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RV-1 in Fredericksburg, VA!

If its anything like CB in Savannah a couple of weeks ago, the Virginia guys are in for a real treat!!
Tom
 
Finally Made It

Mitch and I were able to get the RV-1 to Dogwood a few hours ago. We tried to get it moved on Sunday after the VA Festival of Flight but the low ceilings caused a problem for my ferry pilot to get me there to fly it.

I flew my RV-4 from Gaithersburg to St. Mary's to meet up with Chip Lock. We jumped in the RV-12 and off we went to Suffolk. It was bumpy but I was very impressed with how the RV-12 handled them and it was really a nice plane to fly.

As I was taxing the plane on the ramp to get used to it I caught a drop of oil fall from behind the panel. Oh-No! Mitch needs to be home by 4:30 and we are all the way down here to pick it up. There was oil on the floor and pooled in the stick well. So, we pulled it back into a hangar and proceeded to trouble shoot the problem. After pulling the cowling to get the front top/side panel off to get behind the instrument panel we found the culprit. The fittings on the back of the oil pressure gauge were a little loose. We tightened them up and did a run up to be sure no more oil was dripping and all looked good.

After putting the plane back together I went around the pattern a few times and nailed both landings so felt comfortable enough for the trip.

Mitch was flying his RV-12 demo. I was very impressed with how that flew and now he had my GoPro HD2 suctioned to his canopy facing out at 2 O'clock. I'll try to edit the footage and post a link to it tomorrow. We had some beautiful build ups to fly through and it seemed like every time I was heading right for one, magically an opening would be there, as if they knew the RV-1 needed a path.

We landed at Dogwood, a very nice airpark lined with houses and couldn't wait for a cold beverage, a business break, and most importantly a chance to stretch my legs! The geometry of the pedals is something I'm thankful that Van re-engineered in the RV line.

The RV-1 flys very well. Climbs great and trims out nicely with just a touch of adverse yaw. No attitude indicator and no ball, it reminded me of my tail wheel training having to feel out staying coordinated. The plane does not like to slow down and I had to keep pulling the throttle to get her slowed for landings.

Thursday Mitch will pick me up and take me to Dogwood then I'll fly it to Frederick, perhaps through the DC SFRA. We need to let our security folks see it as well :p
 
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Great report Mike - thanks! Glad you found that little oil drip on the ground instead of discovering it in flight - I suspect it is not the last little nit we'll find on the airplane throughout the tour. it is, after all, a bit of a senior citizen..... ;)
 
Looks like it was a nice flight Mike - what I want to know is how far you had to pull the RV-1 back to let that LSA keep up with you.... ;)
 
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