...getting this weekend's thread started. Here's the RVs flying 0900 CST Saturday. Hope you're having a good one.
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? Sep 27-28, 2025
- Thread starter DeltaRomeo
- Start date
Same here, my last RV-8 flight was also 03 Aug... but in SE Texas it's been just too d@mn hot and sweaty to do much flying. Plus, I've been too busy flying and working on other airplanes... and the other day when I opened my hangar door I found that my RV has sprung a fuel leak from the carb. Booo! So now I gotta take the carb off and send it for overhaul, will be yet another few weeks of no RV fun.Week 8 of dirty Spring weather.Not flown since 3rd August and I'm getting grumpy.
Fun, quick weekend trip in the RV - Finally had decent enough weather to make the ~30 nm trip from home base to Galveston with my new (ish) e-bikes. All went as planned, or better. The bikes fit in the plane. Plane ran great. Staff at Island Jet Center were super friendly! (I’d been wanting to make some day flying trips to Galveston the last 10-15 years, but didn’t after finding out they charged a landing fee and ridiculous price for fuel. Well, they’re still charge the fee, but it’s waived with a top off at a much improved price.)
Burger at Nick’s on the Seawall. Iced coffee in the Strand area. 30-45 mins riding around checking out the backstreets and old homes. Probably 15 miles total on the bikes. Ended up having 4 out of 5 bars of battery remaining.
Bikes are Fiido L3 14”. I’ve put ~50 miles or so on these and so far I am really enjoying them. Good quality, size, range and power. Hard surface only, and don’t even think of single hand steering. But good in that realm. Top speed in turbo mode, 24 mph. We spent 95% of our time at 6-8 mph.
Burger at Nick’s on the Seawall. Iced coffee in the Strand area. 30-45 mins riding around checking out the backstreets and old homes. Probably 15 miles total on the bikes. Ended up having 4 out of 5 bars of battery remaining.
Bikes are Fiido L3 14”. I’ve put ~50 miles or so on these and so far I am really enjoying them. Good quality, size, range and power. Hard surface only, and don’t even think of single hand steering. But good in that realm. Top speed in turbo mode, 24 mph. We spent 95% of our time at 6-8 mph.
Attachments
Last edited:
What kind of e-bike is that Bryan? How hard is it to fit it in the baggage compartment? How heavy?
It is indeed!
Bikes are Fiido L3 14”. I bought two carrying bags. They’re not easy to get into the baggage compartment, but not impossible. I have the supertracks mod. I stow them with seats and batteries separate.
Flew a couple RV14s - one from Eugene, OR to Racine, WI. Picked up the other - the DeltaHawk RV14 and flew it to the Triple Tree Fly-Inn in Woodruff, SC (SC00). Then turned around and came back. Mostly (but not all) great wx, and Triple Tree’s 7000’ grass strip is amazing.
Here’s a low pass there in the DeltaHawk RV-14…
Here’s what a 700’ grass strip looks like…
Did I mention there was a little wx along the way…
Had never heard of the Triple Tree Fly-Inn before about a month ago. It was great. The people were friendly and the airfield was beautiful. Hope to go again next year.
Here’s a low pass there in the DeltaHawk RV-14…
Here’s what a 700’ grass strip looks like…
Did I mention there was a little wx along the way…
Had never heard of the Triple Tree Fly-Inn before about a month ago. It was great. The people were friendly and the airfield was beautiful. Hope to go again next year.
I flew from Brighton, CO (CO12) to the Kansas City (KLXT) area and back for my niece’s wedding. The RV-3 was the perfect tool for the job. 6-ish hours of flying, round trip, and 50-ish gallons of gas. Doing 173 knots true at 9,500 and 8,500’ MSL. Sure beats a 10 hour drive each way. I was away from home for a grand total of 31 hours. Gotta love the efficiency of general aviation.
For comparison, I dropped my brother and his family off at KDEN for their airline flight to Kansas City at about 6:30pm on Friday. They arrived in Kansas City at 2:00am on Saturday due to a host of staffing issues at the airline. Of course as we all preach… this doesn’t even include the fact that they had an hour drive to reach the big airport instead of leaving and arriving at an airport closer to where they live or were planning to visit.
Would’ve taken the Rocket, just because, but it’s out of service right now for a super secret project. Details to be disclosed soon (because I need help)!
For comparison, I dropped my brother and his family off at KDEN for their airline flight to Kansas City at about 6:30pm on Friday. They arrived in Kansas City at 2:00am on Saturday due to a host of staffing issues at the airline. Of course as we all preach… this doesn’t even include the fact that they had an hour drive to reach the big airport instead of leaving and arriving at an airport closer to where they live or were planning to visit.
Would’ve taken the Rocket, just because, but it’s out of service right now for a super secret project. Details to be disclosed soon (because I need help)!
Took a quick trip to visit my folks and some old friends 400 miles away (only two hours in the ole RV). Got some of my first real performance numbers on the airplane. Almost 170 knots TAS at 11,000 DA on a 160HP O-320 burning 9-9.5 gallons an hour is pretty damn efficient. Might need to try the next more coarse pitch setting on the prop, it’s turning a bit faster than I’d like at full throttle at cruise.
Attachments
Interested in your Rocket secrets.......shhhhhhh!
Jjackh10
Well Known Member
Sorry I'm late posting. I'm picking up a RV project next week so I figured I should get legal to fly it. The most fun I've had in airplanes yet! I learned that oil dampening makes you look better than you are. Bungies are tattle tale little jerks. And grass makes the greatest landing surface.
