What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Tales of frugal RVator

Vlad

Well Known Member
I love my airplane. I spent five years on her three of them pounding rivets almost every day. She is not a Broadway show girl but she has young and trained heart, excellent hearing and a push button. Only one button and it turns her on third blade.

She brought me to places I've never been and continues to do so. She introduced me to wonderful people I've never met and I enjoy it. She does it in a very fun, efficient and safe manner. Did I tell you she has my DNA? :D

I will do a compilation of my short travel stories here. I'll try to be a bit fun and a bit serious. There will be no struggles with weather phenomena, troubleshooting complex equipment (she has none) it will be the simplest ever stories about an airplane and destinations. I love photography and there will be bunch of pictures.




This time we went South. I have a cousin (our common Uncle's name is Sam) who bought a nice RV somewhere in Oregon and brought it home alone. He is also a beginner artist/novice writer and his novel about the adventure is here. He likes to fly by me. His airplane is nicely painted and very visible. Of course he steals all attention and gets all the credits after flybys. :) OK this time we went South. Cousin's landing strip is about 20 minutes in RV9A speed, ten minutes in RV7 speed. When I fly to his place I usually get a lot of wakes from aerial buses.


1.jpg



The target aerodrome was famous Salmon International, a newly commissioned farm strip owned by great guy, true gentleman and RV1 webmaster Glen.

It's impossible to miss his airstrip. Virginia's most unique. It's visible even from space. You can see the mirrored greenhouse roofs for 100 miles. Great turf runway right by them.


2.jpg



Cousin first as usual.


3.jpg



I sweep :D Left on Juliet, right on Zulu Alfa taxi to parking.


4.jpg




5.jpg
 
Glen is incredible cook. Even cousin's copilot noticed that :D Here he is to the right.


7.jpg



Glen's kitchen is two steps away from his RV8. He is living a dream.


8.jpg




6.jpg




Food was delicious we had good time. Pugs too.


10.jpg




Views from kitchen door.


9.jpg
 
Last edited:
Time to go. Glen bought me some "boat fuel" per my request because I was going far and in direction opposite to cousin's. I go deeper South and cousin is going North.


11.jpg



Thanks Glen we will be back soon.



12.jpg




Next leg was boring. RV cockpit is not that roomy and you have to be creative to stretch your legs.



13.jpg



The leg was about 4 hours. I watched something nuclear.


19.jpg




Then drove my Whiskey.


16.jpg



Then conserved some battery power and prevented overheating an appliance.


15.jpg



Then somewhere over South Carolina I talked air-to-air to my cousin who was already over New Jersey.
 
Next stop Palatka, FL. Almost there.


14.jpg




20.jpg



Hi Palatka! I heard times have changed here :D



17.jpg




21.jpg



Nice spinner! Let me park closer to this beauty.



22.jpg




18.jpg



Terminal is nice and staff courteous. Noted for future.
 
A great write up, Vlad. I am SO SORRY that I missed you!!! Palatka is great place to stop for fuel and a rest. John and Dave and the rest of the Palatka crew are wonderful and helpful people. It is a very good stop for fuel, and close to restaurants, motels, Lowe's Aviation Supply, etc.

ANYTIME an RV is passing through, PLEASE let me know in advance so that I can provide a special welcome!! :)
 
...this guy will do ANYTHING to get on the front page of VAF!! Frugal ain't the word! He has over 400 hours and has yet to buy a case of oil!! It's no wonder I can't afford to fly as much as he does, I'm maintaining TWO RVs and building another!
 
Last edited:
...this guy will do ANYTHING to get on the front page of VAF!! Frugal ain't the word! He has over 400 hours and has yet to buy a case of oil!! It's no wonder I can't afford to fly as much as he does, I'm maintaining TWO RVs and building another!



:D:D



Left hospitable Palatka toward Turboland. On the way where Turbo lives there is a hub on the Cape where they shoot all kinds of rockets into orbit. SpaceX was not ready yet but I went anyway.

Along the road.



9.jpg




Crossed the marshes.



91.jpg




And here it is the sacred concrete. 15 miles of it :D



92.jpg




I flew and flew and flew...


93.jpg




I never flew over such a long runway. Uff finally ended.



94.jpg




Yes, I was on discrete transponder code and I knew the procedure.
 
15....

Well,for Space Shuttle astronauts it may be 15,000 feet but for me it was like 15 miles :D

I just figured they extended it. Everyone knows how governments love to spend money! :D

Excellant write up. Keep posting, I installing my breaks and RV dreaming.
 
Vlad, I like your style and I'm LOVING this story! Please continue... it's very inspiring. I'm almost through pounding rivets on my 7A.
 
ANYTIME an RV is passing through, PLEASE let me know in advance so that I can provide a special welcome!! :)


Chris, if you are around the airport on Sat the 26th, punch my tracker sometime late afternoon. We are weather dependent and planning fuel stop at your field. Just in-n-out, stop by to say hi.
 
The Russian is traveling again!!

When he isn't paying for the gas ENTIRELY by himself...that Little Russian -9 sure is fast!! If it was solely his dime....he would be doing less than 130 MPH!!:D
Vlad%2527s%2520tracker.jpg
 
David is right seat (although I was for about .3 hrs!). I was checking VAF before heading out to work on the -7 wings and I remembered that Vlad said he would be landing at Palatka, FL 28J for fuel. I checked his tracker and he was north of Hilton Head, SC at about 200mph. I mentioned it to Ginger and she suggested we drive to the airport to meet him. We left our home and drove the 30 or so miles to the airport and Vlad and David landed 10-15 minutes later. We introduced ourselves and Vlad delayed his trip to take me around the pattern a few times. This was my first time in an RV-9. What a great plane! We both left the airport at the same time and as we were pulling into our drive, Vlad and David were passing Sebastian. I hope the weather holds out for their return trip.
 
Our hero accosted by the government

News flash! Vlad K harassed by INS agent [I play one on TV] shortly after arriving at HWO on Saturday evening. Before said agent could even lay hands on Vlad, he "assumed the position". :D I'm sure his friends thought we were both nuts. [rightfully so]
Thanks for bringing my tent back Vlad. It was great to see you again. Have a safe and speedy trip back to the "big apple".

Charlie
 
Watching his tracker, it appears that he just passed our house but on the other side of the St. Johns River. Too many clouds to see him. I thought for awhile that he and David were going to be stuck in Palatka and that Ginger and I were going to have to launch a rescue party. Beryl is making a mess of flying this afternoon and tomorrow appears to be a washout. Hopefully it won't adversely effect their trip other than some strong headwinds at the moment.
 
I am looking forward to reading this installment of his adventures. Watching his track through the outer fringes of Beryl was quite interesting. I am glad to see he made it home safely.
 
David is right seat (although I was for about .3 hrs!). I was checking VAF before heading out to work on the -7 wings and I remembered that Vlad said he would be landing at Palatka, FL 28J for fuel. I checked his tracker and he was north of Hilton Head, SC at about 200mph. I mentioned it to Ginger and she suggested we drive to the airport to meet him. We left our home and drove the 30 or so miles to the airport and Vlad and David landed 10-15 minutes later. We introduced ourselves and Vlad delayed his trip to take me around the pattern a few times. This was my first time in an RV-9. What a great plane! We both left the airport at the same time and as we were pulling into our drive, Vlad and David were passing Sebastian. I hope the weather holds out for their return trip.



What a community! I remember myself building and hunting every opportunity to catch live RV in my vicinity with no results. Con and Ginger, my hat is off to you! You caught the spy. Thanks for meeting me I will fly to Fleming Island for that free seafood dinner :D

Long story short, I landed at Palatka for fuel. A couple approached and said hi. When I saw VAF cap I knew something is tricky here :) Then Con introduced himself and his wife Ginger and explained how they got here and from where :eek: My flying buddy was impressed and initially thought it was a setup.

We went up with Con for couple laps in the pattern. At full gross in hot Florida afternoon my 9 was performed like his Cessna 150. BTW Con, did you feel that funny smell on 27 downwind? We landed the day after and it was even worse.



conandginger.jpg





grouppic.jpg
 
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

:confused:


At undisclosed location in NC in a hurry. An RVX taxiing to the pump, I am ready to go. Trading words within a minute or less.


Aaaaaaaaaa, youuuu.....

Ya that guy....

I fly to that grass strip often... that grass... what's his name.....

Yaaaaa I know.....

A guy who flys with you... that atc guy come to meet someday... on that grass...

Okay bye bye....
 
Last edited:
Aaaaaaaaaa, youuuu.....

Ya that guy....

I fly to that grass strip often... that grass... what's his name.....

Yaaaaa I know.....

A guy who flys with you... that atc guy come to meet someday... on that grass...

Okay bye bye....

I think you guys better lay off the grass for awhile.
 
Boy those RV9s can do a short approach...it appears that you got landed and posed for a victory picture before the guy you shot down and had to bail out landed:D

Loving the trip report!

All Best

Jeremy Constant
 
Aerhed, if it's any consolation....I have NO idea what he's talking about either. :rolleyes:

That is Russian/iPad, vodka induced shorthand.

You need to have a few under your belt before it even BEGINS to make sense!

hahahaha

My problem is, I think I understand what he means!

:D CJ
 
Turboland

... Stuart, FL familiar spot. I've been there several times within last three years. They have famous bridge, nice marina and eMas on both sides of a runway. But most important part of Stuart is immaculate RV Hotel managed and maintained by Ed D'Arcy or simply Turbo Eddie as we call him here.


stuart.jpg



After landing I saw familiar car and just followed it.


followturbo.jpg




Ed D'Arcy is amazing fellow. He is a boat captain, a businessman and a pilot flying different kinds of aircraft. Ed is a very famous RV pilot his RV6A accumulated more then 4000 hours. The largest amount of hours on RV airframe known and logged! His late father Paul, successful entrepreneur was in love with aviation and passed it to Eddie. They flew a helicopter from Connecticut to Virgin Islands. They sailed to Bermuda and traveled the world. These guys had good time. Wall pictures in RV Hotel tell the story.


eddarcy.jpg



Ed recently moved to a bigger hangar. He expected two RVs but I was only one who showed up.



hangar1.jpg



His recent toy is a gyrocopter (at the back) finishing Phase One.


ed.jpg
 
At the back of RV Hotel there is a pool. The biggest pool I've ever seen :)



rvhotel.jpg




pool.jpg



I jumped to swim right away water was very warm.



swimming.jpg




Next morning Eddie called his buddy in Hollywood and told him Russians are coming. Probably surprised Woodman :D


We jumped into my plane and flew south. I am very proud Turbo rode in my plane. Of course he made some suggestions how to improve my navigational capabilities but I forgot the recipe. I only remember I have to reinstall my Whiskey correction card.


At North Perry with Woodman.


woodman1.jpg




We had a tour, a lecture and a soup at Beverly Hills Cafe.



woodman.jpg




soup.jpg




DSC_0161.jpg



That beautiful lady is future champion in Women Race. Myra will fly RV in the race. All the best to you Myra!!!
 
From North Perry we flew with Woodman and Myra in loose formation then Turbo and I headed back to Stuart and Woodman and Myra turned south.


Back at Turbo's hangar. I managed to spill some flammables on new hangar floor which caused the paint to discolor :eek: Sorry Turbo it was not intentional.
Left hospitable Stuart and took off for Spruce Creek...
 
vlad, it was a blast having you visit and getting a rare chance to fly with you!

yours is only the 4th rv i have flown in. you have that russian style of flying.

come back any time. see you up north this summer. :)

ps, the alligators have been removed from the 'pool' for vlad.
photoon5112at958am.jpg
 
I just caught this writeup this morning and wanted to tell Vlad it was a pleasure to have you and Turbo visit us at HWO. We hope to see you again and as always thanks to Ed for sharing the "hotel" so you could experience Florida. And to my dear friend Ed, see you soon so we can win some more bucks at the casino.;)
 
Spruce Creek

Everybody knows Spruce Creek. It's one of the largest flying community in the South. To land there a pilot needs an invitation.

And everybody knows Ted. He just moved there from Ohio after finishing his decades old tenure at a famous aviation university. He invited me to his new home.


Ted influenced my build very much. We met at Oshkosh several times, then he flew to New York City and gave me first ride over the Hudson. It was 2009. He towed me across the country to the Bahamas. He witnessed my first flight. I asked his advice on multiple occasions and he always gave me the best counsel. I am very proud to call Ted my friend, mentor and favorite CFI.


...Ted was waiting for me and directed to guest parking via handheld radio.


110.jpg



I parked and we explored the Creek by car. Then after short break we did a bicycle tour on those famous taxiways. Ted showed me some celebrity real estate he lives there only several months and already knows the history of the place. I enjoyed tremendously.


tedandI.jpg



He owns beautiful house with indoor pool (pool is smaller then Turbo's) and magnificent view out of his all-glass rotunda.


111.jpg



We talked and talked and talked. RV stuff you know. Then Ted drove me to Daytona Beach and showed all the vicinities. Riddle, Track, Beach and Airport. We ended up in a top Asian restaurant owned by a Spruce Creek resident. Delicious food billed reasonably.

It was very good and enjoyable day. I slept like a baby. Tomorrow we will fly over Space Shuttle Runway again as a flight of two.
 
We are all early birds. Wake up, fresh coffee, weather brief.


In couple minutes engines are running on Foxtrot Lima and Bravo Kilo.


112.jpg



Departed, snaked our way under and between busy air spaces and went south.
Ted's GPS was acting and while it was rebooting for a minute or two I led. Boy I was feeling good. :)



113.jpg




We asked NASA Tower for a flyby. Permission granted and here we go again. Over 15 miles of concrete. For those in doubt length is written down there :D



114.jpg




Wonderful morning. Perfect Way to Start a Day!


115.jpg




We broke over Spruce Creek. Ted went home and I continued to Great North.
See you in the fall Ted!
 
Last edited:
Vlad,

Thank you for your kind words. My smaller pool (compares with Turbo's) is screened IN with DOORs :D.
 
Weather was legal VFR. Got home in time. Now filed for Canada from Bethel. Come up North we are missing ya.
 
Back
Top