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I'm coming back!

DarinFred

Active Member
Well, after almost 3 years of flying the A-10 in Germany (and Afghanistan and Libya), I'll be heading back to the States in April. About 4 years ago, I sold my partially completed RV-8 wing kit prior to moving to Germany. Well, I've decided I am going to start building again once I get re-established in Tucson.

Since I have been out of the loop for the past few years, what has changed? Anything new out there that has been a game changer since 2008 (barring the economy!)?

Thanks and I can't wait to get my hands dirty again!

Jay
 
Thanks

Jay, I can't answer your question, but it seems appropriate on this Thanksgiving morning to thank you for your service. It is always heartwarming to hear of a service member coming back home. I wish you every success as you complete your service.

David
 
Giving thanks indeed: today and every day, you and your fellow volunteers deserve every ounce of our gratitude for serving the free world so faithfully. Welcome home, Jay!

--
Stephen
 
Jay,
Welcome home! We appreciate your service!

As for changes, '08 was the year Van introduced the matchdrilled '-1' fuselage, which will greatly simplify your life if you are doing a slow-build like me! Other than that I don't recall any recent Service Bulletins on the -8 kits.
Good luck on your build!
 
Since I have been out of the loop for the past few years, what has changed? Anything new out there that has been a game changer since 2008 (barring the economy!)?
Jay

Nothing new except for Van releasing kits for the RV-14, RV-15, and RV-16.

Thanks to our great servicemen like you our way of life here in the good old USA is still intact and unchanged.

Just kidding on the new kits
 
Nothing new except for Van releasing kits for the RV-14, RV-15, and RV-16.
Thanks to our great servicemen like you our way of life here in the good old USA is still intact and unchanged.
Just kidding on the new kits

Yeah. We're not supposed to be releasing information on the -16 yet!

Thanks for your service!
 
Thank you!!!

Thank you for the service to our great Country. Good luck on your build. If you need an RV fix, I'll be happy to shoot down to Tucson and give you a ride.

I'll be happy to trade you some flight time:D
 
Upper Heyford

Hi

Were you ever based at Upper Heyford, I am not sure they had A10's there, definately had F111.

I had a close encounter with an A10 at about 300' near there when learning to fly doing lo level practice.

Thanks to all the servicemen from all the countries fighting fanatics out there, two of my family included!!
 
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Lots of RV's in Tucson

Jay,

Welcome back. When you get settled you need to hook up with some of the other RVer's in Tucson. Most importantly the A-10 and former A-10 drivers flying RV-8's. You may have flown with them in the past. Drop me a private message and I will give you their contact info.
 
Changes

Thanks for your service to us all - I do appreciate.

As you might expect, avionics are the big change in the last three years. A little reading here and on the various manufacturers web sites will bring you up to date quickly.

Best of luck and skill with your new build.:cool:
 
great news to have you back. if there was a dream plane to fly the warthog is in the top two for me. just picked up warthog by william l smallwood. flying the a-10 in the gulf war. any thoughts on flying the a-10? best of luck in getting in the air in a rv!!! see you in the pattern. planning on flying out to tuson in may for a college graduation celebration. thanks for your service!:)
 
Thank You!

Welcome back to both the states and the RV community! Thanks so much for your service to our great country! Without the men and women serving and keeeping us free we would not have the freedom to pursue hobbies like this!
 
Thank You

It's great to be back! Thanks for all the kind words. All I can say is thank you for allowing me to fly the greatest ground attack aircraft ever designed with nearly unlimited 30MM at hand. It's been great!

I'll definitely be in contact with those around Tucson. Again, I can't wait!
 
Jay, first off, thanks for your service to our great country.
Second, I know of an RV8 project almost exactly where you left off. And the price is right. Located in South Alabama.
 
Welcome Home!

Jay,

Great to hear that you're returning to the land of the Big BX. Hope you can stop by Denver on your way to Tuscon. I know it's not an RV-8, but I'll take you up in my RV-7A if you'd like.
 
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Strobes no more

One big change recently has been that old school high-voltage strobe lights are out - LED strobes (and position lights) are in.
 
An RV-8 after flying hogs?

I suppose you realize the RV-8 will be at least twelve times faster than your hog was...you may need to work on the reaction speed a bit.
 
Haha

I suppose you realize the RV-8 will be at least twelve times faster than your hog was...you may need to work on the reaction speed a bit.

Well, I can keep up in the hog most of the time. When I was flying the T-38, I always felt 3-5 seconds behind. Maybe the RV-8 is the perfect compromise!
 
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