WDYDWYRTW? Jun 27-28, 2026

[DeltaRomeo]

What did you do with your RV this weekend?
Saturday is starting off windy here in DFW, with 35kts at 3,000 and lots of turb. A morning to mow and do laundry LOL. Hope your local is less bumpy.
v/r,dr

 

[RV8JD]

@ArlingtonRV and I flew our two RV-8s over to another airport for lunch Saturday. His Red, White, and Blue with stars RV-8 (which BTW, is the July calendar pic) proved to be a real chick magnet! And they were about his speed too!



I just found this juxtaposition and the RV-8's reputed reputation humorous at the time.

(Disclaimer: No offense intended to anyone based on age, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, political affiliation (except Socialists), nose-gear pilots, pilots/builders of RVs other than RV-8s, DR or his Admins and their wives, husbands, and/or significant others. Whew, I hope I got everyone! )

 

[Kyle Boatright]

Doug is right, it was windy in Dallas. And everywhere between there and Atlanta. We launched out of Cartersville (NW of Atlanta) for a trip to Sulphur Springs (just East of Dallas) yesterday morning. I picked a southerly route (through Meridian Mississippi) to avoid some of the headwind. No telling if the headwinds on the direct route were worse, but the southerly route had a 30 knot headwind at 6500' which appeared to be the best altitude. At least the ride was smooth. Because of the headwinds, we had to land, so I picked Greenville MS and landed in 21knots G28 about 30 degrees off runway heading. When we parked, I faced the RV-10 directly into the wind, which was an odd look on the ramp. Conditions were similar on our landing at KSLR and did the same thing when I parked the airplane. I really didn't want to test those big 'ol doors in a 30 knot crosswind gust.

On the other hand, the trip back (minus two passengers and their bags) went quickly. Most of the flight was at 10,500 with a 30 knot tailwind. Ground speeds averaged something like 195 knots, with a total block speed of 186 knots.

 

[Gino230]

I had the week off, so I installed the Vans Hammer, Fire Extinguisher, Garmin GDL50R, repainted the wing walk, and got half of the half inverted oil system installed. Saturday I flew over to VNC for another formation lesson, briefed, then spent 15 minutes killing my battery trying to hot start my IO360. I missed the formation flight, but on the way home I had the pleasure of seeing my colleagues climbing out of RSW on my new ADS-B in display. I messaged the captain later, he did in fact have to respond to a TCAS RA. Dang those VFR cowboys!

 

[planenutz]

It was a crisp start to Saturday in our part of the world. Minus 4 degrees C, or about 25 F for those who can't relate. After arriving at the airfield I drove up and down the grass runways several times looking for rabbit holes. Well and least I told myself I was looking for rabbit holes but really it was just procrastination... the seat-warmers on the car were nice and toasty. Eventually I got brave and opened the hangar, pulled out my friends' Rans S-7S and took it for a flight around the hills. The owner is in Canada for three weeks and he asked me to "keep it warm", and since it was so cold I figured it needed 1.2 hours of warming up.

After returning from that trip it was time to get the RV-6 out as it had been suffering from 4 weeks of neglect due to weather and work commitments. Holy cow! After flying the S-7, the RV-6 is such a rocket ship. A friend with a Furio (a modern-day version of the classic Falco) decided to take me on but was surprised by the speed and agility of the RV-6, and went away with renewed respect for Vans's products when I remained on his wing after he floored it. That'll teach 'em. Him with his IO-390, wobby prop and retractable gear, me with my IO-360, fixed pitch prop and knobbly legs dangling in the breeze... I felt quite smug. Another 1.2 hours.

Sunday started cold but also foggy and sadly it didn't clear until midday. My wife and I launched as soon as the fog lifted and in company with our local DA-62, we flew the approx 165nm up to Hokitika for a walk around a "tree-top walkway"... an elevated walkway about 80 - 100 feet up in the tree canopy. It was quite pretty and the native bird song was very enjoyable. Then it was back home with a scenic detour around Lake Wanaka, landing just before CET. Total for the day was 2.5 hours. Flying up and down the West Coast on a beautiful day never gets old and watching the sun set while sitting on the wing of the DA-62 was just special. This day was definitely one to remember. The air was so calm and the lakes were like glass. Awesome. Pounding those rivets was worth the effort after all.

 

[Gino230]

I was wondering "where in the world" is it still cold- and now I have my answer!

 

[planenutz]

I was wondering "where in the world" is it still cold - and now I have my answer!

Yep - we've had a few mornings lately where the temperatures were between -7C and -4C and with a cold front on the way I'm pretty sure we'll see some more crisp mornings ahead. They're predicting snow to 300m and we live at 420m, around 1,400' AMSL. To be fair, we do live in the mountains (at about the 45th Parallel) so it's not exactly a surprise at this time of the year.