What do you plan to do with all that spare time?

  • Fly the RV every available moment

    Votes: 57 52.3%

  • Build another RV

    Votes: 23 21.1%

  • Build another airplane, non-RV

    Votes: 13 11.9%

  • Build something else "big" (boat, house, etc)

    Votes: 8 7.3%

  • Get caught up with everything I let go during building

    Votes: 39 35.8%

  • Start an aviation-related business

    Votes: 7 6.4%

  • Other (post below)

    Votes: 7 6.4%
  • Total voters
    109
  • Poll closed .
Paul Eastham

Paul Eastham

Well Known Member
You're done with Phase 1, got some good X/Cs in, taken all your friends for rides, now what have you or what will you do with all your spare time?
 
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Life after construction

One can never predict what the future will hold. Having said that and still in the building process, My plans are to build another RV (maybe a 3) and fly the one I have every available minute. Also, (wife has me by the scruff of the neck), I plan to get caught up on all of the "things" I have let slide while building. I have actually thought about buildin an RV-12 - I think that is a neat plane!
 
Hi again

Hi Paul,
A friend is building his -4 in my hangar and it sure helps relieve the builder's withdrawal and he's tickled to death to have a shop to build it in.

I think you saw it when you were down here.

Pierre
 
I need to select multiple boxes!! Like.....almost all of them!! :rolleyes:

Interesting poll idea...
 
I started dating my wife-to-be shortly after finishing the RV. I now spend most of my time running kids around and doing projects around the house.

My wife regrets missing the building process and we plan on building a Bearhawk in the future. Unfortunately it will probably be after the girls have left for college.

Karl
 
So Many Home-builts, So Little Time

I'm with Paul. We need to be able to check multiple boxes.
I'll be turning 65 in February, and there are so many airplanes I want to built. First to finish the bi-plane, next I want to build a T-51B. Too bad so much time is taken up maintaining a runway and mowing.
 
Maintaining a runway

Mel said:
I'm with Paul. We need to be able to check multiple boxes.
I'll be turning 65 in February, and there are so many airplanes I want to built. First to finish the bi-plane, next I want to build a T-51B. Too bad so much time is taken up maintaining a runway and mowing.
Click to expand...

Mel,
Your comment interests me. I still have the dream to someday have a little grass strip with a house nearby amid the hills of Tennessee.

What in particular are you referring to when you say "maintaining a runway?" You must mean other than mowing since you mention it separately. I'd like to know how much time it takes to mow and maintain a grass runway.

Also, are there any particular grasses that are better suited to a grass runway? My thinking is the middle third could be different than the outer two "thirds" since the ends will be where most of the landings are made. Is there a tough, slow growing, inexpensive grass that is best suited for a grass field in the Tennessee climate? I would think Middle Tennessee weather is not too different from your part of Texas.

Any things you would do different in building your grass airport?

Thanks,
Don
 
Because of the "black gumbo" soil we have, a grass runway did not work for me. When it rained, it stayed wet for weeks. Then when it did dry out it started cracking. I had crushed white rock (calichie) put down. It is very dusty, but when it rains, it dries out in a day or two. Weeds love calichie. They grow in clumps and make it rough. I have to kill the weeds and blade the runway regularly. I have not been doing this regularly so the weeds have taken over. Now I have to blade everything down and almost start over.
The tractor I've been using is not quite big enough to pull the blade. Now I'm looking for a bigger tractor.
 
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Let's see....

Wife want's a Cobra kit car so that's on the list, but she also mentioned a boat. Then by that time, my boy is going to getting old enough to think about flying lessons so I'm going to have to look for a Champ to restore. Way too many projects.
 
Yeah, I fly every chance I get but still get bored at home. I have since built a 1/8 scale model of my -9 for my dad, have started a dollhouse kit with my daughter, and just recieved plans and ordered wood for a my next plane.......a Hatz CB-1. I'll post a picture of my first wing rib soon after the spruce arrives!
Of course, the wifey has her list of things for me to do as well.
 
I briefly had this problem, then I got interested in Aerobatics. Lot's more fun than the $100 hamburger and lots of new stuff to learn.
 
rv7boy said:
Mel,
Your comment interests me. I still have the dream to someday have a little grass strip with a house nearby amid the hills of Tennessee.......

Thanks,
Don
Click to expand...

In east central Missouri (lots of clay) the grass of choice is KT-31 fescu. Some people call it road ditch grass but it is tough, resists draught and when it does get some moisture looks nice, but not quite like a golf course.

Beyond all that, I would like to build a RV-8 someday but probably won't live long enough or will run out of money before that.
 
Let's see, I averaged 1 hour per day for about 7 years building my plane. I was not actively flying until the last couple years during the building process, and then only a few hours per month.

Now that it is flying, each round trip to the airport is one hour, about 45 minutes for pre and post flight stuff, and about 1 hour average local flight. So, each of these local sessions take about 3 hours. The Saturday breakfast flyouts add about 2 hours for solving the world's problems, so each of those is around 5 hours. Looks like I spend about 8 or so hours per week flying. This doesn't count overnight trips, of course. I have averaged 150 hours in each of the six years since first flight.

I have found it a bit difficult to get motivated for other projects post RV completion - they just aren't the same.... although, I did build a wood strip canoe.
 
I'm planning on building a 23' Chris Craft style inboard runabout out of mahogany. Hope to start this winter.

Roberta
 
problem is-you think you can do anything after you build one of these!


I am rebuilding an old South Coast 22 sailboat with my boys (grown boys)
 
Yep, once the building bug bites, it's a difficult affliction to shake after the RV is flying, and the shop is empty:

29-scoop-4.jpg

http://home.hiwaay.net/~sbuc/stalkerv6/


trailer-4.jpg

http://home.hiwaay.net/~sbuc/canoe/index.htm


beetle-9689.jpg

http://sambuchanan.com/michael/beetle/index.htm
 
A grass airstrip should be turtle backed with excellent drainage. Then it is usable right after a rain if it has good grass. If it grows in your area, I recommend bermuda. It can be kept clean with the chemical MSMA. Great surface and I mow it with a 10' rotary mower behind a 65 HP tractor. I can travel fast enough to mow 18 acres in under 2 hours.
 
Depends on the soil. My strip is crowned and drains well, but our "class5" black gumbo soil holds water for weeks. We can't even use standard lateral lines because the soil won't dry out.
 
We (my hangar partner, also an RV-4 guy, and I) are planning on building a little club-house in the hangar so we can keep it at a relatively warm temp for use in the winter. And still have a great hang-out place at our airport.
 
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