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The VAF News - 3.28.2025. #6307. A REQUEST, and I sure hope you enjoy reading these VAF News editions….

DeltaRomeo

DeltaRomeo

doug reeves: unfluencer
Staff member
Hello!!!
If you would like me to include more examples of SPECIFIC RV TOPICS in the daily VAF News editions, reply to this post with your ideas. More building spotlights, less building spotlights, more company news, more builder profiles, more accident reports, etc. More motivational stuff. Less? More profiles of things for sale? Don’t publish it as often? Keep publishing it Monday through Friday?
I try to keep each issue under 12 items with pictures, something that will only take 30 seconds or so to scan, so you can be on your RV way. A quick snapshot of planet RV so you kinda know what’s been going on in the last 24 hours. Having said that, I’m always trying to think of ways to make it a better product for you. Maybe you would prefer I leave it the way it is, and if that's the case, chime in. I'll keep on keeping on. I have an idea in my head of what ratio works, but I'm interested in what you have to say.
Off-topic? Stay or remove?
Should I introduce a poll every Friday to vote on over the weekend?
Thanks in advance for any feedback you can provide.
It's one of the great joys of my life that I get to talk about RVs and the RV community on a nearly daily basis. I’m very very grateful I get to do this.
Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend!
v/r,dr

Food for thought:
The idea of the 'what did you do with your RV this weekend' thread came from user SPX.


Quirkies
…Vlad
I am sure Jjackh10 knows about it but I have no clue what it could be. Right in my backyard, a strange facility too far from any civilization. Another silo? Aliens? Aboriginal tribe's yurts? The roads are too muddy to land and explore on foot. There is a lot of power coming to there though...

Quirky Things Seen From The Air in Your RV

On the way to Osh 2024.
vansairforce.net
Screenshot 2025-03-27 at 3.10.53 PM.png


For Sale: $85K

FS: RV-3B

2012 Vans RV-3B – N293DB $85,000 My new RV-8 is flying, so it's time to say goodbye to my baby. Exceptional RV for sale by original builder, repeat offender. 620 hrs. since new, engine and airframe. Located Hillsboro, Oregon (KHIO). +G Aerobatics, Formation, Day/Night VFR cross-country...
vansairforce.net
Screenshot 2025-03-27 at 3.11.27 PM.png
Screenshot 2025-03-27 at 3.11.37 PM.png


DonMcKee

Is a doubler needed for outboard fuel sender?

I am going to install dual CiES fuel senders in my RV-14A tanks. The outboard senders will be installed in the most outboard tank bay on the aft baffle (0.032 Alclad), using nutrings, either Textron/Cessna style (picture), or the beefier ones CiES sells (picture in this post). With nutrings...
vansairforce.net
Screenshot 2025-03-27 at 3.12.55 PM.png


yahugh

O-360 oil cooler ports

I'm installing a remote oil cooler on my O-360 and have some questions about the engine oil cooler ports: Which are the correct ports? What what are the port sizes and thread types? Here's what I think the answers to these questions are. Am I correct?
vansairforce.net
Screenshot 2025-03-27 at 3.14.58 PM.png


inktomi

Pins that won't quite go through castle nuts

Forgive my very chapped fingers :LOL: I'm having a really tough time getting the cotter pins through these castle nuts on my rudder pedals. This is NOT a case of the bolt not being long enough, in fact I could probably use another washer to take up space. The issue is that the nut won't go on...
vansairforce.net
Screenshot 2025-03-27 at 3.15.20 PM.png


Where to park a GNX375
…VAC PIREP
I have the radio and 375 angled up in the lower console between my legs. Connected to the 660 via WiFi. Typically use ForeFlight for an EFB for cross country, which also interfaces wirelessly with the 375, so I don’t have to reach down too much but do occasionally.

Advice on where to park a GNX 375?

Need some advice on where and how to park GNX 375, please. Does it make sense to move the console closer and put 375 on top of the com radio or no? Looking for a "Wow,why didn't I think of that?" idea. Many thanks, Rick
vansairforce.net
Screenshot 2025-03-27 at 3.16.24 PM.png


J-Dub

Any ideas???

Morning everyone, So I have these two bolts, (they are not in their original bag so I can't go back to the packing list) and for the life of me, can not find what they are for......They are modified cap screws with coarse threads. Anyone????? To be honest, I can't even remember which kit they...
vansairforce.net
Screenshot 2025-03-27 at 3.18.12 PM.png


RE: tests on landing gear nuts and bolts
…Pilot135pd PIREP
Do yourself a favor and check ALL the service bulletins regarding the 8 and 8A even if you're told they don't apply. For example there's one about missing bolts in the wing spar but Van's only says it's for quick build kits. They know there were many slow build kits missing those bolts too but when I asked Van's why not make another bulletin or clarify the current one, they said they wouldn't. It's all a liability game for them, so make sure your bolts aren't missing, like mine were after 9 years getting inspected. Nobody bothered to check because my RV8 "wasn't a quick build so it didn't apply to mine". You can search this website, many discussions about this issue.

Breaking News: tests on landing gear nuts and bolts

If your gear is steel it is factory gear. If it is aluminum square section or airfoil shaped it is (was) grove gear. It wasn't an option to order from Van's, you just bought a different set of gear from Grove. I think Grove stopped producing the airfoil shaped gear a few years ago but I thought...
vansairforce.net
Screenshot 2025-03-27 at 3.20.11 PM.png


OFF TOPIC:
IMG_6894.jpg

Get your VansAirForce.net Charity Cap!

VAF Charity Cap: Help your charity and promote this site.

Get the cap all the cool kids are wearing! I don’t get a penny. It’s around $15. $5 more if you want your N-number on the back (I put 'STAFF' on the back of mine because it makes me laugh. Put STAFF on yours too if it makes you smile). And down the road $10 to the charity of your choice...
vansairforce.net

Please consider donating yearly to help keep this American 1-person pirate ship afloat:

Older issues of the ‘VAF News’ can be found at:

Doug's Area ...The VAF News, About VAF, My Resume

Pushed out every now and then.
www.vansairforce.net

THE VAF LIST (a list of RV-related lists)

THE VAF LIST (a list of RV-related lists)

The VAF List ...a list of RV-related lists. RV-related things you might want to browse over (a closed post that is sticky and maintained by dr). Link to this in 'Links' in the menu. v/r,dr Small businesses that help bring you this list of RV-related lists: 360 Avionics www.360Avionics.com Ace...
vansairforce.net
 
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I like the idea of a Friday poll! I also like updates on what's going on at Vans but I don't know how much inside information you have access to. There's my $.02
 
I like the idea of a weekly poll on some topic also. And I have no inside information! I learn things the second everyone else does :-)
 
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Dang boy,
If it got any better I don’t know if I could stand it. This issue is beautiful. You already have a tendency to mix it up a little most weeks, to good effect. Every morning my first mortal act is to sit down with a cup of coffee and VAF. It is my favorite way to keep up with and connect with my RV brethren. You are dead on localizer and glide slope.
God bless
 
Definitely keep the off topic!
I wish there was more stuff on building, but I think fewer are still building now. Certainly slow builds, and even more certainly on the older kits.
Keep the motivational stuff going too. Maybe an RV pic of the day/week would be good to keep builders spirits up!
 
I like the news feed as it is always a good way to find good stuff to read with minimal scrolling. It is about the right length.
I have liked since it started the WDYDWYRTW as it can be both building and flying.
Polls seemed to have slowed over the years so maybe a weekly poll will jump start them. They are very unscientific but still interesting to see results.
You may generate some lively participation if there was a weekly discussion topic. There probably is a list of stuff of interest or even just pick a safety or lessons learned (building/flying/maintaining) topic. Or maybe even reopening “never ending debate” items. Good to refresh those once in a while. We typically wait for someone to ask a question but periodically opening up a topic just to see if anything new comes forth.
 
flysrv10 said:
Keep off the topic. The one in this thread is funny and clever!
Click to expand...
I have a suggestion, that will probably be frowned upon. But---in our -avatars -or what ever that thing is on the left---mine are hose assemblies---under the information in the pop up box, at least put a first name, or call sign or something that lets us know who is responding. Alot of us have out names under the response, but some, especially newer members dont. For me, and maybe some of you, when making a direct response to someone, I like to call them by name, like, Paul, Walt, Scott, Bob, Santa, etc. Even call signs are cool, since we can identify people by their call signs. We are all pretty familiar with 'Ironflight', 'Turbo' etc, but some of the newer members, we dont know who you are. I don understand some wanting to remain somewhat anonymous, so make up a call sign. at least in the future we will have a clue.
Tom
 
TS Flightlines said:
I have a suggestion, that will probably be frowned upon. But---in our -avatars -or what ever that thing is on the left---mine are hose assemblies---under the information in the pop up box, at least put a first name, or call sign or something that lets us know who is responding. Alot of us have out names under the response, but some, especially newer members dont. For me, and maybe some of you, when making a direct response to someone, I like to call them by name, like, Paul, Walt, Scott, Bob, Santa, etc. Even call signs are cool, since we can identify people by their call signs. We are all pretty familiar with 'Ironflight', 'Turbo' etc, but some of the newer members, we dont know who you are. I don understand some wanting to remain somewhat anonymous, so make up a call sign. at least in the future we will have a clue.
Tom
Click to expand...

Morning Tom (from McDonalds on the mobile right),

Click on the user’s Avatar, then click on the ‘bigger avatar’ that pops up. Look for ‘About’ - you might have to scroll down a little (it’s next to ‘postings’). That brings up the user’s profile and lists their real name (if entered), etc. Hope this helped.

V/r,dr
 
I think you have a good mix, always fun to see a post I know or made, make the edition. I always scroll through to see what you picked out of the past days posts. I like that it's not a standard mix, so it flows with what is going on in real time, which I think makes it work well. If it was a more standard or defined mix, it would loose some of the freedom of what is important to posters in the moment.

I have my sections I like to follow anyway, so for me as an RV builder, not flyer at the moment, I have a bit more focus on those sections, but the news edition highlights some of the other posts I might not have followed on my own feed.

Hope that helps!
 
By the way I do like the poll idea for the weekend what did you do. Forgot to mention that.
 
These are nice ideas and confirmation of what I'm doing right. Folks rarely reply to an issue of the VAF News, so I was beginning to wonder if people were even wanting it.
Thank you all for the feedback and please keep it coming!
v/r,dr

Added for consideration to be added to the VAF News mix:
  • Poll of the week (Friday edition)
  • Spotlight on a builder
  • Spotlight on the occasional item FS
  • Problem of the week.
  • Keep the Off Topic
 
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Jonnyb said:
Definitely keep the off topic!
I wish there was more stuff on building, but I think fewer are still building now. Certainly slow builds, and even more certainly on the older kits.
Keep the motivational stuff going too. Maybe an RV pic of the day/week would be good to keep builders spirits up!
Click to expand...
Yep, the older the model you're building, the less active conversation there is about them. I'm building a 9A, and every few months I'll go to the 9 or 7 forums and just start looking through posts from oldest to newest. As many times as I've done that, I hone on in a different post each time depending on where I'm at in my build at the moment. I think the process of building has changed dramatically over the years, so as Van's gets better and better with kit components and manuals, there's less community head scratching that happens in the forums.

There are some old topics that got a ton of traction back in the day, but then stopped when all of the opinions had been given. Some of those posts have tons of great info, but their conclusions are 20 years old. It might be interesting to highlight and resurrect some of the old, big threads once a week to see if anything has changed.
 
I'll make a more concerted effort to identify the model on a news item - I'll put that it's an RV4 or an RV6, etc. in addition to the builder's username.
 
I enjoy the off-topics.

A poll might be interesting but if nothing suitable comes to mind, don't force it; I'd hate to see some inane ones just as place-holders.

The current schedule and length is fine.

All in all, I think it's successful as it is. Your comment about identifying the model will be a useful improvement.

Thanks!
Dave
 
I think it's great the work that you do with the highlight for me the OFF TOPIC. I wasn't really sure you were looking for responses...always thought it was a good recap of what was going on. Keep it up!
 
Add a feature that allows us to delete stupid comments we made in the past. Maybe a “do-over” button ;)

You do a great job Doug.
 
Don't change anything! Except yeah, a weekly poll. Select a likely topic from the week's posts and base it on that. I often read threads and think, someone should do a poll on that!
 
DeltaRomeo said:
Morning Tom (from McDonalds on the mobile right),

Click on the user’s Avatar, then click on the ‘bigger avatar’ that pops up. Look for ‘About’ - you might have to scroll down a little (it’s next to ‘postings’). That brings up the user’s profile and lists their real name (if entered), etc. Hope this helped.

V/r,dr
Click to expand...
OHHHHH well I never would have figured that out. Thanks Doug!!!
 
I scan this topic when I see it.
The only thing I would consider adding is a reminder of upcoming fly ins but this info all seems decentralized across the flying community.
 
Keep doing what you do, it’s worth every penny of any donation. Would like to read more about building, as I’m in the process now.
 
Another idea, mainly because we think about hosting on the VAF hotel (we have on Airbnb a long time)---mention any additions/subtractions/changes to hotel listings. My guess is that people offer up space because they want to host!
 
Hey Doug- if you’re still reading this and looking for ideas.
From time to time, various resources are shared in posts. Things like torque value charts, or a document on recommended operation from a manufacturer.
Rather than doing a search and sorting through posts, it would be nice to have a resource section whereby we could dump documents for reference.
Don’t want to make work for you but if I had one place to go to look up things like Ellison Throttle body info, or Christen Inverted systems manuals, etc…. It would be a huge value….
 
JonJay said:
Hey Doug- if you’re still reading this and looking for ideas.
From time to time, various resources are shared in posts. Things like torque value charts, or a document on recommended operation from a manufacturer.
Rather than doing a search and sorting through posts, it would be nice to have a resource section whereby we could dump documents for reference.
Don’t want to make work for you but if I had one place to go to look up things like Ellison Throttle body info, or Christen Inverted systems manuals, etc…. It would be a huge value….
Click to expand...
Maybe it would be possible to automatically identify document attachments or links and copy them to a resource area?
 
Links die. I realize it burns storage space, but better to store a document here (and bring folks here) than send folks elsewhere.
 
Really like that idea. A one stop shop for document resources.
Would make life a lot easier and bring people to the site.
 
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