*What did you do with your RV this weekend?
Getting this weekend's thread started, and hope you're having a nice one.
v/r,dr
Getting this weekend's thread started, and hope you're having a nice one.
v/r,dr
Van's Air Force
The definitive Van's Aircraft support community! Buying, building or flying an RV? Join our exclusive family of mentors and enthusiasts!
WDYDWYRTW? 6 / 21-22 / 2025
- Thread starter DeltaRomeo
- Start date
I got up at 4:15 this morning to spray a little paint before it gets to 100 degrees today. The east side of my hangar makes for a good painting location early in the morning. It was time for a refresh on my wheelpants and I had never painted the spinner for my prop. It came from the factory in white primer that was so perfect most people assumed that was just my choice of color.
I still have a bunch to learn when it comes to painting, but I’m moderately satisfied with how things came out this morning. Today was the first use of my Harbor Freight Black Widow gun. I don’t know much about anything, but it seemed to work well with the Nason 2k single stage paint. I’ll have to polish out a bit of contamination, but that’s just part of the game when you paint outdoors.
I still have a bunch to learn when it comes to painting, but I’m moderately satisfied with how things came out this morning. Today was the first use of my Harbor Freight Black Widow gun. I don’t know much about anything, but it seemed to work well with the Nason 2k single stage paint. I’ll have to polish out a bit of contamination, but that’s just part of the game when you paint outdoors.
Attachments
After a couple of weeks of fog, inversion layers, rain and general winter conditions it was time to blow off some steam and take in some new scenery. Sadly my wife decided to not come along for the ride however usually when this happens I end up having a great trip - only because she has a knack for missing out on the best flights. This 1.5 hour trip took in the Eyre Mountains to the south of us as well as the Old Man Range to the south east. I spent 5 mins watching a couple of topdressing aircraft spreading fert around Alexandra before heading back through the gorge to Cromwell. It was so good to get some air under the wings and reset the mind for the week ahead.
We are very fortunate to have a wide range of different vistas all within 30 minutes of home base. It's the reason film crews come from around the world to film here - 30 minutes west you're in primeval forest (some Jurasic Park scenes), 30 minutes east you're in tussock tundra (Lord of the Rings). I never get tired of exploring it.
Eyre Mountains with some fresh white fluffy stuff:
Nevis Valley looking west towards the back of the Remarkables:
Lower region of the Ayre Mountains looking south:
Southern end of Lake Wakatipu (Kingston) looking north:
We are very fortunate to have a wide range of different vistas all within 30 minutes of home base. It's the reason film crews come from around the world to film here - 30 minutes west you're in primeval forest (some Jurasic Park scenes), 30 minutes east you're in tussock tundra (Lord of the Rings). I never get tired of exploring it.
Eyre Mountains with some fresh white fluffy stuff:
Nevis Valley looking west towards the back of the Remarkables:
Lower region of the Ayre Mountains looking south:
Southern end of Lake Wakatipu (Kingston) looking north:
Wow!! That's incredible. What an amazing place to fly. I feel pretty fortunate to be able to also fly in some pretty varied scenery here in Nevada. Similar to the above within a couple hours. I always feel sorry for the folks out on the East coast and the midwest. I grew up flying in FL and coastal NC - and its nothing but flat and pine trees for the most part. Still though, flying there is better than not flying at all.
Oil wells. The drilling rigs long gone. Now the pumps (known as pumpjacks, among other amusing names (thirsty birds, donkey pumper, etc) are sucking oil out of the ground.........
Last edited:
"Cricket pads." Liquid gold. Texas tea.
This weekend the Ace Copilot and I flew to Bardstown KY (KBRY), a town which bills itself as….
…with some justification. On the way there , the only rain cloud for 300 miles was right on our pink line, requiring a slight deviation. ATC and the four Mk 1 eyeballs aboard the RV saw the rain falling a full 9 minutes before it showed up on ADS-B, yet more proof of the power of staying visual on an instrument flight plan:
On the way there, we stopped at Big Sandy (KSJS) to eat at the Cloud 9 Cafe. Great folks there. Unfortunately none of the local Kentucky elk (!) showed themselves.
Bardstown was a lot of fun! Great little downtown area and the distillery tours are fascinating. Here’s one of the Bardstown Bourbon Company rickhouses:
And more rickhouses from the air - not sure which facility this is, possibly Heaven Hill:
Those black stains on the building are whiskey fungus, a nontoxic fungus that loves ethanol vapors.
This was our second trip by air to Kentucky (did the Lexington area last time) and we thoroughly enjoyed both. We think Kentucky may be wildly under-appreciated as a GA travel destination. We’ll be back.
…with some justification. On the way there , the only rain cloud for 300 miles was right on our pink line, requiring a slight deviation. ATC and the four Mk 1 eyeballs aboard the RV saw the rain falling a full 9 minutes before it showed up on ADS-B, yet more proof of the power of staying visual on an instrument flight plan:
On the way there, we stopped at Big Sandy (KSJS) to eat at the Cloud 9 Cafe. Great folks there. Unfortunately none of the local Kentucky elk (!) showed themselves.
Bardstown was a lot of fun! Great little downtown area and the distillery tours are fascinating. Here’s one of the Bardstown Bourbon Company rickhouses:
And more rickhouses from the air - not sure which facility this is, possibly Heaven Hill:
Those black stains on the building are whiskey fungus, a nontoxic fungus that loves ethanol vapors.
This was our second trip by air to Kentucky (did the Lexington area last time) and we thoroughly enjoyed both. We think Kentucky may be wildly under-appreciated as a GA travel destination. We’ll be back.
Started working on fitting the slider canopy frame, which I purchased via VAF, onto my airplane. Many years ago my canopy cracked on a cold day, I repaired it with Plastifix. Since the repair was out of view above my head I chose not to replace it until now. I decided to buy an additional frame so I could fly and work on the replacement when time permits. I am thinking of having a winter canopy, the repaired one, and a canopy for the not so cold months. The thought being to avoid the risk of a cold weather crack again, no guarantees I know.
I purchased a ‘blemished’ canopy last fall, drove down to Tipp City OH and picked it up, and the frame over the winter, although I had to wait for it as shipping from AZ was in a friends vehicle being shipped back to WI.
Tweaking the frame to fit is a tedious task but it is what it is. I haven’t thrown any parts out of the hangar yet, but it’s still early in the process.
Once the frame is fit to the airplane I will get the frame stripped and powder coated locally, then cut the canopy to the frame.
I plan on bonding the canopy to the frame which will be a new learning experience for sure. I also plan on fiberglass skirts all around.
I purchased a ‘blemished’ canopy last fall, drove down to Tipp City OH and picked it up, and the frame over the winter, although I had to wait for it as shipping from AZ was in a friends vehicle being shipped back to WI.
Tweaking the frame to fit is a tedious task but it is what it is. I haven’t thrown any parts out of the hangar yet, but it’s still early in the process.
Once the frame is fit to the airplane I will get the frame stripped and powder coated locally, then cut the canopy to the frame.
I plan on bonding the canopy to the frame which will be a new learning experience for sure. I also plan on fiberglass skirts all around.
Attachments
Flew over the Sierra to see an old friend and his RV-3 project, then came back via the Mammoth Gap and up the east side. A nice morning for flying!
David Howe’s “Ultimate RV-3” has been in work for many years - the craftsmanship is unbelievable and you wont find a wrinkle or misplaced dimple anywhere. The entire project is full of very cool little ideas.
We fly up and down the Owen’s Valley quite often, but rarely get to see the back side of Mammoth Mountain. They finally wrapped up the ski season last week I believe….
There are lots of dangerous rocks in teh Sierra - right below is is the approximate place where Steve Fossett crashed a Decathlon many years ago. I’m always glad I am in an RV with exceptional climb capability when I fly the Sierra….
David Howe’s “Ultimate RV-3” has been in work for many years - the craftsmanship is unbelievable and you wont find a wrinkle or misplaced dimple anywhere. The entire project is full of very cool little ideas.
We fly up and down the Owen’s Valley quite often, but rarely get to see the back side of Mammoth Mountain. They finally wrapped up the ski season last week I believe….
There are lots of dangerous rocks in teh Sierra - right below is is the approximate place where Steve Fossett crashed a Decathlon many years ago. I’m always glad I am in an RV with exceptional climb capability when I fly the Sierra….
