What's new
Van's Air Force

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

Scary situation found during condition inspection

I've been a moderator in another forum for years, I never fail to answer that same question over and over, or I point them to a thread.( It's tough to be a newbie. ) I have had a hard time searching here at times and have used The google trick to get needed info, but still at times I've had to wade through similar sounding threads for hours before finding a solution. An experienced builder could (likely) have answered that same question in 2 seconds. (I know Fred usually can)
I've gone from being one of the people who would say "use the search function" and not answer the question, to "this is what I found by searching with these terms..."

Yes, it means going to the search effort that the other person should have, but more often than not i've been thanked for showing them how they could better use the search function.

Unfortunately, a number of threads i've helped people find recently are devoid of the images that made them so useful in the first place.
 
Guilty as charged...

This has become a bit of a thread drift but here it goes anyway.

I am still very new to all of this. And I have asked one or two questions that am pretty sure have been answered before. Or at least I absolutely know for sure that they were asked only a few weeks after I did. So slowly I have become to realize that most builder one way of another have similar questions or make the same mistakes. But I have to say I am absolutely thrilled that those of you that have been here for a while still take the time to answer these newbie questions. I now try to search but sometimes the problem is that the threads don't have obvious names that or I don't search for the right key words....So whenever I find something that caused head scratching to me I try to post it in the Plans gotchas.

The point is. Because so many here take time out of their busy days to help others, makes me want to give back. So while I do feel like I need to mention that there is a certain inexperience in any of my post. I do try to answer questions I have had or try to find that old thread where the answers are. I think this is a bit of a circle. There will always be questions and as long as we all take turns responding everyone is happy. Also one picture sometimes is all we need to "get it"

Total drift here but just wanted to say thanks.
 
Q and A

The interaction of those who ask questions and those who answer is what makes for a lively discussion and inevitably draws readers and posters into the conversation.
The luxury of getting a precise answer, usually in a very short time is what makes people return to the forum here at VAF.
The cold and faceless "search" in an archive is simply not as attractive as starting a new thread where builders respond and engage those with questions.
As a newbie over a decade ago, I remember being thrilled when some answered my question and commented on posted photos.
Today I answer the same questions along with others or I insert a link
to an old thread to point someone in the right direction.
Ask all you want, someone will answer;)
 
The interaction of those who ask questions and those who answer is what makes for a lively discussion and inevitably draws readers and posters into the conversation.
The luxury of getting a precise answer, usually in a very short time is what makes people return to the forum here at VAF.
The cold and faceless "search" in an archive is simply not as attractive as starting a new thread where builders respond and engage those with questions.
As a newbie over a decade ago, I remember being thrilled when some answered my question and commented on posted photos.
Today I answer the same questions along with others or I insert a link
to an old thread to point someone in the right direction.
Ask all you want, someone will answer;)

Well said. :)
 
As an update, I got with Van's engineering in a fix that they approve of (the longerons were over 50% gone on the horizontal face from extra holes. Now I have to decide which little guy gets to climb back into the tailcone to drill all of these extra holes.

This thread has sure made the rounds. I have had quite a few people come into the hangar asking to see the plane that "had the bad tail".
 
This thread has sure made the rounds. I have had quite a few people come into the hangar asking to see the plane that "had the bad tail".

Perhaps you need to charge admission? Like crawling in the back and drilling out x numbers of rivets per viewing? :D
 
As an update, I got with Van's engineering in a fix that they approve of (the longerons were over 50% gone on the horizontal face from extra holes. Now I have to decide which little guy gets to climb back into the tailcone to drill all of these extra holes.

This thread has sure made the rounds. I have had quite a few people come into the hangar asking to see the plane that "had the bad tail".

How is the fix done?
 
Here's another scary tail. This one has been through many condition inspections since 2000.

a540fac9cec14318acbc240edfcc69c3_zps1ej0jjph.jpg
 
Another jewel.... Being that those holes would have been covered by the HS spar, was there anything that tipped you off to look underneath? Or just a "lucky" find?
 
I always put my hand in to feel the thread contact of the nuts holding the HS on. I felt the extra hole and got the mirror out, which has become a default step anyway due to what I've found in the past.

The repair is almost done after having found the problem this morning.
 
Back
Top