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What did you do with your RV this weekend? (5/14-15/2022)?

Windscreen fairing finishing

Windscreen fairing finishing.

Thought I was build a metal airplane.

I noticed in Vans 2022 calendar this month, there is a RV7 with a metal fairing, just to torture me some more.
 

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Texas heat and my RV9A

Hot day in Texas
 

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Spent a wonderful weekend camping and hiking in Escalante, Utah with my daughter. Ethan also flew out in his RV-10.

We got to fly back home over the Grand Canyon after having breakfast in Page, Arizona.

Blog post here.

Photos here.
 
Flew chase on my buddy's RV-10, third flight and he was haulin butt breaking in the motor, then we stopped for coffee and doughnuts at a local airport, followed by trying to shoot some coupled approaches with the GNX 375 (which I still have not figured out yet) and finally got one side of the rudder checkerboard done (did the flaps during the condition inspection).
All in all a very good day.
Figs
 

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Vendor

Who printed up your checkerboard vinyl? Is it a big sheet, strips, individual squares ? Looks nice 👍🏻
 
Who printed up your checkerboard vinyl? Is it a big sheet, strips, individual squares ? Looks nice 👍🏻

Aerographics http://www.aerographics.com/ they can print their graphics any way you want them and they did the side stripes for my RV in one piece in 2011 and they still look great.

For this project they did separate sheets for the flaps and a big sheet for the rudder that I cut to suite, the squares are 5" which I was worried might be too big but turned out good.

Very good people to work with and flexible.
Figs
 
Glamour shots...

As it was a bit too hot to fly, my darling sweet wife instead decided to take some pictures of the airplane...
 

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New prop

Actually, the trip started last Monday. My wife and I flew from Jacksonville FL to Northwest Regional (52F) to visit my brother and his wife and to work on my plane.

We pulled the Hartzell off and installed the new MT 3 blade prop that afternoon. Even though I had just completed my annual condition inspection a couple of weeks ago, Walt’s keen eye found a crack at the weld line of the exhaust flange on #1.

We proceeded to pull the exhaust part off and sent it to Clint at Vetterman. We missed the FedEx pickup on Monday but Clint received the part on Wednesday, fixed the crack and sent it back the same day. (Many thanks to Clint for the great service).

While we were waiting for the exhaust, Walt did the IFR certification and Transponder check for me and I did a few other maintenance items on the plane.

We got the exhaust part at 9am on Friday and we had the prop balanced and the plane ready to fly by lunch time. I did a test flight and fuel run to Bridgeport. We tweaked the low pitch stop on the prop and I did one more test flight.

I was off the ground 8:15 Saturday morning and flew back to Jax making one fuel stop on the way.

I flew at 7000 ft the whole way. There were a few showers in the Mississippi area. I went through a little light rain on the way. I was glad I had filed IFR because I did go though some clouds on the second half of the trip and had to descend though a layer on the approach into KCRG.

The new prop is great. Very smooth and less vibration over all. On the long trip back I found the sweet spot to be 2300 rpm at full throttle (about 23.6 on the MP).
 

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Weekend progress

Worked on getting the engine tweaked and broken in after an overhaul by Aerosport. Been chasing higher than normal CHTs since the engine installation and also discovered an oil leak on the 21 year old oil cooler. Stu “Falcon” McGurdy built my RV-8 in 2001 and I am the current caretaker. Since Falcon gave me (in my RV-4) and Shack (in his RV-8) our FFI checkrides on the same flight years ago at the Pine Bluff bluff clinic I feel honored every day to fly this wonderful airplane.

I think installing the upper cowl inlet ramps were the biggest improvement in cooling but I did a lot of sealing around the engine compartment as well. Swapped the 2 blade Hartzell with a 3 blade MT after Peter from MT in Deland made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I was able to sell the Hartzell so ended up with an MT for a third of the price of new.

Picture of Falcon below after he got the plane painted and a current EFIS snapshot after all the modifications. Since owning the plane I’ve had an engine overhaul, fresh prop, and finished a complete panel and interior upgrade.

Lastly- I might suggest Falcon’s picture be on the front page of the forum soon as a tribute to the guy that started FFI, just a thought......

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