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Show us a pic of your FINISHED RV-8/8A!!!

Your photo just became my computer desktop. It's replaced the P-40 Warhawk that's been there for a year or so.
 
Ironflight said:
Hey Steve....aren't the tails on target drones painted red...? ;)

Seriously though - beautiful job! Can't wait to see it in person somewhere!

Paul
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Makes me wonder if my idea of a Tuskegee Airmen homage on my paint job is the best idea ever...
 
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I did not build it originally, but I designed the artwork and modifications since. Anyone know how involved it is to strip and REPAINT? I have another finish in mind but not sure its worth the effort.
 
Hey Scott, I thought I recognized that plane. You came by to check out my -3b a few weeks ago. Paint requires a TON of work and time, but with the right tools it can be done. I happen to have a half gallon of Stewart Systems EKO strip leftover if you want to try it. I used it to strip the yellow off of my elevators after I decided to change schemes. I also have a unusable spare fully painted vertical stab that you can try out if you want. I was going to toss it, but I kept it incase something like this came up. Let me know if you want to try it out and Ill bring it up and set it next to my 3.
 
N80CU

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Danny Speedy Kight took the maiden flight in N80CU on 12-1-11. My wife , Jan , said on the video of Speedy's flight,"Honey,you built us a space shuttle.Special thanks to my wife Jan for cooking dinner at the hanger grill for 2 years 8 months then helping with the RV-8.My daughter Ronni drilled,deburred,dimpled,and bucked many rivets.I do not know how you could complete a project like this without family and friends.My friends Mac Perry,Ken Kelley,Tyler Bryant,Steward Baylor,Mark Clark,Jerry Preister,Jim Lechleiter,John Leupp,Pat Patton,Lew Gallagher,and EAA 249 were always on call.My EAA tech counselor and IA Eric Barnhill kept a close eye on the build.Dan Hortons post on VAF made this job much easier.I can thank Smokey Schreck for giving me the first RV ride at Triple Tree Aerodrome.I was hooked! I have only 10 hours left to fly off and the 8 is a dream.Merry Christmas to all of VAF! Ronald
 
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Nice picture Ron!

(...taken on the perfect turf at Triple Tree, for those who wonder. Ron was kind enough to act as a host for the RV clan....put on your list for next year).
 
Allow me to introduce N6371S "Little Pill"

My RV8 became an official flying machine today with the issuance of the airworthiness cert. It differs from the stock Vans ?8? with a James Cowl, Barrett IO-390 and a MT 3-blade prop. It has all the TCW boxes, B&C stuff, dual Pmag and Electronic Ignition Commander, dual GRT HX with back up steam gages and Abby?s Flightline interior. It was painted by Scott Groves of Saltair Aircraft painting in Ormond Beach, Fl. Yes, I?ve been saving up for many years to do this project. BTW, I started on 16 January2008 and got the DAR inspection today. As soon as the weather gets warm again it will fly. I?ll post the panel shots in the RV8 panel forum.
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Don Stiver
 
That's very pretty Don. I like the big "8". Is the base color sorta pink or is the photo misleading?
 
Wow

I love it. My favorite color is red, and the paint on your 8 is beautiful. I just looked at the instrument panel, and your attention to detail is first class. The right circuit breaker panel looks like it's out of a Boeing. Nice work.
 
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The "red" is really "red

DanH said:
That's very pretty Don. I like the big "8". Is the base color sorta pink or is the photo misleading?
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The photo color is misleading. The red is akin to "lipstick red." It's a Sherwin Williams aircraft paint - base coat and clear over coat. The black is like obsidian and the red is way red.
Don
You be surprised how many people ask me "what model RV is it?"
 
Oh My!

That is an eyestopping -8. Congrats - please post us on how your first flights go. Video would be great.
 
This is the Bluebird

Started flying in June, got 46 hours, Lyc 0360, 180 hp, FP prop, MGL EFIS w/ Trio AP. Flys sweet and quick.

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got PCAS?

Very pretty, Bill. But I hope you have an on-board collision avoidance system, because no one is going to see you.
 
Thanks fellows!

I started building on her in '07 and had inspection last May. She will leap to over 200 mph so quick I have to fly conservative and the rpms up to 2700. No real issues with the plane. Making the EFIS perform as I expect has been a real learning experience, but most the fixes have been in my head. I hope to take her to Lakeland SnF. Maybe I'll see you there, Bill
 
Is it just me, or some photographic perspective illusion, or is the attitude of the aircraft in the first grey arctic camouflage ones a fairly "brave" one to fly that close to the ground? Maybe its just skill and experience. I'm just a student pilot at this stage, but I currently don't think there's anyway I'd fly my 8 like that when finished PPL, even after doing my planned aerobatic training. Oh well, looks cool, I guess.
 
DeltaAlphaZulu said:
Is it just me, or some photographic perspective illusion, or is the attitude of the aircraft in the first grey arctic camouflage ones a fairly "brave" one to fly that close to the ground? Maybe its just skill and experience. I'm just a student pilot at this stage, but I currently don't think there's anyway I'd fly my 8 like that when finished PPL, even after doing my planned aerobatic training. Oh well, looks cool, I guess.
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Darren, just in case it disturbed you I removed all of it....

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Just another day in an RV8! My aircraft has an AEIO-360, inverted oil, smoke and MGL glass cockpit. Also comes with a hefty dose of fun.

SAFlyer
 
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Graphics have been done since last fall and the flight time turned 115 hours since first flight last January. Serge, the graphics guru, had free reign in the design and wanted to do something that was personal to me. Can you guess what my day job is ?
 
Rick6a said:
John Murphy knows a thing or three about aircraft. Well known in the St. Louis, MO. area, in 1970 John founded St. Louis Helicopter Airways Inc. Although I did not know John at the time, as an airshow spectator I will always remember his unique routine. Piloting a Sikorsky S-58, John would lift an old clunker automobile to altitude, hover in place, then release the vehicle to fall and smash to the ground. That spectacle was the highlight and exciting finale to many an airshow around here.

http://www.stlouishelicopter.com/aboutus.html

Over the years, John has owned and flown many aircraft including a Cassett Racer, T-28B, Extra 200, L39, Kitfox, Baron 58, and built and flys a Helicycle, single seat turbine powered helicopter.

John has long since turned the reins of his thriving company over to employees and lately has developed a real appreciation for RV's. Fresh out of the paint shop, AirSpectrum of Quincy, Illinois, 217-885-3455 here is John's RV8 posing in all its glory. Gotta love those RV's!

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Where we're those Fulcrums at?
 
Finally got it painted. The design and all the artwork is done by John Stahr of Oregon. I told John what I wanted in the design and after several iterations, we arrived at what you see in the pictures. Not only did he do the paint, he also did some body work on the tail tips, the canopy skirt (attached only with sitkaflex, so no rivets), the front canopy dressing, and the cowl pin enclosure (really slick the way it disappears), and wheelpants. I flew it a long way to have it painted, and it was totally worth it. Top notch craftsman, painter, and artist.

My dad taxiing to take er home
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Still some polishing to do, but it looks good
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Baggage bin art
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A portion of the bottom...
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Excellent

The checkering look super too. Is the silver/shiney parts painted or polished aluminum? Looks great! Dave
 
Thanks. The aluminum skins are polished, but there is a shiney mylar material that is on the fiberglass parts. If youre looking for that kind of finish, it works well on mild curves or flat surfaces. I suppose there is probably a technique to get it to lay down on more aggressive curves, but youd have to ask someone like John what they are.
 
Paint

Is your cowl metal or is that painted to make it look metal?

Looks awesome, I love the polished metal in with the painted parts!

Bob
 
A portion of the bottom...
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What's on the Bottom of the LEFT wing?? A brunette? Pictures please...? :)
Matt
 
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Corvette images

Gee, most Corvette drivers would want a custom paint job with airplanes on it.
Isn't this a little backward?

Need another picture of the nose art on the left side. And show us whats on the bottom of the other wing please...
 
scsmith said:
Gee, most Corvette drivers would want a custom paint job with airplanes on it.
Isn't this a little backward?

Need another picture of the nose art on the left side. And show us whats on the bottom of the other wing please...
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You obviously haven't seen his Corvette... :D
 
Bob--the cowl is a stock Vans cowl with a "heavy duty" chrome decal. They use it for "chrome" on some cars, so its fairly durable. If youre interested in it for your paint job, I recommend you google John Stahr and ask him about it. It was his idea to use it and I'm glad he did.

The only girl on the bottom is the one you see in the picture with the checkerboard finish line flowing to the left wing, so left wing is not nearly as entertaining. Her twin does fly with me in the back seat though ;)

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The wing art is a spectator favorite (and mine too) so the floor creeper in the hanger has been accumulating more time than the airplane recently


The paint scheme is painted to compliment a 50th anniversary corvette. Unfortunately I dont have any pictures of them together yet.

Here is a close up of the left side nose art.
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I shot Chris Harrison's RV-8A recently; the only flying example in the UK, for a feature in the Light Aviation Association's magazine.

Chris runs a "Bill Knott" nosewheel fork with larger wheel, hence the enlarged nosewheel spat. The unusual colour is Ford Electric Orange.

Number two to Chris is Stan Hodgkins, in his -8 (who wrote the feature on Chris's aircraft).


RV-8A & RV-8 by Ed Hicks, on Flickr


RV-8A & RV-8 by Ed Hicks, on Flickr


RV-8A by Ed Hicks, on Flickr


RV-8A & RV-8 by Ed Hicks, on Flickr


RV-8A & RV-8 by Ed Hicks, on Flickr

There are larger files on Flickr if anyone wants a desktop image. :)
 
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I think we know how the June wallpaper will look like...
The orange is really nice looking.
What kind of camera did you use for these shots?
 
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Mohammed said:
@Ed Those are breath taking pictures for very beautiful birds.. >> To my desktop background!
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Mohammed - Thanks, great to hear they might provide some motivation. :)

Bastien said:
I think we know how the June wallpaper will look like...
The orange is really nice looking.
What kind of camera did you use for these shots?
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Doug would be welcome to use one for VAF wallpaper if he wanted.

The shots were taken with a Nikon D7000/70-200 f2.8.
 
Motivation

What a surprise! Coming from Broussard, Louisiana to Sumerset England in the summer of 2010. I flew in that fine RV8A G-RVCH while in Westinzoyland, England. You never know what surprise the awesome world of RV's will bring. Chris Harrison answered my call to an RVator planning a visit to the area where he is based! An experience to never forget! Thanks again Chris... David Bell. Broussard, Louisiana...flying RV4 N22755 based KLFT.
 
Almost Finished !!

Here is my RV-8 fresh out of the paint shop. I still need to put the wing root fairings back on. Its been flying for a year and half, and I was finally able to keep it on the ground long enough to paint. I was having way to much fun flying!!
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Looking good!

Nice job John! She looks great! I love the paint scheme - looks one-of-a-kind. The 3 bladed MT aint bad lookin' either!

Enjoy her!
 
Romeo Sierra

Built by dad, paid for by me. Near final paint, still thinking about the vertical stab. Thanks to all the great people at Pecan Plantation who made it possible -Martin, Jason and friends.

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under seat toolbox, gust locks and clip mirrors

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Nice 8A!

Nice 8A! :D Cool "Anti-Bird-Strike" Spinner. What Engine? How is the clip that holds the retracted gust lock bars secured?
 
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