.....getting this weekend's thread started. OVC low and Xwinds here in N.TX. Hope better in your neighborhood.
v/r,dr
1pm CST
v/r,dr
1pm CST
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WDYDWYRTW? March 28-29, 2026
- Thread starter DeltaRomeo
- Start date
Sunday sunset…wind turbines in the disc if you zoom in. If they are the ones I think they are, they’re ~55 statute miles away.
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I flew both my Rocket and my 3 a couple of times this weekend. Went to breakfast in the Rocket on Saturday. Did a few hops in the 3 to dial in the timing on my dual pMag setup. The most recent flight in the RV3 this morning had my CHTs higher than I’d like, so I’m going to set my pMag at +3 instead of +2 degrees. I have been messing with the idle stop for quite a while to get it just where I want it and I think it’s finally perfect.
I took time and did a dynamic prop balance using my Aces balancer. The prop/engine combo always felt very smooth to me, so I never bothered to do it. My initial reading before any adjustments was 0.50ips. I was able to get it down to 0.02ips so I’m calling it a win. I flew it and don’t really perceive much difference. This part surprises me a bit. Oh well. Maybe my [well-padded] fanny has gone numb with my advancing age.
The RV3 also got a belly rub.
I took time and did a dynamic prop balance using my Aces balancer. The prop/engine combo always felt very smooth to me, so I never bothered to do it. My initial reading before any adjustments was 0.50ips. I was able to get it down to 0.02ips so I’m calling it a win. I flew it and don’t really perceive much difference. This part surprises me a bit. Oh well. Maybe my [well-padded] fanny has gone numb with my advancing age.
The RV3 also got a belly rub.
Fun with ChatGPT. I told it I wanted a Pixar-like cartoon drawing from a picture my friend took. The computer gremlins thought about it for a few seconds and then this popped up. For free! Wow.
I’m not sure this belongs in this section, but it *is* my RV-3 and I did it this weekend.
I’m not sure this belongs in this section, but it *is* my RV-3 and I did it this weekend.
Wrapped up my first condition inspection since I bought the airplane this time last year. Went pretty smoothly aside from tearing a magneto gasket when I adjusted the timing. Re-labeled some stuff in the cockpit that was inadequately labeled or the labels had worn off.
I put 116 hours on the airplane since its last condition inspection, which is pretty good considering it was out of service for almost 3 months while I did the panel upgrade.
I put 116 hours on the airplane since its last condition inspection, which is pretty good considering it was out of service for almost 3 months while I did the panel upgrade.
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We flew up to Driggs ID for lunch on Saturday. The FBO gave us the Caddy for the trip to town. Good food at the Royal Wolf. Checked out the museum in the FBO afterwards.
Sunday Lunch at the North Carolina Airport: BQ1 Arrive about 12:30 to a packed house but seated in 5 minutes food served in less than 3 minutes!! Nice tailwind help getting home. Never understood the physics of a prop picture / mustache with opposite curves? And yes, I corrected the heading BUG right after taking picture of G3X. HAHA!
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I flew up to Oxnard to give a flight review to a friend of mine in his 1928 Travel Air E4000 biplane. I counted three Travel Airs in that hangar, including one that's being rebuilt.
This airplane doesn't go very fast, high, or far, but he's managed to do some impressive things with it. Flew the airplane from England to Crete and then across the Mediterranean, past the pyramids, down the east coast of Africa to Cape Town. And back. All at 80 mph.
It's been a while since I've flown the Travel Air. I forgot how loud it is, how difficult to communicate and hear anything, even with ANR. And with the concave bottom surface of the wings and single ailerons, it's quite the contrast with an RV. Even a Stearman is noticeably more responsive.
After the flight review was completed, I gave him a demo flight in the RV-6. And caught some great sunset views on the way home.
My friend asked me before I departed how long it would take me to get home. I said 30 minutes; he marveled at that, saying that the same flight in his airplane would take 90 minutes or more. Yet he barnstorms around the country in that thing without a second thought. I even saw him at OSH last year. He said he's been invited to display his airplane at the Smithsonian, I think for the 100th anniversary of the aircraft type (or maybe the Travel Air company itself, I'm not sure which).
Oxnard had a neat mix of airplanes. An Epic LT taxied in, then a Stearman. Then a Red Bull helicopter landed. And the temperature was perfect, high 60s. The only drawback was the coastal stratus, which came and went at random times. But it gave us a nice chance to catch up while we waited for the sky to clear.
--Ron
This airplane doesn't go very fast, high, or far, but he's managed to do some impressive things with it. Flew the airplane from England to Crete and then across the Mediterranean, past the pyramids, down the east coast of Africa to Cape Town. And back. All at 80 mph.
It's been a while since I've flown the Travel Air. I forgot how loud it is, how difficult to communicate and hear anything, even with ANR. And with the concave bottom surface of the wings and single ailerons, it's quite the contrast with an RV. Even a Stearman is noticeably more responsive.
After the flight review was completed, I gave him a demo flight in the RV-6. And caught some great sunset views on the way home.
My friend asked me before I departed how long it would take me to get home. I said 30 minutes; he marveled at that, saying that the same flight in his airplane would take 90 minutes or more. Yet he barnstorms around the country in that thing without a second thought. I even saw him at OSH last year. He said he's been invited to display his airplane at the Smithsonian, I think for the 100th anniversary of the aircraft type (or maybe the Travel Air company itself, I'm not sure which).
Oxnard had a neat mix of airplanes. An Epic LT taxied in, then a Stearman. Then a Red Bull helicopter landed. And the temperature was perfect, high 60s. The only drawback was the coastal stratus, which came and went at random times. But it gave us a nice chance to catch up while we waited for the sky to clear.
--Ron
