know it was like that. The other side was almost as bad. The brake pads were worn so bad that the o-ring on the puck was coming so far out that it was leaking but not because the o-ring was bad, because the pads were nearly gone. He said he wondered why they were making so much noise. Yes, that is the inter tube poking out of the 1" hole. So I guess this answers the question, when should I change my tires. Well da, when the tube pokes out. You would actually have to look at them to see this though.
My buddy told him to go buy a lottery ticket, because he was a very lucky guy!

Coming out of the closet ...(bigwheel) not that there's anything wrong with that*

First I want to say thank you to everyone on VAF. This is the best place on the internet to discuss many of the topics encountered while building an EAB airplane. I know this because I looked and tried several different sites. The help I received when selecting my ignition system, designing my electric system, choosing my avionics, etc couldn't have been found elsewhere. I thank you for it.

Now for the part that might earn me the boot; I'm not building an RV I really like the RV series and I hope there is an RV4 in my future but there isn't an aircraft in the series that meets the mission profile for my primary airplane.

I hope you guys will allow me to stick around and ask questions that will generally apply to building an RV (CPI tuning, final electrical design and install, final avionics selection and install, etc.) If not...well, I understand. That might force me to buy some RV4 parts.

 

Air Pic ...Jess Bently post

The Checka's photo with Chicago in the background reminded me of this shot of my buddy Ron Moring's 8A shot at the same locationl

August 28, 2017.   Issue No. 4,382.

RV-4 Aerial Shot ...Rob Ray

My buddy "Oz" shared this photo several years ago when I joined on his right wing. A Swift driver friend captured the moment. He was flying the Collings Foundation B-17 and I in my RV-4, circa 1999.  Pre digital camera days, forgive the quality.

Confessions of an Instrument Rating Procrastinator...Jeremy Constant RV-7A

I just got back from a more-eventful-than-expected trip to attend the Vans Homecoming and witness the eclipse. My annual trip to Sun Valley ID for the Sun Valley Summer Symphony had just concluded and I just had time to fly back to Livermore CA, get a change of clothes and launch for Independence the following day. On the flight from Sun Valley to Livermore, as I approached California I noticed a lot of smoke at altitude and even reported a brand-new fire that had sprung up just east of Reno. I was unsure whether this was something air traffic control would want to be bothered with, so when I keyed the mic and asked whether this sort of report was something they take, they said standby, and it was clear they were getting appropriate materials to take the report. They were very interested in the exact location and it appeared they welcomed the opportunity to convey this info to the various firefighting agencies.

The next day when checking weather for the trip to Oregon I saw numerous TFRs that had popped up around firefighting activities around the border between California and Oregon. I soon realized that my big problem was that what the TFRs don’t show is the extent of the smoke and areas where you need to be instrument rated and your airplane needs to have the proper equipment. You can find out which airports are IFR but it is a much bigger challenge to find out where the smoke is at altitude.

I equipped Stella with IFR instrumentation with the intention of getting my instrument rating in her. It has been on my list of life goals for a long time but I know what sort of commitment it takes in terms of both money and especially time. I had planned to start my IFR training after the end of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony season but the procrastination caught up to me.  continue

Day Nine...Scott Chastain RV-8

I slept well in Clemson and woke up at 6:45 AM. After getting dressed, reading a devotion, and preparing for the day’s journey, I met Jules, the morning employee at the FBO, when he opened up the front office area and came into the pilot’s lounge. He asked me how I got in there. I told Jules that Jim had given me permission to sleep in the pilot’s lounge because I was a transient with no other place to go the night before. Jules happily acknowledged that, and then he went about his business up front.

I was catching up on some journaling that morning when I was approached in the pilot’s lounge by another RV-8 pilot, Ed, and his son, Andrew. They had just landed. Ed told me that he recognized the Dove outside when he taxied in and parked next to her. Andrew had recently graduated from the Air Force Academy and was on leave to relax and spend time with his family. Ed told me that he and Andrew were going to have breakfast first, and then would I be willing to go up with him in formation when I departed? I told Ed that, sure, it would be no problem, but I still had at least an hour of writing to get done before I would be able to start packing up. Ed and Andrew said they would be back in an hour, then left as I continued writing in my journal.

Day Nine (cont.)...Scott Chastain RV-8

Day Nine (cont.)...Scott Chastain RV-8

Front Page Article Viewing Eclipse in RV ...Larry New RV-7A

This was the front page of our local paper yesterday. Didn't expect this! Thought it was going to be the little b/w picture with a one-liner like, "Reading the HZ (local paper nickname) while on a cruise in Alaska" on page 6 like trip write-ups are usually done.

Hazard of quartering tail wind  ...David Domeier RV-7A

Budd Davisson commented at OSH forum about hazard of landing in quartering tail wind.

It is indeed a squirrelly experience, had it happen again today, makes you feel like going back to drawing board.

The airplane wants to head for boonies half flying half skidding while trying to get slowed down. Finally got tail wheel down and control of direction. Really a challenge.

And it happens with as little as 6 knots reported wind, but as he commented, reported wind and what is experienced on runway are never same. Even wind sock 20' up does not reflect surface wind.

We have to deal with whatever wind is and be aware it will be tricky if comes from rear.

Oshkosh Homebuilt Camping time lapse ...Jeff Point post

One of my fellow Oshkosh volunteers shot this time lapse video of HBC. An entire week is into 18 minutes.

Everything worked! ...Ed Wischmeyer RV-8

The plan was to fly the -9A up to Orangeburg, South Carolina to get a Garmin extended squitter transponder installed to replace the old KT-76A, and to do a few minor wiring cleanups while the center stack was all apart for avionics work.

Being a realist, I took a change of clothes for overnight, and as expected, the work was mostly done at the end of the first day. Lesson 1 was to take two changes of clothes as, not surprisingly, the battery was run down and it wanted a nice, long overnight charge (the second night) with the Genius charger in one of its fancy modes. Even better would have been to take two changes of clothes, just in case. And I'm glad I brought my charger with a harness connected to the battery as the battery is otherwise a real pain to get to.

My canopy doesn't seal well on the ground, but fortunately, the plane was hangared the second night when it rained so no fault, no foul. Wasn't prepared but got away with it.  continue

Chicago...Our RV-6A and Friend's RV-7A ...n468ac

DID YOU KNOW about hurricane relocation reimbursement ...VAF advertiser

First and foremost, everyone here at Gallagher Aviation is thinking of everyone affected in the path of Harvey and hoping everyone stays safe. If in the event you need to contact us or your insurance company, we have included that information below for convenience.

Did you know that many aviation insurance policies will reimburse you to move your aircraft out of the path of a named hurricane or wind storm?

In light of Hurricane Harvey, we wanted to remind you to check with your insurance company about a possible hurricane relocation reimbursement program. Each company is different, but several offer a reimbursement program if you have relocated your aircraft to be out of the way of an the oncoming hurricane. These companies would rather pay the reimbursement expenses (usually up to a set limit) rather than pay for a totaled aircraft. If you’re wondering if your insurance company partakes in a program like this, it will be listed in your policy. You can also contact your insurance broker for more information.

If you were unable to move your aircraft and need to turn in a claim, here are numbers for the companies we insure Vans Aircraft through:

• Global Aerospace - 913-451-9660 or 888-228-2281
• AIG - 866-463-0408 / AerospaceClaimsPhoenix@aig.com
• AIM/Aerospace – aimclaims@hallmarkgrp.com
• Starr – 404-946-1400 / aviationclaimreports@starrcompanies.com/if an emergency Jeffrey Greenawalt 214-223-0202
• U.S. Specialty Insurance Company - 801-467-8731 / claims@ussic.com
• QBE – Western USA 208-891-3275 / Eastern USA 513-833-7076 / Southern USA 470-277-0048
• SAU – 877-371-9774 / 7356ANSA@yorkrsg.com
• Old Republic – 770-590-4950 / http://www.oldrepublicaerospace.com/...t-a-claim.aspx
• USAIG - 866-789-1986 / Michael.wilhelms@usaig.com AND Carol.Turner@usaig.com

August 25, 2017.   Issue No. 4,381.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.  
 

Your best or most awesome pic of your RV in the air  ...Bernardo

Hey everyone. Two and a half years ago, N611RV was sold, because I was starting grad school and would not have much time for flying. (In order to not get too rusty, I rented a SportStar - which is still quite fun - once every six weeks or so). Literally the day after I got back home from my graduation trip, I started shopping around for RV-6s, along with a friend. We found N130BN, built by a gentleman in Portland who lost his medical (a very sad story, the kind that makes you want to shake your fist in the air at the fates). CS prop, 180hp O-360, tip-up canopy, taildragger, and very well built: straight structure, anti-corrosion coated, nice paint job (designed to look like a late-1950s Corvette), etc. We love it.  several pics

High fliers: Meet our picks for the best air travelers in North Texas ...Dallas Morning News

(Rick Aronow)  Sue entered a contest in the DMN a couple of months ago. She’s a good writer and our RV gave her entry a “cool” factor that caught the judges eye. They came out to the hanger a couple of weeks ago to interview us and shoot the photo’s and video. (Our video is the second one down on the webpage)

Good publicity for RV’s and GA.

related: thread

Hurricane Inland Relocation List

Forecast Cone

Eclipse Viewed from RV-10 in 360 Video ...greghughespdx

Went up in a RV-10 with friends and flew through the totality shadow somewhere approximately over Weizer, Idaho at 16,500. Empty skies and smooth air. We were on a weekend eclipse-camping fly-out at Garden Valley, Idaho that was arranged by Bruce Eicher (he's on here) for our EAA chapter. Bruce and his wife Katie did an *awesome* job. I highly recommend that location for a terrific place to airplane camp. Just awesome.

Day Eight...Scott Chastain RV-8

"I dozed off on the couch, and when I woke up, I went outside to watch the weather and the sunset in the distance over the compass rose."

Day Eight (cont.)...Scott Chastain RV-8

Day Eight (cont.)...Scott Chastain RV-8

Dynamic prop balancing ...Chattin35

At 80 hours on my -7, I had the prop dynamically balanced. Figured I'd share the results...

My engine/prop (YIO-360-M1B / Hartzell BA from Van's) was pretty well balanced from the factory at .09. But, balancing down to .02 made the aircraft noticeably smoother. I can barely feel any vibration now when I hold my hand on the airframe.

Dynamic balancing is definitely recommended.

Here's a pic of me test flying the new config...

August 24, 2017.   Issue No. 4,380.
  Our daughter Audrey got her page added to the Berkeley Chang Lab page yesterday.  She sent me the URL.  She's all official ;^).  She has started taking her PhD classes, and has to teach a lower level class that starts in a week or so (30 students).  She'll crush it.  This is the research she's working on, and you're going to need to block out some time to read it.  I didn't even understand the title (badump).  She got her mother's brain...
  Very proud of this kid and the science she is pursuing.  
 

Some acro in my new RV-7 ...High_Flyer (Saint-Jorioz, France)

In France if we want to get approval to fly aerobatics in our planes, we have to do a "validation flight" to prove that it can safely fly all figures.  So I've done so a couple of days ago with a top notch aerobatics flight instructor. He had never flown in a RV of any type, and he was impressed by the handling qualities of the airplane.  Here is a short video of that flight (comments in French, sorry) :

Fired Up the Panel - G3X ...upperdeck

So today was a bit of a milestone, I fired up the panel. I haven't bothered to set anything up yet, and the can bus isn't entirely wired since the roll servo/wings aren't installed.

Day Seven ...Scott Chastain RV-8

I woke up in Cameron to a beautiful clear blue sky. I checked the weather down the eclipse centerline, and everything looked great for about 150 miles to the southeast, and then everything became IFR and ugly again. I put all my bags into the Interceptor and drove over to the hangar to pack up. By 6:30, I was airborne.  ...

Day Seven (cont.)

Day Seven (cont.)

Day Seven (cont.)

Video Status Report ...kiljoy RV-14

So I finally got the steel for the special bucking bar for the elevator rear spar. Finished up as much of the elevators as I could and then realized I didn't have enough tape for the trailing edges. So blocked again I spent some time and made storage for all the parts that didn't have it.

The tape arrived and that's currently setting so this weekend I'll get to pro sealing in the foam ribs.

In the meantime the wings showed up yesterday. I had help inventorying thankfully so that's half way done already. The only thing left to go through is the ball of bags!

Anyways here are the feeds. Enjoy. - Kilroy

https://youtu.be/0n-TSQKrvII
https://youtu.be/yGvZkmBEjUg
https://youtu.be/nWFsvob48-Q
https://youtu.be/Xpm-hb80r_0
https://youtu.be/o590AYEBLzM
https://youtu.be/26_qjGKJdSs
https://youtu.be/vOV-ojermBM

G-RRVV is now N97VV (was N713MB) ...Mark Albery

For the third time in its 11 year history RV-8 serial 82245 is certified to fly again in the USA. Dan McGehee did the DAR inspection this morning and wrote me out a new certificate and set of operating limitations. 7 weeks since getting back from the UK, but most of that delay was getting a registration certificate from the FAA. I'm looking forward to getting airborne again as soon as the insurance is active.

SteinAir Panel Update ...Krea Ellis

Here is our RV-7A panel on the bench at Stein this morning. Can't say enough good about the support and expertise from Stein and his team.  Only known change will be to lever-lock switches for the ignition.

3D printed AOA vane prototype ...punkin

Inspired by my kids' aforementioned aquisition of a 3D printer, a few commercial aoa vanes like belite, two days of watching YouTube videos on how to use Fusion 360, and a lot of stubbornness, I created this:

August 23, 2017.   Issue No. 4,379. 

RV-8 Forced Landing in SC ...pilot (and plane) unscratched.

The Falcon RV squadron out of PTC launched a 6+1 formation to KCUB to join EAA Chapter 242's solar eclipse party. This would be an exciting day--little did we know .

Nearing the halfway point I hear on our enroute frequency:

"Three's got an engine failure".

Lead: "Seriously?"

Reply: "Greese is engine out".

Being the +1 of this formation, I'm 1 mile in trail watching this all unfold.
N628GR had suffered a catastrophic case failure with engine seizure and was deadsticking from 7500ft into rural SC. We were flying above a scattered layer, so the entire flight disappeared quickly as they followed him down. The next few minutes were very tense.

Then the call comes up-- Down safe. Relief He had deadsticked onto a small county road surrounded by trees and rough fields--safely--not a scratch.

Now how do you help someone in an area you're not familiar with- a very smart young man in another plane used Foreflight and a map program to find the county road and call 911. When the call dropped, 911 replied with a text, he sent back the location via text. Help was on the way.

Before continuing to KCUB, I made one last pass and saw that two police cars and fire trucks were on the scene--He was in good hands. Meanwhile, one squadron member diverted to Augusta, picked up a rental car, retrieved our downed airman and passenger, and I stopped at KDNL on the way back to return all members to base before the day ended. Mission accomplished.

N628GR was transported via flatbed and now sits tied down at S19 unharmed except a severely cracked engine case.

Greese did a fabulous job! There are photos of the landing location, but I don't have them. I'll try to get someone to post.

Eclipse Video from 17,500' ...Scott McDaniels

Eclipse, near Newport OR, from RV-6 ...John Meyers

RV-8 Pic ...Bruce Windom

First OSH (where I flew my own plane) under my belt.  Approaching 1st "birth"day...almost 150 hours. Having a FUN time!

Day 21 of New Runway Construction ...Tyler Chance drone vid

...my home field (52F).

Post-eclipse Traffic Jam ...Paul Dye (Kitplanes)

Returning from our Great Eclipse trip in western Oregon to our home base near Reno, Nevada, we ran across this steady stream of space invaders on the ADS-B (Sorry for the glare - it was a snapshot of the iPad screen).  ...

Day Six ...Scott Chastain RV-8

I slept somewhat in the FBO at Beatrice, but every time the air conditioning kicked on, it sounded like a jet engine spooling up right outside the window where the compressor was. At first light, I got up and checked the weather. On my planned route of flight toward Carrollton, Missouri, it looked sketchy at best. There were fog layers along the entire path and precipitation in the shape of thunderstorms.

I hurriedly packed up and topped off the Dove. I was airborne again soon after, heading east-southeast toward Carrollton.  ...

Day Six (cont.)...Scott Chastain RV-8

Day Six (cont.)...Scott Chastain RV-8

August 22, 2017.   Issue No. 4,378.
  Randy Richmond's Opti-grab solar eclipse watching design - two stacked welding filters adding up to a #18 w/handle and cap for flair.  It worked better than anything we had.  75% coverage and maybe a ten degree temp drop for ten minutes. 
  Lunch time fun...and hope you got to enjoy it also.  Looking forward to April 8, 2024 when totality goes right over the top of Dallas.

Rob Reece photo.

Pano during peak coverage

Eclipse Photo From RV ...John Kimmel

Taken over Siletz Bay, Oregon.

Eclipse from the RV ...Andrew RV-6

Just west of KAIA along the path of totality. Another reason to love that big unobstructed canopy!

RV-12 to Eclipse ...scottmillhouse

Flew up to Smithville TN near the center of path. Here are a few photos of eclipse and the eclipse twilight. Note all runway lights came on and fireworks.

2017 RV-12 Bull Session at PWT ...Tony_T

It's been six years now since a few of our local 12 builders first met up in August for a RV-12 bull session and the group continues to grow. This time we had 8 RV-12's plus an RV-8 guy who defected from his 12 for the tandem seater, a Sonex motor glider, and my friend Randy in his Skycatcher who never misses this event (maybe he likes the planes, or the people, or the food).
We meet on the ramp in front of the airport diner and eventually end up inside for lunch. The diner folks are very accommodating and take good care of us.  many pics

RV-7A Status Report ...Jereme Carne

Yaaaaaah now we are getting somewhere! Taking full advantage of the day off!

So Who Watched the Eclipse from an Vans RV?

- Watched it from an RV-9A at 10,500 over middle TN. Heard at least ten other RVs on frequency. Going to be a once in lifetime logbook entry.

- We did, in our RV-4 at 11.5K over Greenville SC area, amongst cloud buildups and big holes..2 hr. Round robin from our home field . It was one of the coolest things we have ever experienced. We were on the totality center, and it got DARK fast!  I would do it again!

- 9500 ft, just south of KSRB. Intersected the track near Sparta, flew ESE until it nearly caught us, then turned south to put the total eclipse in the forward quadrant of the canopy.

I liked the way darkness raced across the scattered layer from the west.

 

Status Report ...MED

Interior painted, rudder pedals and brakes in, elevator stops set, roll bar and brace installed. On to the canopy.

Sensenich PIREP customer service ...Dvalcik

I stopped by the Sensenich booth while at Oshkosh. I had a few nicks and chips on my blades from debris from the taxiways over the last 5 years. I had done some small cosmetic repairs over the years, but still not like new.  I sent them back to the Florida plant for reconditioning and recieved hem back after 7 business days. They look as good as the day i got them when they were new.

Demo Ride RV-10 ...welcome Mike Cummings

Hello Fellow RV-10 owners, I am looking at making the move into the RV-10 build and was wondering if there are any RV10 owners willing to give a demo ride in the Pittsburg, PA area as I will be in that area this week/weekend. I live in N. central PA (Williamsport) area so that would work too.

 

RV-8 QB wings prepunch hole missing?

A: (Gary Sobek) No. That hole will be drilled in assembly with SB 16-03-28.  Need to ADD SB 16-03-28 parts while you are building. Much easier to install without the skins installed than after flying.  Looks like it is a $10 USD addition.

 

Ground Shots ...Ricardo Ramos

We had finished our RV-14A a few weeks ago and it's waiting for experimental aircraft airworthiness inspection. This is the first RV-14A in Brazil.  PR-ZNV has dual screen, 10" G3X Touch EFIS with VP-X Pro.

Rv-14 #140398 ...Chris Salter

Well I started my build July 29, 2017 - I ordered the kit and had to wait for a month or so because I was getting some things done before beginning.  As of today, I have completed the VS, the rudder and the today finished the HS. I have a little over 90 hours build time and am looking forward to the build.  I have had great assistance with the help of a 3 time builder and another friend who isn't afraid to get in and help when needed and also happens to be very knowledgeable.   Wings are on the way and I think I'll go ahead and order the fuselage kit as it'll be 10 weeks or so getting here.

 

Day Five (cont.) ...Scott Chastain RV-8

As I meandered through the streets and past the downtown district of Beatrice, Nebraska, I happened upon a site that caught me by surprise. It was built around the old train station.

August 21, 2017.   Issue No. 4,377.

RV-Lancair Brotherhood Day ...snopercod's 8/20 entry

Three of us flew to Spartanburg Downtown [KSPA] for lunch today. After filling up with cheap gas, we took one of the two courtesy vans to Jason's Deli. There are many, many restaurants within a mile or two of the airport.

RSVP and T-Shirt Size needed for the KBST Lobster Flyin ...4 weeks out

(of special note) 
David asked he could put the VansAirForce.net logo on the shirt in exchange for making a donation to the charity of his choice.  ABSOLUTELY!!!  Here is the charity he chose...Maine's ACE Camp "Bangor ACE Camp is an overnight senior camp for students ages 13-17 who have a strong interest in pursuing an aviation career."

Status Report ...CubedRoot RV-7

Since I have had my horizontal stabilizer inspected and approved, I am ready to close it up and finish it! I started tonight's session by re-clecoing the front spar onto the horizontal stabilizer. I had removed it so the inspector could get a good look inside and check my work. Once I had it all clecoed on, I double checked the orientation to make sure it was all correct.  ...

Day Five ...Scott Chastain RV-8

Day Five (cont.) ...Scott Chastain RV-8

Day Five (cont.) ...Scott Chastain RV-8

Status Report ...David Paule RV-3B

The F-307 partial bulkhead's flanges are getting prepped for gluing. The idea is to glue and rivet them to the skin and then later rivet them to the bulkhead.  ...

Help Climbing In ...RV-10

Q: My wife and I are both private pilots and currently own a Cessna 172. As our 2 kids are getting bigger we are getting worried about outgrowing it and no longer being able to take family trips. As a result we stopped by the Van's booth at Oshkosh to check out the RV10.

I was impressed but unfortunately my wife wasn't. She is only 5'1" and she had a horrible time getting in and out of the airplane. Her biggest issue was climbing onto the peg and then taking the giant step onto the wing walk.

While there the guy showing us the plane mentioned adding a handle to the outside. I think that would help, but for someone 5'1" it would still be difficult. Another option mentioned was using a step stool, but that is a ridiculous idea when she is the pilot! How is she supposed to fly to another airport and then get out and back in with the step back at the home airport?

Has anyone done anything to make it easier to get in or out of the RV10? Once in the airplane she liked it even though we will need to make some rudder pedal extensions for her as well.

If I can find a way to make getting in and out not so challenging, she would be sold on building an RV-10. However, if she is not comfortable getting in and out, we will be looking for something other than a homebuilt for our family plane.

A: You could make or have fabricated a suitable multi-step peg. The handle is a good idea too, maybe both?

That's the cool thing about experimentals, you can do with them what you want.

A: Had the same problem with my 5' 0" wife. I got a 12" or so tall folding plastic step stool from WalMart to help with the problem. It also comes in handy for cleaning the front glass. It is lightweight and takes little room in the baggage compartment when folded. If she is the pilot and by herself she can rig up a tether to lift it and put in behind the pilot seat.

A: The folding stool with a teather is a great way to solve the issue, I have a friend who does exactly that with his plane. An exterior hand hold is also a good idea...

Get a demo flight in a ten, and you will find all the motivation you need to overcome this obstacle

From the Mothership...

August 18, 2017.   Issue No. 4,376.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend!
 

Eagle's Nest Projects - Central HS (WI) 4th Private Pilot - Josh Engberg

"First Solo 2/21/2017 (left)... SEL Private Pilot 8/16/2017 (right)"

Day Four...Scott Chastain RV-8

My alarm was set for 5:00 AM. Gary told me that most of the backcountry pilots arrived at first light and used the smooth, cool air during the morning hours to get most of their flying accomplished. I quickly dressed, deflated the mattress, packed up, and started loading up the Dove. By 5:30, McCall Aviation had come to life and was prepping their fleet of C-206’s for their morning flights toward Boise.

Day Four (cont.)...Scott Chastain RV-8

There was a small group of people in the front office of the Legacy Flight Museum when I walked in from the tarmac. I could hear them talking. It sounded as if they were about to conclude a tour of their own.

Day Four (cont.)...Scott Chastain RV-8

Back in the pilot’s lounge, I continued to catch up on all the journaling I had failed to ink in over the last few days, and during that time, I got to know a little about Lewis, the owner of the FBO, Copter Doctor Plus.

Day Four (cont.)...Scott Chastain RV-8

In the temple’s shadows, I beheld the boundless glory of the storm over fields of wheat that swayed like a sea of life toward the showers beyond.

6A Noseover Video ...S. England (EGLS) 8/15

[Very glad to read the pilot walked away uninjured (he discusses it here). dr]

Day 15 of Construction ...Tyler Chance video taken from drone.

...my home field's new runway project.

August 17, 2017.   Issue No. 4,375.

8/16.  Getting the moisture
out (it rained recently). 
My home field's new
runway project.
 

New Guy Says Hey

Glasair Super II to RV-8. Nuts?

Here's one for you. Glasair has officially announced "retirement" of their Glasair models (they are essentially morphing into a certificated manufacturer of the Sportsman, which may end up as a primary trainer in China). So I am actually considering pulling my FWF installation off of a Glasair Super II RG and starting a quick build RV8 project.

I'm in the DFW area, finishing up a new "yuge" shop, and will decide in a few months at most. Already have the RV8 Preview plans in hand, and an IO360 B1E and Hartzell CS prop, alternator, governor, starter etc, with an airplane sitting on it's gear with the engine mounted.

There won't be any more fiberglass parts available from Glasair, but many other items can be purchased directly from vendors. That said, I don't want to spend my remaining flying years fighting a never-ending battle and worrying about an orphaned airplane.

Have sat in the RV8 and as you all know, at 6'3' it is an easy fit. I've never flown any RV and have no taildragger time.

Is it worth the trip out to PDX and over to Vans to get a demo and tour of the factory? Any reason to wait? Sounds like the RV8 design and kit is "frozen", and not much development in the works for the tandem line.

RV14 is a consideration because of the instruction/build upgrades, but I'm an old fighter pilot and am leaning heavily towards a tandem.

Go ahead, tell me that I am crazy to switch horses this late in the game.

FS: iFly 720

My flying buddy Kay is selling his iFly 720.  $300.  All the details and bigger pics at  the link.

Day Three  ...Scott Chastain RV-8

I woke up after a restful sleep and saw all the airplanes dangling above me on the ceiling. It was Sunday, and the night before, Marici had told me that she and Robin were departing early that day to attend a fly-in event up at McMinnville (MMV) where they were going to give rides in their glider. I got up and walked outside on the balcony and looked toward the runway. It looked like a perfect day for flying.

Day Three (cont.) ...Scott Chastain RV-8

It was already after 5 PM by the time I wiped down the Dove and went over to check out the FBO. Again, there was no after-hours access to the pilot’s lounge or rest rooms, but the young lady working behind the counter at McCall Aviation told me about a great pizza place across the street that I should check out. I made a mental note of it, then walked out to explore the airport.

Day Three (cont.) ...Scott Chastain RV-8

That Sunday evening in McCall, I could feel the anticipation of the coming 4th of July celebrations vibrating all around me. I took the best mountain bike I could find in the shed, and I rode into a town that welcomed me with open arms. The J’s all saw me riding by their fireworks stand and gave me a few cheers of encouragement.

New engine after 15 years, change mounts?

Q: I have purchased a new Lycoming engine from Van's to replace the original rebuilt O-320-D2A in my RV-9A. The engine was installed close to 15 years ago by the original builder I would assume. Should I also plan on replacing the engine mounts? They look OK externally as far as I can tell.

A: Hoses too...

A: We're going through a similar update, albeit only 9 years. New mounts, hoses, exhaust gaskets, etc. - pretty much anywhere "new meets old".

A: So, my Lord mounts are 19 yrs old and I'm not noticing any abnormal airframe vibrations (possibly due to a dynamically balanced prop and maybe the P-mags help at low rpm). No goo dripping out of any elastomers.

Should I replace on condition, or only if I have the engine off for another reason? Did my hoses about 8 years ago - all SS over teflon, from SacSkyRanch, so they're probably okay.

It's sad how much this plane sits now that I'm building again, and have a young family of 4 that prefers to travel together vs. Mom and Bill running away for the weekend. I think I'm at 8 hours year-to-date.

From Superior Air Parts...free engine book download

FIRE HD8 Tablet ...Pete Howell

So one of my Nexus 7 tablets died after 4+ years of heavy daily use and on a whim I picked up a $49.99 Fire HD8 on sale - now $80(will go on sale again). Read further only if you are comfortable with a bit of "hacking"..... and are not an Apple-only guy.

I have been using the HD8 in the plane for 2 weeks and for the price, I am thrilled.

Some thoughts:

• This thing is not an Ipad pro, at 1/10 the cost it should not be
• The screen is not super bright, but on a ram mount it is visible by tilting every now and then and is visible
• 8" screen size is great in the cockpit
• The quad core processor is quick enough for G Pilot and lots of other things
• No internal GPS - I an hooked up to GDL39, so I don't care
• Wont run Foreflight, sorry...
• It has Amazon ads on it(there are ways to turn them off...)
• The battery life is very good
• Great wifi reception, but no LTE
• Cheap expandable memory with a Micro SD card
• It has a plastic case that feels kinda cheap
• Camera is bad(I dont care)
• It is great for media consumption outside the cockpit(dolby sound!)
• It also appears to be nearly indestructible
   
• No heat issues in the time I have used it
• It requires a few steps to enable the Google play store and instructions can be found easily on the web

I'm sure I missed a few things, but as a backup this is ideal - cheap and pretty capable. No crying if it breaks or gets stolen - we give it to the young cousins to play with without a second thought.

Just thought VAFinistas might want a cheap option from a cheap guy.....

August 16, 2017.   Issue No. 4,374.

C-FUIP First Flight ...Terry Mortimore

Hi gang, I'm pleased to say that after what has to be one of the longest builds on record (started in 1994) my RV-6A took to the air on July 29th.

I have since accumulated 33 trouble free hours and the restrictions have been removed and I have my unrestricted C of A.

See my 15 minutes of fame at the link below.

Day Two ...Scott Chastain's 'American Transience'

By the time I made it back to the airport, it was plenty dark. The winds just kept picking up the darker it got. It became so windy that I realized putting up a tent would be next to impossible, so I began searching the airport for a room or a hangar or shelter of some kind to sleep for the night. I found nothing.

I climbed into the cockpit of the Dove, closed the canopy, and crammed a pillow under my neck. It was already after midnight. I had never tried sleeping in the cockpit before, so I figured it was worth a try. In any case, it was better than getting wind-torn and chilled by the weather beyond the plexiglass.

Touring My Home Town ...Troy Branch RV-10

After a week or so of no flying I figured we better go explore the area. Our home airport of Bathurst was being worked on and was closed; this is why we kept the plane in Charlo. It is about an hour to get there so it made it tough to just go fly, but well worth it for a hanger. I wanted to give the plane a good cleaning and fill it up, it always amazes me how much crumbs kids can make!

Heading Back Home ...Troy Branch RV-10

The vacation was coming to an end and we had one last item to attend. The band from high school had a plan to get together and play at the local bar. Many friends from high school had planned to be there. It was great to see so many old friends and listen to some good rock tunes. It was not going to be a late night as we had some miles to make the next day.

Timmins to Calgary ...Troy Branch RV-10

We were now 1300 NM from home and it looked like we had good weather all the way. There was a severe cold from coming into Calgary and we planned to race it. Winds in the 40kt range were forecasted. Our routing was going to be North of Nipigon Lake. We had a big low to the south of us creating all kinds of bad weather and a high moving in from the north. A perfect opportunity for tail winds west bound.

Race Party ...Reno

As usual, time flies when you're having fun. I've been having so much fun lately that I have almost forgot to get the R3 Race Party sign up going. So....... here she goes. As usual , Greg Arehart and I throw a little party at my hangar on Saturday night , after the last race jet lands. This year it happens on Sat, 16 Sep. The rules are to be invited to our hamburger/hot dog BBQ are; you must be flying a RV, building, a RV, or know someone who is flying or building a RV. I think I will expand that rigorous list of attendance requirements to include those who are really, really, thinking hard about buying a RV or building a RV. And as usual, I don't remember how to post a Google Earth picture of the location of my hangar, hopefully the good guy who has done it every year will do it again. Thanks in advance. If you haven't heard, there is scheduled to be 133 race aircraft this year, a bunch of highly modified RVs and 18 Unlimiteds. Should be a full week of high test fuel fumes in the air. For a head count, please reply to this post with who and the total number of people with you. I think the RV line is going to be across from my hangar row, the same as last year.

Dan from Reno

DJM Manufacturing 4-inch tail wheel review ...AX-O

August 15, 2017.   Issue No. 4,373.

OSH'17 Trip Write-Up ...Bruce Hill 9A

First flight - reflections ...Joe Wilber RV-10

When I started this project in 11/2010 (almost 7 years ago):
.... I had only 80 hours of flight time. I now have 3100 hours of building time (and a whopping 150 hours of flight time)
.... I had only 4 kids. I now have 6.
.... I weighed 215 pounds. I now weigh 208 pounds (Everything can't be dramatic)
.... I was in my 30's. I'm now 45.
.... I needed only one pair of glasses. I now use 3 different pairs and never seem to have the ones I need.
.... I had zero airplanes. I now have a nice RV-10 which I know flies straight and true.  ...

Day One Continued ...Scott Chastain RV-8

That evening on Orcas Island, there was very little traffic on the road toward Eastsound. The rush of the wind through cypress and pine and hardwood was the most traffic that passed me by, and the quaint but elegantly built Victorian style homes along the road offered me the sense of comfort I needed after flying the first leg of the 40-day journey and finding myself already a fair piece from my own home.  ...

Day One Continued Continued ...Scott Chastain RV-8

Evening fell with a cold south wind heaving over the shoreline and gusting through the streets of Eastsound as I walked through town and peered through windows and alleyways and shop windows. I walked at a quick pace to keep up with the coming nightfall.

RV-14A N225HK Video Update ...Kilroy

I'm back from a wonderful weekend at the Boonville airport day and fly in, camping, meteor shower watching, wine drinking, hangar talking, cold shower taking, wine drinking, aviation calibrating festival.

Quick video of my approach to D83:

https://youtu.be/dAhrCeQTSNo

On the RV front there were a few there. A 6, two 7As and a 12. Anywho I also have a few videos of the continued work on the elevator. I've finally made the special bucking bar for the elevator rear spar and tonight I finally got back to riveting. Anywho here are the next 4 chunks. I'll be posting tomorrow as well.

https://youtu.be/GAjF-Cv4GPk
https://youtu.be/v98fyEdHPP0
https://youtu.be/UrIzUzyIljA
https://youtu.be/QUtned6Sg3o

Back To dimples again!!!

Was not happy with my dimples with DRDT-2 and (dies from popular store 426-3 )
1) fit of rivet in dimple is not complete
2) dimple not crisp not well defined
3) nesting
Many people suggested C-frame makes it much better tried that no difference in results (for me).

NOTEs
1) Dies are not defective purchased 6 sets in total during 2 years period.
2) Reason for this post is to understand if
I have no knowledge in the subject ( most likely)
or
developer of this dies didn't spend enough time to tune them
or
because they try 1 size fit all solution


Please review and comment.  ...

Changing Plans ...Pete Howell 9A

VAF Nation,

Andi and I need some help. Our plans to visit Glacier NP over Labor Day are quickly going up in smoke(literally). We had planed to fly in and camp at Ryan Airfield, but the RAF has very responsibly closed the airport due to fires and conditions in the area. We could fly in to GPI, but it is peak season, we would be without a place to camp, and it appears visibility for flying is not so good.

Here is the request - looking for a place near a nice park with great hiking that we could camp with the plane, rent a car, and enjoy 3-5 days in the fresh air. We are based in Minneapolis, but long trips are part of the fun, so distance is not much of a concern.

We are flying the -9A so grass is fine as long as it is not super cub only grass.

Any ideas? Many Thanks!

August 14, 2017.   Issue No. 4,372.

RV Wedding ...John von Linsowe

My son Justin and his new wife Shelley were married at the Flying V Ranch (my home) with our RV's as a backdrop. This is Justin's newly purchased RV-4.

American Transience ...Scott Chastain next adventure

When the wettest winter on record in northern California came to a close, and when the verdure of spring began to erupt into the blinding yellows of wild mustard across the land, I began to pray more earnestly about where the Lord would send me when summer arrived. It soon became clear that He wanted me to go deeper and further through America than the year before, and I was thankful for the blessing of being single and having the freedom to use my finances and time away from the classroom to serve him. In my prayers, it was also clear that nothing short of a full 40-day, 40-night mission would suffice such a purpose. An entirely different route this year would be taken through America. Part of that route would follow the signs of the times as announced by the stars, the sun, and the moon, following the centerline of an approaching solar eclipse---a centerline that began in Oregon and ended in South Carolina---an eclipse across America that had not happened since the end of The Great War in 1918, ninety-nine years prior.  continue

Next installment: Prep Work

Next installment: Day One

New RV-12is builder Illinois side of St louis ...Jshepherd

Wanted to check in with the Air force. I have been a lurker for about a year and finally pulled the trigger on an rv-12 tail kit. A dream of mine for most of my life has started to come true. I became a pilot at 18 years old starting with gliders then into powered flight getting my PPL, then Instrument and Commercial with dreams of flying for the airlines. Then life and reality got in the way. I am 43 now and have flown on and off for the last 25 years. I am finally at a point where aircraft ownership is a possibility, and the vans line of aircraft has appealed to me since I can remember. I chose the 12 based on the mission I was wanting to do and also the time, money and skill I have to build.  ...

Only missed one preflight item ...bobmarket

Sometimes it's the little things that finally catch up to you. I have a routine for strapping into the aircraft that includes sliding the "keepers" down on my shoulder harness. I missed that item today and it bit me. Last 30 seconds of video,,,,,

Electrical System Design and Build ...leok

I have thought long and hard on whether to post what I consider ‘a journey’ of learning about the electrical system in my build, and whether the VAF community would find value in my efforts. By the very nature of the task, a description will be rather long. I have seen several posts about the individual “nuts and bolts”, but never anything stepwise on the process of design, so I think this might add value.   continue

August 11, 2017.   Issue No. 4,371.
  Work continues on our home field's new runway (links below).  No flying, but watching the earth moving equipment do its stuff makes the time go by a little more enjoyably.  This lack of time off the surface also has me thinking about music more - currently Racer X's jawdropping Superheroes album from 2000 that has this 50+ yr old former cube worm's airPods turned to 11.  Has there ever been a better cover of BOC's Godzilla?
  I hope they get the runway done before I destroy my hearing.  Who could have known that without flying on a regular basis I turn back into a teenager?  I wonder if my hair will grow back. ;^)
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.

A Little Fun During Inventory ...bkervaski RV-14A

Status Update: RV-7A  ...jcarne pics/text

Well deburring the ribs was only a small victory. I match drilled all of the spars and after deburring the holes it was time to prime everything.

It sure is awesome to see it look like a wing for once though!

South Florida Sport Aviation Seat Install ...JasonM RV-10

I recently installed a set of leather seats from South Florida Sport Aviation and wanted to share my thoughts and results with everyone.

First off, I am in no way affiliated with SFSA other than a customer. I ordered my seats from their website and followed up with an email to Eliane to make sure the embroidered logo wouldn't be applied to my seats. Elaine and the staff there were great to make sure my request was followed. I did have to wait a few weeks longer than normal due to this being a custom order, which I was ok with. When I received the seats I was floored at the quality. The install process was very straight forward, even for someone with no upholstery skills. Let's face it, if you can build a plane, you can install these seats. Here are a few (big) pictures of the seats before I covered my front frames and just after I finished the install. The last few pictures show them in the plane after removing the wrinkles with a steamer.

I hope this brief write up helps others when looking for interiors. And thank you to everyone at SFSA for making this happen.

FS- Vans RV-7 Project (including delivery)

Practice Kits Complete! Lots of pics ...jMINTj in Madrid, Spain

Title says it all. I finished the practice kits a couple of weeks ago, 3 in all, including Cleaveland's cell phone practice which was included with tool kit! My -7A fuse arrived a couple weeks ago and I've started on that, but haven't riveted yet due to primer debate and availability issues since I'm in Europe. Tell me what you think! You can see some squashed rivets on the cell phone holder, pic #3. I electd not to drill them out. Learned the lesson to always check the regulator pressure there. Don't worry, I got my first taste of drilling out rivets during the practice skin  I'm excited to be done and working on my actual build. I'll start my build log thread here soon!

9GT's 'Transport to the Airport' PIREP ...9GT

(things that work) I have transported three planes: Cozy MKIV, RV-10, and RV-9A. The Cozy MKIV and 9A I transported on trailers. The trailers required modifications to fit everything, accommodate the wide landing gear, and ramps,,,hence a lot of additional work . Cozy was a 20 mile trip. RV-9A was a 650 mile trip. By far the easiest trip was the RV-10. I hired a local towing company that had a very large rollback flatbed. This particular rig had no rail on the sides of the rollback bed, it was perfectly flat. The rigs with the rail on the sides would not accommodate the RV-10 wheel base. I made prior arrangements with the company for Sunday service so there was no rush. The driver extended the rollback bed all the way out and tilted down, attached a heavy strap to the nose gear and winched it up as I steered it with a Bogert bar. I assisted in strapping it down to my specs and 20 minutes later it was at the airport. Cost was under $150 and stress free! For the RV-9A, I built a wing crate that fit under the fuselage. The RV-10 used two trips, one for the fuselage and one for the wing crate.

Painting for Idiots ...Scott Black article

continue / thread

August 10, 2017.   Issue No. 4,370.

Airbox Cone of Death near accident ...jamlip

Perhaps the title is a bit melodramatic, but I thought this was worth sharing in the interests of safety...

A month ago I bought an older (1988) RV4. It has so far been a total joy to fly, including a 24.1-hour trip to Oshkosh and back.

Today I had planned a flight from LA to Seattle. Run-up checks were fine. About five seconding into the takeoff roll, tail up, just ready to lift, the engine started to misfire horrendously. I decided it was best not to continue into the air.

The airport is I fly from is surrounded by city in every direction. Had this had happened during the climb-out, I may not be typing this now.

I taxied back to my hangar, but the aircraft was running terribly with a gigantic misfire / loss of power at higher RPM.

I suspected a stuck float. However, on removing the air box to peek up inside the carb, discovered that a cone-shaped part inside had come unglued from the base. As high RPM, it was obviously being sucked up into the carb venturi, blocking the flow of air and causing severe loss of power.

I had opened-up the air box to replace the filter a few days ago. I was aware that the cone was in there, but it didn't cross my mind that it was only glued in place. Obviously the glue had failed. It could have killed me.

I have removed the cone from the box until I can work out why the builder put it in there. The engine appears to run fine without it.

Just wanted to post this in case anyone else has a similar setup in their aircraft - in short, pull the cone out, or make sure there are some good screws holding it in place.

Nice to see my wife and young boy tonight. Booked for Seattle on an airliner tomorrow morning.

RV-8 Mark in Maryland #83652

...welcome Mark Beard of Baltimore.

Hi VAF,

My name is Mark and I am just getting started with my RV-8 project. I have ordered my empennage kit and will be attending a Fundamentals of Building course this Saturday. Next week, I will be starting on my empennage at Synergy Air in Eugene. I plan to build the tail under adult supervision and then send it home.

This being my first project, I felt attending the empennage class would help provide a good base for building the rest of the plane.

I will post more when I return from Eugene.


Mark

The Scoreboard...from the mothership

August 9, 2017.   Issue No. 4,369.

RV-8 loop, roll, 4 (little) points hesitation roll ...Luke in Italy

Clear sky, warming up for a local Airshow.  Seat-chute is perfectly hidden under my belts

Is it possible?

So yes, this is my first post and I promise it's not a troll post.... I'm interested in building an RV-14A.... I've built a 65 Mustang that was a magazine cover car as well as a few bikes so I am certainly mechanically inclined.... There is, however, a rub....

I have one arm... I'm a retired CPT from the Army, former AH-64A pilot (Go Guns!) who lost an arm in the 'Stan... I'm currently an ER Doc so motivation isn't a problem. I built the fastback during my intern year as a doc... I'm currently bored with no projects and looking to get back into aviation (already have commercial, RW, Inst and SEL and medical waiver for prosthetic [FAA loved that one....])

My concern is I'd like to do the QUICKBUILD but I worry about being able to rivet with one arm and a prosthetic. I have a hook with a reasonable amount of grip but no articulation. How much pressure does the buck bar require? Thoughts? Anyone in the Tampa Bay area who will let me come screw up some scrap metal?

Thanks in advance!!

Oshkosh 2017 - The full trip report ...Mike B.

Before I need to drill out rivets ...M. Ciaglia RV-10

I am getting ready to rivet the midfuse lower skin. I have been diligent in making sure I dimpled the F-1015 and F-1018 webs as they are not clearly defined in the plans, but looking ahead you realize there needs to be AN426AD-3 there later on. Also a huge shout out to Justin and Ed for mentioning that on their build logs.

But...

What about the attachment of the F-1018, F-1021 and the F-1034 bulkhead? There are two "keeper rivets" that need to go in. Yet in page 26-5 step 6 it clearly states to. ...dimple all EXCEPT the aft row of holes in the F-1018 which would be the ones for the keeper rivets. I have scoured the plans and can not find how these holes are dealt with.

Any help would be appreciated

From Concept to Reality

After a lot of ideas and modifications and colours (red then silver then yellow then finally blue...) we finally agreed on the scheme below. I stuck with it and am happy that it worked out ok. Weigh in is tomorrow...

Strange electrical issue - Need Help - GRT - VPX

I am having an issue where when I try to start my plane and while idling and not moving, I get an overspeed condition on my flaps. I have talked to Chad about this and he thinks I have an issue with my GRT Sport on the airspeed readings side of the house. I have gone into the VPX Configurator and set my flap ranges to 0 as well as set the Overspeed setting to 300 MPH which I will never hit. Because the flaps are wired into the VPX box I haven't tried to set the flaps to disabled. I can clear the fault through the Configurator but it keeps coming back on occasion. The only way to clear the fault is through the Configurator and I can only do that on the ground with the computer I have the software installed on. I have not seen anything in the GRT Sport setup to make me think its being caused/triggered there. I bought the VPX Sport to use the overspeed functionality as well as monitor my electrical system but this problem is causing me to regret that decision. I would like to have this solved before the first flight on the plane and not have to worry about a no flap landing. I do not have the Ray Allen flap position indicator on my plane.

My neighbors think we're insane

So my 11 year old bought a 3d printer

90 Degree Bends and Fuel Cavitation

Have any of you experienced cavitation (aka vaporization) due to 90 degree fittings on the supply side of your pump?

Tyler Chance's Drone Footage of 52F Runway Project

[ed. Tyler and his Dad run MyRod.com for the classic car crowd (go watch their amazing videos!), are property owners at our field, and we thank them for this wonderful drone footage!!!  Tyler indicated he would film a clip each week of construction.  dr]

Day 1 of new runway construction - https://youtu.be/VtF6pUUh-lw

Day 7 of new runway construction - https://youtu.be/1v2bvE26Rfo

August 8, 2017.   Issue No. 4,368.

Is there a doctor on this plane? ...congrats to the proud parents!!!

So, there we were. My 7month pregnant wife and I in our RV-8 flying back to Wichita Falls from Salt Lake City where we attended my Vice Wing Commanders retirement. We were over Cortez, NM enrout to KSAF for a fuel stop when my wife taps me on the shoulder and says, "is there any place to land?" I respond with the expected, "why," at which she tells me she thinks her water just broke. Holy schnekies! I look down at Cortez, which didn't look promising. Went to NRST to find the closest towered field. Four Courners Regional off the nose for 50nm/ 12mins. I ask her if she's good till there and get the affirmative. Call up Denver ARTCC, declare the emergency, pass the data, and request they contact Four Corners to get an ambulance.

We land, eye watering landing by the way, taxi up to the tower where the ambulance is waiting. They put her on the bed and say "lets go, this is imminent." As we are driving over, the med said he could feel the head. We get to the hospital and 20 minutes later my first child is born. 2 months early but incredibly healthy and breathing on his own.

With his age, they wanted to get him to a level 3 NICU at a children's hospital and asked if Fort Worth worked for us. It did, being only 1.75 hrs from our home.

So right now, he's got a swank room in Ft Worth while mom and dad are stuck in Farmington, NM waiting to get discharged tomorrow so we can finish the flight and meet up with my boy.

Sorry for the choppy story, but I thought you guys might enjoy a story of my flight with "2 souls onboard" almost turned into 3.

Oh, mom and baby are both doing great!

Status: Wings ON, and a Guard Dog ;^) ...Simon Hitchen RV-7

RV-14 Construction Videos ...kolroy

Elevator work continues. Moching up the structure then breaking down for deburring, priming and dimpling.

My wings should be here by the end of the month. I'm having a hard time deciding if I should do one wing at a time or both at once.

Here are the vids: Enjoy.
https://youtu.be/U1lq1Phe-4Y
https://youtu.be/WYUNYpTbUkM
https://youtu.be/CU1ZwwQ-Nrc
https://youtu.be/ZxdBvX_MoBc
https://youtu.be/7dP25moumTQ

 

Grass Strips Entry ...Vlad

A fellow RV pilot and builder Greg Arehart sent me there. He cautioned the runway might be rough. It wasn't. Telegraph Creek is famous because of Russian-American telegraph line planned to connect San-Francisco with Moscow, Russia. The wire laying started 1865 then the project was abandoned.

Autopilot rolling side to side

G3X system, GTN 750 with 305 autopilot control head. Roll, pitch and yaw servos.
On a flight yesterday I noticed a tendency for the AP (GPS nav mode, internal GPS) to slowly roll side to side about 2 degrees left and 2 degrees right bank all the time. No heading changes. This is something new. I am still in phase 1. I should have tried in HDG mode as well as external GPS, but that did not cross my mind at the time. I know for sure this was not present on earlier flights on either internal or external GPS. It started about 30 min into the flight. On a coupled ILS approach it was dead steady the day before.
I also noted on a flight the day before in HDG mode that when I turned HDG bug more than 30 degrees, the turn would overshoot the new heading, then turn back and get to correct heading.
Dual ADAHRS, one to PFD and the second to MFD. I believe the ADAHRS are well mounted and passed vibration test first time round. No indication of mismatch.
These are my AP settings:
Roll: Max torque 100%, Roll servo gain 0.8.
I assume the pitch and yaw settings are not relevant, but I have it available should anyone ask.
Looking for help and advice.

Pushrods, Rockers and Dry Tappet Clearance ...Brantel

So during my investigation into why may engine suddenly starting occasionally popping thru the exhaust, I discovered that the engine builder that put my engine together had improperly installed the rocker arms in the wrong places as determined by Lycoming SI 1454A. (Fairly certain that this had nothing to do with my original problem, just kinda lucky to find this error now)

He had some with the rockers switched and one with two of the same rocker arm on both valves.

With that situation I now must start over with setting the dry tappet clearance since I will be moving the rockers to the proper location.  continue

August 7, 2017.   Issue No. 4,367.
  I'd like to offer up a huge thank you to Mr. David Howe.  The macadamia brittle arrived and is currently being devoured by the fam.  Thank you!!!
 

4th Trip Across Canada ...Troy Branch RV-10 Trip Write-up

We hadn't flown the Ten to our home town in NB for 5 years. We always end up going some where else. We figured it was time we head back for a summer visit with our family. The new part about this trip is my wife has started working on her Pilot license. We thought the safest thing for all the trips we do in the ten was for her to know how to fly. Two pilots are always better than one. She bought a 1975 Cessna 150 that she takes her training in. She also gets time on the 10 and the Carbon Cub. Learning right out of the gate that all planes fly differently is important. So many just learn on one plane and then they realize there is so much more to learn. The plan was for her to fly left seat across the entire country.

West Coast Ravens at the Calgary airshow  ...photo album

First airplane date and $100 hamburger with my wife ...j-red

So excited to finally get to share the excitement of flying with my wife.

We don't have any family in town to watch the kids, and were pretty new to the area when I built the Zenith, so she was always the one to sit on the ground babysitting whichever kid wasn't going up for a ride. I'd sneak away some mornings with one of the older kids and we'd go find breakfast somewhere, but she'd always be left out. She got exactly two rides in that plane over the course of the year or so that I had it. A neighbor at the airpark volunteered to keep an eye on the kids in her back yard while we went up for a couple minutes each time.  ...

I am IFR rated! ...Richard Fazio (RV-6)

I wanted to post a plug for GATTS, General Aviation Training in Manhattan Kansas. I've been training for over two years for my IFR rating. It felt like I would never finish. I had to take the written again because I went over two years. The written course instructor recommended GATTS and I decided to do it. They have an IFR finish up course. $3500.00 includes a room, car and a hanger for your plane. You pay $1000.00 down and don't pay the rest till you pass. I trained in my own RV-6. I flew out there from NY, 9.9 hours and trained for 4 days of intense training with Mike, my instructor. The first day was 4.5 hours and 14 approaches. The remaining 3 days were all about 4 hours and 10 or 12 approaches. Day 5, I passed the check ride. I flew home IFR. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get their IFR rating.

OSH'17 PIREP ...Bluelabel words and pics

Milestone: 1,100 hrs ...John Bender RV-12

ONSPEED/AoA Video Forum from OSH'17 ...Vac

One area that I didn't touch on during the briefing was the concept of the pilot "beating the system." In an RV, it's possible for the pilot to "beat the flight control system--" literally move the mechanical flight controls so quickly the airplane does not have time to respond; and in the case of a caution/warning system like the F-4 aural AoA logic, it's possible for the G-onset rate to exceed the capability of the system to provide stall warning. Here are a couple of quick video demonstrations of accelerated stalls at G-onset rates greater than 2/second (system limit):

RV8 in your sights

Saw this picture on Facebook. Collings Foundation B-17 made it's first flight in 15 years on August 4. Had an RV8 chase plane in her sights.

Danger from helicopter wake turbulence ...video

A recommendation I heard was one minute separation for light aircraft behind a light helicopter, two minutes behind a medium, and three behind a large. I was landing (RV-9A) just after an Apache was taking off, and the controller was surprised when I asked for two minutes separation. As it turned out, I was able to land on the very end of the runway and turn off before the Apache's liftoff point (from a hover).

This information may have been posted here before, but if I didn't know it, I bet there are others who didn't know it, either.

Pride of Ownership

I checked in with one of the (3) webcams at my home field's www.Fly52F.org Friday around 7pm and saw two of the property owners mowing the grass beside their hangars.

With the new runway going in, the feeling of happiness and fun on the horizon is palpable right now.  You can sense it in nearly everyone there.

August 4, 2017.   Issue No. 4,366.
  Happiness is....waking up, pulling up a webcam on your phone showing your airport, and already seeing workers on the job replacing the runway.  0700 and the sun is still peeking out of the morning mist.  I think they are sched'd to work some of the weekend also, so feel free to check in on the cams and pic links below.  Exciting times!
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.

7 a.m.

Links:  Pics & Vids   Webcams: Middle, South.

1 p.m. same day...

full size
Links:  Pics & Vids   Webcams: Middle, South.

Niagara Falls ...Ivan Kristensen RV-10

Yes I was going to mention that in my last post but forgot. Since the weather was clear and our route took us very close to Niagara Falls this gave us a good opportunity to view the scenic falls from the air.

I was cruising IFR at 8000' and talking to Buffalo approach, I asked if I could descend to 6k and do a 360 around the falls. Buffalo handed me off to Toronto Ctr. and let me know that they would have a clearance for me.  ...

August 3, 2017.   Issue No. 4,365.

RV-8(A) OSH'17 Group Gathering Photo ...Steve Ashby

Hudson River flight ...Ivan Kristensen

This past weekend I took my daughter, son-in-law and oldest grandson for flight to NYC. The reason for this flight was to fly the Special Flight Rule Area (SFRA) which is a low level VFR corridor over the Hudson River from the Alpine Tower to the north to the Verrszano-Narrows bridge to the south.  Many pics

World record RV taxi duration- 1.5 hours...Oshkosh ...Alex Peterson

Last Thursday, I flew the 6A from my home base in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis to Oshkosh. I left at about 7:30am, expecting about a 1.5 hour flight, including the Ripon/Fisk approach. All went well, and I followed a couple other aircraft up the tracks. The three planes ahead of me were sent to the 36 approach, but I was told to continue NW to join a close right downwind for 27. Winds were something like 030 at 8, so a slight tailwind. I landed (I hope no one has video of the final approach...), and was instructed to exit the runway to the right. I had my HBP sign in the windscreen, and was directed to proceed back east on the taxiway which parallels 27, just on the north side of 27. The intention is to get us back east far enough to take the taxiway south, join runway 23, then west on the taxiway to HBP. Except... there were about a million departures going on, as many who wished to leave Wednesday evening, but were delayed overnight due to weather, ended up leaving Thursday morning. I was in line with planes departing 27 as well. It took almost an hour to get back east far enough to get to the head of the line. The controller then proceeded to clear me for takeoff on 27. I keyed my mike and said "no sir, I landed and am trying to get to HBP!". "Alpha Pop, proceed down runway 27 and exit to the right."  continue

Lessons from a Narrow Runway ...Ed Wischmeyer

Most of us practice up to fly into Oshkosh, but if you’re tired from a week at the show, the flight home can be full of surprises, too.

As a CFI, I can quote chapter and verse about narrow runways, visual illusions, etc., but that knowledge didn’t come in to play the day after Oshkosh when eight days of on the go gave me the kind of fatigue that one night’s sleep won’t touch.

The runway at Marion, IA, is listed in the Airport / Facilities Directory as 150 feet wide, but it doesn’t say that only the middle 26 feet are paved. I’d flown in there years ago, so the runway width didn’t surprise me, but some of what I did when fatigued was a surprise.

On the first landing, as you might guess, the flare was late, i.e., mostly didn’t happen. Predictable. Then I gave a CFI buddy a ride to show him the avionics in my -9A. But on both the first and second landings, somehow I had gotten it into my head that narrow runway meant short, and I flew shallow approaches that weren’t called for and made it harder to touch down where I wanted. Disgusted, I went around the pattern once more and that third landing was passable. (On all takeoffs and landings, I had the centerline absolutely nailed, but I was concentrating so much on the lateral aspect that the longitudinal aspect did not get the attention it needed.)

My normal practice is to take off no flaps, but this made the narrow runway disappear on rotation. The solution was to take off with flaps 20, and that kept the runway in sight. In other planes, I had an after takeoff checklist to cover flap retraction, but the RV-9A checklist doesn’t have that. Yet. Ask me how much later in the flight I discovered the flaps down.

Be careful coming home, too, especially when you’re tired or at unfamiliar airports.

Another Air Venture in the Books ...Jerry Fischer

Some of my favorite moments: lunch with Apollo 13 astronauts, the new pavilion dedication on Friday, seeing all the old friends and making new ones.  A special gift from Paul Dye. (I'll post a picture later)

Jerry, Jim Lovell, Paul Dye  continue

RV8 Stretch - Now DownUnder ...foxhound57 Gold Coast, Australia

"...Perry’s eldest daughter Heather is a Degree Qualified Aerospace Mechanical Engineer (who was working with Boeing Australia at the time), and his youngest daughter Kristy is an AME. The Engineering Team at Innovative Wings "meshed" well with the Australian Concept team and an extremely innovative and exciting project developed ..."

!!@##%&-) ...Gandalf

I recommend this mod.

August 2, 2017.   Issue No. 4,364.

52F New Runway Construction Begins (my home field)

...videos and stills at THIS LINK - updated many times each day.  The 2nd pic below shows those few folks thinking that this runway wasn't needed....WHY it was needed.  Decades of sub-par maintenance visually shown.  Blade vehicle riding down the runway at less than walking speed sank into the ground over a foot.  The ground under 1" of asphalt was damp mud down at the Charlie turnoff area.

Proper engineering matters.  And that time has finally come...and it's going to be amazing when completed.  52F will soon be a RV destination to be proud of!  Thanks for following along with our exciting construction!

Also, don't forget webcams 1 and 2.

Full size image

Time to Wrap It Up ...Vlad the Amazing

From Revelstoke to Fairmont Hot Springs ...Vlad

The Director's Cut (Flight Director, that is...)

...Rick A video.  I just published a short (8 minute) video on the G3X Flight Director. In this video I fly by hand so you get a better view of the flight director indicator. I switch between Dual & Single cue while in flight

I also show a how to a avoid a potential user error when flying by hand while using the FD.

OSH'17 Observations ...vernon smith

I flew SW Airlines into Mid Way Tuesday and made the three-hour drive north to Fond Du Lac, arriving a little before noon. There is a shuttle bus service between the Fond du Lak airport and Oshkosh every hour so I caught it and rode north to Wittman Field, a 30-minute ride right to the entry gate. I don’t know if there is a best way to get to Oshkosh during this time period but I assume none of them that are remotely affordable are good. When you pack a scadillion people into a small space with limited road access the result is never good. The way I did it seemed to work as well as could be expected.  continue

August 1, 2017.   Issue No. 4,363.
  Work begins TODAY! on my home field's new runway.  You can follow the action in pictures (should always work) and webcams 1 and 2 (works depending on how the internet at the field is behaving).  I'll be updating the pictures daily.  The runway is slated to be torn up (the call it reclaimed) by EOB Tue or Wed.  We're all pretty stoked.  It's been a looonnnnngggg time coming.
 

Morning Commute....Alex DeDominicis photo

Larger image

I was featured in a Garmin video! ...NovaBandit

At Oshkosh this year, I had the opportunity to meet Red Bull Air Race pilot Pete McLeod and show him around my RV10!

They put out a "MTV Cribs" style video of the interview, and it turned out great!

OSH'17 PIREP ...lucaperazzolli in Italy

It's my fifth Oshkosh and was great too.  Meeting people that I read only on social or magazines it's incredibly cool.  Here some photos (more guys are missing)  It was a joy, hope to see you soon my friends.  many pics

OK I'm Proud ...Dennis Enns

But please don't hold that against me. I checked today and found C-FDTQ had received an Outstanding Workmanship Kitbuilt award at Oshkosh. It is under my son Thomas Enns's name for now since he was the PIC into Oshkosh and registered us. He helped on our build since he was a teen and it could not have been completed without him and help received from VAF.

What you can do building an RV-12 ...Bob Collins

I didn't get to Oshkosh this year so I spent the time building. The final wing took a week. A week!  continue

OSH'17 RV-12 Photos ...Dvalcik

Returned from Oshkosh after fighting head winds both ways, I thought hitting 25-30 winds going west I would get the tailwinds on my return. (NOT) we saw mostly 30 - 40 on the nose going back to Maine. It was Long flight hours, but still a great trip even with the delays due to weather.

Saw many old friends and made new ones, what a great time.
Short 5 min video of the trip out with the other 2 RV12, PilotBrent, Skunkworks, and I converged on Springfield, OH.

Scott Millhouse photo

HELP! Need Horizontal Stab RV-8 Dallas Area

...the Force comes through in less than two hours.

(6:34PM Kahuna)
Traveling away from home dealing with family issues. A Buzzard decided he like my HS better than I did. Argh. If there is a built HS available in the Dallas area with the SB applied. Please contact me immediately. Ill build you another one and make it worth your while. Thanks.

(8:16PM Kahuna SAME DAY)
Its a big world, and even bigger VAF team. SO I get this call. Guy says he has a stab. Great! Where is it? Its at the airport Im at. What? Geez. How can that be? So I have a stab. The only thing more convenient would have been to have the SB done and in my paint color!
Thanks team. Im off to rip the tail off.

July 31, 2017.   Issue No. 4,362.
  Work begins Tuesday early on my home field's new runway.  You can follow the action in pictures (should always work) and webcams 1 and 2 (works depending on how the internet at the field is behaving).  I'll be updating the pictures daily.  The runway is slated to be torn up (they call it reclaimed) by EOB on Tue.  We're all pretty stoked.  It's been a looonnnnngggg time coming.
  We're gonna have one heck of an RV fly-in at 52F in the not too distant future.  You heard it here first <g>.
 

Yes. You can squeeze two GDU 460'S in a RV-8

OSH'17 PIREP ...rightrudder

I had a great first-time experience flying to Osh. The -9A performed flawlessly at maybe 10-20 lb. over gross, with a rearward cg well within limits. Increased pitch sensitivity was not an issue at all, but I made the mistake (once!) of standing on the step at the same time as my co-pilot, resulting in a static tail strike. Just a little rash on the rudder cap, nothing a little touch-up paint won't fix!

From our base at Cable (CCB) in the Los Angeles Area, we cruised at 9500' and shot for a ground speed of 170 mph or so; 145 ktas at about 7.0-7.2 gph. We had enough tailwind to bump the ground speed to 185 mph or so at times.

We planned for 3.2-hour legs or so, stopping in Gallup, NM; Garden City, KS; and overnighting at Carroll, IA with friends of my co-pilot. From there, an easy 2.5 hours to Osh, with a stop at Baraboo/Wisconsin Dells for fuel so we wouldn't need to summon the fuel truck at AirVenture. Hospitality at these little Midwest airports is incredible; three times we were offered free hangar space and courtesy cars. Friendly folk, for sure!  ...

 

One Line, One Month ...Pilotjohns 9A

I was trying to get at least one page of instructions done per month.

Magic and Mirrors ...Tony T

Synthetic Vision has to be done by magic. Gotta be magic.

Still learning SV capabilities and have been exploring use of synthetic Vision, the flight path marker and highway-in-the-sky. These tools provide an intriuging look at perhaps a whole different way of flying on instruments. Could this be the future for instrument approaches?

Zelma the Wonderkind ...Vlad

OSH'17 PIREP ...scard

Good morning from Home after sleeping in my own bed for the first time in a week. We arrived Sat. afternoon with little excitement and left Friday morning. I think we've concluded that this is one day more than needed for us.

Being on "the island" (over the creek, across the bridge,...) was a new experience for us. Back at home, TC measured the distance to the beautiful new HBC pavilion at 1/4 mile each way. That means it is a 1/2 mile for the daily half bag of ice. I think she measured that to be twice as far as the furthest "normal" HBC parking from previous years. Many times, that precluded us from being a part of the intended community. Way fewer trips to HBC central just to see what's shaking or who is around to chat with. That effected Tanya's 'fun meter'. We found that those that had no interest in hanging out at the pavilion to chat with anyone that would walk by thought camping on the island was great. On the other hand, it was pretty weird to step out of the tent and be downtown at show center. That was neat.

The "receiving line" at HB HQ for doughnuts was just plain weird, and made sugar acquisition time take longer.  ...

 

Island #66 ...Vlad

2017 Lindy Award Winners Announced

Status Pics ...David Paule -3B

Status ...jcarne 7A

Well now that the fun of Oshkosh is over I guess it's time to get something done again. I have started the wonderful process of deburring the wing ribs. Without question this is the biggest pain the a$$ I have experienced during the build thus far. Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist but who knows. I would say that the deburring process is taking me about 20 minutes per rib. At this posting I have about 11 hours into the ribs and I'm about half done with them.

14A Status ...mturnerb

Fuselage lower halves joined, riveting in progress.

July 28, 2017.   Issue No. 4,361.
     Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.
 

17,500' ...Because This RV is Amazing ...and it's really hot on the ground.

I 'sorta' needed gas in the RV-6, so with the temps in the 90's on the ground I thought I'd climb until I got to the cold stuff while heading for fuel at Gainesville, TX (KGLE).  I also had some O2 left in the Aerox 1D system and no passenger, so I could climb faster.

42 minutes after launching I leveled off at 17,500' with an OAT of 43*F.  Loitered around for fifteen or so minutes to enjoy the cold, then began a 20 minute gentle descent back down watching the TAS (pg3).  Landed with 8 gallons.

These RVs are amazing.  See the pictures.  And don't forget about the symbol that will give you full size images (the largest is 5,120 x 1,103 pixels).  Van's spec page says a 180hp RV-6 should go to 25K, so I'm giving it some serious thought.  I'll need a backup O2 solution, a pulse oximeter, a fresh cert on the Xpndr and an IFR clearance. 

Flying higher than anything in the United States in a plane built in the garage does appeal to my 'inner Vlad'.  Speaking of Vlad....see below.  What a promoter for the hobby!

British Columbia Interior ...Vlad the Amazing's adventure continues

[ed. Trust me....you're going to want to read this.  Vlad, you are my hero!  v/r,dr]

Organic Farm Tour ...Vlad the Amazing

RV-12iS Video ...David Rohrlick at OSH'17

Seen on their OSH'17 Campsite Thursday ...Scott Card photo

RV-14 Status Report ...Todd Rader

I received my RV-14A QB fuselage & wings on 23 Aug using P&M Express via Partain. I checked the big parts over upon delivery and found them to be damage free and a high quality build. Mike, the delivery driver was professional and a pleasure to meet along with his dog Bear who loves to steal gloves and play with them. It took Mike and I a little over an hour to unload the parts with no difficulty for the two of us. It was very evident to me that Mike loaded and secured everything meticulously.

Work and travel prevented me from completing the inventory until a few days later and every single part & piece of hardware was accounted for. As others have commented before, Van's does an amazing job packing items for shipment.

I ordered the QB parts on 23 Dec so it was exactly 7 months from the day I placed the order to when they arrived at my hangar. Of note, I got the email that it was in stock at Van's on 7 June. It took Van's a few days to QA the parts and release them for shipping. With the empennage and tailcone completed in late March, I'm now able to dive back into building again!

'17 OSH Special Pricing ...mothership

From the Mothership

"No technical support available from July 21 thru August 1.  We’ve gone all in for EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh this year, all of our technical support staff that is. There will be no technical support by email and no phone tech support times at the office during the show and for a couple days travel time before and after. Customer service staff will be here to process and ship parts and kit orders during our normal business hours."

July 27, 2017.   Issue No. 4,360.
   The OSH'17 PIREP, URLs, etc thread continues to grow - thanks for helping populate it.  If you get a photo album online somewhere from the show, please consider emailing me the URL so I can spotlight it up here for you!   vansairforce 'at' gmail 'dot' com
  I hope all those at the show are having a wonderful time!
 

2017 Oshkosh RV12 Gathering ...Dvalcik

Today (Wed) 30+ RV12 builders got together at the Home Built Camping Pavilion.

'Kevin Horton' type question- RV-8's, Dash One Wings and Aerobatic Gross Weight

Regarding G-limits and aircraft gross weight; is the relationship between gross weight and G-limits linear?

I am a larger dude (6'3" / 220lbs) and am looking for an RV-8 for cross country flight, and leisurely Sunday aerobatic flights. I've come across a nice RV that fits my needs, but lacks the "dash one" wing, and therefore has an aerobatic gross weight of 1550lbs, and a utility gross weight of 1800lbs.

My actual aerobatic gross weight in a theoretical RV-8 would probably be;

Empty: 1050lbs
Fuel (20gal): 120lbs
Me + Chute: 235lbs (I'm guessing a parachute weighs 15lbs)
Pax+Chute: 220lbs (Another 15lb chute)

Total Weight: 1625lbs

Here's my question. If the airframe is rated to +6 G at 1550lbs (I'm not even going to worry about the negative g limit given the types of maneuvers I'm planning on) can I plot a line between 4.4G @ 1800lbs and 6G @ 1550lbs and interpolate what my maximum load limit would be at my actual gross weight?

Here's where the math starts and my 988/1000 college class rank starts to show....

I plot the line between (1800, 4.4) and (1550, 6) to be;

Y= -0.0064X + 15.92

Therefore; at my planned weight of 1625lbs, the G-limit would be 5.5G's, which is plenty for most maneuvers which can be safely completed at 3.5G's.

Does this logic hold up to how aeronautical structures are actually designed?

I'm attempting to justify looking at RV's that lack the -1 wing, but I don't want to compromise my requirements for dual aerobatics. The extra 50lbs on the dash one wing, plus getting rid of 5 gallons of fuel would put me at the legal weight limit per Vans.

Thanks! Hope everyone is having fun at OSH!

Milestone: 24,000 Registered VAF Forum Accounts

I don't know if it really means anything, but it's a nice round number that gives an opportunity to reflect, so I thought I would a) report it and b) thank all the folks that make it what it is.  Honored to call so many of you folks friend.

Shop with a few steps outside the main door?

Q: I'm building a new 450 sq. ft. detached workshop at the rear of my property, but due to ground elevation changes the shop will need to have a few steps up to the shop's French double doors.

My question is... Will I be able to get a completed RV-8 fuselage out of the those doors and down the 3 exterior steps? Presumably I'd need to build some sort of temporary ramp and pulley system to lower it down the steps...?

Is this a recipe for disaster? Or has it been done before?

Luckily, from the bottom of the steps it's a flat, straight driveway right through a 7 ft. high carport and then out to the street.

Thanks for any insight / advice.

A: I can't find the picture but I remember seeing someone in Europe posting pictures of moving his plane out of the 2nd story of his house (I think he had to remove a window to do it). So if he can cope with that, 3 steps should not be an issue

A: Down the steps should be no problem, but these french double doors would want to be wider than the wheel track on the -8, which looks to be 82" outside dimension. From reading other posts you will need an 84" opening, which I suspect is wider than your regular double doors. You could leave the gear off and take it out on a custom trolley, or only build in there until the gear on stage, I suspect both those options would stink compared to having a door wide enough to roll it out. Although, as the other lads have said, anything is possible

A: FWIW, it's a lot easier to do most of the 'systems' work on the fuselage if it's *not* on the gear. With the legs on, it takes a surprising amount of time & energy just to climb in & out every time you need a new part, or that tool you forgot to bring with you. I've had the engine hung on my -7 with it still on the fuselage dolly (you must plan the support points to do this), so I could do all the engine wiring/plumbing without needing a step ladder to get into the cockpit.

I wouldn't suggest trying to move it down a set of steps while on the dolly with the engine mounted, but if it's just the fuselage and no gear, moving it through a wide door & down some steps should be a non-event.

A: Rather than building a shop with French double doors, why not build it with a single man door and double-opening barn doors? These barn doors can be made very simply, or can be very fancy. Most importantly, they can be made to fit the gear width of your aircraft.

It would just seem a lot easier to be able to do as much of the fabrication work on the airplane as you can while it is in your home shop. I say this as a guy who is building in a hangar located 15 minute's drive from home. Man, I waste a lot of time driving to and from the airport. Some evenings I know I should go to the hangar but I just don't feel like making the drive. If it was the garage attached to the house or a workshop to which I could walk I know I would make it there more often. Heck, I'd likely slip out to the shop for a quick lunchtime work session, too!

Seen at OSH'17 ...John 'Jetguy'

RE: Engine Cooling on the New RV-12iS ...Scott McD.

"...the iS engine that Rotax currently sells does indeed require additional cooling capability when compared to the ULS ( the effort required to modify the original cowl exit area, and other details wouldn't have been done if it wasn't necessary).
Representatives of Rotax have confirmed this and have said that many manufacturers have had to make changes to deal with it.

The final design of the RV-12iS allows for a climb at Vy to 10000 ft on a 100 *F day with temps staying in the normal range."

Need some Advice ...Don Patrick RV-8

Q:  I have a superior engine IO-360 with the precision silver hawk ex fuel injection. I also have the EFII boost pump.

I was trouble shooting some alternator issues tonight and while running the engine, it quit without the boost pump running. This occured several times and I removed the engine driven fuel pump.

The fuel pump is a Tempest 103586-01, which has a short channel rocker arm on it and is used for the Hi psi Rayjay turbo application.

I removed the turbo from the engine when i bought it. The engine has been adjusted for idle and mixture and runs very smoothly.

When I removed the fuel pump this evening, I found that the arm for the pump was broken.

I have two options. Find an overhaul facility locally to replace the arm for the pump, or buy a replacement.

What I'm wondering is if I can replace the fuel pump with a different fuel pump such as a fuel pump like a LW15473 as long as the arm is the same, which it appears to be.

For those running IO360 M1B, what fuel pump are you running on it with the precision silverhawk injection and an efii boost pump.

A: (mahlon_r) as far as I know, the only difference in the ray jay diaphragm pump application and the regular one is that the ray jay one has a upper deck pressure vent built in to keep the pump at the same altitude pressure as the turbo system. The arm lengths for all Lycoming engine diaphragm fuel pumps are the same.

July 26, 2017.   Issue No. 4,359.
   The OSH PIREP, URLs, etc thread continues to get some entries from those at OSH'17.  If you get a photo album online somewhere from the show, please consider emailing me the URL so I can spotlight it up here for you!   vansairforce 'at' gmail 'dot' com
  I hope all those at the show are having a wonderful time!
 

Come See Danny King's New RV-8 Panel

...parked at the Garmin tent with the canopy open, the avionics powered up, and Danny standing next to it to answer your questions.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

Tip: Look for the icon if you click on the images above.  You can make the pic almost actual size.  My home monitors...

Pics from the Van's Banquet...Tuesday evening courtesy Gary Sobek.

RV-10 Seen at OSH'17

...Rob Ray photos.

Rest in Peace Mr. Vernon Peckham ...post from his son Charles

Hello RV Family,

I just wanted to let everyone know that Vernon Peckham (My dad) passed away over the weekend. Most of you might know him from his many years as the Ultralight announcer, from Sun-N-Fun, Oshkosh and many other local/national fly-ins. He was also a big part in the Florida Flying Gators Airpark located in Central Florida, where I learned to fly as a kid. Please take the time to give him a moment of silence and thank of him on your flights as he is watching over all of us in the aviation/experimental community.

Trying to Fix the Problem of Low Oil Pressure

Q: I need your support concerning my engine which is IO360 M1A – Catto constant speed propeller.

I try to fix the problem of low oil pressure 45-55 PSI in flight.
One idea came from my friend and is related with the governor adapter. On the attached photo:

you can see the current status. A part of oil pressure can be reduced by 2 holes on right and left side of the gasket (holes are not fully covered by the current gasket).

The idea from my friend is to close these 2 holes by the full coverage gasket – to lose the oil flow across this part of the engine.

Is this good idea?
Any negative consequences for engine?
 

A: (Mahlon_R) Definitely your problem. The hole on the right is open to the lifter oil gallery. You are dumping that oil pressure to the hole below the gov. drive spline which is a drain back to the engine. So in essence you have a fixed oil pressure relief valve in addition to the real relief valve on the engine. That port normally feeds the prop governor.
The port on the left would normally take governor oil pressure to the prop and has no lubricating effect on the nose bearing.
So you should have both blocked off for a fixed pitch engine. as long as the rear plug in the nose bore of the crankshaft is pierced or missing. If by chance it is installed and not pierced you should leave the left port so that it will bleed the engine oil pressure from the nose bearing back through that port to the drain below the drive spline. If there is no bleed for the nose bearing oil pressure either through the missing rear nose bore plug or a hole in that plug if it is installed or back through that left gov. pad port you could blow the front crankshaft plug out of the engine and cause a massive oil leak.
Good Luck,
Mahlon

July 25, 2017.   Issue No. 4,358.
   The OSH PIREP, URLs, etc thread continues - looking forward to PIREPs from the 'RV Social' as they come in tonight/tomorrow.  If you get a photo album online somewhere from the show, please feel free to email me the URL so I can spotlight it up here for you!   vansairforce 'at' gmail 'dot' com
  I hope all those at the show are having a wonderful time!

Courtesy Andy Crabtree...

The 'RV Social' Monday Afternoon/Evening ...Gary Sobek picture 7:45pm

(click to enlarge)

Milestone: Move to the Airport ...Simon Hitchen RV-7 (Port Perry, Canada)

The big day arrived and it was time to go to the airport. Drove really slowly and arrived in one piece. Now the fuselage is tucked up in its new home and the wings will join it for final assembly next week!

RV-10 Dinner Pics Needing Captions ...Greenley from OSH Monday.

RV-10 Dinner PIREPS

What a great bar BBQ. so nice to meet everyone and put a face to the plane/build the have followed for so many years
Dr. Mark Ciaglia

This was a super event! So many friendly faces of builders and families. Kind of what makes the rv-10 different from all of the other RV's---- lots of little kids around.
Well done!
Vic

AeroLEDs New Product ...Dean

AeroLEDs is introducing a new modular lighting system called the Aerosun MX at Oshkosh. Stop by our booth to see it. Here is a photo of the new Lancair Mako wingtip that uses the MX modules for landing/recognition lights:

HBC Beer Tasting PIREP ...Monday

Another successful HBC beer tasting! I think it's safe to say everyone had a great time and Jerry will invite us back next year!!

Etiquette ...Larry Pardue

As I was preparing to put my airplane back in the hangar after a flight I was approached by an out-of-town RV owner. Good, I rarely see any fellow pilots at my airport, much less an RV owner. After chatting a while, 50 feet from the airplane, I made the mistake of walking over to it and opening the canopy for avionics comparison purposes.

It started sort of gentle. I can overlook a greasy arm resting on the canopy. That can be cleaned. Then the body resting on the fuselage, actually moving the airplane. Then I notice the metal bracelet on the wrist that is resting on the plexiglass. Wow! I don't understand the need to lean. The fellow appears competent to stand upright.

I decided I just needed to put the airplane away so started opening the hangar doors. He jumps in to "help". I repeatedly said that I "have it", knowing the any help with these particular doors means a lot of time and aggravation trying to get the doors back on the tracks. Shouldn't one admonition be enough?

Then I start pulling the airplane back in the hangar. Once again, he jumps in to "help" by pushing on the spinner. Aaaagh! Once again it took four requests to get him to stop helping by abusing my airplane.

I know, I'm pretty grumpy this morning, but I just don't get it. Is it some kind of dominance display? What is wrong with just looking or if one feels the need to touch something or "help", asking before doing it. I would have thought a fellow RV owner would have thought this out a little better.

RV-3B Status Report ...David Paule

Since I'd removed the bottom flanges on the F-306 and F-308 bulkheads and replaced them, I decided to glue them to the belly skin. Here the glue is setting up out of sight and I've got some .063 x 1" aluminum strip as the exoskeleton. The blue film works okay as a release, but I wax the exoskeleton for additional assurance - combined with the film, these came off easily. I kept the skin clecoed to the frame until I was certain that the glue had cured. Here is what it looks like from the outside.  multiple pics

GA Camping Full...OSH Monday noon (HBC open)

From Jeff Point
General aviation has been closed since last night but Homebuilt Camping and parking are open and will remain so for the duration.  Our Sunday night numbers were down from last year, and anecdotal evidence suggests that this ATIS snafu had something to do with it.

 

From Bruce's Custom Covers

July 24, 2017.   Issue No. 4,357.
   Good morning!  The OSH PIREP, URLs, etc thread is starting to get some traction - rub it in to the folks who didn't attend <g>.  If you get a photo album online somewhere from the show, please feel free to email me the URL so I can spotlight it up here for you!
  vansairforce 'at' gmail 'dot' com
  Also, any simply amazing pic that you get with your smartphone - you know, the 'all RV folks need to see this' type of pic......email that sucker to me.  I'll splash it up here with many thanks.
  I hope all those at the show have a wonderful time!

It begins in style!

The HBC Beer Tasting (thread) Sunday afternoon at OSH'17.
(full size image #1 / full size image #2)
Pics courtesy Sid 'scrollf4' Mayeux.

OSH RV Specific Activity Calendar...lemme know if I'm missing something.

• 2017 Oshkosh RV Social ...Mon July 24.  The RV social event of the year!
• RV-8 Builder/Owner Gathering ...Tue 1000 Theater in the Woods
• Van's Banquet ...Tue 7/25
• Meet and greet ...RV-12 group.  Wed noon. HBC.

July 21, 2017.   Issue No. 4,356.
   For those travelling to OSH over the weekend, travel safe and have a wonderful time!  I started the annual thread where folks interested can insert links to picture albums, post PIREPs from the show, etc.  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.
 

First Flight N14ZP 7/19/17 ...Greg Novotny

There was nothing left to do, but fire it up and go flying. She flew extremely well, no adverse characteristics. Really the most eventful part of the 0.6 hour first flight was the coyote in the touchdown zone and the tower reported, oil access door FOD (from previous departing aircraft) midfield! Build time was 2 years 3 months and 25 days from the time we opened the first kit. It is extremely gratifying.  video

Trip Report: Flying over TX, CO, WY, ID, OR, CA, NV back to TX over 4 day weekend ...Flying Again!

Well after a bit of a delay here is my trip report flying from DFW area to Eugene Oregon and back to pick up my daughter from the University of Oregon.

The plan was to fly to Eugene in a day and spend a day to help her finish packing and move her things into storage. Then we would fly back in 2 days with a stop to see my cousin in AZ. My daughter told me she had 2-3 bags she wanted to take back but knew from experience this would grow, glad the -10 holds a lot!  continue

Kilroy's RV-14 Video Updates ...kiljoy

Another quick video update: This morning I had 7 videos left in the horizontal stabilizer build to post. I've recorded commentary over all of them and am posting them in 2 batches. Three more today and 4 more on Friday.

https://youtu.be/MPz3S-BPmJU
https://youtu.be/c4LSm_TAXV4
https://youtu.be/l0JYcZgG3ZU

RV-12iS What's New Page ...mothership

...updated with RV-12iS info

RV-8 Gathering Last Minute Reminder ...Steve Ashby

I am blasting off for OSH tomorrow morning. This is your last minute reminder that we are holding our RV-8(A) Airventure get together at Theater in the Woods on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. I will bring doughnuts.

I will also bring name tags.

It has always been a tight gathering, so lets each be prepared to give a little 2 minute run down about what has been going on in our flying/building. Nothing formal, but a way to better connect with each other.

As Pope Paul used to say, it's not about the airplanes, its about the people. I really cherish seeing you guys every year. Let's make this one count!

 

Vlad's VFR to Russia and Back Entries ...begin here (7/20 entries).

Break In - When Is It Done? ...Gary Sobek's take (3,300 RV-6 hours)

Definitely fly with the wheel pants and gear fairings on. 20-years ago, on my 1st flight in SoCAL, I never flew without the gear fairings on but did make the first flight with wheel pants off. Temperatures were high and improvements were made with less drag. I was doing test flying the hottest month of the year.

I am with Paul Dye that they all need to be installed for all of Phase I flying. A local RV-9A was having cooling issues in Phase I. I like Paul, recommended to get the wheel pants on. Temperatures came down with their installation and proper attention to temperatures could now be addressed.  ...

 

Thank you GRT Avionics!

A friend's Sport SX gave up the ghost last Friday right before formation practice at our home field.  He called Jon at GRT and asked about how long it might take to get it fixed if he shipped it that day (pressing work commitments on the near horizon).  Well, the unit arrived the next Wednesday.  And they even threw in two pics...

Let that sink in.  It's a week before OSH, you're plane is down, and they saved the day.

www.grtavionics.com.  Customer support is alive and well.  Thank you Jon and crew!!!

Getting some bench love...

All better...

Status Report ...Russtbucket RV-8

Thanks xblueh2o and jcarne for advice on the plans, I'll get some ordered!  DaAV8R, I'd like to know if you have an opinion on the access hole I've got in the tail of this -8. The picture is down below.  I've had a chance to do a more thorough evaluation of what I've got myself into, and I definitely have some work ahead of me.  First up in my list of headaches: IO-540 Engine.  This engine was overhauled by Chuck Ney in December 2011.  continue

July 20, 2017.   Issue No. 4,355.

RV-12iS Gear Tear Off Test ...video from the mothership

In this test we show how the new RV-12iS will survive an impact to the main wheels against an immovable object, such as a berm with full fuel and gross weight. The test conclusively showed that the fuel tank would be unaffected.

OSH RV Specific Activity Calendar...lemme know if I'm missing something.

• 2017 AirVenture RV-10 Dinner & Social ...Sun 7/23
• HBC Beer Tasting ...Sun 7/23
• 2017 Oshkosh RV Social ...Mon July 24.  The RV social event of the year!
• RV-8 Builder/Owner Gathering ...Tue 1000 Theater in the Woods
• Van's Banquet ...Tue 7/25
• Meet and greet ...RV-12 group.  Wed noon. HBC.

July 19, 2017.   Issue No. 4,354.

N916EN ...is ready for her closeup.

The latest Eagle's Nest Projects RV-12 is out of the paint booth at GLO.  My friend Ernie Butcher and his cohort Bruce Bohannon came to pick it up Tuesday at 52F and I was asked to take a pic or two (gladly!).  Ernie's about as nice a guy as you'll ever meet.

The three gents in the first pic are Grady (GLO), Clint Broadie (donated the SW paint), and R.E. 'Ernie' Butcher.  go to full size pics

Leaving 52F in Slo-Mo (video)

New Garmin ADS-B Products ...Garmin via Stein

The GDL-82 is a neato inline box that you simply plug into your existing transponder installation and uses your existing antenna (but you will need to install the GPS antenna):  continue

related:
http://newsroom.garmin.com/news-releases/all/all/Aviation

I guess 10 years is about the lifespan

...of a tailwheel on my RV-6 <grin>.  I *think* this is one of the prototypes that Dayton Murdock made a decade or so ago.  All I remember is getting an email from Dayton asking if I'd be willing to put a tailwheel on my plane that he was thinking about manufacturing, and could I abuse it to see what it could take.  Bell fork and JD tail link make up the rest of the team.

Dayton, mission accomplished!  The plane sure made an interesting sound on the rollout!  For a nanosecond I thought I had a blown main, or one of the wheel pants was shaking like a bad shopping cart wheel, but the plane tracked straight and loss of control was never an issue.

Ross brought over a spare old wheel he had in his hangar, so I'm back online until I figure out my next move.  No worries and never boring. 

Maintenance happens! ;^)

click to enlarge

Original size
(2,448 pixels by 3,264 pixels)

July 18, 2017.   Issue No. 4,353.

Early morning formation practice slash gas run to KXBP in
N.Texas Monday.  Usual 52F suspects...click to enlarge.

First Flight ...Bob Welsh RV-8

After six years of building, I received my airworthy certificate from the FAA (Dayton, OH office) for N118W about a month ago. I postponed flying until I could take some transitional training from Jan Bussell in Okeechobee, FL in late June. The plane took off like a rocket and flew straight and great!  continue

 

Kitplanes Flies the Improved RV-12iS! ...Paul Dye article at Kitplanes

related: VAF Forums thread

How to cope with the heat. (hint- leave) ...jcaplins

The weekend was threatening to be pretty hot in CA's central valley. Thursday it was decided the best thing to do was to just up and leave for the coast where the highs were only supposed to hit 75 rather than 105 at home.

The drive would take 5 hours, but as you all know, the RV can do better than that. The plan is to depart after work on Friday between 5 and 6pm.  ...

Vlad's VFR to Russia and Back Trip ...Vlad the Amazing's 7/17 entry

I spent one day in Nome. I can tell you the life of a visitor gets expensive there. Striking similarity with QOL on the other side of Bering Strait.

20 Years ...smokyray

My Four turns Twenty this week, the tail is actually 28!   Near Upper Loon Creek ID, July, 1997.  Time flies, literally...

29 Years ...springer

Smokey yours is hardly broken in. Mine turns 29 next month. The scary part is that I was 39 in the photo and now 68!

Garmin Mode S Transponder Software Upgrades at OSH'17 ...g3xpert

We will once again provide free software upgrades for Garmin Mode S transponders used in Experimental aircraft at Oshkosh.

Just bring your GTX 23ES, GTX 33ES, GTX 330, or GTX 330ES transponder in to us at the Garmin tent at Oshkosh and we will install V8.02 software into your transponder while you wait. It only takes about 2 minutes to accomplish this update. This software hasn't changed in a couple of years, so make sure you need an update before bringing it over.

We will also be updating software for GTX 35R/45R, GTX 335, and GTX 345/345R transponders to V2.10 to newer.

We are located across from the EAA Welcome Center and the Ford tent. If you look at the Airventure ground map, this is grid K13. From homebuilt camping, just follow Knapp street South to Celebration Way (the main entry street) and turn left

Sorry, but we are not equipped to perform sign-offs for certified aircraft, so please only bring us transponders that are installed in experimental aircraft.

Hope to see you at Oshkosh!

Trig Avionics Press Release

Trig's new TY96A and TY97A radios are now available to order.

Status Report in Videos ...kiljoy RV-14

Had myself a nice week of vacation followed by a week of pneumonia. It's just what I've always wanted.

In real time I'm in the middle of the elevators. I've moched up all of the pieces and am now in the middle of cleaning and deburring all of the parts. I appreciate how Van's has the elevator chapter setup where you fabricate all of the parts that you need, moch up the structure of the part and THEN you break it back down and do all of the cleaning, deburring, etc in one fail swoop.

I've put a deposit down on the wings. I'm not planning on building any of the tailcone/fuselage until I'm ready to do the entire fuselage at once. I don't have the space to store a large, cross-sectioned object like that so I'm holding off.

So I'm very backed up with media but here are a nice large set of videos on the horizontal stabilizer that I've been meaning to release. I have 6-7 more after this that I'm going to try to get out in a couple of days.

Videos:
https://youtu.be/gnXz3Ish-mY
https://youtu.be/p_imds3nar0
https://youtu.be/Lv6baBhkf-o
https://youtu.be/viIE6VUKAn0
https://youtu.be/aQp8eXPya3k
https://youtu.be/mP1uShYsVF4

JD Air Parts at Oshkosh ...VAF Advertiser

Hello RVers. If you are interested in any of the JD Air Parts inventory I will be able to bring them to Oshkosh. I will be there this Saturday through the end of the Airventure.

Please go to the website www.jdair.com and send a note to the Contact link. Let us know what you'd like brought to Oshkosh. If possible, please do this before Wednesday as I will be leaving on a Commercial flight on Wednesday afternoon. We will still be able to get you products after that day but it will be much easier if I can hand carry it.

This will need to be a cash situation. I will not have provisions to take cards while there. We will offer a 5% discount on all products being ordered for Oshkosh.

Jason and I appreciate the support. I look forward to meeting all of you!!!

My direct contact is 480-204-0662.

Also, I fly the tour helicopters over at Pioneer. If you want to get a great view of the grounds come on over for a ride. Ask for me and they'll try to set you up with me if I'm in that flight rotation.

 

Advertiser Sale

"TAILWHEEL TRANSPORTER is having a sale!  From now until July 21th, you can purchase a TAILWHEEL TRANSPORTER ll for only $349.99!  Call us at 602.430.5365 and mention Van's Airforce for AN ADDITIONAL $10 OFF!!"

Milestone: 50 Years of Superior Air Parts

July 17, 2017.   Issue No. 4,352.
  Spent a lot of the weekend at the keyboard doing behind-the-scenes admin work (mostly accounting).  The donations page is now updated and the list current as of Saturday night.  I should also have the RV White Pages updated and current in a day or so - lotta updates.
  I try not to bring up the honor system donation business model this site uses too often as I don't enjoy commercials myself, but since we're now over halfway done with 2017 I'd like to just take a second to thank those folks who help keep the lights on here.  And to remind folks as quickly and unobtrusively as I can that there is a 'Support VAF' link over there on the left.   Please consider reading it before the end of the year if you're 'a regular'.
  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you if you help support this site!  Susie, Tate and I will continue trying our hardest to bring you a quality product worthy of your hard-earned money.
  Sorry for the commercial, hope you enjoy today's edition and that your Monday goes swell. 
 

Passed my checkride in an RV! ...j-red

After 140 hours as a sport pilot, and six months trying to arrange schedules to fit in the transition/ night / hood time required to take the PPL checkride, it is finally done! I'd have been smiling in the photo, except it was 100 degrees outside, and he hadn't yet told me whether or not I'd passed! (Maybe the photo was for the wall of shame... who could know???   Can't wait to share the rv experience with family and friends now.

First Flight Video ...Jason 'jseavolt' Seavolt RV-8

A truly heartfelt thank you to everyone on VAF for all of the information and shared knowledge. I don't think that I would have embarked on such an enormous project without this community and resources.

I had first flight in April, but have been focused on test flying and all that goes along with frequent inspections/adjustments to the new airplane. I've got about 80 hrs on her now, started learning aerobatics, formation flying, and completed an IPC. All I can say to all of the current builders is to keep plugging away at it. The experience and plane has been even better than I had hoped it would be!

Here is my first attempt at making a video:

Never talk down an issue ...Scott Martin RV-10

I've had a few issues in the last few weeks.  A main bus voltage reading low/zero and an oil pressure reading dropping out.  The local avionics shop cleaned some pins and all was normal.

So. On my way back from a weekend flight out of town, I started hearing a persistent whine in my headset. Out of curiosity I flipped over to the engine monitoring page and both bus voltages were out of range high. Off scale.

Then I started smelling something hot, very hot.

I turned off the master and pulled all the breakers.  Landed nearest which was about 7 long minutes.  I don't know what I have to fix, but it's sitting in kind strangers hangar until it's fixed.

Lesson learned. Never fly with a mystery reading.

Stormy's Fly-In Pics ...Vlad

Stormy thank you! It was a nice flyin. I had three reasons not to go based in the core no fly TFR, lifr in the morning and a crushed toe but I couldn't just help myself. Plus I promised to attend still being in Russia. You have a heck of a location there at Hopalong Bill! Was nice meeting everyone sorry I was late. Got permission to land on a private island I was calling the owner for three years.  more pics

More Pics of Stormy's Fly-In ...Mugsy

Thanks so much for hosting your event. The food and friends where great ! Your new home is outstanding. Sorry I didn't get a chance to try the pool, maybe next time. We want to see a lot of progress on that RV-10 !

Below is a link to some more shots from yesterday. Vlad told me that one of his Russian aviation friends has built a pair of AGM-65 rubber poultry launchers from my design. I would love to see some photos of these on their RV. You can see one here on Jim Ts RV-8 yesterday. He announced his arrival by bombing the runway with a USAF standard issue flexible poultry ordinance device.

Thanks for kind words ...Vlad's 7/14 post

New Tire, New Shimmy ...Norcalrv7

A few days ago I replaced the nose tire and tube on my RV-7A due to a worn tube. Nose wheel has been modified by anti splat with sealed bearings, and
previously had been balanced. On takeoff roll with the new tire and tube I noticed a slight bumping during and after the ground roll. "dang" I thought to myself, new tire isn't balanced as perfectly as the old one. No big deal I thought, until I landed. Normal landing, but when I let the nose gear touch I felt a split second of shimmy, which then stopped. I went around the pattern again to confirm, and same thing happened. I've never had any shimmy at all in my airplane, guess its time to pull the tire back off and balance it.

Milestone: Hung the Engine ...pazmanyflyer in Arizona

103 F high humidity and monsoon weather. Why not hang an engine! First time I've ever hung one and I did it solo in just over an hour.

July 14, 2017.   Issue No. 4,351.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.
 

Back into Yesterday ...Vlad the Amazing's 7/13 RV-9A installment

An hour over the water flew faster then I thought. Over Provideniya I turned northeast and was headed toward BATNI intersection. Stellar weather beautiful views.  continue

'Swisseagle' heading for Austria ...trip video (RV-7A Zurich)

After a year since the first flight of my "little dream machine" ... it was time to spread the wings and go further ... still owe a buddy who cut the first flight video, a countertrade for his wunderful work, I flew hin to his family for a long weekend. This is out of Switzerland to the east, accross Austria to the south-east corner, crossing the alps (mountain-ridge) to Fuerstenfeld LOGF with a stopover in Zell am See LOWZ

RV-14 Carpet (Classic Aero) ...Luke D

We've been working on carpet for the RV-14(14A). Here are some preview pictures of the final version. We are not quite ready to take orders on the whole thing, but I'll put a link at the bottom for ordering the front and baggage carpet.  many pics

Hat Sighting ...Greg Baron

Antarctica Peninsula January 2017.
related: About the charity cap

Welcome Lycoming Thunderbolt Engines ...new advertiser

Thunderbolt Engines are Lycoming's brand of high performance, built-to-order power plants for Experimental aircraft. With Thunderbolt Engines, customers get a genuine Lycoming engine that is factory built, factory tested and factory supported - with your choice of fuel systems, ignition systems, performance enhancements and finishing options.

Lycoming now offers an online “Thunderbolt Engine Builder” interactive tool, which is available at www.lycoming.com/engine-builder. People can customize a Thunderbolt engine and email the configuration to Lycoming and themselves for discussion and to get pricing.

At EAA AirVenture Lycoming (Booth 277-282) will be hosting a Thunderbolt Engines Information Session on Tuesday, July 25 from 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. at their Training Tent. This will include a presentation and overview on Thunderbolt engine options, and will provide attendees with an opportunity to get their Thunderbolt questions answered.

For more information on Lycoming’s Thunderbolt product line, please contact Jeff Schans, Thunderbolt Sales Manager, at jschans 'at' lycoming 'dot' com or 570-220-7840.

SUPERIOR AIR PARTS, AEROSHELL, CAMGUARD AND RAM AIRCRAFT ANNOUNCE THE 2017 OSHKOSH FORUM SERIES SCHEDULE

In addition to learning how to get more performance, reliability and life out of their piston aircraft engine, everyone who attends the series of free, 45-minute educational forums will also receive a free copy of Engine Management 101 by Bill Ross.

Coppell, TX (July 05, 2017) — Representatives of Superior Air Parts, Inc., announced today that the company is partnering with AeroShell, CamGuard and RAM Aircraft to host a series of 18 educational forums during Oshkosh AirVenture 2017.

“We had a lot of great response from our forums at Oshkosh 2016 and this past Sun ‘n Fun. Every pilot wants to know how they can operate their engine more efficiently,” stated Scott Hayes, VP of Sales and Marketing, Superior Air Parts, Inc. “That is exactly why we created the forum series. Each forum session will give pilots and owners proven procedures and insights that will help them reduce the cost of flying while extending their engine’s operational life and lowering maintenance costs.”

Superior’s Vice President of Product Support, Bill Ross, who has been an FAA A&P/IA for 32-years, will host the 2017 Forum Series.

“These sessions are not about theory or opinions,” Ross said. “What we are going to deliver is proven information that the other presenters and I have gained over our various careers. These are practices and tips pilots can use every time they fly.”

The free, 45-minute Forum sessions will be held daily at the Superior Air Parts tent (#257), which is just north of the Bendix/King Hangar B. Forum times are 9:00, 11:00 and 12:30, Monday through Saturday.

In addition to all the other valuable information, forum attendees will receive a free copy of Bill Ross’ new 144-page book, “Engine Management 101.”

Superior Air Parts and Industry Partners 2017 Oshkosh Forum Series subjects include:

• Understanding Piston Engine Oils. Presented by Shell Aviation Lubricants

• Maximizing Engine Longevity. Presented by RAM Aircraft

• Owner Inspections: Things to look for under the cowl. Presented by RAM Aircraft

• Aircraft Engine Leaning and Flight Management. Presented by Superior Air Parts

• Compression Testing Aircraft Engines and Maximizing Cylinder Life. Presented by Superior Air Parts

• How Owners Can Make Flying More Affordable. Presented by Superior Air Parts

• Superior Air Parts XP-Engine Options for Kit Builders. Presented by Superior Air Parts

• Lubricant Management – The key to engine longevity & reliability. Presented by CamGuard

July 13, 2017.   Issue No. 4,350.

My Wife's Cool RV Art ...Jetj01

Thought I'd share my wife Danna's cool picture she took of our RV-4. The things an iPhone can do in the hands of a beautiful and creative mind.

Titan Engines at OSH ...Titan (advertiser)

This post is a notification for those of you who are seeking information on engine options for your RV projects. Since ECi was acquired by Continental Motors, the integration of the Titan line of standard and "stroked" engines has been moving forward. The manufacturing machinery is in place in Mobile, Alabama and in the German division. The supply chain is well established too. Our lead times are longer that we would like but we're working it that.

In years past, Titan Engines had an outdoor space at Oshkosh with a trailer on it and engine displays out front. This year the integration with Continental Motors is complete and we will be in the big Continental Motors tent just outside of Hangar C. Titan Engines will not be listed in the Air Venture program, just Continental Motors. We're one big happy family now; The Booth #'s are 229-234.

We will have a discount special and will be celebrating "Titan Tuesday" on July 25th. Please come by and see us, we would love to welcome you to your booth and talk engines !

 

Met classmate haven't seen since '85 ...Vlad the Amazing's story continues

"....Nearby a local ChukotAvia turboprop almost finished boarding his passengers. I see a crewmember walking from the Antonov turboprop toward my airplane. The guards are telling him not to proceed the man is still walking doesn't pay attention. 5 minutes to my start time. The man yells - Slaffka! Karpaeff! Sure I am and who are you? (all talk in Russian) I am Maslow! Sergey really?! Unbelievable... My classmate from military flight school we graduated in 1985 and haven's seen each other since. He was one of those champions ready to jump on Smokey's squadron mates if allowed..."

200kt Club (level flight) ...Scott Martin RV-10

At OSH ...Jerry Fischer

Arrived at Home Built Camping yesterday afternoon about 1 PM after a 15 1/2 hour drive from Winder. ( I'm gettin' too old for this straight through stuff)
Got the bugs swept out of the building to start with
Looked at progress of Pavillion, (Pictures later).Sod down & looks great. Roof dried in & tin to be installed on Friday. All y'all will be impressed with sheer size
(40 x 80)
Had supper with my buds from Home Built HQ @ Friar Tucks. beer & French Dip hit the spot.
Hot Shower
Bedtime 2145 (9:30 PM)
Woke up @ 0645 to drizzling rain, so plan is to clean inside & hit Menards for HBC supplies.
More tomorrow...stay tuned

 

How Many KC Flight pilots does it take to change a light bulb? ...olyolson

A: WHY is the owner / builder / pilot watching 3 other guys change the light bulb in his airplane?

A: Because he's supervising, of course!

A: The owner knows nothing about electricity. It's better he just observes.

 

RV-8 Hangar Lifestyle ...stancaruthers

Thought I would share.....  Sold my home and building another, during this 5-6 month process the wife decides we need to live in the hangar   Since I drive there everyday....why not...right ? saving gas.

So everyday around 8pm when it gets below my melting point I take to the sky......living the dream.  My landing fear is diminishing quickly, unless the wind is howling I press on regardless of direction.  I'm running out of places to fly for my daily 1 hour therapeutic drive.

Update from Audrey...our daughter at graduate school. 

Audrey and Susie have been FaceTiming each other in the evenings, and that makes her being so far away a *little* less sad.  We found a stand that had a picture in it, and commandeered it for iPad duty.  Trivia: Tate painted the picture on the wall.  The table?  $5 from a garage sale (I think).

This Thursday will be 3 weeks...and it feels like a billion years.  Make that ten billion.  Technology helps...

click to enlarge

July 12, 2017.   Issue No. 4,349.

Daily Mail News Article ...featuring Mark Albery RV-8

Construction Time Lapse Videos ...gfb RV-9A

Last 6 months of videos just uploaded to Youtube.

Welcome Rapidset Metal Buildings

Use the 'Price a Building Online' design and price tool online!  Their ad lives on the front page.

www.rapidsetbuildings.com

7/11 Installment ...Vlad in Russia

On June the 20th we drove to tundra. What a perfect day to hit 55! Somewhere on a hill only locals know we stopped, uncorked a bottle of good cognac, left a drink for God of Tundra and asked Him for good weather on my way home. 

200kt GS Club ...j-red

Just barely made it.  Winds weren't any faster up here at 10k than they were down at 8, but I couldn't know that without trying
170KTAS, 203 GS

Truly inspiring ...Dave Cobb on Vlad's Russia Adventure

I have to admit after an 8 year build I am loosing my motivation at times.

But when i read an article like this it inspires one.

This is truly the most amazing journey and to a country I had thought much more backward in development than the west. This western myth is blasted away by great scenery, lovely buildings, and people who treat you with respect and accommodating a foreign language! Does it get any better?

I must visit Russia one day!

Thanks Vlad, one day i hope to meet you perhaps when.... if ever.. i get this bird of mine in the air.

 

Intruders Forever ...Boomer506 RV-8 update

Yes the A-6 was a great airplane, although by the time I got to it, we were mostly carrying precision guided weapons and not the 28 500b bombs from the early days. Laser guided bombs (GBU-12,16,10), Mavericks (AGM-65), Harpoons (AGM-84s) and HARM (AGM-88). The Intruder was retired during my time in the Navy and I was transitioned to the EA-6B Prowler, so I have dedicated the right side of the plane to my Electronic Attack brethren. "VAQ" in naval aviation is the designation for a fixed wing, electronic attack squadron. In my case VAQ-130 is my old Prowler squadron out of Whidbey Island, Washington. We flew off the Enterprise on the east coast. They fly the EA-18G Growler now.  When our Super Hornets call the ball they use the "Rhino" call sign. ...

July 11, 2017.   Issue No. 4,348.

IFR Rating ...Sid Mayeux RV-7A

KELLI GIRL and I passed the IFR checkride yesterday. Thanks, DPE Joe Johnson, for a well-run and thorough checkride.

IFR ticket....done!

Once again, I owe HUGE thanks to:
- CFII Matthew Hood of Positive Rate LLC. Matt is the same CFII that trained Walt Aronow of EXP Aircraft Services for his IFR ticket. Matt absolutely excels at training RV drivers in their own airplane's unique avionics configuration. Thanks Matt.
- Walt Aronow of EXP Aircraft Services for crafting a fantastic IFR panel, blending the best of Dynon SkyView Classic with the awesome Garmin GTN650 WAAS GPS and Nav. My examiner had huge complements for the level of IFR capability the panel gave me. Speaking of the examiner....
- DPE Joe Johnson of Flying Ace Services LLC, Parker County Weatherford KWEA. I believe Mr Johnson gave me a fair, thorough, and instructive evaluation. He was rigorous but patient, and we even had a laugh or two. You are a real pro, Joe, thanks.
- My wife Kelli, for cracking the whip. Thanks Love, you're the best.

Now, off for more learning...

First Aerobatic Competition - Galen Killam

I just got back from my first ever aerobatic contest in Bay City, Michigan, the Michigan Aerobatic Open. It was a blast. First, getting there and back was well..RV like. 180+ MPH ground speeds are awesome. Second, everyone at the contest was great, absolutely great. Lots of help and patience answering to many questions from me. Next, I met my goal of no hard zeros and scoring 75% of the points (3091 points). I ended up 7th out of 10 in the Sportsman category including being OB a few times. I need to work on that for sure but needed no breaks on any of the 3. My hammer could use some tweaking and twice my cuban loops were different sizes. My RV-8 with an O-360 performed great and I would suggest going to a contest by anyone who can get to one.  video

Another one strikes out for the New World ...penguin post

RV-7 pilot Ron Mitcham has left Scotland en-route for the US and eventually Oshkosh via the East Coast and Texas. Track Ron's progress here.  The plan is Greenland on Monday and on to Goose Bay if possible, then to Maine on Tuesday.  You won't mistake Ron's aeroplane if you see it, its lemon yellow!

Sky Harbor Trip ...petehowell

Andi and I headed north in search of beaches and dinner Saturday night. A quick convo with the Duluth airport manager informed me that there were nice Bikes at Sky Harbor - we needed to check them out!  continue

Vlad's VFR Trip to Russia Continues ...picks up 7/6 and 7/7

You guys have a great sense of humor. Thanks!

... Well, as I said, I didn't have permission to enter Russian airspace VFR over BATNI intersecton. I asked Magadan Control why, I have a confirmation of my flight plan passed through all Centers all the way to my destination Anadyr. The Magadan Control patiently explained to me that all international traffic enters Russian Federation airspace via VALDA and I am no exclusion. They do have my route and if I want to proceed further would I please go to VALDA and give them a call from there. There will be no negotiations because they have an order from Khabarovsk Center.

I turned southbound toward St Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea and got me some thinking. Do I need all of this? One hour over the freezing water then another hour plus, with distance to land as far as 50 NM? Winds are shifting there. Satellite image shows some clouds. Should I just turn around and stay home? I was trying to catch just a slight sense of engine "auto roughness" for any excuse but all was good. Lycoming kitten purred. So I made my decision to go ahead with planned route. Over VALDA I reported my position, got a discreet code and entered Russian airspace.  continue

Vlad Continued ...7/7

The easternmost town of Russia is Anadyr. It has a rather large airport with a modern infrastructure. Working hours are 2100 to 0900 UTC. Controllers speak excellent English and most of the service personnel could clearly communicate with a foreigner.   ...

7/8 Update ...Vlad VFR to Russia

7/9 Update ...Vlad the amazing

Another Morning Flight ...rvator51

Circling the Estrella mountain range south of Phoenix, AZ to break-in engine and get Phase one testing completed before Oshkosh.

July 10, 2017.   Issue No. 4,347.

Early morning flight ...mchargmg words and pics

For some reason I woke up early today and could not get back to sleep. So I decided to go flying. The hangar at my airport, KFLY, is about 35 minutes from my house. So after a bit of coffee, off I went.

Got to the hangar just after 0600. Pull out the Sabrina Lee. She looks good in the morning sun.  ...

More RV-10TDI Performance Numbers ...Flandy10

G3x recorded 1:47 total time. I figured airborne 1:34 and total burn per the truck meter---12 gallons. Back on level ground in hangar, I sticked the tanks to verify fillup- needed another .5 gallon in one tank. So--12.5 total burn. Fuel burn at 12500 was between 7.5 and 8.0 GPH

Flight profile--climb to 5500 till clear of Class B then continue to 12500. 30 min max cruise. Decided on way down to stop every thousand to check speed numbers.

The following numbers were taken from the data file- let speed stabilize and eyeballed an average- Not the fastest and not the slowest--trying to be honest with the numbers.

Altitude ----IAS ---- TAS ---MAP
12500------127----157-----57
10500------128----154-----60
9500-------135-----158-----60
8500-------136-----158-----60
7500-------132-----151----61
6500-------135-----151----61
5500-------151-----167----76
4500-------155----168-----76


Why the big increase in MAP below 6500? The short version is ----The turbo on this pre-production engine didn't come with a speed sensor (and no way to retrofit one either). So to allow operations above 6000, CMI felt it was prudent to limit the MAP to the "B" model power numbers to prevent overspeeding the turbine.

There is one more test planned---side by side flight with a standard -10 to compare performance numbers.

RV-3B Status Report ...David Paule

In order to cleco the new left hand baggage rib flange, I removed the tailcone belly skin for access. Here are the new bulkhead flanges that I've got clecoed on.  ...

First RV Experience RV-10 from TX to OR ...Steven (nevetsw18)

I had an excellent introduction to RV flying and utility thanks to VAF member
"Flying again!". I saw TJ's post on a Wednesday at 8PM and was wheels up with him for a 9 hour journey across our great country by Friday at 7 AM.

Wow the -10 is a cross country machine! We left 52F and made our way to Pueblo, CO. From there it was a long leg to American Falls, Idaho. The final portion of the journey was direct to Eugene, Oregon. The scenery was second to none courtesy of the the -10's visibility and afforded us beautiful shots of the Sisters mountains in Oregon. Pictures will be uploaded as soon ...

My thanks to Doug for the wonderful site that allowed me to meet TJ [ed You are most welcome! v/r,dr]. Thanks go to TJ for the excellent flying and allowing me to spend 9+ hours picking his brain!

The flight was excellent motivation to finish my current project and get to work on the -8 empennage that's in the hangar!

I look forward to many future RV related journeys.

RV-7 canopy shadow pic ...Cam McCarthy

'Thought you might like to post this pic on VAF. I took it this afternoon on descent into Bankstown while flying with my friend Richard Connell in his RV-7.

Milestone: Instrument Panel Power Up ...Boomer506

I threw the avionics master switch on for the first time. It all seemed to work as advertised, and no smoke or burning smells which I think is a good sign. Plenty of functional testing to go.

July 7, 2017.   Issue No. 4,346.
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.  
 

RV-8s and Blue Angels ...Jon Thocker

This is our 5th season performing airshows as Redline with our RV8s. Over the years we have interacted with many members of the Jet Demonstration Teams (Blue Angels, Thunderbirds and Snowbirds). In particular, we compare notes with the solo guys as we fine tune our maneuvers. Redline is performing at several shows with the Blues this year and they coordinated this photo while practicing for their hometown show this weekend; The Red, White, and Blues Air Show in Pensacola Beach Florida.

(click to enlarge)

The flight and formations were briefed Wednesday morning with photographer Glenn Watson (MachPointOne Photography), photo ship pilot Adam Baker (PlayFul Airshows), Lead Solo Cdr. Frank Weisser, Opposing Solo, Lt. Tyler Davies and Redline pilots, Ken Rieder and Jon Thocker. The rendezvous occurred over Pensacola Beach after the Blues morning practice flight and we had about 5 minutes to position for the photos before the Blues were Bingo fuel and had to RTB.

(click to enlarge)

The smooth air over the water helped tremendously as Glenn positioned each of us over the intercom to Adam who relayed to us. "Jon, up 5", "Frank, forward 10", "Tyler, up 5", etc.

The funny thing is, Ken and I never really saw those guys! We each took one quick peak and could just see the nose of the Hornets in our periphery.

(click to enlarge)

My RV has certainly afforded me some amazing opportunities! Thanks again Van!

fmi: www.machpointoneaviation.com
[ed. Images used with permission. dr]

Open Question for the Engineers at Vans ...Greg Novotny getting close with his RV-14A

Is this kinda...sort of....what you had in mind? ;^)

Performance Data: RV-10TDI ...Scott Flandermeyer

With the G3x fixed, its time to finish Phase 1.

Fuel Consumption testing flight #1: 5500ft at Max Cruise (90%- 207HP) approx. pwr

105kt cruise climb to 5500,
30min. at 76"MAP 2190rpm 151Kias/167Ktas
60"MAP descent at 155 Kias. 750fpm

Instruction to lineman- 1 inch from the top before flight and after.

Dipstick readings----- L tank ---- R tank (these are not gallons)
Before ------------------- 13.0 ---- 13.0
After --------------------- 9.5 ------ 10.5
After refuel -------------- 13.5 ---- 13.0

G3x recording length 58 minutes and 7.1 Gallons.
Fuel truck--7.0 gallons


Qualifier:Red Cube calibration still being adjusted. Due to fuel injector pulses, red cube can't read ground fuel burn, so fuel counter reset just before takeoff. But I forgot to check it just after landing, so while it looks real accurate, its not. I just got lucky. But the fuel truck meter is accurate

On the sunny side of the street ...sbalmos

Tank issues notwithstanding, the bird did clearly enjoy being let out in the full sun for the first time. Yes, I have a new left aileron built and waiting to be hung.

Sooo... This is bare naked aluminum, with some discrete vinyl remaining on the canopy and other places of active work. Does this mean she's sunbathing?

Vlad's Russian Adventure Continues

... Well, as I said, I didn't have permission to enter Russian airspace VFR over BATNI intersecton. I asked Magadan Control why, I have a confirmation of my flight plan passed through all Centers all the way to my destination Anadyr. The Magadan Control patiently explained to me that all international traffic enters Russian Federation airspace via VALDA and I am no exclusion. They have my route and if I want to proceed further would I please go to VALDA and give them a call from there...

I turned southbound toward St Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea and got me some thinking. Do I need all of this? One hour over the freezing water then another hour plus, with distance to land as far as 50 NM? Winds are shifting there. Satellite image shows some clouds. Should I just turn around and stay home? I was trying to sense just a slight sense of engine "auto roughness" but all was good. So I made a decision to go ahead with planned route. Over VALDA I reported my position, got a discreet code and entered Russian airspace.

July 6, 2017.   Issue No. 4,345.

Dissimilar friends...

Puddle Jumping 2 - The Sequel ...Mark Albery update

I finally arrived back in Hayward CA yesterday afternoon after a short lunch stop with Paul and Louise at Dayton Valley airpark.

It's been a great trip with several new friends made and many unforgettable experiences.

We had 3 professional and several serious amateur photographers along for the ride so their should be some great photos to share (and maybe even a television programme...)

I'm sorting through my own photos and will post a selection once the sorting and unpacking is finished.

Thanks for sharing the ride with me!

4th Annual Southeast Wis RV-12 Meeting

Fourth Annual Southeast Wisconsin RV-12 Meeting and Fly-In

Join Us
Fort Atkinson Airport (61C)
Saturday, July 22rd
11:00 AM—2:00 PM

Things to Do and See

Meet other RV-12 Builders
Meet Student Builders
Talk about building trauma and successes
See Multiple completed RV-12’s
Eat good food
Share stories
Make New Friends

Flipped the canoe!! ...dwranda

Well it's finally my turn to post my flipping of the canoe pics. It looks awesome right side up!! Now to build a rolling stand for it.

Tank removal - remove pushrods / access hole burrs? ...Scott Balmos

Two steps forward, one step back. I now join the ranks of those who have to re-seal the rear baffle. That was a nice constant drip going yesterday, after filling with fuel for the first time. Admittedly, the first time any liquid had been in the tanks since the balloon, and a water, test four years ago when I built them.

So, now I get to remove both tanks off my wings, which are already attached to the plane. Meh. For the bolts that you have to reach over into the next bay over from the inspection plate blindly, it feels like my aileron pushrod is either in the way, or greatly hampers my ability to rotate a wrench. Should I just go ahead and remove the pushrod for now?

Secondly, when I cut the rear baffle access holes, I'm probably going to do one in each bay. When you go to deburr the drilled rivet holes for mounting the access plates, I was going to try and vacuum out as much as possible. But the first pressure test would be another colored water test, which would then slosh out the rest of the loose burrs when I drain the water. Then let the tank dry out for a few days, and then do another test with maybe a gallon or two of avgas, which would probably be discarded also. Does this sound appropriate?

Maybe a third fuel test after they're remounted to the wings, in case the re-bolting flexes something on the baffle? Not sure how to really test that without filling the tanks full again, since the rear baffle in a mounted position is basically "on its side".

RV-8 Pic ...Harvey in Australia

This 8 has been around for a while - about 7 years - and looks as good as new.

FAA Safety Briefing Online ...July/August

Post-glass Upgrade Time-Waster ...humptybump

July 5, 2017.   Issue No. 4,344.
  Back to the virtual salt mine....  Hope you and yours had a nice 4th of July holiday weekend.  Some of the usuals around here got some RV time off the planet a couple of times, so no complaints.   Starting you off with a nice pic posted by 'SuperCubDriver' in Germany.  'RV-8, IO-375, P-Mags, 74RV Prop, flight testing.'
  Hope your shortened work week goes nice.

Herman in Germany.
 

VFR to Russia (In Memory of Bob Axsom) ...Vlad has us in his storytelling grips!

The idea of flying my RV to Russia floated in my head for years. In 2016 I did an extended run polishing Alaska perimeter testing myself if I could swing the challenge of crossing Bering Strait. For couple years I was digging world travelers' blogs and read anything I could find on the subject of flying VFR to Russia. There was a group of Alaskans who did a run to the closest Russian airport and back but their accounts didn't tell much of a positive. They encountered border hurdles, absence of avgas, lack of services and language barrier. So there wasn't much info online. I planned to visit the first large settlement Anadyr on Chukotka Peninsula and for the life of me I couldn't find anything useful.  ...

KELLI GIRL gets IFR and ADS-B Out ...scrollF4

Kelli and I lost out on one too many trips due to the weather. When I told Kelli I was cancelling an upcoming cross country because the forecast was just too iffy, she pronounced a new set of priorities for her airplane and her pilot (me): Get the IFR mod and ticket. Here we go...

Particles in sump screen ...Michael Burbidge

During oil change today, I found two particles in the sump screen. They are both black and non-magnetic. They look quite different. Here's a picture.  What next step would you suggest to determine the source of these particles?  I'm planning on sending the oil filter out for analysis. And I always send the oil out for analysis.

Race for Rhinos 2017 ...Janekom (South Africa)

This past weekend we have participated in the Race for Rhinos 2017. Now this event takes place in the middle of Botswana close to or at Sowa Pans.

This year there were 71 entrants. No less than four all the way from Alaska! This is a two day flat out race with the total race distance of about 630 nautical miles. It is a race based on a handicap system, which means that you get a handicap speed and have to try and beat your handicap speed. No GPS or any other devices allowed and all on board devices disabled. So it is hard navigating using your map, stopwatch and a compass. ...

Van's Aircraft OSH Banquet Tickets Go On Sale ...from the mothership.

Event: 2017 Van’s OshKosh Banquet
Time: Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Location: Nature Center Pavilion*
$35 per person
Please order tickets in advance on our website, www.vansaircraft.com or call Van’s M-F 503-678-6545 option 1 or 2.
Please pick up the tickets at Van’s booth at the show.
TICKETS WILL NOT BE MAILED.

*****MENU*****
APPETIZERS
FRESH GARDEN SALAD W/CHOICE OF TWO DRESSINGS
CAESAR SALAD
VEGETABLE – CHEF’S CHOICE
ROASTED POTATOES
MEDITERRANEAN GARLIC CHICKEN
BACON-WRAPPED PORK TENDERLOIN W/RASPBERRY JUS
DINNER ROLLS W/BUTTER
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
COFFEE AND ICED TEA

July 3-4, 2017.   Issue No. 4,343.

full size image

In Congress, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.


He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.