Thu Sep 26  1136z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

First flight RV9A N942PT with double grin ...Pat Garboden post (Katy, TX)

Saturday 9/21/13, N942 Papa Tiger flew for the first time. Slow build took 9.5 years but there was another RV9A (N942WG) that was built during this same time frame by Todd and I.  continue / multiple pictures

Build the Fuse in the Living Room, and the Wings in Your Spare Bedroom
....and build up your engine in the other spare bedroom.

On the chance someone is looking for a place to live in the DFW area (cost of living links), and that person would like to build their RV in the living room with both the permission and ENCOURAGEMENT of the landlord, then shoot me an email (include your cell number).   I know some guys making this happen in the very near future...

Some specifics as I understand them:
$1,200/mo rent.
1,500 sq. ft., 3 bedroom,  2 bath, secure covered parking.
About 500' from a runway.
Plumbed compressed air.
28 minutes by car to the center of DFW airport.  44 minutes to Love Field.  15 to Alliance.

1,500' living space upstairs, hangar space below...workers going at it full time.

Compressor for the hangar and living area purchased yesterday.

RVs all around...

Selflie

...Weasel RV-10

500 hrs on the School Bus

...same guy.  Great airplane.

Concealment of wiring in heater box....

I split the wiring to go down...

Funny, that's what I've been...

Finally finished it, to me...

Show us a pic of your RV-4 ...Tom Dubrouillet (York, SC)

The Summer Travels Map ...Tom and Bonnie RV-10

From ACS....

Wed Sep 25  1145z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

It is now an airplane ...Brian Steeves RV-10

Well, lets say an airworthy one.

Today was the big inspection day. Had 2 FAA inspectors stop down from the Fargo FSDO to do the final airworthy inspection A bit overwhelming and nerve racking. But all went well.

They only found a couple small issues that were corrected while being inspected and all was good.

After a lengthy inspection, they left with me my new pink slip. What a great feeling. Now just need that first flight. Cannot believe I am finally at this stage in the build.

First snow and colors starting ...multiple pictures

........Fall is finally here in the High country. The colors were almost gone this time last year, but are just getting started for this season. Snow level was down below 9,000 ft and frost on the pumpkin even in the lower valley this morming

Nose wheel shimmy [video] ...Brian Unrein.

I want to share some findings that Brandi and I had regarding nose wheel shimmy.

Lately we had been having increasing instances of nose wheel shimmy on landing and suspected the tension needed to be tightened again (since we had already tightened it once after annual). Before we tightened it, we shot a video and I was amazed to see just how much the nose wheel will turn due to prop wash!! The nose wheel stayed in this position for the entire duration of the flight and surely had to impact airspeed. continue

Randy Pflanzer's Taco Cart

Since I'm in the building stage again, it is set up with the plans and bins for the parts bags. It is an AV cart from Office Depot. The nice thing is that is has electrical plugs in the back. I can plug in all my other tools here instead of dragging multiple extension cords around.

Oshkosh Fun Photo ...1970

First Track! ...Guy Prevost

This was a test with the magnetic based antenna, stuck behind the roll bar in the cockpit. Next I'll install the whole thing with a J-pole in the wingtip.

I missed getting quite a few packets out, but considering the sub-par antenna placement and the fact that I was below the surrounding terrain for much of the flight, I'm satisfied.

Do you own a private airstrip?

...a discussion of the various permission options for visiting pilots.

Back to Texas ...Tom and Bonnie

October SA Online

Tue Sep 24  1154z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

theVanCave Taco Cart .....v1.0
  These are called 'ulility carts' online, but I call 'em taco carts, because that's what they remind me of (google taco cart and click on images).  The gentleman who owned the hangar before me left this Rubbermaid (I think) cart, which I recently turned into 'theVanCave Taco Cart v1.0'.  The things I want when walking around the plane looking for things to clean, tighten, air up, etc.  Folded up sheet to lay on not in shot.  The spray bottles hold water, Aero Cosmetics Wash/Wax degreaser, Wash/Wax regular and plexi cleaner.  The tray of screws had my breakfast in it earlier in the week.  The paper napkins are extras from breakfast/lunch collected over the past few weeks - they migrate glacially from my truck to here.  Anal retentive owners unite! 

(click to enlarge / discussion)

Highlights of my annual.
A crack in the baffling, a loose bolt on a wheel pant bracket, all jam nuts tight, a crack in the air box (re-glassed area), compression 78 all 'round.  Started using plastic tray from Whataburger to hold the screws removed during inspection (yes, I washed it).

Loose Elevator Trim Servo...Kevin Horton

....It looks like I used temporary hardware to attach the servo to its mount, as I obviously didn't use lock nuts or Lock Tite....

Larry Anderson Selfies ...one is an RV-8

Luke, I need to buy you a steak dinner

First Fall Flight ...mikeflys8

Any other RV-10's out there with 1,000+ hours on the Hobbs? ...rdoerr01
  Yesterday on a flight from K34 to KTOP, my RV-10 (N519RV) rolled over to 1,000 hours on the Hobbs.

Show us the status of your 9/9A project! ...MarkW
  Etched & Alodined this weekend. I am moving it to a friends paint booth Thusday this week and the to the airport Saturday. Yeehaw!

Mon Sep 23  1136z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

First Flight ...Dave & Scott Prange 9A

First Flight ...Gregory Targonski 9A

Tony 'tkatc' Kelly   One of VAF's most prolific posters perished in an accident this past Friday.  Our hearts are heavy and our prayers go out to his wife, son and many friends.   This thread has morphed into a guest book of sorts, where those who enjoyed both Tony's friendship and written words can jot down their feelings.   "Relatives and friends are invited to his visitation on Saturday 9:00 – 11:00 am at the EGIZI FUNERAL HOME, 119 Ganttown Rd., Washington Twp (maps). A Life Remembrance will begin at 11:00 am.   In lieu of flowers, donations in Tony’s memory may be made to Pilots N Paws, 4651 Howe Road, Landrum, S.C. 29356"   It hurts.  We miss our friend.   Amy, it goes without saying, but I will - whatever you need, someone here is willing to help.  dr RV-10 Progress ...Brandi Unrein RV-10 off to paint. RV8 Airshow Video ..Jon Thocker Helmet PIREP ...Gerry Julian 7A elevator spar crack ...Mark Burns Pagosa Spring Race Results (9-21-13)   Last rivet squeezed today ... ...with the installation of the turtle deck skins and the first steps to pro-seal the back window.   Next is weight and balance, then inspection, then first flight, hopefully in October. Scott Lane

N314SY Moves to the Airport Oshkosh 2013 VIDEO...Roberto Buonocore Hat ...Luke's daughter at OSH Bruce Hill Progress Status Wings ...Bill Bencze LOE'13 Status Update ...Russ Daves Good meetings with lots of Russ Kamtz's pilot buddies offering lots of help with the LOE 2013 RV Charity Fly In. Everything is set for October 4-6, 2013. Just to be on the safe side, for everyone who mailed in or hand delivered their registrations to Russ Kamtz, please drop me an e-mail at dav1111 at clear dot net and let me know so I can double check and make sure we have your registration. We will have a free beer and wine social at 5:00 pm on October 4th & 5th and there will be a missing man fly over on Saturday at about 5:00 pm in memory of Russ Kamtz. Be sure and bring your tie downs as we will some parking on the new ramp but if we have a really large turnout some parking will be on the grass. We will also be doing a slideshow during the dinner hour on Saturday evening in honor of Russ Kamtz so if you have any pictures you want to include please send them to rkphotos@ipcllc.com. My thanks go out again to everyone that has offered help take up the vacumm left we Little Russ' passing. Shop Talk Contest ...Cleaveland Tool   "What are you doing to make your shop work for you? Enter by Midnight Monday to win a set of Cleaveland Aircraft Tool precision-manufactured tank dies.  LINK

Tina's Pilot Shop Sept. Specials

Ronald Gieleghem RV-8 For Sale ...East Lyme, CT.  Hangared at KGON.

Mr. Gieleghem flew (380) F-4 missions in Viet Nam.

(click to enlarge)

Fri Sep 20  1145z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.  dr

The $100 Crab Cake

My wife runs a retreat center and most weekends finds her working with guests to serve. The good news is she generally gets a couple of days off during the week. My work schedule is flexible and occasionally, her schedule, my schedule, the weather, and having no other obligations all conspire to give us a great day to go somewhere in the RV for lunch. Wednesday, September 18 was just such a day.  continue

Don Alexander RV-9A
Virginia (2013 VAF Donation made)

Veteran's Day VAF Advertiser Special
   ...Jay Honeck's www.AmeliasLanding.com (an RV-8A owner)

"Every year, veterans and active service personnel stay FREE at Amelia's Landing Hotel on 11/11. No strings or catches -- ya just gotta prove you're a vet.

It's our way of saying "thanks", and has been very popular. Last year we had a full house of vets from every war, starting with WWII."

Jay Honeck
www.AmeliasLanding.com (VAF advertiser)

related: Port Aransas brochures.

40 hours complete

Winter is coming to Alaska so I had to make a concerted effort to complete my 40 hour Phase 1 flights before the snow flys. I made the first flight in N113DU on August 26 at Birchwood Airport. I landed at my home airport of Merrill Field at 5:30 PM on September 12th with 40.1 hours...only issue was a couple leaks at the brake cylinders in the cockpit which were easily fixed. Now I need to get busy with the finish work on the fiberglass parts which are just in primer coat at this time.

_________
Burke Wick
Flying RV 8
Anchorage, Alaska
VAF Dues Paid for 2013X4+3%

Duel 19" Skyviews Installed ...Gary Robertson RV-12

VAF shirt sightings: London and Pompeii ...Kelly Johnson 9A San Jose

A couple of months ago, in anticipation of my 25th wedding anniversary Mediterranean cruise last month, I went shopping for a new VAF hat so that I could post some sighting pictures here. As we all know, you just can’t order them anymore and I didn’t want to take the time to chase down a local place to make a custom hat..  continue

Rv (related) Parts ...mystery

Minden to Laughlin ...Tom/Bonnie

Aircraft Weighing Service ...Central Florida

I had always thought the business coming from VAF would be aircraft needing to be weighed before the first flight. I would travel to the aircraft and weigh it for the builder/owner. What I have come to find is several people would like me to reweigh their aircraft in Lakeland at my hangar. I had never given it much thought but I can do that as well. So for those that would like to reweigh an RV or any aircraft that would fit in my hangar. I would say $150 would be fair.
I will even give a group discount two or more.
Ever wonder if the scales you used were accurate?
I use Calibrated, Digital, Certified scales.

The third plane I weighed when I got my scales was my RV So I can see where it makes sense.

Sal Capra
On-Site Weight & Balance
5410 S Florida Av Suite #14
Lakeland, FL. 33813
863-206-3991
www.onsitewb.com

FS- Going out of (the flying) business sale ...Bob Collins

It'll be a long slog through all of the stuff in the hangar that I won't be needing anymore, but here are a few early offerings. Postage/shipping not included.

Tip- What is a Crockpot good for- A resin box warmer!

Answer: A resin box warmer! (more)

Thu Sep 19  1147z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

'Positive Space'...Burt Jacobs Spokane, WA

For the airline types, you know what Positive Space is, for the non, it's a guaranteed seat on the plane vs. standby or space available. Also, when your company goes bankrupt, robs you, and constantly harasses you, Positive Space is where you go to get your mind right. The project kept me sane during all of that, thus the name. And I haven't been bumped yet
First flight March 23, 2103. Out of Phase one. Solid and reliable with no issues whatsoever to date.

-8 Panel Status

I started messing with the panel and hope the layout will be good. I liked Jeff Mitchell's overall layout and tried to mimic it..sort of.

I have the D180 in the center, HS34 and AP74 to the right and left, the 3/18 A/S and then 2 1/4 compass to the left of that, where the bottom of the instruments will be on the same horizontal, and then on the right of the AP74, the same configuration with the Alt and G-meter.

Below the D180 will be the Airgizmo dock for the G496. To the left of that will be the GTX327 and the Sl 40 above that, and then the VP100 with the PMA to the right of the G496.

I tried to keep it as symmetrical as possible.

I cut the original blank without the PMA5000 and tested the HS34, D180 and the G496 today. Bill at Up north aviation is cutting my new panel for me. After a couple of days, i'm happy with the design.

For some reason, the D180 HSI isn't getting a GPS fix? I'll refer to the manual for that.

Back to the fuse!

Don Patrick
Donation made for 2013

Welcome John Caryl ....Elk Grove, CA (Sacramneto)

New member Introduction, looking for build hangar space in the Sacramento area

I have been lurking for a while, first post.

I have recently moved to the Sacramento (Elk Grove) area and I’m interested in meeting some of the local RV builder-flyers. The ultimate end goal would be finding a flying RV-4 or an RV-8 project, a builder friendly hangar shop space, and good friends and flying, Executive, Lodi, Rancho, Mather would all be good.

About me: Lifelong aviation person, ATP, A&P, Commercial, glider, SES, tools
Semi retired, the wife calls it (semi retarded) - need to get out of the house and fix, build, and fly airplanes

Thanks for reading
John

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Pecan Plantation Fly-In This Weekend (Granbury, TX)

Only a few days to go. The weather looks great for Saturday. Come join us for another great Fly-In. If you can't make it or want to sign up for the raffle of a iPad mini 64 gig. Go to www.eaa983.org

Houston Area Monthly RV Lunch ...this Saturday

The third Saturday (September 21st) is upon us, so lets get together for lunch at our monthly RV luncheon. This Saturday we will meet at Carl's BBQ for some good BBQ. Nothing will get you more motivated to finish your plane than our RV get together and some good Texas BBQ. Carl's is located at Weiser Field on HWY 290 frontage road between Telge and Huffmeister.

At our last lunch, we had 11 people attend. Three RV's flew in - a 7a, 8 and 9a. All were very nice RV's. Also, attending a RV-10 builder, a RV-10 thinking about it, a RV-9A builder and a thinking about buying a flying RV. Five of the attendee's were first timers. Great group today. One of the first timers commented on just how many resources (experienced builders) there are in Houston for new builders.

I have had a request to have a lunch in the southern portion of Houston, so our October lunch will be on the 26th to coincide with Wings Over Houston. Tentatively, we will meet at Pearland airport and then have lunch at a nearby restraunt. From there people can attend Wings over Houston if they wish.

Dave Syvertson

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Thrift ...from Smokyray's thread

I finished my 6A last year. The weight was 1,018 lbs, and I had about $35,000 in it. Got a good used 0-320 for $7,000 that needed some top end work and accessories. Bought a fixed pitched Sensenich. Have not painted it. Had about $8,000 in the panel for Phase 1. It is night VFR. The kit prices were lower in the 1990's when I started, but some things are cheaper. I think you could do it for $40K today.

One of the nice things about building is that you can pay as you go and not have to borrow the money. I didn't count the money I spent on a shop, or, the improvements to the plane once I started flying. For me it was all worth it. Building was fun... flying is great!

John

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iOS7 has an 'EFIS' in it.....  

I upgraded the operating system to my iPhone and iPad yesterday.  I noticed if you swipe to the right in the compass app you get a nice level, which I immediately thought was an standby artificial horizon.

There are probably a hundred reasons it wouldn't work, but my first thought was it would.

A screen capture....

Center Panel Installed

...Gary (txaviator) Robertson Jabiru 2000 powered RV-12
    2013 Dues: PAID

Wed Sep 18  1147z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

Max Rear Passenger Weight Charts

I almost always fly alone so cg and gross weight is not an issue. When my wife flies with me I know where to put the baggage to keep in cg but I started running some weight and balance scenarios to see what the max passenger weight would be for different conditions of baggage and fuel.

The scenarios gave me data points but no wisdom, insight or understanding.

Over the weekend I started thinking about how to mathematically work it out and possibly chart the results in a way that with a glance I could know the max passenger weight. I started reading up on nomographs and learned a lot but generating them takes a lot of time. I finally decided that even if I developed one it would be difficult to use. I wanted something simple.

Here's the progression of charts based on a pilot weight of 225 lbs. (i.e. me). Each line is a different baggage condition and the horizontal axis is fuel on board in gallons. Pick the config and fuel and read the max passenger weight on the left.

Step 1 - Limiting rear seat passenger weight based on Standard Category 1800 lb max gross weight generated this graph. It is pretty straightforward. Don't worry about the curved portion at the bottom. That is just caused by the compression of the 42 gallon to 40 gallon portion of the graph. This relationship is linear. If you have full tanks your passenger cannot weigh as much as if you had only 1/2 fuel.. continue

John Dalman
VAF donation made 10/2012

-8 Wings Arrived

Well it took 12 weeks for the kit to be packaged up by Van's, they had a little delay with the leading edge skins. Barbara, at Van's, was awesome to work with and kept me up to date on the progress. FedEx showed up this AM with my two wing crates! A little damage to the big crate that bent 3 skins that were on the bottom (FedEx will be replacing those), otherwise all the rest made it from Aurora, OR to Aurora, IL in great shape! Looking forward to smashing rivets again or should I say deburing all those ribs!!

Michael Foss
=VAF= 2013 Dues Paid

Weight a minute

How light and/or cheap did you build your RV? Under 1000#/$30K?

My RVX finished in 2007 did just exactly that, even in today's economically challenged world. Not bragging, just a goal I set, one I think is still viable today. Can it still be done?

Back in the day when people posted their completed RV in the RV8R that was the 2 bottom line points. I don't see that anymore in performing inspections or purchase look-sees. In fact it seems to have reversed now to how expensive their glass panel is, what autopilot they chose and how heavy their airplane is. Then they ask me what their airplane is worth is this economy and I smile and say, "not as much as you think". For us "seasoned builders" out there who bought our kits from North Plains and did alot of hole drilling, weight and cost savings was key.

I would like to see how many future RVers out there could match the past challenge. Purchasing slightly used parts online, a used engine, minimum fluff and light weight makes for a really good flying airplane and a happy wallet. BTW, those RV3's and RV4's we all built back in the 80's and 90's are still the best buy in the marketplace...

What say you, a under 1000#/$30K RV possible today?

V/R
Smokey

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If I wanted Trim in the Stick (RV-12):

Q: I have been thinking it may be much more comfortable to install a trim buttom in the stick grip, along with the mic button (Ray Allen, etc.)

Wouldn't this be as simple as installing the new grip/buttons, and running the trim wires in SERIES with the existing trim wires going from the panel to the trim servo? Or would I tie them in via a parallel connection? In other words, where the panel trim switch would still operate, along with the stick trim switch.

My electrical mind isn't working yet this morning. Thanks for any advice!

Gary Robertson RV-12
2013 Dues: PAID (owe again 12/2013)

A: Parallel. You can run the wires either to the servo or to the momentary switch in the panel (one to each side).  I wanted to do that as well when I bought my stick grips but since I'm strictly ELSA, no joy. Not sure I will go back and redo it once I'm flying.
One note, I had that setup in my Rocket and as was my custom, I'd read a book while travelling cross country. I once rested the book on the stick and it disconnected my autopilot by mistake. That was a little surprise.

A: Be careful here. The standard Ray Allen rocker switch shorts the wires to the motor together when the switch is in neutral (this helps stop the motor from coasting). If you just parallel the new wires from the stick to the motor wires then you will trip the CB if you use the stick switch.
You can "undo" the shorting feature (or perhaps you just have an ordinary double pole double throw switch in the panel without the shorting function) and then it (paralleling) will work, AS long as no one pushes both switches at the same time, and in opposite directions (e.g., copilot pushes panel switch for trim up, pilot pushes stick switch for trim down). If that happens you again will blow the CB.
There are various isolation schemes to prevent this from happening, the most common being the "relay deck". But there is no need to buy an expensive one from Allen, you can build your own. Another solution is to put in a switch which selects either the panel switch or the stick switch but never both.

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LOE'13 Head Count

HEADS UP:

We are finalizing an agreement with the caterer and we MUST give them a head count on September 28. Because of this if we do not receive your registration by September 27 you MAY NOt get a meal at the Saturday night banquet on October 5.

At this point everything is coming together and the LOE 2013 RV Charity Fly In will be held on October 4-6,2013 at KFNL
__________________
Russ Daves
Lubbock, TX
Proud to be a Veteran
N710RV - RV-10 Flying
N65RV - RV-6A Sold
N686RV - RV-6A FWF Rebuild & N number change
N742PZ - RV-8 Co-Builder Sold
N-867RV -RV-7 Finish Kit
VAFWWW Dues Paying Member

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RV-6A Status: Electrical Functional Tests

Did my first set of electrical functional tests this weekend. I first spent a good amount of time checking everything with a multimeter with the power off. I then powered the system (no avionics connected) and check everything to make sure the power was going where it should when it should.

Only ran into two issues, niether are hard to fix.
1: I had swapped the coil connections for the Bat and Start relays (woops), easy to correct.
2: There is a short in the pilot PTT circuit. I'll have to dig into that.

Otherwise everything worked as it should. I have more testing to do, but it is getting there.

I spent a few minutes wonder what the big "E" in the upper right corner of the EFIS meant. Was it a warning or connection problem...could find anything in the manual. I then realized that the "E" is on the plastic screen protector...haha

Colin Peterson
I donate every year on my B-Day (in Dec)

Webinar September 18, 2013 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM CDT

RV7-A in new issue of Inc. 500  ...video online (Mike Strube emailed me this)

More on the Dynon v7.0 Push ...screen grabs

Tue Sep 17  1154z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

Randy/Steve's Old School RV-6.

RV Weekend ...Peter McCoy 9A

Since I cleared my Phase 1 flight restriction in July, I have been having a blast flying my RV-9A. These are really great machines!

Saturday
Flight #1; KCCB to KCNO to have lunch with some friends. Bill is building a RV8, Rocky a Sportsman

Flight #2; KCNO to L35 took Rocky for his first ride in my RV. We had a nice flight up to Big Bear. Much cooler in the mountains. Well we were there, I filled out paper work to get an airport parking spot. Big Bear has a gated lot for $25 a month. We have a cabin in Big Bear, and leaving a car in this lot is going to work out great. It was the last available spot.

Flight #3; L35 to KCNO to drop Rocky back at his hangar and check out progress on the sportsman.

Flight #4; KCNO to KCCB put the plane to bed, and I spent the night in the camper in my hangar. Had a sunrise departure planned.

Sunday
Flight #5; KCCB to KBIH took Keith up to Bishop, CA. He was meeting some friends for golf and fishing. Sunrise departure, with two other RV's lined up behind us for early morning flights out of Cable. This flight was 1.5 hours, average ground speed 185mph at 2450 rpm and 7 gph fuel burn.

Flight #6; KBIH to L35 after dropping Keith at Bishop, I got ATC Flight following to let my fly over restricted airspace and head directly to Big Bear. A bit of head wind on this leg, as the ground speed dropped to about 155mph.

Flight #7; L35 to KCCB left a car at the airport that my wife had driven up. This was the last flight of the weekend, and my wife and I flew home.

One weekend, seven flights, six hours logged in the RV-9A.... AWESOME!

---

Skyview 7.0 is out!

Press Release

A Pleasant Surprise ...Jerry Fischer RV-1
  Today's mail brought the following from EAA Oshkosh, a letter with accompanying photo while I was parked at HBC this year. Made my day.

FS: N614EF ...Bob Collins 7A (more pictures and commentary added to original post)

Tip- Giving a second life to your expansive 3M deburring wheel
  When it comes to deburr your aluminum parts, the 3M deburring wheel is without no contest the best in its class. It will smooth out the edges without "churning" into the parts. Be careful though because if you abuse, it will heat up and become aggressive....

HELP! F864E cable anchor questions
  I am about to slice up this angle as drawn in the plans. Reading this forum has lead me to believe there may be an issue drilling the holes as prescribed. I made a rough template of the holes on the gear tower and have discovered that those holes (factory drilled) will not line up properly if I drill these holes as prescribed. Has anyone solved this problem? Does it matter if the holes are slightly misaligned?

Rough running....diagnosis help

MX quiz.

A few weeks ago I did a runup and had a bad spark plug, or so I thought. Mag drop low on one mag, EGT hot. Taxi back, remove #3 bottom plug due to the EGT tip. Put in a new plug and the plane flew great....for the next 13 hours.

Last weekend, flew a few flights, all was well. 2nd flight on Sat. The engine began running rough. EGT's & CHT's normal but rough between about 2000 and 2550 RPM, smooth everywhere else. Mag check good at all power settings.

Took all the plugs out and #3 bottom was a bit wet with oil. Cleaned all plugs, installed and the run up was fine. Took off at full power, 2600 RPM all is good, then as I start pulling the prop back it did the rough running thing again. Smooth at 2600 & above, but rough still between 2550 down to 2000. Smooth as silk at 1900.


I did a cold compression check. All cylinders were 70 to 76, and I removed the oil filler stick/cap and heard a little bit of air.....on each cylinder. At first I thought ahh hah, but on each cylinder, with good compression. I guess that is normal?

The local IA, who is mostly a Continental 520 guy, asked me about my mags.
I have Slick mags with 970 hrs on them. I had some trouble with them earlier this summer and had the internal timing adjusted, but did not overhaul (yellow tag) both mags.

This local MX guy thinks it's a mag issue. Does that sound right in your opinion? I'm assuming the good compression eliminates a valve or a ring problem.

Mon Sep 16  1136z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

R3 2013...yearly RVator gathering at Reno

Keep this site online.  I might need to sell my RV.  PLEASE read the executive summary on this page. Russ & Carol Kamtz Memorial Service "Dear Friends:   The Russell & Carol Kamtz Memorial Service will be held on September 21, 2013 at 10:30 am   The services will be at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 4650 Sunview Drive, Loveland, CO 80538. (map)   My wife Ann and I will be flying in on the 20th and staying at the Holiday Inn Express. Russ Daves" Do I need to shim my tail spring mount? VAF Site Downtime Tuesday Afternoon....most likely for around 15 minutes (or so).  Scheduled maintenance. Need help, "tear" on elevator skin Ausfly aerobatics refresher with an Instructor ...video Pecan Plantation Fly-In Sep 21 LOE'13 Charity Raffle Update ...total raffle prize value to date $8,696.30 Can't afford the real stuff yet?   Play with the virtual version, helps with motivation and fine tuning layout. Almost as much fun as the real thing. NOT! Tim's Panel Upgrade Complete What to do with that Vans crate   The panel upgrade is complete and now I'm starting on the interior panels.....I really enjoy flying behind the new panel, and I think the Aerosport interior will make a huge difference. PIREP: Mike Seager Transition Training Help me solve this DIY AOA dilemma

Hanger Queen! Advanced Flight Systems Training Videos RV formation at AUSFLY 2013 Tina's Pilot Shop September Specials ...don't let the last sentence keep you from visiting in person. Phase 1 Completed!      ...CharlieWaffles RV-10 Message from Larry, Cathy, Clint and Crystal   Thank you to all that attended the badlands fly in this year. Without your participation there would not be one. This year we had 43 aircraft, down just a little from 49 last year, and fed over100 people at the friday night meal at the hangar. Not bad considering the economy and fuel prices.   Here are some comments that I received from local people: Motel owners commented that the RV is the best group they have all year long. Report from Wall: this RV group were all a great group of people. Report from the Allen ranch: Your group is always fun and we are impressed with how far some of them come for this event. So you all left a very favorable impression here. We have already been asked about next year and would like input from you regarding any special things to do here in the Black Hills, maybe more visits to the mammoth site, wind cave, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands tour etc. We feel this is your fly in and any ideas to make it better will be considered. So thank you again for coming to the Black Hills. Larry & Cathy Vetterman. Clint & Crystal Busenitz Filling honeycomb voids Tom/Bonnie at Reno

Fri Sep 13  1123z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)
  (from the factory) "Van's will be closed at 2PM Pacific Daylight Time on Friday September 13, 2013 for electrical upgrades to our building." 
  Wishing you and yours a great weekend. 

Black Canyon of the Gunnison ...flyinmonque
   .....a few shots taken the 28th of last month.

Cleaveland Tool Shop Talk Contest

Ok, folks! Cleaveland Aircraft Tool is getting geared up for a winter full of building. We've asked ourselves, "What's more important than the shop you build in?" We might say tools, but we also know that if your shop isn't optimized and tricked out for a comfortable, safe and efficient build, you won't make as much progress on your project as you'd like.

Call for Entries
We're giving away a t-shirt and a set of our tank dies to the three (3) best shop setups/modifications/enhancements submitted by you. The submission with the most +1's will be declared "Shop Talk Champs". We'll announce the winners during our 9/24 Online Builder Hangout, so entries are due by 11:59 CDT on 9/23.

Enter now by uploading your photo to the contest event page: http://bit.ly/0913-shoptalk

What we want to see:
• Unique workshop setups
• You in your workspace
• A short write-up of what makes your shop special
• Any product recommendations

What we'd prefer not to see (read, will be removed):
• Explicit content or language
• Photos that are not your own
• Photos of dangerous, or illegal activity

Mystery locomotive ЖД234Л ....Vlad

Status Update Shots ...tkatc

RV-10 Pilot door lost in flight

This happened to a friend yesterday on his RV10 still in test phase. He reported to me that as it was hot he did not latch the door fully while taxing to the holding point. Only the Vans safety latch was holding the door.

If this sounds bit strange - he did not install the stainless steel plate in the door frame as per instructions so the door was not flush with only the safety latch engaged.

He also did not have an alarm system installed. He ordered one and planned to install in shortly.

He forgot to fully close the door and after leveling off at 8500 the door flew open. It went up about half way, did about four oscillations just out of reach and then flew off.

He lost his glasses and headset. The headset was found in the back after landing. He made a safe descend and landed. The door did not damage anything on the empennage.

They are going to look for the door today using his other aircraft.

Thank God it ended safely and let us all learn from this.
__________________
Jan Hanekom
South Africa

Sign-Up for Factory Certified RV-12 Purchase Notification List

Go to http://www.vansaircraft.com/public/rv12.htm and click on the link.

Attn: RV Businesses! 
You know all that money you spend on magazine ads?   Guess how much of your audience's attention it gets?  (hint: a few seconds a month...if that).  I think I can help.

Q: Guess how long your business ad could be in front of the eyeballs of thousands of daily VAF forum readers?

A: Over 4 hours each month. (average daily visit 8 min 12 sec).
    (your ad shown to each reader an average of 6.21 times daily)

    Still think you're getting your money's worth in print?    Let's talk.

Screen grab from yesterday (bottom number).  Click to enlarge.

Thu Sep 12  1133z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

LOE has lost a wonderful couple ...yesterday

(this email from Russ Daves)  "Russ & Carol Kamtz were both killed in a crash at Jackson Hole around noon today.  Please keep there kids and grandkids in your prayers. Ann and I spent the weekend with them at the Bad Lands Fly In."

[ed. A very somber day here at VAF.  Russ and Carol were friends.  Please pray for their family, and when we get more from the NTSB I'll let you know here.  dr]

First Flight Answers ...9min 33sec video

After starting a thread "First Flight Questions", I think I owe this forum a thread providing "First Flight Answers": this is the quite unedited debriefing of N124BX first flight that took place today.  Is not the RV-12 a great airplane?

7A Status ...Joe Rainbolt

Bob Axsom Race Debrief

Well I'm home in Farmington, Arkansas and starting to recover from the trip to Ephrata, Washington. It was a demanding trip. I am still the overall SARL point leader but the number two guy (Jeff Barnes in his RV-6) is closing the gap and looks to pass me soon.

Over the past years I have worked on drag reduction and a few years ago I bought a higher performance Hartzell propeller with F7496 blades as the means to increase speed. Last December I made a move to increase power with high compression pistons and some internal magic by Red Hamilton at his home in Ft. Bragg, California. The case was not split and the same bore and stroke were retained for 360 cubic inch displacement.

In last Saturday's race at Ephrata the legs of the race course were long so I was able to focus on operational factors of speed. I was pleasantly surprised to find some knots there that I did not really expect - I mean I knew these factors had an effect but I was surprised to see integer differences where I have slaved to gain fractions with speed modifications. I finished with 219.68 mph and if I had applied the refined techniques for the whole race I would have done better. The factors involve pitch trim, yaw trim, very fine mixture setting after finding 75-150 ROP and using the HP function of the fuel flow gauge in a very narrow range and pilot phased inputs to limit flight path pitch excursions requiring autopilot altitude hold recovery.

The next race is at Pagosa Springs, Colorado and I will have to apply everything I have to do well there. There are currently 9 entries in my RV Blue Class.

Who's In
Race # Name Aircraft Class
Race 32 Mike Patey Lancair Legacy Unlimited
Race H98 Leonard Felix SNJ-6 Heavy Metal T-6
Race 12 Michael Arbuthnot Glasair III Sport
Race 79 Jim Robinson Glasair III Sport
Race 49 Bob Mills RV Super Six Sport FX
Race 73 Steve Hammer Glasair I TD FX Blue
Race Black 1 Bob McNeese Midget Mustang I FX Red
Race 390 Jerry Hajek RV-8 RV Gold
Race 06 Craig Taylor RV-8 RV Blue
Race 07 Bob Ashmore RV-7 RV Blue
Race 21 Deven Felix RV-4 RV Blue
Race 26 Mike Thompson RV-6 RV Blue
Race 71 Bob Axsom RV-6A RV Blue
Race 77 JT Racing RV-6 RV Blue
Race 118 Ken Krebaum RV-8 RV Blue
Race 390 Jason Rovey RV-8 RV Blue
Race 411 Jeff Barnes RV-6 RV Blue
Race 4 Tim Gallagher RV-4 RV Red
Race 673 Don Polan V35 Bonanza FAC1RG-T

Tom Beiser RV-14A Status

Probable Cause Published:  ...RV-10 Lake Placid accident last February

NTSB Identification: ERA13CA142
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, February 21, 2013 in Lake Placid, NY
Probable Cause Approval Date: 08/07/2013
Aircraft: DOMBROSKI FRANK VANS RV-10, registration: N10FD
Injuries: 3 Minor.

NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot received weather information and filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan before departure. As the pilot approached his destination, which was surrounded by high terrain, the scattered cloud layer below him became broken and light conditions were dimming as the sun set. After seeing a break in the clouds and being uncomfortable with what he observed, the pilot requested the GPS-A approach then maneuvered to intercept the inbound course at the initial approach fix (IAF). Before reaching the IAF, he saw a clear visual path to his destination. At the same time, the air traffic controller was awaiting cancellation from a landing aircraft and advised that the pilot should expect an instruction to hold. The pilot advised that visual meteorological conditions existed and that he would continue visually. He then turned, descended, and crossed the final approach course inside of the final approach fix. The controller then received the cancellation he had been waiting for and cleared the pilot for the GPS-A approach. The pilot acknowledged and continued his descent. The controller then asked the pilot to cancel his IFR clearance with him or on the ground. The pilot replied with his intention to fly a visual flight rules (VFR) approach and canceled the IFR clearance. The pilot had the town in sight and estimated there was a 2,000-foot ceiling. Light conditions were significantly darker below the cloud layer. He switched to the Unicom frequency and keyed the microphone five times to activate the runway lights but did not see them. He tried twice more, and the lights still did not activate. As the pilot considered whether to climb or circle the airport and try the lights again, he maintained his last heading, which he believed would keep him over lower terrain. However, the airplane drifted right of course. The pilot had decided to climb when a passenger then observed trees. The pilot pulled up to avoid them, but the airplane struck trees and terrain, sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and empennage. Radar data revealed that the pilot had never become established on the approach, at no point was in position to land, and was never closer than 1 mile northeast of the airport before flying into rising terrain. No anomalies with airport lighting were discovered. Examination of the GPS-A approach procedure revealed that it was not authorized for use at night. Weather data recorded near the time of the accident indicate visibility below VFR minimums at 2.5 miles in light snow and mist and a 1,400-foot overcast ceiling, which was also below the published minimum descent altitude.

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

The pilot's improper in-flight planning and decision making, which resulted in attempted visual flight in night instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent impact with terrain.   full narrative

Wed Sep 11  1155z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

Please don't ever forget.

Canoe Roll .....Gil Brice
  "I know it isn't much, but every milestone helps."

Tearing up the air ...over Steamboat Lake.

End of the line.     FS: N614EF (RV-7A) ....Bob Collins looses medical (for now)

Bad Lands Pics ...and hat sighting!  Steve Ingraham.

N262NJ is back in the air

Well, I'm happy to report that my RV-10, N262NJ, "the Urban Coyote" flew again last week for the first time since its January 5 crash near Julian. Cruiseair (in Ramona) did an amazing job repairing the plane. I was able to monitor their repairs fairly regularly, and they are true craftsmen.

I got to fly the plane this morning, and as was the case back in January, she's superb in every way.

For those that may be interested, I'm finishing a short book about the crash, called "Four Minutes." There were a lot of things I learned during that experience, and I attribute living through it to (not in any order): Van's "survivable" design (which no one talks about); the Crow seat belt/harness (which I complained about during installation, but now love and whole-heartedly recommend); and -- surprisingly -- having made almost 2000 skydives with six "malfunctions", which gave me insight into that world of terror and panic, when you MUST perform during an emergency, and into "off-field" landings without power.

I want to thank everyone on this forum for their well wishes and kind words, and will let you know how it goes, now that the Urban Coyote is howling again.

Jerry Jackson

Walt's Badlands Pics

Project milestone... aarvig
  Well, with three kids and my own business the milestones don't come as fast as I would like but when they do, its worthy of celebration. My dad and I got my wing skeletons up on the wing stands today. I finally feel like I have a project now that non-builders would actually be interested in seeing.
  Making steps towards that first flight one rivet at a time...

Attn: RV Businesses! 
You know all that money you spend on magazine ads?   Guess how much of your audience's attention it gets?  (hint: a few seconds a month...if that).  I think I can help.

Q: Guess how long your business ad could be in front of the eyeballs of thousands of daily VAF forum readers?

A: Over 4 hours each month. (average daily visit 8 min 12 sec).
    (your ad shown to each reader an average of 6.21 times daily)

    Still think you're getting your money's worth in print?    Let's talk.

Screen grab from yesterday (bottom number).  Click to enlarge.

http://youtu.be/H-khULLjtgU 
      Virgin Galactic's Second Rocket Powered Flight Tail Footage

Mon Sep 9  1150z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

  I got all the rest of the panels, pants and fairings off this weekend.  The 'ol girl is ready for her close up.  Her eleventh 'D check', if you will.  Look at all that crap proof of fun under there that needs cleaning!

N946PM First Flight   September 6 was the day. The smoke from California eased up for a day and my 7 year quick build 9A finally took flight. Now, phase I starts with a 75NM radius around Fallon, NV. New signature file coming soon... __________________ John Morgensen RV-9A N946PM phase I testing First engine start of RV-8 CC-AJC in La Serena, Chile Eagle's Nest in the news - World Magazine Triple Tree Aerodrome 2013  - more pics     RV-8A #82143 Hixson, TN   Based on encouragement from lots of VAF members, I verified that I can get a Special Issuance medical for my new Type 1 Diabetes. No longer interested in selling the kit. I'm settled into new house and have (prays) stable employment with a bit more free time. It's been 4+ years of no action. So much for retiring from the Navy getting you more free time for leisure. Getting my Senior Reactor Operator license is a free time black hole.   So, I've taken the kit out of storage, finally got off the wait list and have hangar space at K1A0 (Dallas Bay Skypark). Repaired the elcheapo Harbor Freight air compressor (for which they had no parts). Put the left wing back on the stand and reviewing the construction plans. Look forward to many hours of drilling, deburring, dimpling, clecoing, priming, riveting.   Lots of things to do, but I'm going to make sure I take it slow and steady and plan for success. One of the locals, who used to work construction said the last 1/2 hour of the work day was set aside for getting ready for the next day.   I'm going to try that with the project. Prepare for the following day: lay out the parts, tools and plans. Hopefully, as soon as I show up, I can not waste time and be productive, not plodding along. __________________ Paul Parashak 200kt GS Club ...Alton DeWeese 7A Tom/Bonnie   Friday we flew out of Sun River heading for Minden. The weather that morning started out as marginal but by the time we had loaded our RV10 had changed with some blue sky showing. As we climbed on top this was the view south of Sun River.  .. Dave's -10 Progress...tail cone attached.

Finished RV-8 ZU-NAB   Our RV-8 is flying!  My brother and I completed a standard kit (Serial # 82566) in seven and a half years and the first flight was on Friday 30 August 2013.   Test pilot Dawie van Staden flew her for an hour and only had a few minor squawks to report. ... Full-Metal Funship | PlaneAndPi​lotMag.com Bad Lands Pics Short iMovie of 2 ship beach patrol VAF Hat Sightings Mystery picture # 9613 GoPro Video Landing the RV-8A ...Mustang Beach, TX (Jay Honeck) Moving to the hanger! GNAR IV Results ...Bob Axsom   It was a good race in spit of the clouds that kept many away. Nate Benson made his presence felt in RV Red. Brent Travis RV-4 RV Blue 0:51:20 222.61 Jeff Barnes RV-6 RV Blue 0:51:39 221.24 Bob Axsom RV-6A RV Blue 0:52:01 219.68 Bob Babler RV-7 RV Gold 0:53:52 212.14 John Smutny Wolf Pitts Bipe Blue 0:59:58 190.56 Tim Bovee Mustang II FX Red 1:01:04 187.13 Nathan Benson RV-9A RV Red 1:01:27 185.96 Don Otis AA-1A FAC5FX 1:11:11 160.53

Fri Sep 6  1159z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)
  It is going to be a hot one down here in Texas this weekend, but I'm hoping to get out to the airport for a little bit to continue the annual on my RV-6.  Also, I am really looking forward to reading some reports and seeing pictures from the Larry Vetterman fly-in up in South Dakota which starts today!
  Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend!

RV-6A N164BL - Brad Benson ...new 'virtual hangar' entry

RV14A Tom Beiser - Tampa, FL ...new 'my build project' entry

Independence​ Fly In/Van's Homecoming Recap

Photos taken while traveling in an RV ...[ed. This thread is really getting good. dr]

Welcome Onsitewb.com ...in the previous day's news section

Aircraft weighing service around the state of Florida.

Hartzell Composite Blade Clearance - help!

JD Air New Product Announcement​...redesigned Fuel Drain Fairing

Thu Sep 5  1138z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

N4932L First Flight ...Dwight Frye
  I wanted to drop a quick note to everyone letting folks know that I finally flew. On September 2 my RV-7 left the ground for a very successful first flight. I had very few squawks, and none of them major. Based on all the good advice I've gotten over the years I insisted that I would not let the impending runway closure cause me to rush the first flight, and that if I beat the deadline then fine .. but if not, that would be fine too.
  As it turned out I legitimately did feel everything was ready prior to the closure of the runway (which starts _today_), and I did fly. I had a friend with an RV-8 flying chase to see if everything was good on the areas of the plane I could not see. I elected to have the family in attendance, as well as a few friends who happened to show up too.
  Now the next phase of real work begins. The slow methodical working off of discovered issues, and the graduated expansion of the flight envelope.
  So, another one leaves the nest..

Slipped the surley bonds of the jig! ...Bill Grant RV-4 Azle, TX
  I finally have a canoe and plan to win the award for the slowest build on a -4: 1983 and counting!

Jerry Calvert's Updated RV-6 Panel
  Completed (kinda ) my 0-320 RV6 in 2004. Updated the panel from steam guages to a Dynon D180 and an IFLY 720 gps and went to dual P-mags in spring 2013. Up North Aviation cut the panel with CNC. Picture taken in front of hangar at Sundance Airport in Oklahoma City.

more

FS- Garmin, Dynon, TruTrak, etc.. goodies for sale! ...Stein [ed. These go fast! dr]

LOE'13 Raffle Update ...from Russ Daves

Photos taken while traveling in an RV

Final question before ordering, and an introduction ...Matt from Florida

Hello to all, long time lurker here in Clearwater, Florida. Finally sent in my VAF dues. I am looking for workshop space and am on a few waiting lists. I am about 70 percent leaning toward a RV-8, on the "build what you want" theory. In second place is a RV-9 because it really fits my flying more, ie..500 miles or so XC, and local sightseeing, not really into acro. My main question is "Is there a significant difference in build time? Looking to build a basic VFR day light and simple bird. If no real difference, it will be an 8.

Just a bit about myself, tired of renting, previously built a Long EZ to the hanging engine stage. I built that in my garage and will not do that again. In an earlier life I was a aircraft metalsmith on UH-1N, AH-1T, and OV-10's in the USMC. I have not riveted in many years,but hope it will come back to me quickly. Looking forward to meeting up with some of the west coast Florida builders I see on here. Thanks in advance.

Tip: The perfect pinhole/weave filler process ...Bruce Patton

Drywall mud. Don't laugh, I took a RV-10 cabin and doors from the raw contoured fiberglass to a finished primer coating in about 14 hours. There is one pinhole.

The first thing to understand is that the pinhole fillers are all some sort of liquid that holds talc in suspension and will hopefully flow into a pinhole to fill it. This method puts the talc in the hole and then turns it into a hard solid.

First is the contouring stage where the shape is formed. It includes filling with flox around and on the doors to get a good fit with the cabin top and the glass around the windows (if you do it). It is not included in my 14 hours.

Next is to sand the entire thing with #36 or so paper to open up all the pinholes and expose the weave of the glass. Clean the dust well, blow it out of all the crevices, pinholes and weave. You can see it, especially if you have a pink cabin. I used a small wire brush to scrub the white spots while blowing with an air gun.  ...

Already in the doghouse with the wife ...Tom Beiser
  Apparently this decided to turn on last night around 2:30 while I was away. It's right below the bedroom
  She couldn't find the off button so she just unplugged it. I went to hammer a rivet and it just wouldn't flatten. That was the first clue.

Forced Landing Video

NEW cockpit footage has emerged of the moment a 22-year-old pilot calmly crash-landed a plane after it lost power, southeast of Brisbane.

Instructor Doug Field, 22, made the emergency landing of the Jabiru J-170 into a horse paddock at Victoria Point on August 20.

He takes the controls from 18-year-old Josh Matica who was on his first training flight.

About halfway through the ordeal Mr Field passes his passenger a safety pad to brace for the crash.

Neither of the men were injured in the incident.

The incident is under investigation.

Wed Sep 4  1150z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)

RV-10 Progress ...Jack Maljaars
  The time has come to ship the RV10 to the paint shop.....we were even able to test fly it prior to painting but it only lifted 10 feet off the ground and had to land shortly after takeoff. My boys thought I had lost it when I told them to strap it to the truck in the photo ;^).  We loaded it in a 48' enclosed trailer with the wings and harnessed it down for the four hour drive.

Burke Wick's nearly finished RV-8
  Here is the plane ready to fly. The fiberglass is still in primer. First flight was on 8/26.

Tom and Bonnie
  Sun River trip.  Monday we flew out of Hillsboro just as weather was approaching from the west.

Show us your panel ...Sig600
  First teaser pic from Stein!

Flying Home From Osh With My New Buddies ...Turbo
  while at osh i attended a dinner which included a fund raiser. my new buddies were actioned off and cost me a pretty penny as i was top bidder. besides, they were easy on the gross weight and actually sing a song if you are in need of a lift in spirit. a video will follow when i get enough nerve to perform with them.

Required space for building two wings at once

Midwest LSA Expo ...factory FB page
  Join Van's East Coast Representative, Mitchell Lock at the Midwest LSA Expo in Mt. Vernon Illinois! Mitch will be there with the East Coast factory RV-12. For more information about this event contact Mitch at mitchl 'at' vansaircraft 'dot' com

LOE'13  ...a letter from Russ Daves and Russ Karntz (co-chairs)

Dear Fellow Aviator , Experimental Aircraft Vendor, and Friends :

As Co-Chairs for the LOE annual fly-in and raffle this year, which is being held on October 4-6, 2013, we want to encourage you to consider a raffle donation, to the charity raffle, of one or more of your products, or a gift certificate for money off of one of your products. the LOE (Lots of Experimentals) Fly In is being held at the Ft. Collins / Loveland Airport (KFNL) on October 4-6, 2013. We also want to encourage you to consider coming to this great charity fly in event being held at the Ft. Collins / Loveland Airport (KFNL) on October 4-6, 2013.

For the past 10 years we have raised from the raffle event an average of $ 10,000.00 each year that is donated to local charities. I have attached a write up from the local newspaper about what one of the charities had to say about the difference the $6,000.00 donation they received at the fly-in in 2010 made to there operation.

At such Fly In charity event we only accept cash for the purchase of raffle tickets ($20.00 each), and raffle off prizes that are donated by various aviation companies. We hold the raffle on Saturday night in conjunction with a catered banquet. Every dollar paid to purchase a raffle ticket goes directly to the charity or charities at the end of the banquet, I.e. nothing received from the raffle ticket sales goes to overhead or expenses. What other charity fund raiser do you know that donates 100% of all monies raised directly to such charity?

The past three years such Fly In was held in Weatherford, Oklahoma and we donated in excess of $22,000.00 in cash to the Backpack Food 4 Kids program in Weatherford, Oklahoma.

The following is a picture of me (Russ Daves) and Barbara Jones at the 2011 charity event in which Barbara Jones, as representative of the Backpack Food 4 Kids program, accepted $6,500.00 in cash from the raffle sales:

The picture below shows how we give away over $10,000.00 in cash in October of 2009:

Pamela Angell from the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope and Jim Thomas from the Lee & Beulah Moor Children's Home split the $10,000.00+ raised at the 2009 LOE Fly In Charity Event held at the Dona Ana County Airport.

I do not have the figure that was raised in 2008, as I was not involved, however in 2007 over $14,000.00 was given out (split 50-50) to the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope and Jim Thomas from the Lee & Beulah Moor Children's Home.

Here are some picture posts of LOE 2010:
1 2 3 4

LOE 2013 Specifics:
• October 4-6, 2013
• Location: Fort Collins - Loveland, Colorado (KFNL )
Fuel Discount .50 Per Gallon for registered attendees
Registration for attendees is $35.00 PP includes the Saturday Night Banquet, T-Shirt, Gas Discount, and event. Registration Form , along with other information, may be downloaded at: http://www.loeflyin.org/Home_Page.html

This Year we are going to split the raffle money between HONOR FLIGHT (read about it: HERE ) and the BACKPACK FOOD 4 KIDS programs (read about it: HERE ). A representative of the HONOR FLIGHT and the BACKPACK FOOD 4 KIDS programs will be present at the Saturday night Banquet to accept the money raised. Raffle Tickets will be sold during the event for $20.00 each. Thanks for your consideration . Both the Honor Flight and Backpack Food 4 Kids programs are registered charities and have IRC 401(c)(3) status, so if you cannot attend but still want to make a donation you can mail a check directly to Russ Daves, at 1111 Main Street, Lubbock, Texas 79401 or Russ Kamptz at 1900 Ponderosa Place, Loveland, CO 80438, made payable to either "Honor Flight" or Backpack Food 4 Kids and will will also hand out your checks to the representatives at the banquet and ask them to mail you a receipt. For those of you who have helped in prior years we want to thank you again for your support and hope each of you will come have a wonderful weekend with lots of great folks.

Thanks for all you do in support of the experimental aircraft industry, and for those of you who have supported the LOE Raffle Charity Event in the past thanks again for your past support.

Russ Daves
Russ Kamtz
Co-Chairs - LOE 2013

Tue Sep 3  1152z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)
  Good morning!  If you didn't touch a computer yesterday, there was an issue pushed out.  Hope you got the day off! 

First Flight HB-YNN ...Michael Wellenzohn
  That grin won't vanish or wash away, since I took my HB-YNN yesterday evening to the air. The flight took place in Birrfeld LSZF ind Switzerland. It has been wonderful first flight with beautiful weather and view to of the Alps. Bernie flew chase in his RV-7A. After almost 8 years of building she flies beautifully eel balanced controls, all engine parameters in the green and so power :-)  I stayed over the field at 4500' surrounded by airspace TMA & CTR of Zürich Airport I had to stay alert not to violate them as the RV-10 is quite fast compared to the Cardinal I used to fly.  more text/pics

Thanks for the ride   Just wanted to thank Bobby Hester and Tommy Walker for the flight around M34, letting me see how the RV6 / RV7 flew. They fly sweet to a no time guy like me. Would like to thank the VAF for all of your comments about the questions i have been asking. Ben Lane Gusset stress damage Use one of these (wheel pant woes) Seat Break-in After Condition Inspection Cleaning ...TCard   Each year, we try to clean some dirt out of the seats at condition inspection time. I visit with a friend, drink some wine, and shampoo the seats - with some very dirty water in the aftermath.   This year, our dog Watson decided to help us break-in the seats after we were done. So, who's seat did he choose for a comfy spot and why? Sept/Oct FAA Safety Briefing   ...36 pages RV-6 Rudder Authority ...Stein    Somewhere here archived in some old threads are more details that I've posted before, but as noted each has it's pro's and it's con's. I like both for different reasons, but all things being equal (and not spinning the plane past a turn or so), I personally like the small tail a bit more - I kind of like the "twichiness" of a light, well rigged, well built -6 with the small tail!

My longest X-country yet ...five parts Part 2 of 5 Part 3 of 5 Part 4 of 5 Part 5 of 5 Around the Olympic Peninsula    ...Steve Rush video   Here is a video that I shot on Saturday going counter clockwise around the Olympic Peninsula. There is a link in the description that will take you to Google Maps showing the ground track (OK, you may have to copy and paste it, it worked once as a link, but when I tried it again, not so much).

Mon Sep 2  1150z ....some interesting tidbits plucked from the VAF forums (posting guidelines)
  Hope you got the day off, and that you enjoy today's edition. 

Shop layout and design ...Ron Schreck
  "Tools are all in the open, no searching through drawers. I roll it over to the project at hand. I spent about 2000 hours building my plane. I'm sure half of that time was spent looking for tools!"

Panel and interior is almost done:)   RV-7 #74191 John Anderson    After a few weeks of preparation and practice, I can now officially say that I am building an airplane! ... http://youtu.be/bfpviDIntQ8 A little tail with an oily belly   How about a little tail mounted acro... works great once the tail is off the ground until a hammerhead dumps oil into a pipe

Anybody use Custom moulded earbuds?  ...update   "...All in all I would recommend the product with the following caveats: 1) Shop around, but get an audiologist to make the moulds 2) Memorize where your jaw sits when you fly and make the moulds in this position 3) Don't bother with the vented ear pieces 4) Shop around for someone to make them."  ... Service to Country ...Randy Pflanzer's nephew LOE'13 Charity Update ...Russ Daves   "Both our active duty vets as well as those from long ago conflicts deserve our gratutide.  LOE 2013 is honoring vets this year with 1/2 of the raffle ticket sales going to HONOR FLIGHT and the other half going to the Backpack Food 4 Kids program." Lost RV-10 door off take off what to do now?  Lost left door this morning on take off from home airport at KFWS at about 500-600 AGL. Was able to fly pattern and land without further incident. Retrieved the door from runway. Outer door skin torn at top near back hinge and outer skin was delaminated down to lower window level, the window of coarse was broken.   I had the planaround.com door latch (180 degrees) installed and door was in locked position with pins full extended when door retrieved so nothing is fool proof. Same door had popped open on take-off roll with stock Van's safety latch just after I got the plane. ... Factory Closed Today ...Labor Day

Preparing my first RV8 flight ...rtw

"..after ten years, my RV 8 building is almost completed some modifications have been carried on, the main one is endurance, the one can be as long as 32 hours...  now facing with problems related with EMD and Lasar,,as they have become old. for instance, my microvision VM1000c, golden,,is no longer supported I am sending a picture of my 5 years old daughter, who is preparing herself for the first flight..."

Summer 2013 Travel ...Tom/Bonnie Lewis

RV-12 N417E Build Milestones ...Randy Pflanzer RV-12

Bicycle Day on the Austin F1 Track ...the Cards (9A/8).  Nice writeup!

RV-7 #74023 Tehachapi ...Miles

RV-8A #83423 N-251WM ...Mike Messer RV-8A

Seen ...Jim Pappas at Fort Sumpter.  Shirt sighting.