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vic syracuse

vic syracuse

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There’s been way too much negativity lately due to the LCP issues. I’m sure it’s wearing on everyone. Let’s try to take a break from that and list all of the positive reasons we build, memories we’ve had, memories we look forward to, etc.

As a matter of fact, let’s try to out do the negativity with sheer volume. I bet we can do it! I promise I will delete any negative posts. :)

Here goes:
  • I always dreamed of building my own airplane as a kid. I honestly thought it would always be a dream until my wife told me to quit talking about it. That first flight will never be forgotten!
  • The pain of drilling holes in my fingers over the years will also never be forgotten
  • All these years later and it is a journey that still continues to create memories, mostly from meeting all of the great people in the experimental building community!


    I could go on and on, but hearing from all of you is going to be the exciting part, so ——- TAG, YOU’RE IT!

    Vic
 
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Always had a love for airplanes even when I was just a little guy and listening to stories my grandpa told me about his flying til he lost his medical. Once I got old enough I got into r/c models and built and flew them til I needed more. Started flying Cessnas and ercoupes and owning several different certified planes. Then I made a jump to build a real plane. Now I am on my 3rd rv build and I wouldn’t change it for the world. The community in experimental aviation is we’re I belong and everyone is like family.
Thanks vans aircraft for all you do
 
Good Idea Vic!

Moi, I read the news about what is going on in some parts of the world and I am so GRATEFUL to have the freedom to build my little old RV kit in peace! :eek:
 
I'm 'different'----Imagine that. I guess what really makes me satisfied these days is the fabulous people I've met, either in person, via email or text, a voice on the phone, or a booming voice from above. Yep, its the people that Ive developed friendships with, and ALOT of you Ive never met. No, you probably dont live in Ridgeland, but in other places all over the world. UK, Australia, Brazil, and even Lithuania. All because of the common denominator of experimental aviation.

People make the difference, not riveted aluminum, or teflon hoses. People make this community. You were there during the low points and the high points of my life, yes brought together by riveted aluminum and teflon hoses, but the enduring friendships are because of the people involved. Its the people we can count on the most for encouragement when times are tough, and the congratulations when we achieve our goals.

This is a journey, and because of the people, its been a rewarding one.

Tom
 
Having fun

Positive-100%. Back in 1983 when I built my first RV-4 after a midget mustang and a skybolt I built my own exhaust system. Word got out and before long I was building exhaust systems regularly. I had no idea it would blossom into the business that it did and every time Vans came out with a new model it just expanded it.
That said, it was the people and friends that were gained over the years. I can honestly say I never met a bad RV guy. What a ride it was and still is. I’m fortunate to have “friends for life”.
 
Thanks Vic

After 1,000 hours of travel at 150 knots and 7 gph at 12,000 feet, it is hard to travel any other way. My Vans RV-9a has been a pleasure from day 1. I am building my second one, and it is the most interesting project I have ever worked on. I go to sleep figuring out my next steps. I think I have painted it in my imagination in hundreds of different paint schemes. What a joy to have freedom to visit all these wonderful small airports in the US. Reminds you of simpler times.
Cal
 
As a grumpy old guy, I never thought I'd come around to admitting that the best thing about flying in general and flying RVs in particular is the great people you meet.

grumpy-cat.png

Just today one of the other builders in the country shipped me some parts that would have taken weeks to get otherwise.
 
People and Fulfillment

Agree wholeheartedly with the comments about people and community above - even if some were the non-aviation friends and neighbors who regularly stopped by over the years of building to shake their heads and ask why. My stock answer was usually - in case I have to leave town in a hurry.

I even attended a Van's Club de France fly-in and wonderful lunch at Vendée Air Park when I was working in France between 2020 and 2022. There would have been more but my time there was during the pandemic.

And of course there is also the satisfaction of seeing a pile of pieces and parts slowly take shape under your own hands, and eventually take to the air with you in it.

Thank you Van

Jim Sharkey
RV6
 
Ahh ... the build process ... we're stalled on our current project installing avionics waiting for parts ... nuts, that's right, nuts ... just need 6 ... 2 days down waiting for nuts ... they were $2.86 with $18.80 ground shipping :D
 
I'm that guy who decided to build an RV without ever having flown one. For years everybody said how great they were, but what really sealed the deal for me was lurking on VAF and seeing how enthusiastic everybody is about the product and more importantly, how the community treats each other.

I may not agree with everybody on here, and they may not agree with me, but by and large, everybody is pulling the rope the same way, which is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise contentious world.

By comparison, look at how hateful it can get over on the airplanes and coffee Facebook page.

Any airplane is a series of compromises flying in formation, but Vans people are the best.

Thanks Van for developing that culture, and thanks Doug, for giving it a home.
 
I started a career in aviation by pure chance years ago and got my pilot license then. I have always been disappointed with the "slow life" of puttering in the Archer I rent. I love flying but want to expand my reach and have a long term goal of flying like crazy in retirement. So I jumped into my 10 build and have been slowly puttering through. I have young kids so I get little bouts of time to build when they are at school or off at a friends, but I am moving along little by little. I see the end goal of a family plane where maybe my kids will want to fly themselves one day. But I am learning a lot as I go and that is invaluable to me.

But as many others have mentioned, the community here is what keeps me motivated. Talking to other builders online in various places, the social aspect at Airventure, and more. That is what I value and it keeps me going, the people in this community are amazing.
 
I would like to extend some of that positivity in Vans direction. I have built two Vans aircraft and could not be happier with both the building experience as well as the flying experience. I thought the kits were well designed, both from a building stand point as well as the flying. Two of my three sons have now learned to fly in our RV-6A. I am grateful that Van created a kit that was both safe and a real pleasure to fly. Also strong enough to survive some flight training.

Larry
 
rv8ch said:
As a grumpy old guy, I never thought I'd come around to admitting that the best thing about flying in general and flying RVs in particular is the great people you meet.

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Just today one of the other builders in the country shipped me some parts that would have taken weeks to get otherwise.
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As a pilot for 33 years I have always enjoyed the people met in various FBOs and self serve fuel pumps. It wasn't until I became an owner (of an RV-12iS, the best aircraft I've ever flown) that I discovered just how tight the flying community really is.

I have received direct help and advice from many including Jim Stricker and Rob Carsey and have learned more than I can convey from posts by many more including Vic, Walt, Scott and NinerBike (whom I haven't seen posting in some time) plus MANY others though I've never met any in person. I have even made a trip to the hangar to get my OptiMate out to lend to an unknown transient RV-12 pilot with a dead battery to use overnight.

This is why it bothers me to see so many forum members bickering on the "Business Announcement From Van's Founder Dick Vansgrunsven" thread. We all need to remember that we have more in common that not. We're all members of the flying community. We're all members of the Van's Aircraft community. In other words We are all human beings living, breathing, building and flying at the same time on this planet Earth. Van's Aircraft has made airplane ownership a possibility and reality for all of us here on this forum. Airframe issues affect us all. Component failures affect us all. The ongoing business interests of Van's Aircraft affect us all. Instead of turning on one another we need to work together so that we all may continue building and flying better quality and more modern aircraft than we could purchase for similar prices.
 
It’s a dangerous business,

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” The Hobbit, JR Tolkien

I took up flying to be able to land the airplane if my pilot friend became incapacitated while we were traveling with our wives. 10 years later, 1400 hours, a competed RV-10 and a career change to include 5 1/2 years at Van’s and Lisa and I are traveling the country in our Retirement Vehicle!

One of the best things about building the airplane is being presented with challenges (almost every day it seemed) and finding the intestinal fortitude to overcome them. What a sense of accomplishment encompassed in all those little decisions and challenges overcome (sometimes big ones) resulting in a spectacular airplane.

I’ll build again… if Lisa doesn’t divorce me if I do! Now it’s a matter of which model. RV-8? RV-14? RV-15? Or another RV-10 to “correct” the decisions made that I said I wouldn’t do again!
 
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The aviation bug bit early for me. Before I was 10, my younger brother and I spent hours in our plane - a panel hand-drawn on the bottom of the stairs in our home. As we aged and moved, that became sketching airplane designs on graph paper taped to the living room coffee table. Even the build bug came early as we drooled over the home built helicopter kits advertised in Popular Mechanics. My first real career plan was becoming an aerospace engineer, life had other plans and I embarked on a nearly 40 year career in IT.

My first small plane flight when I was 21 - complete with 20 minutes at the controls - kept me on that hook. It took 27 years for me to decide to stop waiting to win the lottery and get my license. Around that time, I encountered my first Vans airplane, an RV-6A featured in Microsoft Flight. A couple of years later, the actual plane that was used to model the one in MS Flight became the first one I saw in person and rode in. At that time I'd just acquired a partially started 9A empennage and QB wings and was taking a builder class in Washington.

The build took 3-1/2 years and I took to the skies in a plane that I built in August of 2018. There simply is nothing that gives this level of sense of accomplishment.

Now, 5 years and 379 hours later, the bug has eroded a fair amount. Life, logistics and maintenance. It still remains the craziest and most rewarding endeavor of my life. And the community that I discovered along the way is - by some margin - the best community I've ever encountered. Where else would you find almost everyone would bend over backwards to help out a pilot in need of assistance with a flat tire or other field repair.

Like anyone else, I've got things in life that I'd been better off not doing, but redirecting my mid-life crisis into following my early-life aviation dreams was amongst the best decisions I've ever made.
 
Vans RVs

I'm probably like many others. I think I was born with the bug. Dad always loved aviation too. He wanted to fly but the funds were not available. He got us a ride on a float plane once. I was maybe five but I can still remember it like it just happened. We flew wire line models a little.

I never did much in aviation, but the bug was always there. I used to park at the approach end of the airport and lay on the hood watching airplanes land. I wondered where they came from. That was way before 911 and fences.

I started building and flying RC after marraige. That didn't scratch the itch. I wanted to be in the aiplane. I finally made the decision to get my license and achieved the milestone in 2007. The itch to build something I could fly was always there. I decided it was time when I retired and found an unstarted RV7 Empennage and used tools.

I'm very slow but it’s getting close. I'm getting the final stuff done to move Lucy to the hangar and finish. Wow. Exciting and scarry.
 
My experience

When I was seven my cousin, (now a retired line capt. who flies the B-17's for the EAA), took me for my first plane ride. There was only two things in my life that once I experienced it I knew would someday be a part of my life forever... that plane ride and the first time I ever kissed a pretty girl. YEP, something to this stuff. Incidentally, over my life both have cost me a small fortune but well worth every penny. :)

Vans Aircraft came to me by way of a patient I cared for in the ICU. He and his best friend told me all about the Vans line of planes. It took a few years then I took the plunge. One of the best things I ever did. During my 5 year build I learned so much. Now it's been flying for 11 years. What an amazing magic carpet ride. Like Vic, I've met so many interesting and wonderful people along my journey. I am blessed.

From my home along the Bama gulf coast, I've been as far as Massachusetts to visit my son and his family. On the way back I flew the Hudson River Corridor... WOW what an experience! Just two weeks ago, I flew to Texas to visit a friend I grew up across the street from. It had been 48 years! Many other places too including Petit Jean and SunNFun.

Sometimes when I'm flying along I smile inside remembering the dreams I had as a kid that I'm now actually living.

Again I am blessed.
 
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I think I was born to it. Just took a long time to get here.
Had an uncle that died before I was born that died flying aerobatics.
I took my first 172 discovery flight with my sister @ 10. Took Aviation science class in high school and took a few flights, including a glider flight.
Sometime around 40 I was building 1/3 scale RC and traveling the aerobatics SE circuit.
Had a friend owe me a favor and had his other friend take me up in an Extra.
Kids and reluctant wife kept me from flying. Wife and I took a discovery tourist flight in a 170 @ Cedar Key. She commented later that the look on my face told her everything and that I should follow that dream. (yes she is a keeper).
15 years ago took lessons and then very shortly afterwards started a RV-9 without even being in one. (told you she was a keeper)
Two year later i took the first flight on my slow build.
That was probably in the top three of memories I will take to the grave.
10 years later I am still enjoying the freedom of owning an experimental.
Thanks Van and of course my wife.
 
Having failed at it twice, I’m afraid my build experience doesn’t give the positivity Vic is asking for.

But, boy, am I enjoying owning! I’m getting the speed of a Bonanza and the OpEx of an Electra-Glide. And the maintenance experience, aided heavily by my buddy Boyd, a couple of other hangar neighbors, VAF, BeechTalk (believe it or not), and Vic’s book, is scratching the itch I’d hoped to scratch building.

For instance, because Vic’s book told me to, I took a close look at my intake hoses. Boyd took a look and pointed out why they needed to be replaced. I ordered the parts and did it. I’ve always been mildly handy, but I hold my head a little higher when I say things to my adult, gearhead sons like, “Yeah, I was out at the hangar today. Had to replace the intake hoses and gaskets before I could install the Tanis heater.”

They don’t need to know that a month ago I didn’t know “intake hoses” existed!
 
Building my RV-9A is the "funnest" activity I do. This is not to say I have not been frustrated, annoyed, and discouraged (and so far I have only drilled a hole in my finger once). But what were the reasons I decided to build? I wanted an airplane that was "better in every way" than my Cessna 150. I also wanted to learn the technology and craft of airplanes. When I started my RV-9A I'd been "helping" (doing about 50% actually) of the annuals and work under supervision for about 15 years. Along the way I'd taken an aircraft mechanic's correspondence course. So the technology. How does riveting work? How does the engine work? How do the systems work? How do the avionics work? And the engineer's most expensive question: "What's the best (fill in the blank)". And the craft. How do I operate a rivet gun (gently at first, lest you put more of those dents in the skin)? What kind of primer to use (Super Koropon)? How do I build the canopy (this one took a year)? So I have learned more about the technology and craft of airplanes than I ever thought I would, starting on day one. And along the way I discovered VAF and this contributed immensely to my knowledge base, and hopefully somebody else learned something from my posts. Yes, fun indeed. Thanks to Vans Aircraft and VAF host and members. And thanks to my Dad, WWII Beaufighter pilot, I think I inherited the gene from him.
 
I love my RV-14A

I grew up near a small airport. I used to ride my bike down there as a kid and watched airplanes take-off and land, including a Tiger Moth among a few other unique planes. As a teenager I built my first kit plane...a U-controlled model. I always wanted to learn to fly. Finally, after putting my two boys through college I got my private pilot certificate at the ripe old age of 54. After going to Oshkosh for years I decided to purchase an RV-14A kit and never looked back. I enjoyed every step of the build, even the fiberglass work, panel wiring and painting. I even earned an instrument rating during the build. Five and half years and 3500 hours later I had the first flight. That first flight was exhilarating, but nothing compares to touching down at Oshkosh in an airplane that I built. I'll never forget that day.

Larry
 
I grew up taking things apart, sometimes to my parent's chagrin. I wanted to be a pilot, a pyrotechnician, a physicist, a train engineer, a pathologist, a virologist, and just about everything else at some point. I ended up in tech, and was lucky enough to be able to learn to fly.

I thought about buying a plane then; a Mooney M20E seemed perfect - but wow, an overhaul on an engine was going to be $20,000 or something or something like that, and yearly inspections, and it just seemed unaffordable. I've been renting ever since, flying DA40s.

Renting is... not the most fun. Planes all in good condition, but.. with interesting things particular to them. Sort of slowly getting run down, and never available for a quick off-the-cuff trip up to shoot some approaches on a cloudy morning or a quick tour around the area for fun. New planes are just bonkers unaffordable, so I started to look at building a plane. Expensive, yes - but also so much fun to learn about the insides of planes and develop so many new skills. I'm super excited to build my engine at some point with aero sport power and learn all about what goes on inside there too.

At first, the CubCrafters EX-3 seemed perfect. It would be a lot of fun to land on dry lakebeds in the southwest, or the beach, or anywhere unusual like that. I love the outdoors, and it seemed like a perfect plane. But, insurance on those planes is bonkers - so that idea turned into an RV-10. I got my tail kit back in February of this year, but one thing led to another, and I haven't started it yet (hopefully soon!). I've got a fuselage and wings on order, and I can't wait to get them.

I've been spending my time watching various people on YouTube, trying to figure out the mistakes that people make so I can avoid them. I've started on some of the parts that need to be cut apart - already wondering why didn't I buy a bandsaw designed for _metal_? That would have made straight lines easier on these little angles we must cut off on many of the parts.
 
World-expanding……

I’ve never known a time when I wasn’t enthralled with flying machines. I started flying at 13, soloed at 16, was licensed at 17….went to college to study aero engineering, and was sucked (willingly) into the world of aerospace test flying and operations. Owned airplanes along the way, worked on and modified my own - logged lots of hours in a huge variety of flying machines….and then - I was introduced to the RV-8. And I found my second career!

After retiring from three and a half decades of spaceships, I plunked down in the world of E-AB, and have been frolicking around in more interesting air machines than I ever dreamed possible. And along with the machines and the freedom of the sky, I discovered a world of people who I am lucky to be around. So many people that even this huge world we know of as the Van’s Community is but a small piece. Me - an introverted engineer (I know - redundant words….) - has found thousands of people to communicate with constantly. It gets noisy, but its a lot of fun!

And….the RV world gave me the opportunity to “disorganize” a small fly-in to a remote spot in west Texas back in the first decade of this century, a fly-in attended by a new RV-6 owner that shared more interests with me than just aviation. We’ve been married now for fifteen years, living among (and frequently traveling in) our airplanes. We’re supposed to be retired, but we failed at that because of who we are - and it’s been a wonderful failure as we enjoy the freedom inherent in fast, capable airplanes!
 
I started building my 6A 30 years ago next month, and it's been a delightful ride. After 22 years and 1850 hours, it is still an unbelievable moment when the wheels leave the ground.

The delight in building and flying these planes is wonderful, but above and beyond that are the friends I've come to know over the years.
 
My RV story

I remember getting the annual kitplanes directory in 1986 and dreaming which kit was best. I’d compare them all from take off roll, to landing roll, stall speed, strongest, and the RV-4 always came out on top. Money was so tight then that all I could afford was a flight sim for the -286 ibm compatible computer. But I could dream.

Finally got enough money to buy a set of RV-4 plans and started building the wood beam that would later support the horizontal. First parts were the elevator hinges and that took forever. Folks today just do not know. Then the premade spar became avail and I found one down in New Orleans and off I went to get that. Man what a feeling of excitement to get a premade spar and not worry about building that.

Life came along and two daughters were born, then a house, then I blinked and 10yrs went by. That was a wake-up call and so I went the buy route and got a Rv-3, then a RV-6, and then I was ready to build the Rv-9 while I flew the -6. Surprisingly, the -9 went together as I made the commitment to do one thing every day.

My dad served in Navy during early days of Korean War so really wanted to finish the -9 so he could see it fly and see those invasion stripes. However, cancer won and that was not to be. However, his memory was the motivation to get it finished and after many calls to my friend Joe Blank, and careful review by Vic, she flew just as good as Vans said she would.

The Rv-9 has stood the test of time. I’ve had Comanches, twin Comanches, Aerostars, Aztecs, Maules, but the -9 remains. She is the go-to fuel economy machine. Don’t get me wrong, the Aztec is a true 6 place full fuel full cargo pickup truck hauler but nothing compares to the -9 when it comes to efficiency. A quick trip down to 08A Wetumpca Alabama the other day was 35min one way and 5 gals of fuel. It’s a 2 hr drive.

The sense of pride every time I walk into the hanger and see the RV I built is hard to describe. I don’t believe there are any words. It’s like a bucket list item that trumps all the other bucket list items. I’ve met the man who walked on the moon, was on first name basis with top-dogs in both Bush and Obama administrations, traveled the world, and done stuff that even I can’t believe.

However, building and then flying my RV tops them all.

Thanks Van again for this experience.

.
 
Last year the wife and I were invited to join in a Vegas trip with some friends that we had just formed. Where we live that is logistically not feasible with the airlines on a last minute basis. But thanks to the RV we flew down and joined in the festivities. It was an amazing trip. We are now best friends with these two other families, our kids are all friends and all 17 of us do vacations and holidays together. It was the RV and the RV alone that made that trip possible that day. My favorite part was when we were flying back my wife was texting one of our friends and they were still sitting on the taxiway in Vegas with a 7 hr drive home waiting for them while we were only 1 hr away. :)
 
jcarne said:
... Where we live that is logistically not feasible with the airlines on a last minute basis. But thanks to the RV we flew down and joined in the festivities. It was an amazing trip. ...
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It's great when you can actually use the RV to travel. I've done a couple of business trips in mine and probably saved a couple of hours, cost a lot more than the airlines, but the fun factor is priceless!
 
It's a community - and the secret to life

I tell everyone that I've discovered the Fountain of Youth and I want more of it. 5 years ago I was a corroded pilot that hadn't hardly flown in 30 years since getting my ticket at age 19. A neighbor took me up in his Grumman, and while at the airport I peeked into a hangar across the way from his that I have many times since described as "Airplane Cheers". There were smiling old guys and all types of cool contraptions, shiny little planes with fighter scheme paint jobs, and every tool, picture and piece of memorabilia you can imagine hanging on the walls. I ended up buying into their group, and developed friendships and bonds with mentors who I now consider family. We built most of a plane together that is one of two I now own and fly. And I'm living the RV dream.

Never before have I seen such a community of crystal minded, socially engaged, other centered, and physically active folks, many in their 70 and 80's, living with purpose every day. If only more people had something like this in their life the world would be a better place. And a huge part of the upside comes from the pay-it-forward attitude that many in this community display. It's contagious and beautiful.
 
rv8ch said:
It's great when you can actually use the RV to travel. I've done a couple of business trips in mine and probably saved a couple of hours, cost a lot more than the airlines, but the fun factor is priceless!
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Absolutely!
 
My RV journey

My dad told me that when I was about 4 years old I looked up in the sky and said, “There’s a Beechcraft Banana!” I must have learned about Vee tailed airplanes from him because he, like me, was always fascinated with airplanes.

He couldn’t afford to take flying lessons after World War II, so I grew up watching him building and learning to fly radio control model airplanes. Those were the days of reed and escapement radios (early 50’s). At age 60 he started flying lessons and soloed a Cessna 150. A year later he got his private certificate and was an active pilot into his 80’s.

Flying as a passenger with him sparked my interest in flying lessons, and he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I could use his C-150 if I paid for the gas and the instructor. I did that through solo and I am eternally grateful for his offer.

I finished my Private Pilot training on my own and rented 150’s, Warriors and 172’s for several years. By ‘93 I was wanting to build my own airplane and attended Sun’n Fun with the intention of learning about a certain good looking low wing airplane. There were only 3 or 4 of that type in the home built area, and I tried to spark a conversation with the owners. They let me know this was a plans built design and I’d have to read plans to build this airplane. (I didn’t tell them I was a Mechanical Engineer with NASA and had worked several years in design and fabrication. Because of this experience, I try to not “have an attitude” when I talk to strangers who ask about aviation in general and RV’s in particular.)

Back to Sun’n Fun…I looked across the field and saw 25-30 airplanes called RV’s. I met several owners including Mel Asberry, and they were much more cordial. Plus, there was a company called Van’s that had a tent in the vendor area. I came home convinced an RV was for me.

Like many folks, kids in college forced me to delay my RV plans. But I met a fellow NASA engineer who was building an RV-6A. I learned a lot from Bob Butler as he completed his RV. I bucked rivets, helped with his instrument panel, helped with his first engine start, and was part of his crew that transported his RV to the airport. I also was his First Officer on trips to Oshkosh and Sun’n Fun in addition to numerous Saturday morning breakfast flyins.

After a few more years, I was ready to order my empennage kit and narrowed it down to the RV-7 and the RV-9. I finally decided on the 7 and placed my order and requested a delivery date on or near December 17, 2003. I received it in early November! Yes, that was 20 years ago and I’m still working on my wing kit. I have missed the LCP issue (my wing kit is dated 2008).

I have also logged 11 hours and several landings in a friend’s RV-9A.

I won’t bore you with my tales of surgeries and other obstacles I’ve encountered. Suffice it to say I have not lost the desire to finish my RV-7. I inherited my dad’s 172 several years ago and have flown it regularly up until my latest surgery. I look forward to resuming flying under the new MOSAIC rules.

Like other posters have said, the people and friendships on this RV journey have made it worthwhile, including, for me, folks like Mike Starkey, Doug Reeves and Paul Dye. It’s not the machines; it’s the people who make this “RV Journey” so enjoyable.
 
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I hope the Mods and Members will indulge a post from a lurking non-RV pilot.

An example of the RV people: a few years ago a friend loaned me his professional paint booth, with the caveat that I had XX number of days to get it done. One the last day of painting there was a filter leak, my wings looked like they had been painted with non-skid. You literally could not run your hand over the fabric without it coming away scratched. Made all of us sick, but the booth was now backed up with revenue jobs and I had to be out.

A gent down my hangar row who had built a beautiful RV came down, saw the problem, and said "I'm going home right now and setting up my paint booth, you can have it as long as you need it and DON'T HURRY." I know he lurks on this forum but is a pretty private person so I won't name him, but he saved my build.

https://seareybuild.blogspot.com/2020/11/1-2-3-paint-by-me.html


Kit building closes the circle that started from way back when building model airplanes with Dad, and while flying the 787 is fun I'm a lot happier when I'm home, in my hangar, deep into a part of the build with some music playing and friends stopping by to help or bust my chops, or on a quiet day like today when no one else is around and I can think without interruption, when I feel like I should be making progress doing something but I'm just tired and jetlagged and don't feel confident about doing something but want to be around my airplane, I like to come out to my hangar, sometimes I don't even work on the plane but walk around her and think about "What if I...." for the future remaining sections, or look over things I've already done, making sure they're right.

Heck, I've even gotten published in a few magazines including Kitplanes a couple times, with another one coming up. I'm no Ernie Gann, but I fly and write and turn wrenches and that's pretty good enough for me.

I'm at 13 years into my two year build, and I'm almost dreading the end of the building phase because I am having so much fun building her. But there are other projects waiting in the wings, and I've already caught myself saying On the next plane I build...


How lucky are we?
 

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I first got familiar with RVs when Dan Checkoway decided to sell his M20J after he couldn't get decent maintenance done on it no matter how much he spent.

He started building an RV-7, and I followed along, sometimes even helping pound some rivets. Good times. That was all back in the 2000-2003 era.

I had a Skylane back then -- great all around aircraft -- but after flying the RV I definitely wanted one. June of 2004 was when I started looking for something I both liked and could afford. I ended up looking.... and looking... and looking... and probably setting a Guinness Book world record for the longest search, finally buying an airplane in the summer of 2022. That's what, 18 years?

Though I've been fortunate to own and fly a Pitts, an Extra, and fly some pretty cool planes for work, my favorite is still (and may very well always be) the RV-6. There aren't many inexpensive, efficient airplanes that can fly decent aerobatics, formation, cross country, and just-staying-in-the-pattern missions with equal capability and grace. It's remarkable, especially when you consider how it's all done without exotic materials or designs.

Thanks Vic for creating this thread. Excellent idea, even sans LCP and cash flow issues. It's always worthwhile to count our blessings: the freedom to fly, to build, to travel... and the large community of kind and generous individuals that make it extra sweet.

--Ron
 
It is hard to explain the sense of community we have to others. The Van's flying aircraft ticker may be over 11k, but boy, are we tight! On a long thread like this will be, I am always amazed at the number of acquaintances I have. And I feel I live in a bit of an aviation bubble!
 
The Wonders of Vans Aircraft and VAF

So for me, flying started when I was about 10 - 12 years old. I lived in a small town, and my mother brought home a certificate for an intro ride at the local airport with the airport owner/operator/instructor. He took me up in the Cessna 150, and then turned the yoke over to me for a few minutes. When we got back down, I was sold! I wanted to get my license. Over the next few years, my Mom came home several times having won the fundraising draw with additional intro ride coupons. With each time, the owner/instructor taught me a little more, and let me practice a bit, and the 20 minute ride usually was more like an hour. Then High School came and I didn't have time for such things between school and sports. I went on to university to earn a BSEL degree, and went to work right out of school.

Being in a new city, with a new job and just starting to make friends, I decided this was the best opportunity I would have to get my private license. After trying on all the different aircraft at the different flight schools at KCCR, I decided to learn on a Grumman Trainer. 7 Months later, and with several new flying friends, I got my Private in the Grumman Trainer, and then immediately got checked out in the Traveler, the Tiger, and the Cheeta. I also made a very good friend commuting to/from the City for work, and got up my nerve to ask her out on a date. We went flying in a rented Grumman Trainer on our first date. <grin> After a number of additional flights and dates together she said yes and we were married. My engineering job started to keep me travelling a lot, but I still fit in some flying when I could. Looking for more challenges I got checked out in a Piper Arrow and Turbo Arrow. We even considered buying an airplane on a lease back, but decided we couldn't take the financial risk. I also got checked out in a Cessna 172 while working n in Anacortes, Washington, which allowed me to do some evening/weekend flying over Puget Sound with co-workers. Flying out to Friday Harbor for dinner was a lot of fun. Great memories.

Then the job took over most of my time, with living offshore for installation and commissioning, and I decided I needed to stop flying until I had the time to stay proficient. My job continued to take a lot of my time, with a number of family moves and lots of business travel, and my young daughters took the rest, so the thoughts of flying other than business commercial were set aside for 30 years.

Once my girls were off at college, and my company moved my wife and I again (with another promotion), this time to Houston, I decided it might be time to start flying again. I found a local FBO that still had Grumman Tigers on their line, and after a few hours the Chief Pilot signed me off. Wow, I was back into it again! After a couple years renting, and finding it harder and harder to get a Grumman reserved, my wife told me to stop complaining and buy my own airplane. A few weeks later, I was flying commercially to Spokane to pick up my Grumman Traveler and fly it back to Houston.

On a business trip connection on day, I found a Kit Planes magazine in the airport bookstore, and decided it might be interesting reading. Knowing I was only about 5-7 years until retirement, I started thinking about a retirement project. After reading a few more Kit Planes issues, I joined a local EAA Chapter, and a new friend Dave took me to a Houston builders lunch, which turned out to be at Paul Dye's home/hanger, where he was working on his RV-3. After discussions with several builders including Paul, I decided building a plane was going to be my retirement project to keep me out from under foot at home. So I started looking at the options, and found Vans to be a long lived kit plane company, with good support and safety record. Since my daughter was going to school at Portland State, I stopped there for a weekend on a flight home, and she took me down to Van's for a Friday tour and demo flight in the RV-10. I was sold - I knew what my retirement project would be.

Due to oil price drop in 2015, we shut down my project and my retirement started a couple years early in January 2016, after a 41 year career in major projects. As soon as my retirement date was confirmed, I talked to Synergy Air about their empennage class, and ordered my RV-10 empennage kit for pickup by Synergy, and also ordered my quick build fuselage and wings. The Synergy Air class was a great introduction to my project. Once I got the QB kits into a workshop I leased, the major build work started. I worked about 35-40 hrs per week on the build. It was essentially my new full time job. I also found VAF after being pointed there while at Synergy Air, finding a lot of good info on the RV-10 build and options. There were 3 other RV-10 being built by other EAA 302 members at the same time and pace as mine, which helped when questions came up. I paid Vic Syracuse to fly out as my DAR for my Airworthiness Inspection and after a couple of days to fix a few minor issues Vic identified, I was ready for first flight, availing myself of the second qualified pilot program. After the first couple flights, I was on my own to complete Phase 1.

I'm currently undergoing some medical treatments that are preventing me from flying, but hopefully in another 2-3 months I'll be back in the pilot seat. But even if, God forbid, I never fly my RV-10 again, all of my friendships made while building this fabulous aircraft, and all the enjoyment of the build and companionship since my retirement has kept me alive and engaged. Thank you to Van, all of the employees at Van's aircraft, and all of the VAF community for keeping me young at heart and enjoying my retirement more than should be allowed!
 
I stopped flying for about 12 years because it got too expensive to rent, and I had other life going on (married, MBA school, new career, then a kid). I met a guy at work who was building a -7 (and a VAF member) and he convinced me that I could do it, and after about 7 years of building I did. I've already used the RV to visit friends in my old city and to commute to my office location. Looking forward to increasing my flying skills so I can get past the Sierras and Rockies and fly to Oshkosh one day. Maybe even go all the way across the USA back to my home town in Pennsylvania.
 
What great stories.....

Wow. Some really neat stories, which are no surprise.

Let's keep this going. There are so many of you who have your own story to tell, which I have no doubt will inspire some non-builder lurkers on this site to make that decision to build. It may even help some of those who have stopped for one reason or another to get started again.

Plus, many of them are fun just to hear. We'l have to figure out who wins with the most humorous story!!!

Thanks for participating!!!

Vic
 
My life with my RV…

Flights in just the last 2 weeks. No one would even think of this flying in a Cessna or Piper or anything else. Only one flight solo and that had a special purpose. All with fellow RV pilots that I didn’t know before arriving at PXE. It’s all about the RV but it’s really about the people.
10/22 Jimmy Carter Regional GA ACJ. with Scott RV7A
10/25 Low Country Regional SC RBW. With Butch RV6A to meet Gary RV6.
10/27 Jimmy Carter Regional GA ACJ. with Butch RV6A
10/28 Cartersville GA VPC. Take wife to granddaughters soccer tournament. No other RVs.
11/2 Orangeburg SC OGB. With Butch RV6A for lunch.
11/3 Peachtree City, GA FFC. Go to ACS with Tim RV8 to pick up parts.
11/4 Quincy FL 2J9 with Butch RV6A, Scott RV7A and Tim RV8. The Dawg flyin
11/5 Cedar Key FL CDK. With Scott RV7A and his wife for a fun flight and lunch.
Can’t say enough good things about Van and his creations.
Almost 20 hours in the air.
 
I like stretching my own boundaries, meeting other people, and driving people bankrupt :)

Ever since I got in to aviation in gliders in 1999, I've stayed in the instructional system, to stretch and improve my own abilities and limits, and to make sure I have a regular safe second pair of eyes looking over my airmanship and execution.

In gliding that meant collecting ratings and type conversions. I've flown two dozen glider and motorglider types, mostly single seat. I did cross-country coaching, aerobatic training, got an instructor rating, and served as Chief Flying Instructor for my club for a few years.

In 2008 I kinda ran out of "stretch" in Australia's gliding system. I'd collected just about all the ratings it was possible to collect, and felt like the only things left to do were competition (which I feel carries safety risks for only marginal improvements in personal enjoyment) and 1000km+ long distance soaring (which has never been my thing). I surveyed the landscape to see what should be next, and figured there was a whole new world waiting in powered GA. Did a PPL in a Cessna 152 Aerobat and a 172P.

Once I had the license, it was back on the rating treadmill, staying in the instructional system: Complex airplane endorsements, retractable and tailwheel undercarriage, aerobatics in a Super Decathlon, light-sport add-on just for kicks.

In 2010 I figured I was flying enough to justify buying an airplane instead of renting everyone else's, formed a syndicate with a couple of other guys, and in early 2011 bought VH-SOL, an RV-6 built by Ivan Salisbury in Albany, Western Australia. When I moved to Sydney two and a half years later, I bought out the other partners and took the airplane with me.

An airplane that was capable of things I wasn't endorsed to do gave me a whole new platform for improvement. I got my Australian night-VFR rating, formation, formation aerobatics. Had SOL's experimental certificate reissued with an IFR category, which enabled me to get my instrument rating this year. Smoke system for airshow flying. Traveling around the country to places I'd never visit if I had to go by car (129 airports and counting).

This community has also forged connections with other people. I've been blessed/cursed with a career which involves world travel, and through VAF, I've met up with people in the USA, Switzerland, England, France, Canada and New Zealand. I've enjoyed hosting a bunch of you folks who've visited Sydney, and I'm pretty sure that I can find at least one RV person anyplace in the world I'm likely to go. This is a global community of very social people, it's special, unique, and very enjoyable.

Finally, I've really got a kick out of sending people broke. I've made a habit of handing out free flights in my RV (it's a crime to fly with an empty passenger seat, right?). The terms of the deal are, "Don't embarrass me by offering payment, but you're on the hook for giving me a free flight when you get your license."

I've flown hundreds of passengers like that. Most don't take it any further, but so far nine of them have got licenses, a handful have got recreational certificates, and 3 have bought airplanes. One of them tells people I'm the reason he doesn't own a house (he owns a beautifully restored Cessna 140 instead). I estimate that my free flights have injected somewhere in the vicinity of $2 million Australian dollars into the General Aviation economy so far.

There's a lot of grizzling in Australia about how there are fewer GA pilots than there were ten or twenty years ago. I've always held the view that if each of us could convince just one other person to "catch the bug," our numbers would stabilize, and if we could convert two normal people into pilots our numbers would double overnight. I've done nine so far, to make up for a bunch of other folks who've done nothing. You're all welcome.

Two years ago I did a big refurb on SOL so it's basically a new airplane now, and I have to start wearing it out all over again. I don't know what's next, but I know it'll be fun.

- mark
 
Thanks Vic! I very much enjoy reading about other peoples RV journeys!

Mine starts with my Dad who was ATC at Toronto for almost 30 years. He always loved planes and instilled that love in me as well. Was great back in the day to go to work with him and watch the planes coming and going from the tower or watching the blips on the radar screen in the center while trying to keep what they were doing straight in your mind. Couple of his ATC buddies were pilots and took us up in a Beech 18 and a 310 a few times. Awesome!

As a kid, stick and paper models, free flight, control line and RC planes. Hours of fun with the flying, building, crashing and rebuilding....

Started working at the local flying club maintenance shop before it was sold and we (4 of us) were laid off. New job (not in aviation), muscle cars, wives (2), houses, kids (4) and suddenly in the blink of an eye I am 50!?!? What the heck happened? Who is that old guy in the mirror?

Bucket list time. Get a pilot license. Buy a plane (bought a 172 with a partner). Fun but still want to build a plane. Do the research and decide on an RV. Wanted an 8 but settled for a 7 when a partially built one came up for sale near me. Figure I better learn to fly a taildragger since I am building one and have never flown one. Sell the 172 and buy an RV4 from out west. Get 30 hrs TW training split between a Supercub and a Citabria. Fly commercial out west to pick up my 4 and fly it 1500 miles home. Quite the adventure for a very low time pilot. Lots of learning while having a blast in my new to me 4!

Four years and 450 hrs on the 4 later and the 7 is finally done. Sad day having to sell the 4 but can't afford two. WOW WOW WOW...first flight in the RV that I built! No greater thrill can be had with your pants on!! Taking my 89 year old Dad up in the RV I built...Awesome!

Here we are...another blink of an eye and 19 years since my license to learn...don't know who the retired geezer in the mirror is! Finished another 4 and sold it. Over 700 hrs in the six years since finishing my 7...and the RV grin is still there! I am now working on my 8 hoping to have it flying next year. The RV adventure continues.

Like you all, I have met many friends throughout the RV flying and building years. Awesome!! Been to Airventure half a dozen times. Awesome!!

All this fun and friendship thanks to another mans dream and vision...thank you Van!! And thanks to VAF, DR and all you RVers for a great community and resource!!
 
Over the years

I grew up in a neighborhood that was on 'short final' for our regional airport. If I didn’t stop to watch a plane on final, it’s because something was making so much noise that I didn’t hear the plane. Several of my maternal relatives flew small planes. I think one of them even had a pilot’s license! Mom's uncle nearly always had a Taylorcraft, Aeronica or Piper - in some stage of restoration. As a child, I thought it was normal to see airplanes in a garage.
Dad told me that he’d pay for my license, when I was old enough. In ‘74 I was old enough. I knew I’d like flying, but nobody could have foretold the amazing journey aviation has taken me on, in the years since then.
My garages have seen planes restored and built! The thing I’ve learned, building and working on aircraft, have served me in so many ways! The wonderful people I've met have enriched my life and provided wonderful friendships. I can’t even imagine how my life would have gone, without aviation. I guess I'd have learned to play golf….
Two things I've heard a lot; Some folks, learning that I fly, have said: "I would never trust myself flying a plane!" Some folks, learning that I built airplanes, have said: "I'd never fly in a plane that I built!" My response to both, is that they should trust their judgement.
Finally and this is not a catchy line, but almost 50 years of truth, I've heard MANY times from folks who "always wanted to learn to fly and regret that they didn’t. But I never met a pilot who wished he’d never flown.
 
My first interest in aviation was when my dad bought MS Flight Sim 5.0 and had it running on a 33MHz 80486. I suppose I'd have been about 10 or 11. I spent a lot of time playing that, and a bit later Fleet Defender (F-14 sim) also on the PC - though I suspect a slightly more powerful one. I remember teaching myself how to use VORs and how to take a crosscut from the Flight Sim manual, which was really pretty detailed. I also recall that the Sopwith Camel was (perhaps realistically) almost unflyable.

By the time I went to university any interest in aviation had gone and I never considered making a career of it.

In 2011 I received a flying lesson for my birthday, I suppose for want of anything else to buy me. That summer I completed my PPL (what we call our private certificate) and the next year I bought a share in a four-seat certified aircraft, which I still fly. In 2018 I bought another share in a PA17 and really got into tailwheel flying.

I've generally flown about 40-50 hours each year since I started, and in late 2021 I took the plunge and ordered the RV-7 empennage kit. After a lot of thinking I decided that it was going to give the best value aeroplane and was a much better bet that buying something already flying, plus I have a good garage and really enjoy building.

The empennage is pretty much finished but LCPs mean I'm going to have to drill out a couple of ribs from the rudder & elevators, plus the HS rear spar. The wing kit arrived earlier this year but I can't make a lot of progress due to LCP ribs and not yet having decided whether I'm going to use them - awaiting a final position from the LAA in the UK. I've a bit more to do on the main and rear spars, and am finding odd things to do like making aileron hinge brackets, but am rationing myself to a small amount each day because if I put in a whole day or two then I'm going to run out of things I can actually move forward with. For want of the odd part on the red list, I can't start on ailerons, flaps or tanks.

I really hope Van's get through this because I REALLY want to finish and fly this aeroplane.

When I'm down about it and the goal feels too far away, I rehearse in my mind the radio call I'll use on the first flight: "Golf Foxtrot Echo Whisky Sierra is an RV-7...."
 
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ronrapp said:
I first got familiar with RVs when Dan Checkoway decided to sell his M20J after he couldn't get decent maintenance done on it no matter how much he spent.

He started building an RV-7, and I followed along, sometimes even helping pound some rivets. Good times. That was all back in the 2000-2003 era.
--Ron
Click to expand...

Nearly started a 6 with a non flying mate...... didn't go forward. Flew a 7 at Netherthorpe which set me on the path.

We were rebuilding a Christen Eagle as a family project with the aim of starting a 7 as a retirement project with my Bro.

Sold the Eagle for good money - massive order in to Vans in 2004 and we started.

First flight in 2010.

I think a lot of us were helped along the path by Dan. I still have a copy of his CD that pre dated forums etc. Met him at his local field when on a trip at work, got introduced to a lot of other builders West Coast..

Incredible meet with a guy with a 7A at Compton - don't remember anything of the evening - he made stupendous dirty Martinis !

Became good friends with the Gals at Vans, started organising containers to help my costs and other UK guys costs down.

Did 2 containers a year up to 2021 when it just became to complex which was a shame.

Visited the factory in 2019, took the Gals out to dinner, flew with Van the Man at his place in his RV10 - my what a basic RV10 :D That was a huge privilege.


Built and still flying the 7, built an 8, two 12's and we are 3/4 way through an RV10.

Had lunch with Anne B in Grimsby UK last year when she was over - got my Future RV-15 Builder T shirt.

Still in touch with Anne during this current kerfuffle - I am sure everything will work out fine.

RV7 will get a mid life makeover when the RV10 is finished..... ;)
 
I love our RV-7!

My bride and I finished our RV-7 just over two years go and we love it! It’s our magic carpet and ticket to the sky!

I’m just a humble VFR GA pilot with no practical reason to have an airplane other than the love of flying. And the -7 is fantastic for just flying for its own sake.
I learned to fly 50 years ago, had an old 172, then built an early Kitfox, then was out of aviation for 25 years as life got in the way. We finally reached a point where we could get back in, and spent almost 10 years building on a pay as you go basis. And boy, was it worth it!

We fly someplace for breakfast almost every weekend and love taking friends for rides! What a wonderful opportunity Vans has made possible and we all owe them much gratitude!


Thanks Van!
 
I built control line planes as a kid.
Built R/C planes when I was older.
My Dad built wood sailboats in the garage.
So 'big projects' were no big deal to me.
Grew up and, of course, wanted to build bigger airplanes.
Simple. Duh.
 
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