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Bob Collins' Engine Start!

petehowell

petehowell

Well Known Member
It was a cloudy Saturday in the Twin Cities, but there was bright spot at Fleming Field in South St. Paul.

Bob and the gang fired up the O-360 - it spit fire, then blew air!!

Bob torqued the plugs.....

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Dear God, don't let me screw up!

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If I don't look at the data - it will come out just perfect!

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180 unleashed ponies!

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Next stop - the Sky!!!

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All the shots here:
 
Excellent camera work and captions Pete! Is it the second engine start? First one was yesterday. :)
Getting there Bob.
 
Vlad said:
Excellent camera work and captions Pete! Is it the second engine start? First one was yesterday. :)
Getting there Bob.
Click to expand...

First and only start I know about was yesterday - I just did not get around to posting pics until today.

More details and a great video over at "Letters from Flyover Country"
 
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You're going to love that airplane!!:D. Congradulations on the first engine start I remember that being nerve racking.
 
Not just another engine start

There is something special about your milestones Bob that everyone relates to. Continue to persist, prevail and share.

Bob Axsom
 
I've been waiting for this, Bob. Nice going! Now I'll be anxious to hear about the first flight.
 
Bob, congratulations on reaching a real milestone....and with a slow-build kit too!!! Aptitude, skills and perserverance are all important in getting to this stage. But perserverance is king...and you've demonstrated plenty of that over many years.
 
Thank-you, everybody. It was fun. Isn't Pete an incredible photographer? It's unbelievable, the eye he has.And he came over after installing a new timing belt in his wife's car. Someone should've gotten pictures of that accomplishment.

Anyway, the plan now is to work on fairings and such through the winter.

The next hurdle is at the end of the year when my wife loses her job and I figure out how to pay for transition training (recommendations for a 7A instructor?) , insuring the thing, and flying it. If this winter is like last, I'll have plenty of opportunity to figure it out. You've got to think about something while shoveling snow. :rolleyes:
 
So glad to hear about this Bob! Happy that it all went well, and your winter plans are sounding good! Maybe I'll get over for a visit this winter??? :cool:
 
With Pete, we had six. We had a seventh, but that was just hangar owner (the guy who kept yelling, "have you got oil" after we'd spent 5 minutes confirming oil pressure), but his job mostly was to complain that we left the hangar door open and blew molecules onto his ratty Rans.:D (he could've closed it at any point in the 13 minutes of the video, of course)

We have to wear white lab coats when we're working in the hangar.
 
Bob, I hope you enjoy a well-deserved sense of satisfaction for having achieved this significant milestone. I know that sometimes for a variety of reasons, your RV journey has been a daunting challenge. Know that this fan continues to root for you. You were fortunate Pete captured the moment so adeptly with his outstanding photographs. Well done and congratulations.
 
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