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What did you do with your RV this weekend (September 25-26, 2021)?

DeltaRomeo

doug reeves: unfluencer
Staff member
Saturday morning I flew over to Bridgeport (KXBP) for some gas …

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Gas Run​

…and while I was there some friends text-suggested I fly over to nearby Gainesville (KGLE) - the LoneStar STOL competition was going on. David and Dawn had a shade tent set up right at the line. Okey doke.

I’ll be there in 14 minutes :).

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Umpire in the zone…​

Saw Jay Pratt’s ‘Shooter’, called his phone (VM), and walked around some looking for him. No joy. Bumped into Mike Clark and Don C. (BC Squadron mates). When I got back to my plane to leave there was a card from Jay - he found my plane too. ;^). Re-checked in with some other RV folk I stumbled across. Would have stayed longer, but I couldn’t find a food truck and I had the hungies.

I did get one short video of a Courier scratching.

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Back home (around DTO’s airspace)
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This plane is amazing. 1.1 hours on a pleasant Saturday morning in the RV. A lot for me <grin>. Felt nice to see a non-simulated sky.

Hope you’re having a nice weekend.

v/r,dr​
 
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Denver to SRQ

New personal best nonstop, flew my -10 with standard tanks 775NM in 4.5 hours from FSM to 48X.
 
I saw a world famous RV today.

But yea the food truck didn’t show up till almost 2pm.
 

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Not quite the weekend, but...

On Friday morning, Sept. 24, my RV-7 flew for the first time out of Aerocountry! Chuck Wilson was at the controls, with Jeff Hansen flying chase in his RV-4. Everything went fairly well; I have a couple of issues to work through.

Almost a 12-year build, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

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On Friday morning, Sept. 24, my RV-7 flew for the first time out of Aerocountry! Chuck Wilson was at the controls, with Jeff Hansen flying chase in his RV-4. Everything went fairly well; I have a couple of issues to work through.

Almost a 12-year build, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
...
Congrats Pete! I can see why you are smiling!
 
Nothing exciting. I am buttoning up my 6A completing the Condition Inspection. Not as limber as when I built and did first condition inspection 15 years ago so stomach muscles sore from crouching inside checking torque on the wing attach bolts.

I am putting in new ELT. What’s up with buying a ELT for $600-900 with the battery pack replacement around $200 but they don’t give you the $3 battery in the kit for the remote display? Not able to sign it off airplane as needed to order the battery as it is non-standard enough that 2 local stores do not stock it.
 
9/24/21

Nice shot of mountain lake on trip to Knoxville TN for burger and fries from GA.
 

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Great flying wx in the East

Flew with Butch to Knoxville on Friday. Then to TripleTree on Saturday.

 
Landed my new RV-7A at my Ranch strip in Texas for first time. XS95 on Foreflight. All of the last 30+ h of flying have in ay 8000' or higher (Colorado) so I'm experiencing the RV grin at sea level. It's a big smile. STOL capabilities are impressive down here in the thick air. Some pix flying out of Colorado are shown. 180-190 kt ground speeds coming south (162-165kts TAS) LOP and about 8.3gph. Mounted my Mountain High O2 system (in baggage compartment)and it worked great. Highly recommend this for mountain flights.
 

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Owner-assisted condition inspection time

Following our return from Minneapolis on the heels of strong cold front, spent yesterday stripping it down so we can begin the condition inspection tomorrow. So far, everything looks good and expect to be back flying by the end of the week.
 

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Bowstring Airport MN

Flew to Bowstring airport, 9Y0, in northern MN. The strip is just on the east side of Bowstring Lake, seen off my wing in the first picture. They had a 3 day fly-in/camp-in this weekend. Many of the maple trees were peaking, while many other types are still green. I had a fillet of walleye that was excellently prepared, and a bowl of chili. My route towards the SW took me right over one of the larger lakes in MN, Leech. Gorgeous day for flying. There were 3 RV's there during the one hour I was there.
 

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We Got Pictures

Got panel fired up still a few error messages, but seems to be software issues. I am declaring wiring (mostly) done.
 

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No flying this weekend; hangar door could not be opened, so it was being fixed. Now that hangar door opens, so flying on Tuesday. But there's no "What did you do with your RV on Tuesday thread... ;)

Instead of flying, I took a 700 mile motorcycle ride.. and rode past Oceano, CA this morning..which is where the last RV meetup was. Hence, this post is RV related!
 
Colors have started to turn finally

We flew up to Westin pass, across Leadville, and landed to say hi to the nice folks in Buena Vista (KAEJ). The colors have finally started to turn. This is a photo of the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness area, just as you enter Westin Pass. Hope you all had a great weekend.

Geoff
 

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On Saturday morning I headed over to 2R4 for some formation flying; this is Perdido Key early in the morning:


On initial to Peter Prince I caught the "Ducks" - a four-ship of war bird Piper Cub's - as they were headed to Fairhope AL!


I joined up with a couple local Yak-52's and a T-34A for some beachfront four-ship formation warmup enroute to KCQF:


On Sunday morning the wife and I headed to Destin FL for lunch; Pensacola Beach was packed as always!


We passed the historic Hurlburt AFB beachfront airfield; kind of cool to see how a CV-22 blew sand away on spot 3:


It's always impressive to see just how tall the Eglin range control tower is..


Lunch at "Harbor Docks" did not disappoint - we will be back!


Fort Pickens in the evening light:


We managed to made it to Ferguson before the Blues returned to NAS Pensacola from their airshow at MCAS Cherry Point.


Safe on deck, 82J!
 
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Flew into Triple Tree on 9/24

Flew a 1 hour flight into Triple Tree on Friday, 9/24, for their fly-in. The runway seemed a little soft on landing as I slowed down quicker than usual on their grass in my -7A. On takeoff later in the day, there was a noticeable acceleration after the mains broke ground.

I thought their Friday seminars were outstanding. It's too bad that not more than 2 dozen pilots attended any of them in a room that could hold over a hundred.

A few things from the Michelin seminar got my attention. First, the rep was unaware of the good reputation their inner tubes have for low leakage, although the company officially recommends checking tire pressure before every flight. Second, the marketing people figured out that Goodyear tires had better wear characteristics because the tread was thicker than Michelin. So, they pushed the Michelin engineers to be more competitive, which resulted in Michelin introducing the Pilot tires, which have a thicker tread than their previous series of tires. Third, they are considering developing an 11-400x5 tire to fit RV 2-seater nosewheels and other applications. I'm not sure who you would lobby to encourage the company to follow through on that.

The RAF seminar generally highlighted their airfield improvement efforts and those efforts aren't all "out west". For example, the RAF helped out in Connecticut at Goodspeed Airport (42B). They'll consider helping with at risk airports that present the right circumstances and offer other recreational opportunities nearby. They also are experienced at addressing private airport owner's liability concerns about allowing other pilots to use their airfield. I have some interest in what the RAF does, but hadn't joined. I'm a member now and, why not, there are no dues, i.e. it's free.
 
Flew my RV-14A from KIKW (Midland, Mi) to KGAD (Gadsden, AL) for Evoke aviation to begin the painting process. A beautiful day with great weather and strong tail winds (200kt ground speed most of the way). Looking forward to seeing the excellent work that Jonathan is known for!
 

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NMPA Mountain Flying Course

Flew to KABQ for the New Mexico Pilots Association's Mountain Flying Course. While there, also flew over to Double Eagle for the 2021 LOEFI (Land of Enchantment Fly In). Met some GREAT folks and had a great time flying the mountains! John Lorenz was my CFI for the flight. He's an AWESOME instructor as well as a genuinely nice man.
 

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Smoke out over LA

I was hoping to fly the California Central Valley south and meet my daughter in Long Beach. Flew 2 hours to Grapevine hills that are where the valley meets SoCal. As I came over the hills I ran into a wall of smoke that was definitely IFR. Unfortunately I had to turn around and start the 2+ hour ride back. Decided to stop at Harris Ranch and treat myself to a $250 Burger! Great burger!!! I saw a famous RV parking at the ranch. Gorgeous RV-10!
 

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