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RV-Lancair Brotherhood Day

GMU Today

After two weeks of miserable weather, we finally have a clear day in WNC. So three of us are meeting for lunch at the Runway Cafe at GMU at 11:30 AM. Anyone in the neighborhood is welcome to join in. (I understand that some SC organization is having a pancake breakfast there this morning, so hopefully that will be cleared out by the time we arrive.)
 
Brotherhood day

I just returned home last night from a month working in CA. Seems I brought a cold home to boot☹️. I would love to join y'all but today is not the day. There's also that new SB that needs attention. Please keep posting the meetings and I'll join up.
 
I brought a cold home to boot☹️.
Sorry about your cold. Darwin had to cancel today, too, due to having a cold so don't feel bad. In fact, Owen was the only RV guy that made it today. By pure luck, though, another Lancair happened to fly in from the Atlanta area and park next to me. We invited Andrew and his passenger Taylor to eat with Owen and I and we swapped lies about our true airspeeds for about an hour. Andrew is a corporate jet pilot and flies his Lancair for fun. Owen was commiserating over the SB as well, but the food at the Runway Cafe was good as always. They were really busy today since the weather was absolutely beautiful and everybody has been socked in for two weeks.

Taylor and Andrew from Atlanta:
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Andrew, Me (kneeling), Taylor and Owen:
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Grand Strand Today

Expanding our range, Darwin and I flew 1+30 From AVL to CRE (Grand Strand AKA North Myrtle Beach) today for some fresh seafood. Darwin left first and I never could catch him in my Lancair. I had him 10 miles in front on my ADS-B screen the entire trip. Those RV-4s are fast! Our ground speeds were roughly 170 Kts. After landing, we both bought gas and then took the courtesy car to Rockefellers Raw Bar for lunch. I burned 20 gallons out and back so this truly was a $100 lunch.

Full serve $5.25 per gallon at Grand Strand, but hey, we're rich playboys, right? :rolleyes:
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Dis be da place:
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The decor is tacky beach bum - our kind of place!
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Calimari!
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Grouper sandwich!
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It was, but I don't eat raw oysters any more after I learned about Hepatitis. I brought my wife some scallops sauteed in wine, butter, and garlic, though. Special Delivery!
 
It's been a long winter, but the weather is finally getting better. Owen, Steve, and I flew down to Spartanburg [KSPA] for lunch at Jason's Deli again. Darwin's RV-4 was down for maintenance, and Bill R. had to work (poor devil). One crew van was out, and the other was grounded for a mechanical problem, so the FBO loaned us their airport truck to drive to Jason's. I bought 18 gals. of 100LL, but the RVs both used Mogas.

The glare from Owen's freshly-polished RV-12 gave me a headache. He also finished his rear spar mod per the SB:

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Steve has the Suburu engine. Who let that Mooney in the lineup???

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Edit: I'd like to fly to Columbia [KCUB] next to check out the brewery in the old Wright hangar. They're only open weekends.
 
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I had been waiting for good weather on a weekend so I could fly to Columbia SC [Owens KCUB] and check out the Brewery in the old Wright hangar. Yesterday was finally it; It was an absolutely beautiful flying day. My neighbor I flew down early from AVL to partake of the EAA pancake breakfast (Those guys were great!), and Owen flew in at 11AM to meet me.

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Here's a shot of Owen's blindingly-polished wing:

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The FBO loaned us a courtesy van because we're too **** old to walk the 1/2 mile to the Brewery :D

This was before the crowd showed up. Thirty minutes later, all those booths and tables were filled:

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Owen wasn't hungry so he only ordered a gourmet pretzel (I guess that's why he's thin and I'm not):

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I had the pepperoni pizza, which was about 12" in dia. and most excellent:

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On the way out, I had the barmaid fill up my Yukon thermos-growler with Trans-Am IPA in case I got thirsty on flight home (just kidding). The seal on the growler cap held at 6,500' and the beer was still cold five hours later!

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I asked the employees when they were going to get a gate installed in the airport fence so pilots could just taxi up. They said. "That's up to the airport, not us."
 
Today, Darwin and I flew to Hickory for a cheesburger. There's a great little burger joint right in the terminal. As an added bonus, there's also an air museum there. The docents told us there's having a "grand opening" of the P-3 Orion on the 19th featuring the retired Admiral [?] who used to be in charge of the entire fleet of sub hunters. Burgers and hot dogs will be served.

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Dang John, I am going to have to figure out how to retire so I can have some fun like you guys.
 
The monsoon season finally let up after two weeks of solid rain, so Darwin and I took the opportunity to fly to GMU for lunch and to get some photos with the EAA B-17:

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View from our table:
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Darwin leaving:
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Let me know the next time you fly in for lunch, I work in downtown Greenville and can meet you for lunch.
 
Bill Repucci drove over from his work and met us at GMU for lunch today. (It's so sad that the poor guy has to work ;)) It was great to finally meet Bill and hear about his RV-9. The three RV builders were all talking about riveting techniques and I just sat there and smiled. Bill and I both had "The Wildcat" Buffalo Chicken wrap. Mmmmmmm! Man, those are good! 90F on the ramp when we departed.

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It was great to meet you and the rest of the Lunch Club.

I think the reason we talked RV's was because we are all secretly jealous of your beautiful LancAir!

If I have a day's notice and my schedule allows, I'll work from home and fly the 11.5 miles over to GMU to meet all of you.

You are right, the Wildcat is good!

...Bill and I both had "The Wildcat" Buffalo Chicken wrap. Mmmmmmm! Man, those are good! 90F on the ramp when we departed.
 
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I like rivets. I actually have several of them in my plane. I should have pointed out the two rivets on my aileron trim tab :D I'm really looking forward to seeing your RV-9 and I'm sorry your airport is too short for me to fly over.
 
The Brotherhood flew out to Rutherfordton for lunch today. We had four RVs, a C-170, and my Lancair 235. Owen's RV-12 was way down the line and so was Mike's beautiful green C-170...so they're not in the group photo. Lunch was excellent at 57A. It was fun.

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It was fun catching up with you. Mike and Emily have a 120, the 170 is a four place plane, but you are right, it is a nice 120!

When we left, we circled Mt. Mitchell before heading home.

Where's the next lunch?
 
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Oh, 120, not 170. Numbers just confuse me :confused: Tell me again who owned the RV-10? Yours and his were both beautiful planes.
 
N321BY is Thane States' beautiful RV-10.

I wouldn't say mine is beautiful, there are much nicer RV's out there.

I really like your LanceAir! Now that is a beautiful plane!
 
To answer your question, Hickory has a good burger joint in the terminal and a museum but I'm up for other suggestions. Now that the weather is getting better, I need to FLY!

Here's a 3 min. video of my 15 min. return to AVL. I'm so pleased that all the endless Cutting and Buffing I did on the fuselage seems to have worked...and I haven't even waxed the lower part you see in the video.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/es9uv4qwamzd18q/2018-09-22 Shiny fuselage.mp4?dl=0
 
Nice video!

Hickory will work.

KMTV has food but what about on the other side of mountains or Atlanta?
 
Oh, 120, not 170. Numbers just confuse me :confused: Tell me again who owned the RV-10? Yours and his were both beautiful planes.

Confusing numbers reminds me of the young pilot having dinner with his date.
Looking out of the airport restaurant window he was pointing out the different airplanes. His date asked if there was one there like his. He thought a minute and said, "You see that one over there? That's a C-130. I have a C-150."
 
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...what about on the other side of mountains or Atlanta?
Either is fine with me. Darwin and I flew up to Knoxville Downtown [KDKX] last Thursday for BBQ at Calhoun's. I'm not aware of any other place N of the mountains with food. I've not been to PDK but would like to try sometime. I bought my motor from the late Ben Epps of Epps aviation. I think his brother Pat is still alive.
 
Darwin and I flew to Spartanburg today to try out their new runway, which only opened a few days ago. Owen couldn't make it because his RV-12 failed the mag check on runup. The KSPA runway is nice but the taxiways are still under construction. I had to taxi all the way to the end to get off. After partaking of their $4.20 AvGas, we decided to fly on up to Rutherfordton for a burger at 57A rather than take a courtesy car into Spartanburg. We parked next to a Piper LSA, which I had never seen before. Made in Czechoslovakia, apparently. Nice looking aircraft!

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SPA

So the photographer is a day late and a dollar short, but four of us flew to Spartanburg [SPA] for lunch at Jason's Deli on Wednesday. I forgot my wide angle lens so I was unable to get all our planes in one shot. Then I left the camera in the plane so I couldn't post the photos until today. I flew my Lancair, Owen flew his RV-12, Darwin flew his RV-3, and Mark brought his Subaru-powered RV-#?

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On the return trip at 6,500' , Darwin kept up with me all the way and then approach put him in front of me for landing. I call discrimination!;)
 
The Brotherhood made an unscheduled early run to GMU this morning before the clouds set it. All three of us arrived at pretty much the same time. My iPad was lit up with targets. I was following Darwin's RV-3 and I passed Owen's RV-12 approaching the airport. GMU tower has radar and reported he was 1 mile off my right wing, but I could see the whites of his eyes :eek: So I landed next and Owen right after. Lunch at the Runway Cafe was good as always. Mike was kind enough to snap some photos of our planes.

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GMU Tomorrow (Sunday, Jan 5)

Make that Jan. 6th doh! Our long rain nightmare is finally over and several of us are planning lunch at the Runway Cafe at GMU tomorrow at 11:30. Everyone is invited.
 
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Make that Jan. 6th doh! Our long rain nightmare is finally over and several of us are planning lunch at the Runway Cafe at GMU tomorrow at 11:30. Everyone is invited.

I can't make it. Our grass runway is closed until further notice. It will take a long time to dry out.

Have fun and happy New Year!
 
Lunch run

The bride and I will try to make it tomorrow. If you don't mind associating with an RV-12 driver 😉.
 
Owen should be there with his RV-12 and I need to give Keith a call. He has a -12 as well. I'll definitely be outnumbered!
 
The weather was perfect and we had a great turnout today at GMU - seven people! Besides the regulars (Darwin couldn't make it), Keith from Greenville showed up in his RV-12, and Doug and wife Susan from Gainsville, GA flew in in his RV-12, making three RV-12s! Mark Cigal in his RV-8 brought his Cirrus instructor friend Chuck from Denver. Lunch was good as usual and it was a pleasure to meet the new folks. I hope they'll come join us again the next time we do this. In no particular order:

Owen's Red RV-12 and Keith's Blue RV-12:
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Chuck from Denver and Mark's RV-8 (I think):
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Susan and Doug in the center:
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Doug and Keith inspecting Owen's shiny RV-12:
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Keith drinking iced tea:
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Doug and Susan's RV-12
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My Lancair is w-a-a-a-a-y-y-y down the line somewhere:
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John & Gang!

Sorry I missed y'all! Well, I didn't really miss you, I got there just in time to see everyone depart.

Keith and I stuck around and then did a formation takeoff, Keith's first.

Maybe next time.
 
PS. Keith had a great time participating in his first RV event. He is firmly absorbed into the RV + cult! The Plus is there to include any other plane that joins along. That means you John!
 
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Brotherhood day

Susan and I sure had a good time meeting y'all. Couldn't ask for a better day in January. Never seen so many RV aircraft at one place, there were more coming in as we were leaving. It was nice to put a face ( and a handshake) with a VAF name. We hope to join this group again in the future. Thanks for the invite John. It was also nice to see the Lanceair side of the street too.
 
It was a pleasure meeting you and Susan, Doug...and Keith as well. I really like the Runway Cafe at GMU. Good food...good service, and we can taxi right up. Are there any fly-in restaurants in your area of Georgia? We're always looking for someplace new to visit.
 
Eateries

There are a few on airport restaurants around here. There's the Flying Machine at KLZU, we have been there before and it's good. But I think they are closed on Sundays now, last time I went there ( October) tower informed me of the fact. Of course it was a Sunday. There are a couple of restaurants at KPDK, Downwind Cafe and 57th Fighter Group. Eaten at 57th, very good, but we got there by car. Never been to the Downwind, I don't fly to KPDK often and it's normally a T&G. Pickens county has a BBQ place about a mile off field and a crew car. Cobb county has a Steak house on field ( haven't been there yet, supposed to be good and normally busy). The other places I know about are much further away and a long ride for you guys.
 
We went to the restaurant at LZU once and it was OK. Personally, I'd like to go to PDK. I have a special reason to park at Epps. I bought my engine in 1991 from (the late) Ben Epps. He had it on his Epps Bi-Plane. I had it rebuilt, of course, but I thought the Epps family would like to see my engine log. I understand it can be pretty busy at PDK.
 
Another fly-in possibility would be Columbia, SC [KCUB]. The EAA chapter there has an awesome pancake breakfast on the third Saturday of the month IIRC. Then there's a B-25 restoration project going on and the Hunter-Gatherer Microbrewery for lunch (bring your own growlers :D).
 
Rutherfordton

The Brotherhood had a last-minute fly-out to Rutherfordton [KFQD] for lunch today. The gusty winds beat the stuffing out of us and we reported moderate turbulence to ATC. The lunch at 57A was good, though, and it was great to see Steve's Suburu-powered RV-8 again. Man, his plane sure sounds awesome in the pattern.

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Sad Day

It's a sad day for the Brotherhood. Darwin sold his beautiful Gray and Orange RV-4. I saw it take off today with the new owner at the controls, heading S to Florida somewhere...
 
That does make it a sad day but something tells me another plane will be coming his way soon.
 
After weeks of bad weather, we finally had a flyable day so we all met at Spartanburg for lunch. Owen, Mark, and Steve brought their RVs, and Alex from Hendersonville brought the beautiful CallAir 90 (Like a Piper Cub) that he restored. Owen brought along a 12 y.o. future pilot. We ate lunch at Jason's again.

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Owen and I fought the turbulence on this bright and sunny Saturday and met for lunch at the Runway Cafe at GMU. My ground speed hit 198 Kts. on the way down (but 140 on the way back ). They were swarming like butterflies in the pattern, but the tower sorted everybody out safely. There was already another RV-12 parked there, but we don't know who it belonged to. Purple RV-12: If you're here, identify yourself!

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Be glad you weren't up yesterday John. I fought a 60 kt headwind and turbulence so bad it threw us out of our seats. I bashed my head on the canopy and Jess bashed her shins under the panel.
 
Be glad you weren't up yesterday John. I fought a 60 kt headwind and turbulence so bad it threw us out of our seats. I bashed my head on the canopy and Jess bashed her shins under the panel.
Oh man, my wife would have been crying. Me too! I really hate turbulence; It takes all the fun out of flying for sure. The worst I've ever experienced is "Moderate", but I report "Moderate" when my head is hitting the canopy. I'm just a wimp, I guess. I'm glad you and Jess got through that. I have a video of what I call "Moderate". You decide:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gcniq1fsn363854/2019-02-24 Moderate Turbulence Pattern.mp4?dl=0
 
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