SERFI Grand Champion

DanH · #1 10-08-2006, 10:57 PM

Congratulations to Mark Phillips, Columbia TN, RV-6A N51PW, 2006 SERFI Grand Champion.

Also congratulations to Lyle Hefel from Durango IA, RV-8 N757LH, Custombuilt Metal Reserve Champion.

And big thank you to all of the RV gang who attended the fly-in. There wasn't a single RV present that I wouldn't have been proud to own. If you had a good time tell your friends. If you didn't, tell me <g>

Dan Horton
Awards Chairman

rv6rick · #2 10-09-2006, 06:11 AM

Hey...Mark & Lyle...congrats...well done

!!

Rick in Ohio at the Buffalo Farm
http://rv6rick.tripod.com/ohiovalleyrvators/

jclark · #3 10-09-2006, 06:44 AM

Congratulations guys!

For Lyle, this is something that happens every two years (each time he builds his next plane) :-) !!

For Mark at the "Possum Works", this is fantastic. That bird is racking up awars everywhere it goes ... and deservedly so. If any of you get a chance to see Mark's "innovations" on his RV, you will see that great workmanship is a given and it is the innovations from his "Possum Works" that sets the plane head and shoulders above others.

By the way Mark, what new enhancement have you added in the last couple of months?

James

DanH · #4 10-09-2006, 12:07 PM

<<...and it is the innovations from his "Possum Works" that sets the plane head and shoulders above others.>>

In all fairness to the other entrants, Mark's innovations just barely made the difference. We had three truly excellent airplanes in the running for Grand Champion, in different flavors; Mark's RV-6A, a Pitts S-1SS (Bill Chambers, Huntsville, AL N263BC), and a classic Aeronca Sedan (Don Wilson, Hollins, AL N1312H). With 13 judges voting the tally was 5-4-4, so we even had to resort to a rare tie-breaking vote by the chief judge in order to pick Reserve Grand Champion. That's how close it was this year.

Trust me guys, if you like pure, no-compromise craftsmanship, you would give up a valuable body part to own any of these three. Watch for them at future fly-ins.

Dan Horton

Sam Buchanan · #5 10-09-2006, 01:54 PM

Quote:

In all fairness to the other entrants, Mark's innovations just barely made the difference. We had three truly excellent airplanes in the running for Grand Champion, in different flavors; Mark's RV-6A, a Pitts S-1SS (Bill Chambers, Huntsville, AL N263BC), and a classic Aeronca Sedan (Don Wilson, Hollins, AL N1312H).

I watched Bill Chambers's S-1S being built a few hangars down from mine (even did a couple of EAA tech inspections) and that plane is immaculate! It was a shame to have to cover the woodwork in the wings, they are works of art.

Congratulations to the winners!

jclark · #6 10-09-2006, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanH

<<...and it is the innovations from his "Possum Works" that sets the plane head and shoulders above others.>>

In all fairness to the other entrants, Mark's innovations just barely made the difference. We had three truly excellent airplanes in the running for Grand Champion, in different flavors; Mark's RV-6A, a Pitts S-1SS (Bill Chambers, Huntsville, AL N263BC), and a classic Aeronca Sedan (Don Wilson, Hollins, AL N1312H). With 13 judges voting the tally was 5-4-4, so we even had to resort to a rare tie-breaking vote by the chief judge in order to pick Reserve Grand Champion. That's how close it was this year.

Trust me guys, if you like pure, no-compromise craftsmanship, you would give up a valuable body part to own any of these three. Watch for them at future fly-ins.

Dan Horton

Yes, I know. Mark did a fantastic job.

It was just that I recalled that after seeing lots of REALLY nice workmanship on RVs at SnF and OSH, Mark's stood out to me because his efforts were truly in the spirit of "Experimental" building.

Great to hear about the diversity of planes that were effectively "tied" for "Champion". That says a lot about the builders out there and something about the judges too in my mind. Thanks goes to the judges in my book as well.

James

RatMan · #7 10-17-2006, 06:47 AM

I took a Sonex builder friend to SERFI, he left Evergreen with that bad feeling you get in your gut when realize you made a bad decision.

You see, when you go to SnF or Osh you see TONS of RVs as compared with the numbers of other craft there. SERFI this year was no different. There were about 200-300 or so aircraft there and probably 40 or so of them were RVs. I'm just guessing, I didn't count. On the bright side, there was 1 Sonex there.

I couldn't be a judge because ALL of these were beauties in my eyes. Even the yet to be painted 8a that came late in the day. She looked like that geeky girl you knew in high school but turned out to be a knockout in college. Just give here a year and she'll be a real knockout too!

Thanks DanH for a great day and please pass it on to the others that made SERFI this year. Also, Thanks to the RV crowd that showed up. You guys are great!

DanH · #8 10-17-2006, 09:20 AM

<<I took a Sonex builder friend to SERFI, he left Evergreen with that bad feeling you get in your gut when realize you made a bad decision. You see, when you go to SnF or Osh you see TONS of RVs as compared with the numbers of other craft there.>>

A common belief, and worth addressing. Actually the EAA Judging Standards http://www.airventure.org/awards/judging_manual06.pdf
don't offer an RV any advantage over a less expensive or less complex airplane.

Take a look at the Judging Decision Tree found on page 5. You'll find two words repeated over and over: workmanship and detail. These are the ultimate measures.

Now take a look at the Scoring Sheet on page 11. You'll find nine individual areas in which a judge assigns a score based on evaluation per the decision tree. Judges examine these nine areas one at a time. Two through Eight are fundamental airframe quality catagories. This is where the bulk of the points come from. A wing is a wing, tail surfaces are tail surfaces, paint is paint. What sort of airplane they are attached to matters not at all.

Areas One and Nine are more subjective, although they still rely on the decision tree. Nine is the admitted wildcard area; note "judges discretion". This is where a judge can reward outstanding items that are rarely seen and hard to build (perhaps handmade metal fairings instead of glass), or the fact that this particular airplane is much more difficult and/or time consuming to build. (Assuming equal quality, a well done slow-build kit will probably pick up a point over a quick-build kit. A plans-build might pick up two.) To be blunt, it is also where judges consider important details like "Did he build it or write a check?" (Did you bring a presentation book?)

Area Seven (cockpit) is subject to the belief that a huge avionics investment sways the judges. Not true at all. Judges look at installation quality, not what you have installed. Steam gauge or digital matters not, but if the cutout isn't perfect, well, sorry. They look at safety (for example, long blade toggles and sharp edged glareshields will lose points, as will a lack of shoulder harnesses). They frown on scrambled instrument layouts, lack of labels, and controls that be confused with another. Logical, obvious, safe, tidy, and easy to use are the keywords for panel installations. The bulk of the interior is strictly by the decision tree.

Most of the areas include consideration for innovation and improvements. Note that these can be a two-edged sword. It is not unusual to see "innovations and improvements" that detract from safety. Sometimes nice innovations stole build time better spent on fundamental workmanship and detail, the result being a lower overall score. Sometimes they are truly wonderful ideas incorporated into a very nice airplane. Consider carefully before you change things just to add features and toys.

The most common loss of points happens when the owner does not stay with his airplane so that it is open for inspection when the judges arrive. We cannot judge what we cannot see. For example, if you do not remove the cowl on your RV, the judges can't score area Seven (powerplant) higher than a 4 (average), maybe a 5 based on what we can see through the inlets and oil door. It is equally hard to judge an interior through a locked canopy. If you return to your airplane and find that the judges were there while you were gone, all is not lost. They understand. Go the judging shack and ask for a return visit. You will get another visit, IF you scored well on the exterior items. Frankly, busy judges are probably not gonna come back if your scores on exterior items were mostly 4's and there are a lot of airplanes in your class.

The RV advantage is found in peer pressure and the huge RV information exchange. An RV builder has plenty of opportunity to see just how good it has to be in order to be really good. Yes, sheer numbers have an effect, but let's be realistic. Basing your award hopes on the idea that nobody else will show up is not a plan for building a nice airplane. Besides, at any fly-in with good weather, it won't work.

Dan

Bob Axsom · #9 10-17-2006, 09:29 AM

How do the judges know what inovations have been made? I don't usually post negative notes but I am just a little disenchanted with the "beauty contests" at these fly-ins that are not supposed to be beauty contests. According to the EAA judging book there are certain things to be considered and my experience at Sun 'n' Fun and Oshkosh conviences me that the judges have no clue what inovations have been made. Sun 'n' Fun at least asks for you to list things on the judging request form that fit into the categories specified in the EAA judging book. I don't waste my time anymore with this stuff and I do consider it a farce.

Bob Axsom

Sam Buchanan · #10 10-17-2006, 11:01 AM

Quote:

<<I took a Sonex builder friend to SERFI, he left Evergreen with that bad feeling you get in your gut when realize you made a bad decision. You see, when you go to SnF or Osh you see TONS of RVs as compared with the numbers of other craft there.>>

A common belief, and worth addressing. Actually the EAA Judging Standards http://www.airventure.org/awards/judging_manual06.pdf
don't offer an RV any advantage over a less expensive or less complex airplane.

Dan, thank you for the details concerning judging criteria. I don't envy the task that judges have in trying to rank the very best aircraft. I am amazed at how the bar has been raised since I started flying my RV-6 in '99. In the first year or so I flew the plane, it got some attention from judges, but in the past several years it has retreated to the ranks of merely ordinary.

I took the original poster not be concerned with perceived judging prejudice, but rather to be having second thoughts about his decision to be stuck with something other than an RV.