Wed 09.08.10 1158z
Hump day...and a good day to turn the sprinkler system off in Dallas!
Got a request today to ask of the forum posters
who create threads for fly-in and breakfast/lunch fly-out events.
If you could, please use the
VAF
Calendar instead of posting a thread. The reason for this
request is to keep these out of the archives - with
a keystroke I can clean up the calendar down the road and make the previous year's
entries go away. This keeps the archives from filling with those
lunch flight shout outs from 24 months ago <grin>.
As you enter a calendar event, if you
can make the subject line start with the (State) City: that
would be swell - examples being...
(TX) DFW:
Lunch RV fly-out Cedar Mills (3T0).
or (Canada) BC Vancouver: RV
breakfast fly-out.
Everything for the
next 45 days is pulled each morning from the calendar and copied on the
front page up here. Your events should actually get more coverage
in the calendar than in a post! Starting today I've changed the
format of the calendar entries spotlighted here on the front page.
It will now show one event per line to help de-clutter those days with
multiple events, and why I ask you to include the (ST) City in the
subject line becomes more apparent. One quick glance.
And as always, the VAF calendar is intended for events where people could
expect to find RVs gathered. Posting entries for the Ford
Tri-motor appearances might be better suited for somewhere else
;^).....and will most likely get removed.
I'd ask that the moderators, if the mood strikes them, to move any
non-calendar fly-out type entries they stumble upon into 'Test/Misc' so
they can be purged after two weeks. And, if you do move
something, please click the 'leave redirect' button and set it
for a week or something so there is a breadcrumb pointing to the new
location.
As always, everyone has my heartfelt gratitude for helping keep
this organized and adding value to the RV community. Always tweaking
and always room for improvement.
Have a great Wednesday and stay dry! Doug
(RV-6
'Flash')
●
Bend to Heber Center
...Tom and Bonnie Lewis
Late last week we made the flight from Medford to Bend and
took the following three nice pictures of Crater Lake from the RV10. We
had planned to make this flight a day earlier, but low clouds, moderate
turbulence, and a nasty crosswind at Bend caused us to rethink our plan
and delay for a day. As you can see from these pictures, the weather the
next day was great. (continue)
●
The emergency/rapid response workshop
I desperately need advice. I just checked into Langley AFB for a 2
year tour, and have been assigned to on-base officer housing. The house
has an under-house garage/basement that ROCKS for RV-7A building!
However, at 6 feet MSL and surrounded by the Little Back River (at the
Chesepeake's mouth), the basement is known to flood by NorEasters and
hurricanes (a concern this week from Hurricane Earl).
I need a way to SCRAMBLE my workshop and aircraft parts OUT of the
basement when Civil Engineering shows up with sand bags. My thoughts:
-- Tools: They return to the tool chest (on wheels) nightly.
-- Work Benches: EAA standard, but on wheels so I can push them out the
big door.
-- Compressor: 30+ wheeled version.
-- Shop appliances (grinder, band saw, etc.): Mounted on wheeled work
bench.
-- Assembled aircraft portions: Stay on cradles or the aircraft's
wheels.
In case of emergency: Roll them all onto trailer and get them onto
high ground. Is anyone out there dealing with a similar
contingency? Am I missing anything? Any advice?
●
Building while Serving
I am at a stage where I keep having negative thoughts and I guess I
just need a little pick me up.
My project is all packed up and already on a truck on its way to
Ft. Lewis WA where I will be stationed come January but I will be
reporting at Ft. Lee on Thursday. I keep thinking about my project, At
first I envision building the Fuselage and how much I am going to enjoy
the rest of the airplane but then I get these thoughts of how I am not
going to have the time to even touch it let alone finish building. I
plan on keeping it at a hanger which will make things even more of a
challenge due to the travel time but I just hope that the enjoyment I
have gotten out of the build through up through the wings will be enough
to allow me to find the time to continue building.
What I am trying to get at is are there any current Active Duty
Military members building at this time. If so are you able to find and
devote enough time to the build?
David LaSala
RV-7 N87DX
2LT US Army
593rd Support Group
Ft. Lewis WA
Construction ●
Ventilating an RV-3 ?
Well, we’re moving right along on the RV-3 fuselage, and before we
know it, we’re going to be working on the canopy, skirt etc. Most of the
cockpit accoutrements have been designed and roughed in- finishing takes
a lot longer of course. Before I take up all the minimally available
space, we need to give some serious thought to cabin ventilation – we do
live in Texas, after all….
The instructions are, of course, a bit vague, suggesting small NACA
scoops in the canopy skirt. That sound s like a decent option, and I saw
a neat way to do it on a blue metal race plane in the antique area at
Oshkosh this year. Not simple, but neat, and since we’ll be
scratch-building a glass skirt, it might not be that much more work.
I have looked at a number of RV-4’s that put NACA scoops below the
cheeks on the forward fuselage, but on the -3, that looks to not be an
option due to interference with the rudder pedals. I’ve also seen some
folks take ventilation air from the back of the engine baffles, and
while I do take my heater air from that location, I have a stainless
firewall box to cut that off in case of an engine fire. I suppose I
could do the same thing with the cooling air, but I’d rather not – I’d
like the ventilation air to be from somewhere other than forward of the
firewall. I like the under-wing vent on the -8, but we have QB wings,
and that might be a tough mod…(not sure how to get the air from under
the seat to someplace useful either!)
So, now that I’ve said what I don’t want to do…. I’ll see if there
are any old-timers lurking here with good ideas or remembrances of what
has been done before – or young guys with other ideas I can examine.
Right now, I have a place in the top of the radio stack (between the
pilot’s legs) that could support a couple of eyeball vents. Either that,
or a glove box…..
●
03 vs 08.... ...RV-10 Builder Paul
So, I am riveting the front side fuselage skins. Start off by
fitting the -03 one-legged nutplate near the bottom. Uh oh - should be 2
- can only find one. Then I spot that they were in the same bag as the
#8 nutplates and are almost identical. You've guessed it - after much
searching, found it riveted to one of the front seat brackets...
Time to stop and have a beer.
Some Replies:
Usually, when I find a mistake, it's a good time to stop. I've
found that if I continue, I tend to make more mistakes. I
fully endorse your strategy for mistake recovery!
●
In The Shop....
Jesse
Bentley Panel
Motivation ● Omar Trazzi's RV-7
(Florianopolis, Brazil). ...Omar is 'otrazzi'
in the forums.
Video
●
GoPro HD wing tip test video ...KevinH
I'll try flying with it next, but I'm playing with mounting a GoPro
with a couple of wing tip fairing screws. Here's a boring
video of taxi and plane washing (select HD to see higher res
version). I recommend liberally skipping through the video to get
an idea of viewing angles. Other ideas for mounting would be
appreciated. (later in another reply) I modified a gopro mount by
countersinking it and using a tinnerman washer to attach it to the
wingtip. I think it works pretty well.
Some basic aerobatics as a YouTube test. When flying with the
camera I'll add a small bit of drag on the other side of the plane so I
don't need to put in the (small) rudder correction I needed on this
flight.
Troubleshooting ●
Oil Consumption problem found....
The Rocket has been slowly increasing oil consumption for over a
year. I could see that the problem was on the left side of the engine
based on the soot on the left side of the belly. The compressions are
all in the mid-70s so it either had to be an oil ring or valve guide.
I flew to TX last week and in 4 hours I added 3 qts so I decided
that it would not wait until winter, so I pulled the cowl and pulled the
plugs on the left side.
#4 was oily so I pulled the exhaust. 2 and 6 were nice and tan and
4 was coal black and sooty, so I pulled the cylinder.
As the Cylinder came off pieces of the oil ring feel out on the
floor.... There is a gouge in the ring groove where the broken piece was
located. The cylinder looks good!!! I think a hone job and new piston
will solve the problem....
1100 hours and everything else looks good, and nice and clean
inside.....
Tailwinds,
Doug Rozendaal
Events ● Badlands RV Fly-In Update...Sept
10-12
Vetterman Exhaust Inc. and HSR
Fueling will host the 2nd annual RV fly in on Sept. 10-11-12. at the Hot
Springs (HSR) Airport. The list of scheduled events are as follows: Fri
evening Buffalo Burger burn at the airport, hosted by Vetterman Exhaust
and HSR Fueling. Saturday AM flying tour of the Black Hills area
including Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, Spearfish Canyon, Devils
Tower, Bear Butte, and Wall Drug. Saturday evening banquet at the
Allen Ranch. Steak dinner with all the trimmings in a beautiful setting
along with a Country Western band for dinner entertainment.
"Motels: Holiday Inn Express 605 7454411. Best Western 605 745 7378.
Budget Host 605 745 3130. We are recommending the Holiday Inn as the
first choice as it will make transportation easy if most folks stay at
one place.
Camping: Camping at the airport ala Oshkosh style is allowed. Also
there are 2 tipis available at the Allen Ranch if any one would like a
pure camping experience. contact www.gwtc.net/allenranch/ or email
allenranch@gwtc.net Food: The Allen Ranch will cook the Saturday evening meal and are
well known for their great food. You will have a choice of steak or
salmon for the main course. Transportation: there are no car rental companies in Hot Springs so
again this year we will use POV's and church buses to get you to and
from your motels.
Pre-registration. We will need an exact number of people attending so
are requiring that you contact us at vetxaust@gwtc.net or mdlewis@gwtc.net
or via phone at 605 745 5932 or 605 745 6553 and let us know you are
attending and your choice of menu items ie. steak or salmon. If we
prepare food for 60 and 100 show up it will not be a good situation so
please pre-register. Tie downs. Remember that we will park many RV-s on the grass
adjacent to the taxi ways and ramp area so
BRING YOUR TIE DOWNS
(RV-6,7,8,9 will be parked on grass - RV-10s will be parked on the ramp). Requirement: It is required that you come and enjoy Hot Springs, the Black Hills, Wall Drug and the Badlands. See you on the 10th of
Sept.
Larry Vetterman"
related:
the 'who is going' thread Latest Updates:
9/2/2010: As of today we have
100 people
registered for the flyin. There will be a very good longest distance
award given away Fri. evening at the burger burn.
Pre-registration Form
(8/27/10)
This version includes John's cell phone for people to call and the
discounted hotel rates.
Available as both a PDF file (if you
want to print out and fax/mail) or as a text file (if you
want to import into your word processor and email). It's absolutely
imperative that each person arriving fill out one of these forms. It's
used to make sure we have enough 1) food and 2) rental cars on the site.
Important things!
Pre-registration ends Sept 24th. This gives the organizers
one week to plan for everything sufficiently.
Latest Updates: Raffle Prizes:
$500 Donated DAR Inspection by Vic
Syracuse "I
would like to donate a DAR inspection in the State of Georgia ($500 value), and for the States outside of Georgia I will include the Inspection fee but
not travel. "
Tue 09.07.10 1146z
A good Labor Day with the son! Uploaded the v4.0 OS for the (3) G3X screens in
Flash (while Tate played his DSi). Then we took a short .3 hr tour of the local area
- he picked the waypoints. School, the new bridge, the high
school, the dirt bike track on a friend's land, the park where he went
fishing and a debrief over chocolate shakes at Whataburger. Later
in the day Audrey got back from a church retreat and the house got back
to its loud-as-a-freight-train self. Heaven.
Rounded out the evening with two episodes of 'Hoarders'
followed by about an hour of cleaning house. Doug
(RV-6
'Flash')
●
PH-VAN first flight!
Hello all,
After exactly five years of building, on 31/08/10 my RV9-A,
registered PH-VAN, flew for the first time. With me in the left seat and
a very experienced instructor, Geert Lemmens, in the right seat, who
made a perfect first landing, the RV-grin got established.
This plane is really a dream to fly, arfter less than two hours of
training by Geert, I am now flying solo.
The only real thing to sort out is a heavy left wing (is there any out
there, that did not have to tackle this after first flight?)
In the next two weeks I hope to get the rigging problem solved and
have the main wheelpants painted (I just had to go fly instead of
painting!). If the weather permits, I hope to attend my first Fly-in, at
Texel Airfield on 18/19-09-10, and show off my brand new RV9-A. (yearly
RV/Europa fly in in the Netherlands)
Many thanks to everybody who posted answers to all of my questions.
I would have lost even more sleep if it was not for so much help from
the VAF-forums.
The plane:
Engine: XO-320 with dual Electronic ignition and Fuel injection.
Prop: Hydraulic CS, whirlwind 200 RV.
Interior: Classic Aero Design, leather, carpets and instrument panel
trim.
Instruments: Dynon EFIS and EMS, Garmin GTX328 Tranponder, Garmin SL30
NAV/COM, Avmap EKP IV GPS, Trutrak Autopilot, Fuel guardian, CO
guardian, ELT, classic back-up instruments, etc.
Paint: PPG Base coat and clear coat. (Ferrari red, white and black)
Tanks: Long range, 2 X 100 ltr.
●
1st "Payback" Flight for Shantel in N159SB
For almost 10 years I have been promissing my wife Shantel that one
day I would be taking her on "Magic Carpet Rides" to fun destinations...
She got her first one this weekend to Charleston, SC.
About an 1:35 down and about 1:45 back. The airplane and its
systems were flawless. Not bad averaging about 170mph @ 8-9gph. I still
have rough glass and no lower intersection fairings....hope I can
squeeze out a few more MPH after paint...
I decided to use KCHS since my wife already had us a car purchased
there. We used Odyssee Aviation and they treated us like Kings and
Queens. They gave us a ride around to the passenger terminal, hangared
our airplane and topped us off on the return day. Their hangar rate was
a little steep @ $30 a night but oh well, it was a great trip!
We did however get burned at the airport taxi stand!!! We needed a
ride back to the FBO from the passenger terminal after dropping the
rental car and instead of calling the FBO to come pick us up, I thought
we would just jump in a taxi for the 5 minute ride around the
airport....$18 for a 5 minute ride was a little rough!!!!
We had perfect weather for the flight down, just a few bumps and
hot once we dropped into the pattern at CHS for landing. When we parked,
it was sooo hot that the canopy expanded enough that I could not get the
tipup latch open. I was almost bending the pushrod and lever that
actuates the torque tube. The lineman was looking at me like I was a
nutcase trapped in his homemade airplane.... the temp must have got up
to close to the Sun as we were both sweating like crazy in the beaming
hot sun. After trying for about 5 minutes, pulling on the safety latch
handle etc. I remembered that I packed a few tools and pulled out a
screwdriver to use as a prybar. I stuck it between the seatback bulkhead
and the latch finger and it popped right open. Whew!! The air outside
felt like it was arctic! I need to grind a little more away on those
latch fingers!!! (continue)
● First Prize For
LOE'10 Raffle Lined Up
....all the prizes (that I'm just about to start really
rounding up) this year are going to be worth $500 at a minimum. No
$5 coffee mugs is what I'm saying <g>.
Construction ●
Tanks Passed! (RV-10 builder Todd Stovall)
Huge sigh of relief as I tested both fuel tanks today using Van's
test kit (cap and air valve), a balloon on the vent, and soapy water.
Pressurized the tanks and no leaks were detected with the soapy water
and the balloon remained inflated to the same size for 3 hrs after which
I called it good. The balloon itself really isn't a leak indicator for a
variety of reasons but I left it on after the soapy water just for grins
and giggles.
My SB fuselage arrives tomorrow via Partain so I'm marching right
along.
●
RV-3 Radio Stack – Hiding the Nuts!
One of the tricky parts about equipping an RV-3 with a center radio
stack is that every little bit of width you add to the stack takes away
from the critically small leg room. Ideally, the stack would be no wider
than the radio racks themselves. (continue)
●
Wing falls off the table
It was bound to happen sooner or later, and today it happened.
While preparing the left wing for bottom skin riveting session, it slid
off the work table and the wing tip leading edge skin and rib took the
major, if not all, of the fall. The skins and spars still appear to be
in alignment
.
But I am not sure what the best course of action to be, repair or
replace. From the picture / link posted here, I would appreciate some
advice, suggestions and possible solutions.
Motivation ●
RV Grin story
Last weekend my flaps quit working on my -7A. They had done the
intermittent thing a couple times in the past month but bumping the
switch multiple times got them working again. I made a note to check out
and probably clean the motor in a couple months during the annual.
Luckily they quit in the up position while flying back to my home base
(Bisbee, AZ, P04). Took a second try on the approach to get 'er slowed
down enough to do a no-flap landing. (These things don't want to slow
down, especially with a fixed-pitch wood prop!) Anyway, Friday I removed
the motor, cleaned it up, and pronounced it good to go. Saturday I made
a local flight to some of the local airports and as luck would have it,
ran into a buddy who I've flown some Young Eagles with but haven't seen
for a couple of years. I gave him a ride along with some stick time and
when we got back, he couldn't quit raving about everything about the
aircraft. Made me proud. His friend asked him about the big grin he had.
He replied as the grin got wider, "Well, it sure the heck ain't no
Cessna grin!" Cracked me up. He used to own a C182 but he's now planning
on building an RV. What a surprise.
__________________
--Hawk Pierce
RV-7A Flying as of Sep 7, 2008
Phase One complete as of Nov 16, 2008
Finally painted!
300+ hours and lovin' every minute of it!
N728E
SE AZ
I'm soliciting
opinions as to how I managed to smoke my KX125, among other things today
in my RV-4. My electrical system is really simple:
ND 35 Amp Alternator with Ford
regulator
Ammeter shunt is in between buss bar
and master relay
Alternator output also connected to
main buss bar with a 40A fusible link.
Most everything is fused off the main
buss (radios fed from a secondary buss that is switched)
Alternator field circuit fed from main
buss with 5A breaker, crowbar OV in place
Dynon D-6 always on, fed from main
buss and separate CB
Cessna type split master switch
Yesterday I caught a slight whiff of smoke
while on a short flight. I returned to the field and everything was fine
with no signs of anything having caused it. Today, I took off and the
smoke became obvious, about the same time all my electrical equipment
signed off. I shut off the master and landed. On the runup prior to
flight, ammeter was showing a charge, voltage was around 14v. The
ammeter seemed to have a slight wiggle which may have been there, but no
whine was heard. I recently installed new programmable fuel gauges
(which are really nice btw) which have their own internal
electroluminescent dials powered by a supplied inverter. They are
powered by the dimmer circuits (2 Britta dimmers, separate, one for
panel lights and one for an LED strip). Everything has been working
fine, though the airplane has only about 50TT.
Upon landing and after shutdown, I flipped the master back on and
everything seemed to work with the exception of my KX125 and dimmers
(both). I opened the cover of the 125 and it looks like the fire went to
two alarms, mostly on what appears to be the audio side of things. The
internal fuse also blew, though the 10A supply fuse did not.
The field breaker never popped either. I did check the OV circuit before
I installed it, and it did short at around 16V as I recall.
I've since checked the charging system which is still charging properly
with proper voltage. Intercom still works, and still no alternator
whine.
The master relay was not new when I installed it, neither was the Cessna
master switch. I recall the master switch having been intermittent at
first but I cleaned it and checked the resistance and it was fine, and
has worked perfectly since. Of course I can't remember whether it was
the battery or alternator side of the switch which had been flaky.
So here's the question, IF the master relay failed, or the master switch
failed.. leaving the alternator to its own devices.. shouldn't the
crowbar have tripped and taken the alternator off line? I clearly had
some kind of event, and since the rest of the panel went out, it must
have been because of a battery disconnect.
I'm really puzzled by this. In addition to the $$$ for the KX125, I'm
going to replace the switch, master relay and alternator but I am not
going to smoke another radio without finding the cause. The transponder,
intercom, EFIS, etc. all seem fine. And the backlight does still work in
the KX125.
Any and all opinions are appreciated!
Scott
Performance ●
Brake Release to 10000' w/IO360 FP Prop
...David Domeier (7A)
Not to upstage Rick Galati with his 0320 RV-6A and a time to climb
to 8000' (post),
I blasted off this morning with the Dynon timer running and 8 minutes
and 8 seconds later leveled at 10 grand. Last year it took about 8 plus
20 seconds, the difference this year was no turns, it was straight out.
After take off, rpm was permitted to wind up to 2400 and then set
pitch to maintain it. Initial IAS was 120 knots, at 10000' it was back
to 95. WOT the whole way.
On the way up it was:
2:12 to 3000'
3:52 to 5000'
5:23 to 7000'
6:18 to 8000' (Rick 7:41)
8:08 to 10000'
Runway elevation 600' so it was a 9400' climb averaging 1165 fpm.
Max CHT 410F, OT 167F, leaned to 1300 EGT. OAT 68F at take off, 46F at
10000. Estimated gross weight 1515 with 36.4 gallons of fuel on
board, 33.7 gallons remaining after landing some 17 minutes later. As
per last year, I issue a challenge to anyone with a CS prop to do
likewise just to compare numbers.
Engines ●
Finally got into the engine. (long)
...John Courte
A couple of years ago, I bought an O-360-F1A6, which, according to
the seller, sat pickled from 2000 to 2008, when I bought it. No reason
to disbelieve the pickling, there was clean oil running out of
everything when he dropped it off. I pulled a plug and saw no corrosion
in the cylinder barrel, but was advised to pull a jug and have a look at
the camshaft lobes, etc.
That was 2008. I've had it sitting upside down on an engine stand
(modified auto stand) full of oil since then, and it's now the time in
the project to finish the the FI conversion process.
Yesterday, I pulled the #3 cylinder off. I did it as carefully as I
could, supporting the con rod as I took it off so it wouldn't bash the
case. After much effort and some dowel-hammering (backing up the piston
so no side loads went on the bearing), I got the wrist pin out and got
the piston off as well. They're the press-fit Superior type.
The amount of stuff in the cylinder was a little distressing. Not
corrosion, but gray scale and brown crud. Nothing that stuck to my
magnetic probe, anyway. My plan was always to replace all 4 cylinders
with new or overhauled ones, since the last two compression checks in
the logbook showed low 70's, then mid 60's. I suspect the plane it came
from was not flown much later in life. I also searched the FAA's
incident reports and found nothing for the N number of the aircraft the
engine came from. In a couple of days, I'll cut open the oil filter and
look for metal, but none was found as of the last logbook entry at 951
hours.
The good news is that I detected no corrosion on the cam lobes and they
passed the 'fingernail test' according to sacskyranch. I didn't find any
corrosion on any of the other internal surfaces I could access either,
and no visible spalling of the cam followers (those little mirrors on
telescoping rods are invaluable) As part of the FI conversion, I also
removed the backwards facing sump, which gave me a good look inside the
accessory case. I found no corrosion there as well.
By the way, upside down with the sump off is probably the easiest way to
change a fuel pump I can think of. After scraping off the old gasket
material with repeated application of gasket remover and elbow grease, I
installed the high-pressure fuel pump.
Why am I doing this now, instead of right before i'm ready to hang the
engine? I'm doing it because the way forward is planned largely on
whether or not I found a rusty camshaft and other corroded internals.
This is the nodal point of both budget and project planning. I can't
plan interior and panel until I know what my powerplant is going to cost
me, and I'd rather have a basic plane that flies instead of a fancy one
that doesn't.
As far as my mechanical aptitude goes, I've torn down and reassembled
V8's, a Harley Evo 1200, various 2-strokes, and a couple of outboards.
I'm not very experienced with aircraft engines, but my research skills
are decent, and I have the overhaul documentation and parts catalog.
That said, I don't plan on tearing this engine down myself any further,
but I think I can handle the FI conversion and cylinder replacement.
At this point, I'm working on removing the old gasket from the sump
flange. I guess the question is, do I get new or overhauled cylinders?
And is this a race against time to get this engine repickled before
things start to corrode? I live about 3.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean,
but the marine layer has been kind to us lately.
Mon 09.06.10 1137z
Good morning! Hope you're reading this from your home computer
(meaning you got Labor Day off from work)! Lots of news over the
weekend, if fact so
much that I'm going to save some of it for Tuesday (my way of only
working a 'half day' today).
The mothership is closed for the holiday. From their site:
"Phone, Fax, e-mail and Web Orders placed after 12PM noon (Pacific Time)
on Friday September 3rd will be processed on Tuesday September 7th". Doug
(RV-6
'Flash')
●
Bringing my Baby home. A Canadian cross-country adventure. (2 parts)
My Great Adventure began the day my RV-7 QB kit arrived. I was the
second owner of the kit and I launched right in. This was airplane build
#3 for me (Excalibur Ultralight and Sonex TD were the predecessors) and
I went at it guns a blazing. Unfortunately after 9 months I had to sell
the kit. With 5 kids and a business to run, it was “suggested” by the
Mrs. that I should sell the kit and buy an already flying -7, thereby
“freeing” up my time. Some of you have been there so I don’t need to
spell things out. You can read between the lines.
My short time with the -7 QB had introduced me to the wonderful
community on VAF and I was a “Van’s Head” in short order. Though I was
sad to see the kit leave my garage, I was eager to get my grubby little
hands on one and bore some useless holes in the sky.
I eventually located one in London, Ontario, Canada and flew out in
May 2010 to see it. I flew it, loved it and bought it. My plan was to
return on the Canada Day (July 1st) long weekend to fly her home. It
would be a 1524 nm cross country flight to my home field in Western
Canada, and I solicited the help of my CFI friend to help me navigate
through some of the trickier airspaces.
So after 2 months of flight planning the BIG day finally arrived.
With maps in hand and a weather briefing from London FSS we blasted into
the cool Ontario sky.
continue
●
Badlands Anniversary ...Pete Howell
As of this week, the old "ball and chain" and I have been married
for 20 years and been together for over 25. 3 kids and lots of fun and
some not so fun times later - we still dig each other.
Since we the twins start college next year, the 3 week tour of
Europe or 2 weeks in Hawaii were probably not gonna happen, but we could
swing and few days in one of our favorite places, the Badlands National
Park. Andi suggested this a few weeks ago, so I started planning the
trip by my preferred method of travel.....RV... I located the closest
strip, which turned out to be Wall, SD, home of Yup, you got it, Wall
Drug. I was a bit bummed, b/c Airnav said no avgas and certainly no
rental cars, but they did hint of some thing called Air Hon. This was
enough to get me on the trail of one of the true gentlemen of Aviation,
Dave Hahn. Dave is the Mayor of Wall, SD (26 years now) and really one
heck of a guy. I did of bit of Googling and found his email - I wrote
and told him that we wanted to visit Wall and the Park, but needed a
car. We wrote back and told us to come on out and he would take care of
us - his truck was available and he had gas in his hanger we could buy
from him. Such a deal! We were set.
The weather in Minne on Friday was cloudy, cool and blustery 18G29
eek! But 50 miles west the skies were clear and inviting for the trip.
Andi dosed up on Dramamine and was asleep before takeoff - it was bumpy,
but not all that bad down at 3500ft. Once the skies cleared - it was up
to 8500 for a smooth, cool, but slow trip to Wall(135 kts GS).
continue
● LOE'10
Status Report:
"As of this morning, the total so far for the fly-in is 33
registrants, and 21 RV's." (pre-register)
Added support for Jeppesen
ChartView and geo-referenced FliteCharts.
Added display of
calculated power for Lycoming and Continental engines.
Added ability to use VNAV
when using an external GPS navigation source.
Added softkey to Terrain
page to quickly enable or disable terrain alerts.
Added display of GSU tilt
angle values during pitch/roll offset calibration.
Added display of navaid
frequency to PFD bearing pointer data fields.
Added menu options to Comm
configuration page to change NMEA data transmit rate.
Changed screenshot utility
to flash the screen to indicate when a screenshot has been
saved.
Changed to use actual GSU
data for discrete inputs when in demo mode.
Updated magnetic variation
model.
Improved visibility of
runways on synthetic vision.
Improved visibility of
extended runway centerlines on map.
Improved RPM display when
using electronic ignition tach output.
Improved filtering of
engine gauge data.
Improved engine and
airframe timers.
Improved display of flight
plan data when using MapMX RS-232 input.
Improved database update
page in reversionary mode.
Improved label spacing on
Weight & Balance page.
Improved display of FSS
and ARTCC frequency Rx/Tx designators for consistency with
Garmin certifed navigators.
Improved frequency type
display when transmitting frequency list to SL30/40 comm
radio.
Improved PFD autopilot
status display.
Improved PFD flight path
marker in demo mode.
Improved Drive Simulator
page to allow altitude and heading adjustments when
autopilot is configured but not engaged.
Improved system operation
with three displays.
Construction
● RV-10
Flush door lock install ...from
The
RV-10 Forums I am getting ready to install the door locks for the
flush door handles from IFLYRV10.com. Haven't a clue where I put the
instructions, and I can't find them posted on the website. I have
searched the archives and found some install pics for the handles, but
nothing for the final install of the lock. Anyone have one they can
post? Install the locks and glue on the interior fabric and the doors go
on for good.
●
E/Pmag timing advance explained
...courtesy Bill Repucci
We have had a number of customers ask about the E/Pmag timing
advance and how it works. I thought it might be worth posting our reply
on here so that other Emag customers might benefit. E/Pmag Electronic Ignition
The E/Pmag controls the ignition timing through a combination of:
1. Static timing of the E/Pmags set mechanically to approx 20 Deg (for
typical Lycoming 4 cylinder)
2. Advance Curve Selected (e.g. Via the "A" or "B" configuration - or
user configuration, if using the Laptop EICAD program or the Electronic
Ignition Commander. The “B” curve is the only configurable curve and can
be adjust as the user sees fit. The EICommander stores multiple
configurations and when sent to the E/Pmas updates the “B” configuration
memory location.)
3. Amount of RPM and Manifold Pressure sensed
Typically, the E/Pmag static timing is mechanically set to around
20 deg BTDC using the Pmag set up procedures (blow in the tube or by
turning the E/Pmags). A base table is then used to relate the
rpm/manifold pressure values to the advance curve selected to provide
the timing advance increase. So total advance = Static (20 deg BTDC) +
advance value (function of RPM/Manifold pressure). The "A" advance curve
is shown in orange line in the graph below. More aggressive advance
curves are indicated in blue and less aggressive in Green. Note that if
a very aggressive advance curve is configured and sent to the E/Pmags,
you will hit the 39 Deg Max Angle shown at a lower RPM value. (continue)
VAF Family ●
Father / Daughter ...Tony Phillips
Those of you who have teen age daughters will appreciate this more
than others. At 17 my daughter is quickly growing up. Today we
flew together for the first time in my RV and had a great time.
Troubleshooting
●
Mag Problems Solved ...Mike 'Kahuna' Stewart
Having had a recent mag problem, I had the pleasure of meeting
James (intro
thread here) as he came out to my hanger ON A SUNDAY to help me out.
I was having mag issues as noted above. The most frustrating part
was the price of replacement. I mean seriously, $900 is INSANE
and that's if they get mine as a core.
Though a mutual friend Barefoot Billy, I got a hold of James and he
met me at my hanger. He brought is tool bag and I watched a mag guru go
to work. First thing he did was test my leads with an expensive looking
box. One lead was acting up. Whew! An actual problem found. Excellent!
Next he began disassembling the mag while I watched and took notes.
These are really simple devices, its the darn parts costs that get high.
First thing he found was the coil spring was not wound properly on
the impulse. He asked if I had it apart. ' Uhhh. Yep that was me'. Well
I had not wound the impulse spring enough to make it snap through in a
snappy manor, enough to produce spark. Hmm. Excellent. Another problem
found.
He continued on with disassembly. I took more notes. He tested the
coil, gaps, this and that. He felt all was in order but asked if I
wanted it bench tested. I said 'you bet', and off we went to his shop
about 30 minutes away.
It was fascinating to see his tools of the trade. A very cool
machinist made bench testing unit that spun the mag whilst you watches
the sparks . It was pretty neat. Tested both the impulse coupler and the
mag. I just love tools to accomplish things. His were custom made.
He deemed my mag ready for service. He told me $75. I said no way.
You get a hundred for coming out to my hanger on a Sunday, on a Holiday
weekend, and for giving me much needed training. I'm no longer scared of
that darn mag thing anymore. I feel confident I can now do routine
maintenance and even better, I have a guy in the area that actually
services these things routinely.
It was fun and like going to a slick mag class with 1:1 teaching.
James, thanks for treating me so well and enduring my endless
questions.
Mag installed and drum roll please... IT WORKS. Saved me $800 bucks
and Im much smarter and probably more dangerous than before.
Thanks James.
Safety ●
Inadvertently Exploring Flight Envelope Corners ...Jim
Piavis (RV-7)
I'm not sure if anyone has actually tested this corner of the RV-7
flight envelope, and I sure hadn't until today, and subsequently learned
something new!
I was out for a short flight today, cleared out from under the
Puget Sound overcast and found a nice big blue hole south of Enumclaw
(south east of Seattle) to climb up and do some light acro at about
4000’. I lined up for a nice easy barrel roll to the left, got the nose
up and let myself fall out of the maneuver. I recovered with further
roll to the left with nose down about 20 degrees, which in itself isn't
a big deal. I have a coolie hat trim switch on the top of the stick, and
sometime during the recovery, I inadvertently pushed the trim full nose
down. Speed built up relatively quickly to about 220 MPH and with the
nose down, high speed and full nose down trim, the stick forces were
very high! Stick forces were high enough to actually give an impression
that something could be jammed, but that wasn’t the case. This all
happened fairly quickly and as soon as I noted the high airspeed,
throttle went to idle and prop forward to assist in getting slowed down,
all while pulling the stick. I was trying not to pull too hard in order
to keep from over-G condition, but pull hard enough to get some airspeed
bled off, arrest the dive, and avoid a close encounter with some big
trees. I finally got the airplane returned to level from the nose down
pitch around 1500’ or so, and then I noticed the trim indicator in the
full down position, which I was happy to see, and ruled out some sort of
linkage issue. The airplane was never out of limits, but the trim
condition made a simple recovery into something a bit more difficult.
In short, I’m not sure I’d want to see an airspeed any higher with
full nose down trim, or one might not be able to apply enough back
pressure to effect a recovery. For those with trim on the stick, just be
aware something like this can happen when you least expect it.
Advertiser's Corner...sent in by the advertisers of this
site. ●
Dynon
Rebate Runs Until December 31st
We've had a very popular Trade Up program for Dynon customers, but not
everyone knows that it ends on December 31st, 2010.
Fri 09.03.10 1149z
Logged .9hr under the hood yesterday, with light sprinkles adding to the
realism. Plan 'A' was to couple the GX Pilot autopilot to the
RNAV RWY 17 WAAS
approach into Decatur (solo and
no hood) to make sure the sensitivities were set right. But, while
talking with Scorch on the phone, it turned into him riding safety pilot
and me logging the time towards the rating. AP was hunting a
little in the hold turns still so I still need to tweek that.
Broke out of the hold after about 3/4 of a lap and flew out north of
Alliance for its
ILS 16L approach. At the
end, I logged two approaches (one coupled and one hand-flown) and .9hr
in the sim'd IFR column. Good times. Photoshop'd the ground
track over the plate below later in the day. Little if any flying
for me this Sat/Sun as the todo list on the house is lengthy, but I'm
setting aside some time in the garage for the -3B HS. Temps are
forecast
cooler in DFW for the next few days! College
Football cranks up on TV this Saturday, so there is that also!
Wishing you a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend. Doug
(RV-6
'Flash')
Various tracks overlaying plates w/Photoshop
...and some GoogleEarth thrown in.
●
Homecoming wrap-up
...Bob Brown
I meant to get this out on Monday, but...life got in the way.
We had a great time in Independence hosting the Van's Homecoming.
The weather could not have been better. The activities went off well.
Homeowners in the airpark hosted 27 aircraft, which represented almost
40 people. Those of you who have been here before know that this is a
great program and a great way to meet new friends. My thanks go out to
the airpark folks who have opened their homes/hangars/spare bedrooms up
for this event. Numerous attendees stayed in area hotels. 95 meals were
served at the dinner on Friday nite. I didn't think to mention to people
in advance that ZZ Top was playing in Salem at the State Fair on Friday
nite, we could have had a State Fair Affair!
After a slow start (maybe too much fun on Friday nite?), we served
185 people for breakfast on Saturday morning. We had to recruit extra
drivers for the winery tours, and one extra winery was visited due to
the exuberance of the group. It was hard to keep track of arriving and
departing aircraft on Saturday. When we tallied up the aircraft that
signed in, I know we were low...it's normal for folks not to sign up
when they arrive, eat, stick around for a few hours visiting and fly on
home. After the "adventure" involving the Bonanza...one of our airpark
RV pilots (with a camera port in the belly of his plane) captured an
aerial photo and I counted 62 RV's just on the ramp, so the ones in the
airpark itself would have been on top of that...the ramp was getting
full and we were going to have to go to "overflow" parking when the
situation eased itself...several people left for fly-outs and others
arrived.
We planned on 85 tickets for the Saturday nite Banquet, those were sold
and an additional 10 were sold afterward for a full house. Van's had
several staff there and talked a little about how far things have come
in the world of RV's. Tickets were handed out and door prizes were
awarded at the end of the evening. There was lots of friendship, lots of
talking and many lies swapped.
As I mentioned earlier, counting aircraft became difficult when we
were parking them as fast as we could...at times the pattern was pretty
full, as were the taxiways and ramps. Everyone got along well and coped.
We had a varied list of attendees this year. Once again, some people
came from afar and of course, the locals show up daily and are not
really counted in the "count." We had a great showing by Team Canada
this year, with 9 aircraft flying in, I think all of them were from
various parts of B.C. It was great to see that turnout from the north!
We had 26 aircraft register from California, 7 from Washington (though
there were lots more that didn't sign in), 25 from Oregon (again, many
didn't sign the log). The rest of the folks who signed in included two
aircraft from Nevada and one each from Arizona, Texas, Kentucky and
Michigan.
Any time you get this many RV folks gathered up in one place, it's
amazing how alike we all are...and what a great bunch!
This event would not have happened without the support of Van's
Aircraft to put the event on and through the diligent efforts of
volunteers at EAA 292. Specifically, I'd like to thank Tom and Barb
Turnbull, Scott and Harriet Savage, they helped arrange housing for
attendees and help with aircraft parking; and Jerry Pryce, who has
spearheaded the breakfast for the last four years! As all of you know
who have been involved in an event like this, it would never happen
without the unsung efforts of many other folks working hard washing
tables, cooking, cleaning, etc.
Good planes, good time, good people, good weather...can't beat it.
●
Mike Rettig Paying It Forward ...RV-10 style
Fellow RV'rs,
A while back, I put out a request for a demo ride in an RV-10.
I was overwhelmed by the speed at which I received offers to "go up." It
just goes to show that the RV community tends to be a generous one, with
a "Pay it Forward" attitude. My greatest thanks to David Maib from New
Smyrna Beach, FL! He happened to be here in Denver, CO, visiting a
friend and gave me a ride in his beautiful RV-10. Afterwards, he
submitted to my assault of questions (both stupid and non-stupid), to
which he responded with honest, open, straight-talk. This has helped me
make my decision about pursuing the 10, and I am grateful.
Thanks again, David, and thanks also to the others who offered me a
ride. I'll be sure to Pay it Forward when I get a chance someday.
●
Badlands
Fly-In Update ...from Larry Vetterman
As of today we have 100 people
registered for the flyin. There will be a very good longest distance
award given away Fri. evening at the burger burn
Construction ●
My completed RV9A panel! ...a virtual tour of Camillo Ungari
Trasatti's panel (Roma, Italy)
Video ●
HD Video...showing external mount
...here is some rather lengthy video from my Camera mounted
externally. obviously not on the RV bcs... well... it's still being
built, but from my 7ECA. These little devices sure make it more viable to shoot good quality and
NOT having to hold the camera is a huge bonus....since every camera i've
seen is for right-handed people.
i'd like to hear what people use for editing too. anyone use VP9?
*(and the occasional music,
motorcycle, golf, soccer or astronomy item of interest).
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and that's if they get mine as a core. 
i'd like to hear what people use for editing too. anyone use VP9?
