Occasionally I stop in at McDonald's for breakfast after pushing out the
site (free WiFi and Dr. Pepper refills). There's this one guy who
always seems to be there when I stop in, his paper spread out over the
entire table and nursing his coffee. "Going flying today?"
"Right after these pancakes."
Some thunderstorms were out to the northeast, so I went that direction to
stay between them and the runway. About 15 minutes into the flight I
saw some lightning off in the distance - me go home now. Just
before joining downwind I looked over to the east one last time and saw this
over Lake Lewisville (below).
And there it is again....the reason I love to fly, even for five
minutes. Mother Earth occasionally gives us lucky pilots a view that
surface dwellers just can't appreciate. They don't know what they're
missing.
An hour and change after leaving the home office I was back on the
keyboard, mental gyros realigned and recharged.
Since I have not one poetic bone in my body, I'll just give you the
facts....after nearly five years and nine months of building, N218HM has
finally taken flight. First flight was yesterday morning around 8:00am out
of Fort Worth Meacham in the capable hands of Roy Geer....thank you Roy. He
was nice enough to fly the airplane for 20+ minutes and reported no
discrepancies afterwards. Wanted to thank my dad, whom I could not have
started OR finished this project without his help. Also have to thank my
wife for the help and putting up with my madness over the past few years.
continue / video
N562E took to the skies yesterday evening. The uncontrolled
airport is vacant and nobody is there to witness – not advisable.
I’m frozen at the end of the runway for almost five minutes
wondering if we’re ready for this and trying to muster the courage
to run up the throttle. Once we reach 55 knots and pull back on the
stick, there’ll be no turning back. I’ll be committed to depending
on the plane to function smoothly and on my limited skills to land
us in one piece. Finally with heart racing release the brakes, ease
in full throttle, pedal dance, and quickly everything happens really
fast. Acceleration, pull back, and suddenly the ground is rushing
away from us. Climb to 3,000 ft at 75 knots and keep telling myself
to calm down. Level off. Airspeed builds rapidly to 110 knots - pull
back on the throttle. Heavy wing? No, stick is centered. Adverse
yaw? I don’t think so. Ball is pretty much centered with feet on the
floor. Calm down! Trim tab – oh yeah, let’s use it. Nice. Engine
instruments are all in the green as we do some wide sweeping 360
degree turns to the right and left over the central Washington
desert.
continue
After six years and two months of building, the first flight of
RV-9A N29JV took place on April 15, 2012. The flight occurred after
spending two days chasing down a problem with the pitot static
system, a chase that underscored the principle of checking the
obvious, simple things first. I was fortunate to be supported by a
dedicated crew consisting of Rolph Untenaehrerr, John Winter, Roger
Archie and my wife Teryl all of whom were gracious enough not to
point out that the problem was created by the pilot early on the
first day. Enough said.
continue
Wed,
May 30, 2012. 1142z I know they give out awards for everything under the sun
these days, but since he's my only son I hope you'll indulge me bragging a bit. He's
'officially' out of elementary school.
18sec video clip.
Congratulations to young Mr. Reeves and the
outstanding person he is becoming! (contact)
Thoughts
on safety
After days and days of rain, the skies over Aurora finally cleared today.
Everybody seemed to have the same idea...let´s fly to work! Joe Blank
thought it was a good photo opportunity. Van, once he´d parked his RV-12,
agreed. So here´s a sunny day in the Van´s Aircraft back yard.
Shown back to front, nose right: Joe Blank´s RV-6, Scott McDaniels´RV-6A,
Dick VanGrunsven´s RV-12 and RV-4 (the first ever built from kit
components). Nose left: Ken Krueger´s RV-4, Dave Cooper´s RV-12, built and
still flown occasionally by Ken Scott, Gus Funnell´s RV-6 and Scott Risan´s
RV-4. In front, Scott Risan and Van.
continue
Most single rv-4 & RV-8 pilots are looking for that special
travel companion - the "girl/guy in back". I'm no different.
When she first came into my life eight years ago, we traveled a lot.
That was before my airplane so that was all road miles - 10,000+ a
year. We had. Lot of fun and visited a lot of places.
continue
I am very happy with my fairing but I have nothing
to compare it too and no experience with longevity. My windscreen is
glued on and by itself is plenty strong the fairing is nothing more
than airflow distribution and cosmetics. I like the look I have (low
profile no big hump at the top) I put 5 layers of electrical tape
and butted and sanded to that thickness (5 layers of cloth in total,
4 tape and top BID). the aft edge measures .050 to .055 thickness
goes up in thickness in the middle and then back to the 5 layers at
the windscreen.
The fairing will flex if pushed on the edge but not at the thick
part. I am not worried about having this be a hand hold I can get
myself in and out without using the faring for support (and no
handle in the roll bar).
So anyone out there with a thin edge, how well has it held up to
wind and vibrations? My thickness will build some as I apply several
coats of plain resin to seal the holes.
Here are some pictures. I have a couple spots to fill but like the
contour and I am ready to start the clear resin to fill pinholes.
I just finished mine a couple of weeks ago. I only
used 3 - 4 layers of glass and only overlapped the canopy gap by
about 3/8". I only had about a 1/8" gap between the canopy frame and
the roll bar. I think it should be plenty strong, we'll see. I was
able to feather the glass down to 1-2 layers of electrical tape and
the edges came out really nice. I was dreading this job, but like
most like most jobs I've dreaded on this project, it wasn't too bad
at all. I really recommend using the Dura-Block sanding blocks and
self-adhesive sand paper. It really helped with contouring this.
"JD Air Parts is excited to announce the release of
the long awaited canopy handle for the Slider Canopies. It was worth
the wait. This new handle will retrofit to any existing canopy
without the worry of having to drill new holes or matching existing
holes. Polished to a brilliant shine, the handle will be a nice
addition to your canopy.
The unique precision machining locks the handle in
place quickly and securely. Extensive testing both on the ground and
in the air demonstrate the functional security of the handle.
Installation only takes minutes."
Wow! I can't believe that I'm posting this. After almost 9 years of off
and on building, my flying machine took to the sky today: Memorial Day,
2012! Oh man, what a feeling! Going aloft in an airplane that you built is
indescribable.
I, like all of us, have had my share of ups and downs during this project.
This was a project with some doubt, too many second guesses, and a fair
amount of bloodshed (literally). It took me quite a while to actually take
ownership of this collection of parts. At first I really didn’t think that I
would get through it. I wish I had a nickel for every time I asked myself,
“What the heck do you think you are doing here?” My wife knew otherwise. She
knew that I just don’t quit and I guess she was right.
continue
My mother was down here in Georgia for granddaughter
Diana's high school graduation this past weekend. She visits from
Pennsylvania about once a year but we never had good flying weather
during her visits until now. She is not a big fan of flying but was
willing to trust me and my little plane. At 74 years she only needed
a little help getting into the -9 and less help getting out.
more
Hey - had my big inspection yesterday and N964JB is officially an
airplane.
Overall, the inspection went well, only a couple of issues with the engine
running a bit rough needing to be addressed before the first flight.
Nuf said. Thanks for answering all my questions lately. Today I was able
to awaken the beast. Getting very close now.
First push of the button, fired right up..IO 360 AIA with dual pmags.
Advertiser's Corner...sent
in by the advertisers of this site.
●
"Aircraft Extras, Inc. is announcing that the Center Consoles are
available again. Bryan is in a better situation now and can supply them
again. Please check them out at
www.aircraftextras.com. See the rest of our great products there as
well."
Totally Off Topic
Memorial Day, 2012 In observance of Memorial Day,
there will not be a Monday edition of VAF. May God Bless
those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the United States
Armed Forces. (contact)
Thoughts
on safety
Fri,
May 25, 2012. 1134z Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled Memorial
Day weekend! (contact)
Thoughts
on safety
This is how a kid (Markus Berg) looks like after a trip in an aircraft in
the West of Germany. I am curious how this boy will smile when my RV-8
gets finished and I promised him one of the first rides. We are flying
kids with cancer now for 9 years. Maybe next year I fly these kids
with the 8.
"Getting the airworthiness certificate for the airplane I've been
building for 11 years was nice. But hearing FAA Designated
Airworthiness Inspector Tim Mahoney, right, say, "you're a real
detail-oriented person," and "I wish every airplane I inspected was
this good," and "you did a really great job on this airplane" was
about as good as it gets. I'd like to dedicate this moment to Mr.
Provenzano, who flunked me in shop in junior high school. Hey,
Provenzano: I built a frickin' airplane."
...I flew my RV-6 from my home in northern Oregon down to the
southern end of the state (Grants Pass/3S8) to intercept the
northern edge of the path of totality on Sunday. The overcast skies
of the northern part of the state gave way to partly cloudy skies
down south, perfect for eclipse viewing... Until totality came
around. A pesky cloud appeared and threatened to obscure it, but it
wasn't totally successful allowing us to experience the event...
Below are the results of the trip. A very cool astronomical event to
see! The next one scheduled for 2017 will go right over my house so
it won't require an RV ride unless it's to escape the weather
again....
There have been several discussions about insects clogging vents
and airspeed plumbing but what are the odds of hitting a critter so
as to plug the pitot in flight? This afternoon on takeoff at
rotation speed I had an airspeed fluctuation. Compared to the other
indicators it didn't agree. Soon Followed by FADEC warnings along
with a list of other system malfunctions. Just under max
landing weight, we returned to find this bumble bee tail first in
the pitot tube with it's head too large to enter. I have to
say, never saw that before.
Advertiser's Corner...sent
in by the advertisers of this site.
●
From the Factory....
"After two years of building, four months of testing, and six weeks in
the paint shop, Louise and I are happy to introduce “Tsamsiyu” – the RV-3
formerly known as “Junior”.
While we were building, we suspected that this airplane was going to be
something different, but it wasn’t until we had flown that we were sure – it
isn’t just different, it is amazing! Have you ever flown like a bird? I
mean…being so free in the sky, maneuvering so effortlessly, going wherever
you want to go – like a bird? Flying the RV-3 is as close as I have ever
come to being a flying creature – the handling qualities are so natural that
you simply think about what you want to do, and the airplane does it."
(much
more)
"I finally got Stella's tail art on and got some air to air time with
Barry Weber flying photo ship Cover Girl (RV4) and Ray McCrea strapped in
facing backward with his cameras.
My wife Sharon designed the paint scheme and tail art and has flown with me
3 times since Stella's been painted. Each time, a compliment has come over
the radio, so Sharon's been enjoying the fruits of her talents too!"
continue
Thursday, May 24 marks a milestone for me and My Beast...
now a flying machine for longer then it was a project!
Construction begins - October 26, 2008
First flight - August 10, 2010... 644 days later
As of May 24, 2012... flying for 644 days!
10 Oil changes, 430 hobbs, 390 flight, 380 on the tach.
Lots of great travels - Vettermans Bad Lands fly in, GLO for paint,
Sun-N-Fun 2011, Oshkosh 2011, LOE 2011, Sun-N-Fun 2012...
N562Echo (Kit #120221) passed her Airworthiness Inspection this
past Saturday, May 19, 2012. It was exactly three years ago that I
drove down the Columbia River Gorge to Aurora, OR and picked up an
empennage kit. Although I haven't flown it yet, this little plane
far exceeds my expectations. The DAR spent about three hours going
over the plane and had one comment. It seems that the leading edge
of the right flaperon contacts the LP4-3 rivet heads on the rear
spar when the trailing edge of the flaperon is pulled up against the
stop. This would be a bank to the right. When trying to dislodge the
right flaperon by pulling up on the left flaperon, nothing moves.
But using the control stick, you can't feel any binding at all. I
lightly touched the rivet heads with a file to knock off any burrs
that might have been created by the rivet puller and he finally
accepted it. This week is focused on re-assembly and one more final
inspection. I hope to experience the first flight next week after a
much needed Memorial Day Weekend road trip to Glacier National Park.
Gotta clear my head a little.
Did a couple of RV prop balances yesterday and thought the results were
interesting. One engine came from Matituck and one from PennYan. The
crankshaft 2.0x tell the story on internal engine balance (piston/rod
matching weights primarily). There are no "limits" on this and we are
talking small differences but interesting to see.
Both aircraft were out of limits on propeller vibs, both ended up with great
final numbers of 0.010 and 0.011 IPS after just 3 runs
Both aircraft owners will definately notice smoother operation based on the
large decrease in first order (prop rate) vibration.
I love my airplane. I spent five years on her three of them pounding
rivets almost every day. She is not a Broadway show girl but she has young
and trained heart, excellent hearing and a push button. Only one button and
it turns her on third blade.
She brought me to places I've never been and continues to do so. She
introduced me to wonderful people I've never met and I enjoy it. She does it
in a very fun, efficient and safe manner. Did I tell you she has my DNA?
I will do a compilation of my short travel stories here. I'll try to be a
bit fun and a bit serious. There will be no struggles with weather
phenomena, troubleshooting complex equipment (she has none) it will be the
simplest ever stories about an airplane and destinations. I love photography
and there will be bunch of pictures.
This time we went South. I have a cousin (our common Uncle's name is Sam)
who bought a nice RV somewhere in Oregon and brought it home alone. He is
also a beginner artist/novice writer and his novel about the adventure is
here. He likes to fly by me. His airplane is nicely painted and very
visible. Of course he steals all attention and gets all the credits after
flybys.
OK
this time we went South. Cousin's landing strip is about 20 minutes in RV9A
speed, ten minutes in RV7 speed. When I fly to his place I usually get a lot
of wakes from aerial buses.
continue w/ Part I
On Saturday I was part of a formation demo team at the EWB "Fun Day". At
the end of the demo as we passed in front of the crowd, we stopped, 90 left
and lead called "Smoke Now!" I hit the smoke button on my throttle as I
pushed the power up to about 1700 RPM to increase the smoke volume. Despite
full aft stick, in the blink of an eye, the tail rose. I chopped the power
but it was too late. The momentum of the tail continued until the prop left
it's signature in the taxiway. The tail then came down. Hard.
But why?!?! Simple, my flaps were still full down. If you have not yet seen
or experienced it, the prop blast against the flaps will raise the tail of a
typical (forward CG) RV-8 at around 1500 RPM even with full aft stick. I
experienced this several years ago while doing an engine run but
fortunately, was adding power slowly when the tail came up. On Saturday, I
had momentarily forgotten the experience, didn't check flaps up prior to a
quicker application of power. It was all over in an instant. Prop destroyed,
engine to be torn down. The force of the tail coming down also put a bow in
the tail spring so that will have to be replaced.
No injuries other than my pride and wallet.
It has since come to my attention that this is not a well known phenomenon
so I post here to warn all, maybe prevent it from happening to someone else.
Check flaps prior to advancing power above a low idle!!! If you feel that I
have possibly saved you from a similar incident, the customary 5%
contribution is appreciated. ;-)
Some time back I bought a cheap, all metal, LED flashlight at the
auto parts store, identical to the one in the image below. They only
cost a few bucks so I grabbed a couple of them and tossed one in the
tool bag I keep I keep in the RV. Heck, you never know when you are
going to be stuck on a ramp after dark, trying to sort through a
problem.
While going through my tool bag the other day I pulled out the
flashlight to check the batteries. (I had long ago changed out the
cheap batteries it came with.) I turned on the light and it came on
for a few seconds and then went out. Taping the light in my hand
caused it come on and off. No big deal, so I tossed it aside to be
looked at later.
Well,
tonight was later. I turned it on with the same results as before.
It must need three new batteries, or so I thought.
When I opened it up, I almost burned my finger on the spring that
makes contact with the battery pack. What?
I put in three new batteries and tried it again, with the same
results. Again I pulled the back off and touched the spring and
found it extremely hot to the touch. (I know well the definition of
insanity, so no need to post it here.)
Searching the internet, I found nothing that indicates these things
can cause a fire but based on what I discovered this evening, it is
only a matter of time until we hear more about these small
incendiary devices.
Worked from midnight until a little after 4 am on this new
approach. There is a race in Terrell, TX Saturday.
● First Engine Start Ground
Cooling Shroud ...Wade
Lively
"Almost ready for first engine start. People have asked for
pictures of my home made cooling shroud, so here it is. Want to get
a good long engine run on the ground before flight...."
Returning from Truckee, CA to Colorado about six weeks ago,
N5678C developed a huge canopy crack, starting at the aft canopy
bow, right up to the top of the canopy. I knew that I could replace
the canopy by myself, but with a brand new grandbaby in California,
we needed our transportation back quick! A number of people came
forward to help me with the project, and we completed the project in
2 ½ weeks!
continue
Totally Off Topic
You're probably going to want to
watch this.... dr
Mon,
May 21, 2012. 1111z A good Monday morning to you. Here is yesterday's solar
eclipse from our airport, just after putting the plane away
following an evening flight
with our daughter Audrey. This pic shot from the ramp in front of Stan's
hangar - we had about 60 seconds of view time. What a way to cap
off a flight with the daughter!
Hope you had a nice weekend. (contact)
Thoughts
on safety
Two days ago we went to NYC for our younger son's graduation from
Parson School. Friday morning before we departed the area we made
another Hudson River tour. This time with a Drift HD170 camera on
the left wing tip.
We have done Hudson River tours several times. In the past we flew
the SFRA Class B exclusions. That means flying VFR below 1,300'.
After seeing our residential NYC expert - Vlad, routinely fly over
Newark Liberty International we decided to follow suit. I figured
that he must flew the NY Heli routes. An email to him confirmed my
suspicion.
continue
Our area is congested both on the ground and in the air. But if
you take off early Saturday morning you might get smooth air, light
traffic, pleasant and relaxed controllers and great views of Long
Island. This was from yesterday.
Congrats to Ron who flew his RV-8 in our IAC 19 Carolina Boogie
aerobatic contest this weekend and placed 3rd among a deep, skilled
field of Sportsman pilots. I guess it took him two flights to warm
up, because he won the 3rd flight. Ron, FYI - that's how ALL flights
are supposed to be done!
He was competing against three Pitts', two Giles 202's, an Extra 200
and a Super D. It was nice seeing the RV in there with all the other
usual suspects!
Well, with 2.9 hours left to go in my phase 1, and a beautiful long
weekend ahead, it figures that something would try to delay me.
Anybody ever had this happen? Engine Started....now, Avionics ON.
EFIS On ---SNAP These are Tyco switch breakers. (New
ones!!!) Yup. The toggle broke right off at the root. C$%p!
Totally Off Topic
Well there's your problem...
Fri,
May 18, 2012. 1150z Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend.
It's prom weekend in our neck of the woods, and Daddy is a little off
his game. Wasn't she five years old just last week?
Related....(below). (contact)
Thoughts
on safety
I've received several PM's and emails asking about my RV-8. They
all inquiries as to what it's like to fly and RV-8 with just a 150hp
O320 and a fixed pitch propeller. I'm happy to field emails and
messages but I also wanted to give the information a more permanent
presence. So here goes ...
I preface all of this with "I a buyer not a builder" but add
"it's exactly the airplane I wanted" and "I am very happy
with the RV-8 150hp FP as a fun and economical cross country
airplane".
Does the RV-8 perform OK at this low end of the engine options?
Yes. As many members of VAF have pointed out, the speed:fuel ratio
is pretty consistent. Thus, the O320 pumping out 150hp burns about
the same fuel and goes about the same as a bigger engine throttled
back to output 150hp. Of course, there are other considerations such
as electronic ignition vs mags, quality of the air frame, etc. but
within the margin of error, its works out to be the same. Of course,
as others have noted, if you are at the limits of the O320, there is
no "go faster" lever. (continue)
What can you get done in 2 1/2 hours? Well, if you
have some serious heavy lifting gear, a friend and his two young
strapping sons you can get the gear on AND mount the engine
.
Well, I was primed today to mount the engine, but ran into a
snag. I knew I had to change out my large-hole engine mounting ears
for small hole ears, but I had purchased those some time ago and had
them in storage. Problem is, my small hole mounts have short guide
pins on the bottom, but my engine case is not machined to accept
them (more)
Some
Replies:
used to be machined in the cases on some of the earlier
crankcases. The pins are a real booger to remove but a good pair
of small vise grips will usually remove them. chuck the mount
ears in a vise (Aluminum jaws here), clamp as tight as you can
on the pin. Using a flat tip screwdriver, gently rotate the pin
and use the screw driver to put outward pressure under the vise
grips. if it doesn't budge and gets chewed up, grind the pin
down
Or drill/tap & pump out with a grease gun.
Over the past week, there have been many posts on social media
sites and web forums regarding the 2012 Airventure Cup Race. This
statement is meant to clarify and correct some of the statements
that were made, as well as provide the public with information
regarding the fate of this year’s race.
Last week, we were contacted by EAA officials announcing they would
no longer support air racing, including the Airventure Cup. This
move was a shock to us as much as it was the rest of the aviation
community and we are still in the process of evaluating our options
to continue the race. However, in an effort to clarify some of the
misinformation that was shared in the public forums, we would like
to offer the following facts. (continue)
Thu,
May 17, 2012. 1142z (Palm slapping forehead) It never ceases to
amaze me when someone gets their head torqued up into the rafters over
the fact that a post showing pictures of an F-16 flying in formation
with a C-130 gets deleted on VAF. Or a video of anvils being blown
up. Or dancing cats. Always an entertaining read, those
emails. I save some of 'em.
We live in a world that continually bombards us with thousands of
unwanted visuals and sound bites, all fighting for our attention every
waking second. I sometimes go through (8) stations on the radio
before finding one that isn't playing a commercial (same for the TV).
As a refreshing change, and by design, VAF is only about RVs and their
builders and pilots. Right there on the
rules page.....in bold 14pt red letters....."Keep it RV-related".
The one exception is my 'Totally Off Topic' image on the front page -
and that isn't in the forums. I think F-16s are amazing too, but
they have their
own fan site.And yeah, there
is one
for the C-130 folks. Plenty of other sites out there that
encourage you to talk about any topic under the sun. If your post
starts with 'This might get deleted, but...', well, yes.....it
will.
Thanks for keeping it just RV here....and for the occasional entertaining
email. I do appreciate the feedback. (contact)
Thoughts
on safety
● N56RK ...Bob Kurrle's
RV-7
click to enlarge
"I was the proud recipient of the reserve grand champion at
Sun-n-Fun this year for my 2011 Vans RV-7. Kit was ordered August
2008. The build was 1918 hours, built entirely by myself except when
extra hands needed for bucking, installing wings. DAR inspection and
airworthiness certificate 09/17/2011. I was the test pilot for the
first flight on 10/03/2011. I used the EAA tech advisors for
progress inspections along the way. I also used the EAA flight
advisor for the first flight. This was Mike Kelly who spent time
before the flight making sure the plane was ready, I was ready, and
that we had a safe test flight plan. It went perfectly.
N56RK has the following features:
-Sam James cowl/plenum/wheel pants
-Lycoming IO-390
-Ram Air
-Aero Composite 2 blade CS prop
-Electronic Ignition - Lightspeed x 1
-Remote oversized oil cooler
-Throttle Quadrant
-Access panels forward x 2
-Custom Panel
-Oversized air vents welded in panel corners
-CNC cut panel
-AFS 4500 MFD x 2 and Trutrak Autopilot
-Garmin center stack
-Annunciator panel w/10 led lights
-Drop down fuse panel and 6 circuit breakers
-Wig-Wag landing lights
-Handmade intersection gear fairings
-Vetterman 4 Pipe exhaust ceramic coater
-LED Nav/Strobe lights
-AOA
-Canopy handle lock
-Carbon fiber canopy skirts
-PPG base coat/clear coat
The plane has about 55 hours on it and flies beautifully. No trim
or heavy wing issues. Ram air adds about 1.9 inches manifold
pressure and 10 knots. I am seeing TAS in the low 190kts at WOT with
ram air. Had some oil temperature issues initially that now appear
to be resolved with some baffling directing the air out of the
remote oil cooler to the cowl exit and a small 1/2 inch air
deflector extending down from the cowl air exit.
I am getting back on my RV-7A project after a two year layoff
(what was I thinkin'?).
I picked up a 90* oil filter adapter somewhere way back when, and
decided to stick it on the engine. IO 360A1B6. At the time I was
told it would fit the motor.
Below are pics of the new OFA, and the old one I took off the motor,
as well as a view of the back of the accessory housing.
The two obviously look a lot different. With moving the vernatherm
from the bottom of the original to the side of the new one, and the
differences in the look of everything, I just want to confirm that
this 90* adapter will (or won't) work correctly...
Some
Replies:
With the proper gasket or by modifing the gasket style you have
it will work fine. If using the style gasket you have trim it
slightly where the vernatherm will seat against the accessory
houisng so that the gasket will not hold the vernatherm off the
seat and it will work fine. The proper gasket doens't have
gasket material in that area.
I flew the test twice today and the speeds were all over the
place on each leg. I never came close to meeting the USAR test
method requirement of five 20 second interval recordings within 1 kt.
Regardless, I recorded a large number of speeds and divided by the
total to get the inputs for the NTPS spread sheet then I repeated
it. The input average numbers look right but the results are
disappointing. 178.8 kts and 177.6 kts respectively. Test fuel cost
$71.50. The RPM was 2720, the EGT on CYL #4 was 1300, the CHTs were
357, 369, 365 and 342(?) but the power didn't seem as robust as it
had been in the past. For what its worth here are the updated charts
Anybody experienced long delays getting results from Aviation
Labs for oil analysis? I sent them a sample in early November of
last year, and didn't get any results from them until early February
- ALMOST THREE MONTHS! When I called them they claimed that the US
Mail can take UP TO TWO MONTHS to deliver the sample, which to me
seems a little unbelievable. I can see maybe a couple of weeks for
3rd class mail or whatever their packaging uses, but not the 8 or 10
weeks they are saying. And they also claimed to have a machine down
as well which they said explained 2-4 weeks of delay. The whole
point of doing oil analysis is to give you timely warning about a
problem developing within your engine, and 3 months is not timely.
My next oil sample is ready to be sent off, and I am debating
whether to use another lab or take another chance on these guys.
Problem is, I bought a bunch of kits from Spruce, which I guess I
could return.
Anybody else have any experience with these guys?
Some
Replies:
I'm not at home and can't provide exact details but my last oil
analysis by these folks, about the same time as yours, took
months and not weeks. And, I get my results by email/website,
not US mail
Aviation Labs told me that my recent oil sample took about 1
month to arrive. My sample was sent in March and I didn't
receive the results until early May... I had to call them to get
the results published on their website.
I sent an oil sample in late November and received results in
February.
Same delay problem here
It was a nice warm sunny day. After work, I decided
to head to the airport to do a bit of cleaning. After all, it's time
to get this RV-7 project back in gear. I start moving
things around then, all of a sudden, I hear a crash. It couldn't be!
Can it? But I keep them in a locking storage bin!
Yes! It WAS!
Why did I leave the bin open? Oh well, they'll go in a misc bin
somewhere until I feel like sorting them.
Motivation
Click for 2,000 pixel-wide image.
Lake Lewisville homes (most built in the 60's & 70's).
photo. GoogleMap
G-TWLV has had some stripey paint applied courtesy of Mick Allen
& Son Aircraft Resprays (UK based). It had its first public outing
to the RV Bonus Day Fly-In at the historic Duxford Aerodrome on
Saturday.
(Scheme was shamelessly based on an Australian RV-7A belonging to
Brian Degenhardt that I saw on the VAF pages
).
Last weekend, Jim Berry offered up his RV-10 (and his time) to
take Alex and his mother flying here in Denver. It was a "Goldy
Locks" day, as Jim puts it. Not too cold, not too hot, juuuuuust
right. Alex is definitely getting stronger, although he still has to
pack on quite a few pounds to be ready for the food choices at
Airventure.
Below is a link to pictures from the day.
https://picasaweb.google.com/1094144...020/May142012#
As an update, I'm still
seeking pilots who would have an empty seat in their RV (or
other type plane) to get Alex and his dad to Oshkosh this year. If
that doesn't work, we'll have to go commercial. Lodging is almost
confirmed, so the only things remaining are transportation, EAA
tickets and potentially ground transportation.
An RV-6 and a little technology
turn what would normally be 4 hours of fighting traffic in the car
into something quite pleasant. If you would like to zoom in on
some of the pictures, look for the
icon. The pictures were uploaded full size, and some are 2,900
pixels wide. (contact)
Thoughts
on safety
For those of you that have closed out your door hinges (usually
those using the McMaster Carr door seals) as shown below, have you
done anything to protect against water pooling inside these
"compartments"? I'm wondering if rain/water will get through to this
and when the door is opened, the geometry of the opening seems it
would make a direct run for the cabin interior.
I'm wondering if a closed cell neoprene or some other material that
is removable for maintenance could be cut or formed and slid into
these pockets to keep the water from pooling. So is the water an
issue and what have others done to prevent the problem?
Some
Replies:
Nope. I didn't do anything. Every time you open the door,
anything that might be in there will fall out anyway. I haven't
flown much in the rain yet, but I can't believe much if any
water will accumulate in there unless it's maybe sitting on the
ramp in a rain storm. Even then, the way the pockets sit, they
aren't likely to get anything in them. You might have some water
sitting on the door jams, but it should run down the sides and
out.
I just covered the area just like it appears you are doing. I am
hoping that if water accumulates it would just run down the roof
or the jam when it rains. I thought about using some silicon
baffle material and making a small gasket to fit around the
hinge and gluing it in place.
"Come join the grass roots RV flyin that started over 20 years
ago. October 12-14, 2012 at Weatherford, OK. We are looking at doing
a Poker Run this year on Saturday October 13, 2012 if there is
enough interest.
Because of the rain out last year we are planning a rain date of
October 19-21. We will call the
rain date on Wednesday October 10, 2012 if heavy rain is likely the
weekend of October 12-14.
FYI last year the airport operations, owned by the City, lost over
$6,000.00 because of the rain out but they are exicited about doing
the Fly In again this year. Saturday evening at LOE 2011 there were
only 11 airplanes on the ramp (6 left early to beat the weather) but
because of the great support of those who flew in and drove in we
raised the small crowd that dug deep in their pockets and we raised
more for the BACKPACK FOOD 4 KIDS charity in 2011 than we gave them
in 2010.
2012 will be the third year of holding the LOE grass roots RV flyin
at Weatherford, Oklahoma. Put it on your calander and join Russ
Kamtz and Russ Daves (Co-Chairs) for the Fly In event at which every
penny raised be the raffle goes to the Charity in cash at the close
of the raffle."
Totally Off Topic
Fri,
May 11, 2012. 1145z Wishing you and yours a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend! (contact)
Thoughts
on safety
Yeah, I couldn't believe it either but there I was at Bootle Bay,
near the west end of Grand Bahama island, with a hammer in one hand
and a piece of siding in the other. Sweaty, dirty, and hot. The only
salvation being a delicious ocean breeze which never stopped,
thankfully.
My brother-in-law bought some beachfront property with access to the
boat canal and is building a dock/guest house for future fishing
trips and a getaway location for family and friends.
I put in my 16 hrs of work for Tommy and earned my right to visit
anytime!
Four hours in the RV from my home base make this a fantastic flying
definition.
more
When building my RV9 ailerons, I found it a real
challenge to bring together the top of the leading edge skin to the
aileron spar. I solved this problem with a ratchet strap under the
work bench and up over the aileron. I used a piece of 2x2
steel tube stock to weigh down the aileron which also made a
convenient place for the ratchet mechanism to sit on (and not
scratch or dent the top skin). The steel bar also assured everything
came out nice and flat and true. I can't tell you how much easier
this makes things. I used the strap to final drill the rivet holes,
and then again to cleco everything back together for riveting.
Advertiser's Corner...sent
in by the advertisers of this site.
●
Tina's Weekly Special...
Totally Off Topic
Thu,
May 10, 2012. 1108z My sister-in-law up in Paoli, PA might be interested in
taking a few flying lessons (empty nesters). I gave her an
airplane ride about two weeks ago - her first flight in small aircraft.
I would be interested in talking with any RV folks with inside gouge on
good instruction around the Brandywine airport area, if any are reading
this. (contact)
Thoughts
on safety
Motivation 101
Please excuse the portrait-mode image below. I turned my 25"
HP monitors on their sides recently and have been playing with
wallpaper. I'm enjoying the monitors like this - like reading
a newspaper one whole page at a time. Ahhhhhh.....
Here's Randy 'Monkey' Richmond yesterday morning.
The winds were calm and the skies clear here around DFW, so I made
the executive decision to blow off breakfast and get some time off
the surface before the school zones went hot. Randy had the
same thoughts as me, and I had the camera...so there ya go.
Back home on the keyboard by 0930. Mental gyros all aligned.
For those who think RV's are too expensive, note that this
flying RV-6 was purchased two years back by Randy and a friend - they have under $30K in it total. Fifteen
grand a person...
...as others have said, go 10". I often have the three
screens active on my 10", the engine page, map and flight. With all three
open you want as much landscape as possible. I only have one 10" but have
provided room for the second on the copilot side. When I can afford it I'm
going for the second screen
The first flight(s) of N29JV have gone off very well. (I have yet
to write up a first flight report). No significant issues. Plane
flies straight and true hands off. All electronics and
instrumentation work fine (Dynon Skyview system, GNS430W and
PAR100EX radio/audio panel/intercom). However, I have been
experiencing high CHTs on climbs, particularly the intial climb, on
all but cylinder 3. Typical temperatures in cylinder order for
initial climb on an 80 degree day at IAS of 130 are 420, 422, 373,
409. Typical cruise temps - 370,375,370,371 or lower. Cylinder 3
consistently runs in the 360 to 370 range climb or cruise.
I have meticulously sealed all gaps between baffle and engine and
replaced sagging baffle seal made up of the material supplied with
Vans FWF kit with the heavier 1/8 silicon fiberglass reinforced
material from ACS, which slightly improved temps.
Regarding break in (the engine is a new Lycoming O-320), oil
consumption appears to stabilized after 14 hours.
I am looking for suggestions regarding 1) why temperatures are high
in climb and 2) what would explain the behavior of cylinder 3 which
run so much cooler than the others in climb and does not very much
between climb and cruise
Some
Replies:
Just a suggestion...try switching CHT probe between #3 & # 1 and
see if problem follows the probe or #3 remains the lowest cht
John, if you're not going at least 135-145 MPH during the climb,
speed it up....you're still early in the break-in
My temps were high in climb until recently. As indicated, the
engine may have stabilized in oil burn at 14 hours but is not
completely broken in.
I kept climbing at higher speeds until recently (I have 66
hours) and now the temps are all within a normal range for climb
and cruise. (and that's at higher OAT's here in Florida. Oh, and
yes the gear leg fairings and wheel pants help increase flow if
yours are not on yet
Can somebody mail me their calibration readings of the tank.
One can scroll through all the steps in edit. I found unusual
non lineiarities and end up with Skyview telling me the max is 16
gallons whilst i poor 20 in. The readings are linear up to 13
gallons and triple in voltage steps for the last few gallons.
I checked the sensor over its full range before closing the tank and
it was fine and liniair. Very annoying is that during
calibration the window does not scroll after line 8 so you cannot
see what's being stored in edit you can scroll but not during
the calibration process
Some
Replies:
Look closely at your fuel tank from the side and visualize where
the float is when it is "floated" to the top of the tank.
Now look at the tank behind that point. It slopes upward to a
higher elevation than the point where the float is located.
Because of this, the sensor does not detect any added fuel that
is located in any of the area above the highest level of the
float. This is not an issue since it only effects the first 4
gallons that you will burn during a flight (as long as the
indicated fuel level begins to drop after 45-60 minutes of
flight, you know everything is normal. If it changes to indicate
15 gallons in a shorter time than that, you know that something
is wrong (maybe a leak).
As Pilots, we usually care the most about fuel gauges being
accurate when we start getting near the lower fuel quantities.
On an RV-12, the fuel level indication is actually very accurate
from about 15 gallons on down to zero (but normal cross check
procedures using time should still always be done to verify).
Hey - getting ready to start the engine for the first time and
found one of those things that will keep you up at night.
I was going through my fuel system to make sure that everything was
locked down... when I checked the one of the fuel lines going into
the Andiar valve, the nipple came out of the valve still attached to
the fuel line
.....
none of the screws that attach each of the nipples to the valve were
installed
When I got home, I found the box the valve came in... and there were
the screws with a note that they left them out incase you need to
change the orientation of the nipples. This is the first thing in my
build that I have screwed up so far that I think really could have
killed me.... so if you are using an Andair valve, you might want to
check to make sure you have those 8 small, but very important screws
installed.
Today I removed the flap tape from my RV10 because it had
yellowed badly. I bought 2 eraser pad wheels and for an RV10, it
took both. This is a picture 20 min into the process. I did get both
flaps done today and they look much better.
I have a removable scoop for the Bowers ram air, and the slot
runs up into the scoop opening-----I have only a small amount of the
original glass at the front of the cowl to hold the unit together
when the scoop is off.
I made a "U" shaped reinforcement out of alum, about 3" wide, .090"
thick that helps keep the lower/rear portion from being too floppy,
(it is like the front fork brace on a dirt bike) when the scoop is
off.
I also made up a filler like Sean did, and added a bit of wet suit
material to close out as much of the slot as I could, but allow
freedom of movement to the nose leg.
It is still a pain to get the lower cowl off, as it still needs to
be carefully jockeyed over the nose pant, and between the two prop
blades.
Turned my two HP 25" monitors on their edge and
selected 'landscape' in the Control Panel / Display settings.
That's much better for hours-long surfing and getting the site ready
for the next day. Cell phone picture....
Just landed. (To be honest I really haven't landed yet :-)
Two hours of flight and 10 bounce & go's and some cloud dancing at
9000 ft's. The 4 is so amazing to fly
enlarge
Today was a great day for the gathering of the RVs at Heritage
field (KPTW) and the honor to host the RV1's visit, even with the
delay due to weather. Low ceiling till mid-morning delayed the RV1
till early afternoon. With that said we had 40+ planes arrive for
the fly-in and the majority of the planes were RV’s from the area.
Everyone at Heritage opened up their hangers and welcomed everyone.
Today was especially fun since we had time spent talking to fellow
RV builders and airplane enthusiasts!
more
Fri,
May 4, 2012. 1135z Friday! Tomorrow will be 28 years since I met the wifey
(10,226 days). I've also been a private pilot for 5,650 days -
solo'd a little over 502,156,000 seconds ago (it's a spreadsheet).
Nerd. On a related note, since I only get to say this once a
year...."May the 4th be with you." Is this mic on? Wishing you and yours a a happy, safe and RV-filled weekend. (contact)
Thoughts
on safety
I'm a newbie in the RV world, just purchased N51RV, a "3". I have
3000 hours of taildragger time, have owned 2 Cubs, 2 Stearmans, and
currently also own a T-6D Texan. Without a doubt , N51RV is the
finest flying airplane I've had the privilege to fly. Wow. I get it
now. Looking forward to the RV universe...
Stan Markus, Oconomowoc, WI.
Ok, here's the story. seems that this time i really need some
help:
as you all know the lycoming baffles are attached to the engine via
several bolts, some at the cylinders and some at the crankcase. one
of these bolts is located right behind cylinder #3 and very close to
that funny hole that is there to house a black plastic tube thing
where you screw in your oil dipstick. maybe some of you now suspect
what happened...
i tried to final attach the baffles today. to get access to that
aforementioned phillips screw i removed the black oil dipstick tube
and wanted to get the bolt into the hole. then a heard a noise like
this... bling, ding, ding, dong.
thing is that one bolt, one washer and one lockwasher are now not
where they supposed to be. these suckers where falling through the
dipstick hole and do now hide somewhere inside the crankcase.
if you should sympathize with my problem, you are maybe willing to
answer the following questions.
December 2010 my brother, Rob, shows up and places a
piece of paper on my desk and says " You OWN half of this" (pic).
The paper turns out to be the receipt for an RV-8 empennage.
A few days later it shows up. Last fall we purchased
previously owned but untouched quick build wings, quick
build fuselage, and finishing kit.
Empennage is finished except for the glass work.
Currently working on the wings. I had hoped to get more work
done over the winter but there were a few other projects
that got in the way.
There's been lots of discussion on the
forums about the rubber elbow that Van's supplies to connect
the crankcase vent fitting on the engine to the aluminum
tube that runs down the firewall. Basically, this elbow is a
NAPA 9816 formed 90 degree heater bypass hose for some car
or truck. The problem is that since it is a coolant hose, it
doesn't stand up well to oil vapor in our application and
turns gummy after a while. Proper MIL spec hose is available
- but not in a formed 90 degree elbow which is what you need
to hook up to the aluminum tube from Van's. What's really
needed is a 3/4" diameter formed 90 degree Positive
Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) hose.
After digging around quite a bit, with no luck, I finally
ran across this...more
...If you have the later modified one you should be able to get a
ball-end allen on the top left bolt after removing the carb. If you have to
take off the drip pan you will need to replace the O-ring so you might
consider ordering that ahead of time. You can find the part number in the
online Rotax Illustrated Parts list. If you have the original cooling
shroud then you will need to modify it. As Marty said the service bulletin
shows how to modify it. Before the company service bulletin came out some of
us did it by making a removable piece to allow access to the bolt...
more
pics
Wed,
May 2, 2012. 1133z Pushing 90ºF here in N.Texas yesterday. Shorts in
daily rotation and went to WalMart for a bag of (5) 2XL white T-shirts
last night (on sale for $12). Summer uniform is here, I'm afraid.
(contact)
Thoughts
on safety
● From House to Hangar ...on
foot.
Nate Benson 9A (Ephrata, WA)
Sunday evening we had friends over for dinner, so instead of
walking the dog.... We took 608MA for a walk. It's about a
mile from my house to the hanger, and it was perfect weather for a
walk. My buddy Nate was the mule.
I was tugging and steering.
(from another reply) Nobody even knew about it. It was an
impulse... The conversation went like this:
Friend: "Dinner was great. Where you at with the plane Nate?"
Me: "I'm running out of things to do on it. Mainly just fiberglass
stuff. Fuse is ready to move out of the garage so I can get the wing
tips done and get the wings installed."
Friend: "Let's move it."
Me: "Ok!"
Didn't even think about having someone take a decent photo or video
(which I regret now).
Some friends of mine came to our annual fly-in BBQ last weekend
to test their new remotely piloted camera platform. Much of the
video in this clip was shot at our fly-in. Very neat. Watch for the
blue and gray RV-9....
Milestones
● No Leaks...Tom Argentieri 9a (Yardley, PA)
Building Tips / Techniques/ Mods
● RV-9 Floatplane ...owned by
Karl Johnston (Alaska)
Plane does around 145 - 150 mph IAS on floats at 75% down low. It
has a BA 72 " CS propeller. I put it on Baumman 2100 straight
floats. It gets on the step right now and takes off remarkably
quick. Empty weight is 1235#.
IFR ● Geo-ref'd ILS/LOC RWY 16L at KAFW ForeFlight on the iPhone...from
the hangar my RV-6 is in.
It was a cold windy morning in Denver last Saturday, 43F and wind
270@22G30, a perfect morning for Young Eagle flights. Yeah right. I
was standing out by my plane talking to some of the ground crew when
our YE Coordinator came running out of the terminal and I new it was
me he wanted to talk to.
"Gary, have you met Alex yet?. Well your about to as its your turn
to fly" I went to the terminal with Rudy and met Alex and his
mother. We walked out to the plane with Alex shivering the whole
way. He strength was not great so I had him crawl up the wing (no
step 6A) and help him into the seat. I quickly jumped in my side and
closed the canopy to get us out of the wind. With the sun through
the canopy Alex quit shivering. Engine start and marshaled out of
the parking spot and we're off on our adventure.
While taxiing I queried Alex about his current health and we talked
about the upcoming flight. During run-up ground asked another pilot
if it was bumpy today and the reply was, Yes, very bumpy. Oh great.
After a short hold for landing traffic we were cleared to takeoff on
26 with a right turn to downwind. Takeoff was short with the 22G30
knot wind and the climb to crosswind was smooth. We had 5 miles
before we got out of the Class D and into the Class B. This went
fast as the winds at 6500' pushed us along at 190kts across the
ground.
Once into the 7000 foot ceiling of Bravo I turned NE and
demonstrated to Alex how easy it was to fly an RV. After a couple of
minutes I said the airplane was his and had him practice some turns,
first left then right. The bumps turned into lumps which was good.
Alex was a natural. I don't say that about many kids but Alex
maneuvered without the standard altitude deviation of most YE's. At
this point I told Alex that if he was my only YE today, so be it. We
turned north till we hit the Platte river and followed it NE for a
while and practiced more turns doing slow s-turns till we got sick
of s-turns. We eventually headed back to the airport and after 1:05
from takeoff to landing we were back. I think Alex enjoyed his ride.
Alex is a bright aviation oriented 16 year old with more courage
than I. He's facing an unknown with his tumor but is upbeat and
generally a happy young man with dreams of going to Oshkosh. I hope
we can get him there.
Extraordinary Young Eagles are few. Alex is one that I will always
remember.
.
Well,
tonight was later. I turned it on with the same results as before.
It must need three new batteries, or so I thought.
Below is a link to pictures from the day. 
icon. The pictures were uploaded full size, and some are 2,900
pixels wide. 
