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"Bombs Away!"

DakotaHawk

Well Known Member
Late September in the Seattle area provides some wonderful flying opportunities. The air is cool and stable, visibility is usually very clear, and the colors are amazing! Last weekend, I was finishing up some minor maintenance on my RV-7 and looking for a good excuse to go flying.

I found a small fly in was scheduled at Shady Acres, a tiny airstrip located south of Seattle. Attractions included a salmon bbq, flour dropping contest, and spot landing contest. It looked good enough for me - an excuse to fly and bbq salmon!

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The approach to Shady Acres is... well... shady! Numerous tall trees directly in the flight path on final, and a busy country road just a few feet from the threshold to the 20' x 1800' runway.

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Once the meal and socializing started winding down, it was time to show off some flying skills. First event was the flour bombing contest. Initially, I didn't have any intention to participate. After all, how can I drop flour bombs out of my RV-7 with out cutting an extra hole in the canopy?

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(shamelessly stolen from Subwaybob:eek:)

But then the competitive side of me kicked in. I couldn't let all of those Cessna drivers have all of the fun. So I confiscated a bomb bay full of flour bombs and began modifying them.

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I concluded that my RV has a small gap between the slider and the side of the fuselage. If I could create a handle that could slip through that gap, I could take off with the flour bombs primed and ready to drop!

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After recruiting some local talent to act as my bombedier, we loaded up and prepared for our bomb run. The canopy was slid shut and bombs snugged up tight against the side of the plane. My bombedier kept a tight hold on the leashes of the three bombs.

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After takeoff, I had to limit my speed to 90mph due to the ordinance hanging out in the wind. I didn't want premature ejection to ruin my attempt. We made three passes to drop the three bombs. Each pass was made with full flaps at about 75mph. Rules of the game said we had to be no less than 400 agl for the drop.

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Our best attempt (3rd pass) was our closest to the target. This was 106' away from the mattress placed on the side of the runway. With the low wing and the inexperience of the bomber pilot, we didn't win the prize, but we sure had a great time. The winner landed a hit only 33' away from the target!

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Finally, the good news for the RV community... There were three Cessnas and one RV (me) in the spot landing contest. Guess who took home the Blue Ribbon? Yep! Chalk one up for the RV!
 
Can't get used to seeing......

BBQ and Salmon in the same sentence!

Maybe it's just the Texan in me! :eek:

Regardless, after what your Seahawks did to my Cowboys, might make the loss taste just a tad less bitter. I'll have to follow that with a Brats as a result of what 'Da Bears did to us this past Monday night.
 
Yummy!

Nice post Scott......salmon looked dalectaiblr.....ahh, dellecteble.... ummmmm, oh heck....it looked delicious!!!!:D


YOL BOLSON!!!
 
Bombing Shady Acres at 75 Kts... interesting. Can those flour packages be more aerodynamic? :)
 
Flour sacks

OK it is time to put experimental back into flour bombing. Since you are an experimental RV, and everyone else was a certified Cessna, seems to me someone could rig up a bomb sight whereas the Cessna guys (or gals) would need an STC.
 
Do you eat the part on the gill that resembles a 2x4 or the part that looks like a slab of fish:confused::confused::confused::confused:
 
Do you eat the part on the gill that resembles a 2x4 or the part that looks like a slab of fish:confused::confused::confused::confused:

If you've never had bbq salmon, you're missing out on one of the greatest culinary experiences of a lifetime! (you eat the fish, dummy ;))

I thought that I was writing a post about overcoming the obstacles of flour bombing from an RV, but everyone seems more interested in the fish story!
 
If you've never had bbq salmon, you're missing out on one of the greatest culinary experiences of a lifetime! (you eat the fish, dummy ;))

I thought that I was writing a post about overcoming the obstacles of flour bombing from an RV, but everyone seems more interested in the fish story!

Well... Since we are interested in fish, here is some Alaskan Halibut on the BBQ. Topped with Tomatoes, Onions, Jalape?os (for you Texans) and Basil all fresh from my garden. No, we don't eat the boards.

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To keep the topic RV related, there is an RV-6 pilot at our airport (O69, Petaluma, CA) that has the bombing perfected to an art. We don't use flour bags, however, we use rubber chickens (the comedy prop type) filled with wild bird seed (some eco-friendly mumbo-jumbo). He has tape along the outer top of the wings out to the tips as a "bomb sight". Fly a consistent airspeed and release the chicken when the tape crosses a specific point like a hangar row and a close hit is assured. Also, he flys with the canopy (slider) open a few inches so the bomb (bird) can be released.
 
Another Way

We did some bean bag (Bomb) drops with a RV-7A recently and used a string tied to the bag and ran it in though the NACA air vent on the side with a loop on the end with a pencil through the loop to keep the string from going out the air vent. Worked fairly well. Just fly over the target and yank the pencil out...perchoying! BTW. we made the string long enough to allow the bag to rest just below the leading edge of the wing. this gave the bag something to rest against (bottom of the leading edge) so that it would not flop around on the side of the airplane. this was good for high speeds and remaind stable even at 180-200mph runs diving at the target.
 
BBQ and Salmon in the same sentence!

Maybe it's just the Texan in me! :eek:

Regardless, after what your Seahawks did to my Cowboys, might make the loss taste just a tad less bitter. I'll have to follow that with a Brats as a result of what 'Da Bears did to us this past Monday night.

You don't have to be from Texas for it to bother you. Barbecue is a noun, not a verb. The photo shows salmon being plank grilled - and it's high on my list of great eats (not just good eats). But grilling isn't barbecuing nor does it result in barbecue.

We ought to plan a serious RV gourmet barbecue fly in and at a minimum include stops in Texas, Kansas City, and Eastern North Carolina. I have stopped debating which is best and serve all three styles at our "Fortune July" party every year. Each style of barbecue is different, and you're welcome to have your favorite, but gosh they're all great eating.

Might do something similar with chili too....and maybe think about some regional favorites - like Salmon or brats. Food and Flying!
 
Spell Check

Scott,
It's "bombardier", and the proper pronounciation is "bom-bar-dee-ay" although only the French and Canadians know that.
(If you really want to tick people off, correct them every time they say it wrong... :D )

The fish looks yummy, but all this talk about food has made me hungry. Is it lunchtime yet?
 
..one more thought!!!!

okay, maybe cause I'm allergic to fish.....

I'm more interested in the bombing setup.!!!

I was half expecting that DakotaHawk had made those ribbons on his flour bags so that he could trap them in the gap between wing and flap!
so......you set the bag near the trailing edge ( minimal drag & loss of lift), raise the flap to catch the band of paper or whatever...
and when you want to 'bomb' , you just touch the flap switch, and awaaaaaaaaaaay she goes!

okay guys, somebody's gotta try this! :)
 
I'm just sayin

all ya gotta do is just hop on over to your local aviation museum and borrow one of their norton bomb sites and use that. And you dont really need a bomber escort cause the cessnas cant catch a rv bomber:D

bird
 
OK, I live thousands of miles and an ocean away so I'm not likely to be gatecrashing your barbques any time soon (although taking my ZK registration further afield is on the fantasy list!), but I have to ask, what type of wood are you folks using when grilling the salmon, cedar? I gotta try this!

Clive Whittfield
Auckland
New Zealand
 
OK, I live thousands of miles and an ocean away so I'm not likely to be gatecrashing your barbques any time soon (although taking my ZK registration further afield is on the fantasy list!), but I have to ask, what type of wood are you folks using when grilling the salmon, cedar? I gotta try this!

Clive Whittfield
Auckland
New Zealand

Yes, Cedar. In my case anyway. The fish comes out very evenly cooked when done this way. It's a lot like baking in the enclosed grill. Soak the cedar planks in water for an hour or so and then coat with a bit of olive oil to keep the fish from sticking. Other advice can be found on the web. Good luck.
 
Cedar and Wine

Yes, Cedar. In my case anyway. The fish comes out very evenly cooked when done this way. It's a lot like baking in the enclosed grill. Soak the cedar planks in water for an hour or so and then coat with a bit of olive oil to keep the fish from sticking. Other advice can be found on the web. Good luck.


Water?!?!?:eek:
I soak the plank in a large plastic garbage bag filled with a bottle of cheap Zinfandel, for about 4 hrs. In the last half hour, I put the fish in there too.
When the cedar burns the fish is infused with wine as well as the cedar resin vapors.

My favorite is Port Orford Cedar. This is a blond cedar with a very characteristic smell not like cedar that you put in your closet. It smells more like when you break an arrow (remember when they used to make them out of wood? It was Port Orford Cedar). Fortunately, it is often used as fence planking, so it is readily available in rough-sawn planks pretty cheap.

I think my second choice would be Alder. Red Cedar would be too strong I think.

Oh, I meant to ask....do the rubber chickens bounce?:rolleyes: or does the bird seed provide some damping? just balast?
 
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This is a blond cedar with a very characteristic smell not like cedar that you put in your closet. It smells more like when you break an arrow

The "cedar" you put in your closet is really Eastern Juniper, not cedar. I would imagine that Eastern Juniper would ruin anything you cooked on it.
 
Water?!?!?:eek:
I soak the plank in a large plastic garbage bag filled with a bottle of cheap Zinfandel, for about 4 hrs. In the last half hour, I put the fish in there too.
When the cedar burns the fish is infused with wine as well as the cedar resin vapors.

My favorite is Port Orford Cedar. This is a blond cedar with a very characteristic smell not like cedar that you put in your closet. It smells more like when you break an arrow (remember when they used to make them out of wood? It was Port Orford Cedar). Fortunately, it is often used as fence planking, so it is readily available in rough-sawn planks pretty cheap.

I think my second choice would be Alder. Red Cedar would be too strong I think.

Oh, I meant to ask....do the rubber chickens bounce?:rolleyes: or does the bird seed provide some damping? just balast?

Well, yes water so the plank does not completely zorch. Gotta try the Zinfandel, however, same flame protection but better taste. Great idea.

I got my planks from the patio section of the hardware store. Not completely sure what type of wood it is but I am sure I can get ten times the quantity for the same price at the lumber yard.

The rubber chickens will bounce some but it is more like a skip with the forward momentum. Hey, skip bombing is is a valid technique. Also, they are quite reusable.
 
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