Skykingbob
Well Known Member
Well rather than spending a relaxing Independence Day holiday weekend working on the -8 and doing home chores, my wife and I felt we needed to go to Venice Florida to check on her elderly aunt that had hurt herself. So we hopped some flights and spent the weekend down there.
I had mentioned to Gary Palinkas that I come to Venice on occasion, and he told me to give him a buzz when I came again. Well I did and he invited me to meet at the airport as I asked him if I could see his airplane sometime. Well I met him and another -8 builder named Lonn. They were great about letting me gawk at their airplanes...which are both showcases of craftsmanship! Then Gary asked me if I have been in an RV...of course the answer was no..so he asked me to come on the dawn patrol the next morning. Well I had an AWESOME first flight in Gary's RV! What a spectacular ride...and a very memorable first RV flight!!!!!
But it didn't stop there! We were going to take a $90 shuttle on Sunday to get to SRQ for our flight back to VA. Gary offered a ride to my wife and I and picked us up at 0500 to take us to the airport. HE REFUSED TO TAKE GAS MONEY! I don't want to embarrass him but he and N198RV are true ambassadors of VAF...my wife was very impressed!
I just want to say that this forum is more than help with building, it is a forum that helps in building new friendships, confidence, and the love of adventure. Its about things like "The Vladventures of N666K", the Izzybear's that I found as a build friend and help each quarter when I travel to Dallas for work, the welcome when I arbitrarily stopped in the Van Cave and was told to pull up a couch and hanger fly for an hour or so like you are at a family gathering, the Jay Pratts that is willing to share all his build experience, the seasoned builders like Pierre and others who spend time encouraging builders that are ready to sell their RV-3's out of frustration, the Bob Collins that take time to get the real life stories at OSH.......really its about the great folks that make up a truly wonderful forum. I have found most pilots to be a great crop of folks.....but people on this forum even take it a notch or more higher they are Very Awesome Folks
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I had mentioned to Gary Palinkas that I come to Venice on occasion, and he told me to give him a buzz when I came again. Well I did and he invited me to meet at the airport as I asked him if I could see his airplane sometime. Well I met him and another -8 builder named Lonn. They were great about letting me gawk at their airplanes...which are both showcases of craftsmanship! Then Gary asked me if I have been in an RV...of course the answer was no..so he asked me to come on the dawn patrol the next morning. Well I had an AWESOME first flight in Gary's RV! What a spectacular ride...and a very memorable first RV flight!!!!!
But it didn't stop there! We were going to take a $90 shuttle on Sunday to get to SRQ for our flight back to VA. Gary offered a ride to my wife and I and picked us up at 0500 to take us to the airport. HE REFUSED TO TAKE GAS MONEY! I don't want to embarrass him but he and N198RV are true ambassadors of VAF...my wife was very impressed!
I just want to say that this forum is more than help with building, it is a forum that helps in building new friendships, confidence, and the love of adventure. Its about things like "The Vladventures of N666K", the Izzybear's that I found as a build friend and help each quarter when I travel to Dallas for work, the welcome when I arbitrarily stopped in the Van Cave and was told to pull up a couch and hanger fly for an hour or so like you are at a family gathering, the Jay Pratts that is willing to share all his build experience, the seasoned builders like Pierre and others who spend time encouraging builders that are ready to sell their RV-3's out of frustration, the Bob Collins that take time to get the real life stories at OSH.......really its about the great folks that make up a truly wonderful forum. I have found most pilots to be a great crop of folks.....but people on this forum even take it a notch or more higher they are Very Awesome Folks