What's new
Van's Air Force

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

What did you do with your RV this Weekend (5/16/2020 - 5/17/2020)

DeltaRomeo

doug reeves: unfluencer
Staff member
...getting it started. It rained all day on Saturday here in N. TX. :(

Sunday a pickup formation practice on short notice. All is better :^)

IMG_1101-XL.jpg


v/r,dr
 
Last edited:
Out with the old...

Old.jpg


In with the new...

NewAFS.png
 
Last edited:
Title Removed

The Snowbirds Aerobatic team is doing cross Canada flyovers in what they call Operation Inspiration. Yesterday morning the flew over my home base - Red Deer - and I got to fly with them, unofficially. Since this wasn't an airshow, there were no airspace restrictions. I flew 1500' above their planned altitude and didn't get much closer than 3 miles. It was a thrill of a lifetime and there was just something cool about being able to see them from above. Red Deer FSS was great in supporting this, providing traffic call outs in both directions. I know that neither the FSS nor the Snowbirds had any issues with my being there and I did everything to make sure I wasn't in the way of the flying or the photographers on the ground. Sadly, wasn't the best way to record the encounter. I watched them fly almost directly over my house and would have had a great view from 1000' away if I'd stayed home, but what fun is that?

No flying today, but it is the 6th anniversary of my first flight lesson. Yesterday's flight made it all worthwhile, for the umpteenth time. What an adventure.

EDIT: After posting this, word came out of a crash with the Snowbirds that sadly resulted in loss of a life. This has dampened my excitement for this experience yesterday and I've removed the "Snowbird Ten" title from this post as the crashed airplane was likely either Ten or Eleven. RIP Capt. Jennifer Casey.
 
Last edited:
Painted

After my last work call on Friday my wife and I drove up to Corona, Ca (of all places) to pick up my RV-10 painted by Corona Air Paint. I was very nervous to see the final product.

Arrived around 2 and started the rebuild process. Spent about 6 hours on Friday evening and another 6 or so hours on Saturday morning. Just before 1 pm I was out of parts to put back on the plane and headed towards KSEE. Made a stop in Ramona to show some friends (including Bruce and meeting SPX (see his pictures above) before the quick hop to KSEE. Put the plane away in the hanger and declared it "Done". At least until I have to open it back up for the annual in the next weeks.

Corona Air paint was easy to work with. I am happy with the job they did on a relatively complex design. I would definitely recommend them to others. Good prices and good work. Also like to thank Jonathan and his team at Plane Schemers for the design work.

T4bWLf8E86s7ERKMhDkbMkTVns2QbhduheAjlJc6QVoeKKUNHSFzeSMvRiCRF2xBogfVNR2xxMTlrlwmy6ApIZZRQo9ttELRC6KlOtUfwOaw-KggjY-FFBNF_SqtN9sK_536qc9ubXlQMqzix6HBbaICn4WL6GawlLdZUpKqzd9svpmq1W8BQ_yIjld0TRhCGgg_KNmie3PjxpV0DSDDdG7yLi1pBAXtq5fK3idVMY9BeTjgbF2O0CkupUORL7JGTYBjM6LXpnAjxbdUzJvT6F-NnoWld6z58ZVfYE2oJsazLrHn78ZJXb3It0d7YJyvxnOu3CmttV_xVbbooKHilr_q5WHd2zEqv-cTQ7iUbC7L77Ch7lq0g70R1iCxCBWV4zl0Di78VWOJihyO_c2HKLCl27OnCyscOJryd2r1lnwmouiK6HLlzdI1yU-0vW7-uXJOkq_12COEKFznrlrkpaU00Q4gcuOaINWmaC-hMQzoYzmemKm-E2rhpyhMLwMPk94DRHbBC-qOeAGRNt0tD3YYsrVjljsnmGq9a_rtZ1kqQSOUZR0jkURwhUltiuzwWI1YTipNz6RGdQcakrsvnzK9Ze7SXOSKvVXGwyQ-CS6e6WBoymb5ZjLz_Z94FSIx0OGGLjdb1sifhtP381LGODLTCqBGE_ybWPL6IMlYpoR9xexIaOOQ3GLIhwmR=w900


LMwCV2WQaGcOfuV4WfaV50OP4tLc4nX93ns7F7aKL5y6z96o6VSJG-6Yg2fuTvG_pkuZVR5xgsn_Q9SU-o_WPcOeU-F8nrLSyytuRQNtQ7JzAPU71trJih3GlP23nSqkQ6gPWekIg9T6Ayxq696ctMRC3iwQq79rg_KvgAQGmrypyoseQNOW75qml_3r44A-NRq43k7BGZmE0sROG4xN93FzjZqBu7j_T_vuIwRs46SJKIlJtMVc-2KJJcvL4X29RG0SWQrQNKqDUtt85Q2DMs2LZtgHSm5DaTWxTIbt1fp4clCMvN-zQOtv-Al_etfyxUJ1gK0Mn3-x35TPa32Z7c1cuYyQO9TM3AL2w6zf8-MUznrXqPqFvukqFFI7_tEDiAs3E_Th8ocl2UBPO9goYGc99cvb6xyzUYcq9J0N7K7u0bqS1u4Cs1hJy97o1qz7SuUNsaHW-1nunI32NAasRmOWcpfZMqMtJxETFgHMavM8YD2CIQ53W6uPXGFmCHP_WB87utjm8m9ncRT87PDMfCSKA9aBQLtXuFk1wzwkNgCwv7og9X6YhhGDMNQQpwVNkk-AySZxNlrMkG6fv81WKh-uK6bAx9q5YzoPFdyaTw_PDme0UdDhmZMFvsFLbhyhxQRRUSKa6370heu3wZZguITd-Qw87K16H6c3mcwSQq41bF5S0ywnxgRfYJmX=w900
 
Looks very nice

Looks very nice. I will have to keep them in mind.

On another note 2192 days of building? Here I thought I was close to being done; I have a long way to go!
 
Hi Friends. This was last weekend (5/10... Guess I'm a slacker). The weather was teriffic all across the southeast. I have a navy buddy I haven't seen since our time onboard the USS Sierra AD 18, a destroyer tender, 40 years ago. He had a big surgery couple weeks ago and was feeling up for a visit. Flew the RV from the Bama gulf coast to north Georgia where he and his wife met me at the airport. Spent 5 hours catching up. Then back to the coast with 2 hours of daylight to spare. It was GREAT to see him. High school reunions or stuff like this is like stepping into a time machine.... so many "Remember that time......!"
Here's a picture his wife took. I'm the short guy.

IMG_3080 by Paul Gray, on Flickr
 
Since my RV buds weren't flying anywhere special I hooked up with some Beechtalk friends for a flight to Harris Ranch. A bunch of Bo's showed up along with a couple of Cirrus (one brand new with only 50 hours), a Mooney 252 and a couple of spam cans. N814RV was the only Van's. A good time was had by all, and I'll try to get some pics posted.

oDG.jpg


-Marc
 
Last edited:
Spent the whole weekend turning wrenches - had morning sickness on #4, so I pulled the valve cover and rocker arm and moved the valve into the cylinder with a grabber on it through the exhaust port, reamed the guide, and then promptly managed to drop the valve into the cylinder. I tried to retrieve it with a couple tools including a telescoping magnet through the valve guide, and the magnet come off my telescoping tool and stayed on the valve stem. I began with the creative vocabulary at this point.

No hope for it now, but to pull the cylinder - and I didn't have the correct cylinder base nut wrenches - time to get on the phone. Finally found a guy (thanks John Letkeman!) in Seminole about 2 hours drive away with the wrenches that he would loan me, so I hit the road. Got back about 2pm and sweated in the hangar turning wrenches, and by 7pm I had it idling smoothly again, but still about an hour away from a test flight, still need to put it all back together again.
 
Yosemite

Flew a nice trip from Sacramento area to Yosemite National Park. Half Dome and El Capitan looked splendid from the air. Landed at Pine Mountain Lake (E45) and Mariposa (MPI) for practice. Both were a little tricky as they were buried in the hills and had some gusty winds.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dctjTTdjpBKVyt8Q9
 
Spent this weekend doing the condition inspection (first since airworthiness inspection). Only a few issues.

1) Didn't realize the brake linings would wear quite this fast. I figured they would be due soon and ordered a set, but they haven't arrived yet. Going forward, I will plan to replace these at annual by default. They aren't at minimums yet, but no point in reassembling with old linings.

2) Right main wheel pant bracket is contacting the brake disk. I'll make some tweaks for clearance and add a doubler for now in the damaged area. Will replace the bracket at a later date.

3) Left main tire is wearing on the outside (R Main is fine...). I flipped the tire to even out the wear.

I hadn't flown for a couple weeks and the weather was bad, so I didn't get to warm the engine before the compression test. Numbers were still surprisingly good cold and dry. I did have 1 cyl lower than the rest. I want to recheck them after a flight.
 
Visited Blackbeard's island hideaway-Ocracoke Island

UJMXrmp-ETPu-Qj-EXPXynep-A.jpg


An amazing day on Saturday in the East brought many planes out and about. The Mrs. & I headed out in our RV-8 to Ocracoke Island, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for another fly-out picnic. Saturday was the island's first official "open" day, and folks were streaming out to the beach by ferry and plane. The airport, W95, located in the National Park, is in great shape, with room for a couple dozen on the ramp with tie-down ropes. It was filled to over capacity this day, with several planes pushed onto the grass. Most businesses were still closed and re-building from last year's flooding hurricane. The golf cart rentals ARE open, and some eating establishments have take-out during limited hours. At least one hotel was open, but since we didn't spend the night I did not ask about their services. CALL AHEAD for everything, as this info changes by the minute. DO NOT RELY ON WEBSITE INFO! The little Ops building is back in operation with WIFI. No phone that I could see. My Verizon iPhone worked well. Two Port-a-Jons at the airport gate. No running water.
We got picked up by one of the friendly owners of Wheelie Fun golf carts..spent a little time touring the town of Ocracoke, but very little was open...they are all working hard to get things in shape, though. If you're not carrying a lot, you could get away without the cart...town is only a 15 minute walk from the field. We ended up having our picnic at Springer's Point on the beach in the speckled shade of knocked down and dead cyprus trees. After lunch, we returned the cart and got driven back to the airport, (no carts are allowed to be driven outside the town limits) where we swapped our lunchbox for beach towels, and joined the "crowd" that was streaming to the surf, only a few hundred yards from the ramp. It's a 'drive-on' beach, so there were several trucks, fishermen and families enjoying the water.
I would suggest a close study of the sectional, so you do not bump into one of the MANY Restricted Areas used by Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station...Osprey training!!! Use Cherry Point Approach Control if able.

Too many pictures to struggle to upload,
but here's a link to a Google album.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=ekpRQ1NrRG5EOU9nWkVCVTluODIzRTNYWFBpaEd3

Looking forward to an overnight visit sometime.
 
Last edited:
After my last work call on Friday my wife and I drove up to Corona, Ca (of all places) to pick up my RV-10 painted by Corona Air Paint. I was very nervous to see the final product.

Arrived around 2 and started the rebuild process. Spent about 6 hours on Friday evening and another 6 or so hours on Saturday morning. Just before 1 pm I was out of parts to put back on the plane and headed towards KSEE. Made a stop in Ramona to show some friends (including Bruce and meeting SPX (see his pictures above) before the quick hop to KSEE. Put the plane away in the hanger and declared it "Done". At least until I have to open it back up for the annual in the next weeks.

Corona Air paint was easy to work with. I am happy with the job they did on a relatively complex design. I would definitely recommend them to others. Good prices and good work. Also like to thank Jonathan and his team at Plane Schemers for the design work.

oDm.jpg


oDy.jpg
 
Last edited:
UJMXrmp-ETPu-Qj-EXPXynep-A.jpg


An amazing day on Saturday in the East brought many planes out and about. The Mrs. & I headed out in our RV-8 to Ocracoke Island, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for another fly-out picnic. Saturday was the island's first official "open" day, and folks were streaming out to the beach by ferry and plane. The airport, W95, located in the National Park, is in great shape, with room for a couple dozen on the ramp with tie-down ropes. It was filled to over capacity this day, with several planes pushed onto the grass. Most businesses were still closed and re-building from last year's flooding hurricane. The golf cart rentals ARE open, and some eating establishments have take-out during limited hours. At least one hotel was open, but since we didn't spend the night I did not ask about their services. CALL AHEAD for everything, as this info changes by the minute. DO NOT RELY ON WEBSITE INFO! The little Ops building is back in operation with WIFI. No phone that I could see. My Verizon iPhone worked well. Two Port-a-Jons at the airport gate. No running water.
We got picked up by one of the friendly owners of Wheelie Fun golf carts..spent a little time touring the town of Ocracoke, but very little was open...they are all working hard to get things in shape, though. If you're not carrying a lot, you could get away without the cart...town is only a 15 minute walk from the field. We ended up having our picnic at Springer's Point on the beach in the speckled shade of knocked down and dead cyprus trees. After lunch, we returned the cart and got driven back to the airport, (no carts are allowed to be driven outside the town limits) where we swapped our lunchbox for beach towels, and joined the "crowd" that was streaming to the surf, only a few hundred yards from the ramp. It's a 'drive-on' beach, so there were several trucks, fishermen and families enjoying the water.
I would suggest a close study of the sectional, so you do not bump into one of the MANY Restricted Areas used by Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station...Osprey training!!! Use Cherry Point Approach Control if able.

Too many pictures to struggle to upload,
but here's a link to a Google album.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=ekpRQ1NrRG5EOU9nWkVCVTluODIzRTNYWFBpaEd3

Looking forward to an overnight visit sometime.

Bruceman thanks! I am kind of missing those trips to the beach. I need to find something here in Land Elevated :)
 
I love that part of the Country. My fave spot there is Southport. There's another airport available across Dutchman's Creek from Southport - KSUT.

Another pirate connection is Bonnet's creek.
 
Rob visited from Texas and we flew in my backyard a bit. Hiked the mountains then headed to Monument Valley for lunch :)










 
Hi Vlad,...Looks like you have plenty of sand near you! No beach required. Hoping to see Monument Valley some day soon.
 
Challenge Accepted?

OK Vlad has laid down the challenge. Gas is cheap, not to many airliners flying around, long weekend coming up.
Where can you go this weekend?
Please be safe!

I am living through y'all, so make it good!
 
This weekend, did a whole series of data points to document how the autopilot LVL function recovers from spirals (unusual attitudes, if you will) at a series of pitch and roll angles. Analyzed all the data, then had a friend repeat in an LSA with different avionics. Both autopilots recovered with simultaneous pitch and roll activations, contrary to what the book says. This morning, I flew some recoveries from very steep spirals, comparing book and simultaneous pitch/roll recoveries. (Never exceeded 120 knots or 2.5 G. I worked up to it carefully.) The book recovery came in a distant second. These data suggest that the book needs to be looked at very carefully -- the book recommendations may be required for some airplanes and some pilots, and there may be teaching implications, but...

While I was waiting for some low clouds to burn off before the flight, I made sure that the belly of the plane was free from COVID19.
 
Grand a minute to 15, backed off a bit afterwards.

High pressure, low temps, so good performance.

Normally, before I retired, my first coffee was served about 18,000'

I tried the interfone but the purser just didn't answer.....
 
Back
Top