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What did you do with your RV this weekend? (6/4-5/2022)

Left work at noon yesterday. Flew the RV-6 from Cartersville, GA to Sulphur Springs, TX to pick up my son who'd spent the week with his Grandparents. RTB'd later in the afternoon.

Today - RV-10 stuff...
 
3 test flights, each ending with, "tower, golf x-ray alpha need to return, no emergency," while on climb out, trying to solve #3 high temps for the last few months. :mad:
 
I missed out on flying my RV this weekend and ended up flying the CAF Curtiss SB2C Helldiver at the Reading, PA airshow instead; Friday morning I was hopping some paid rides in it and met my second passenger of the day, Alan Olsen. We chatted a bit and I asked his background; former Army L-19 FAC, retired airline pilot, owns an RV-8... wait, what? I built/fly an RV-8! So then we veer from talking warbirds to talking about RVs for awhile... but, he’s here for a flight in a rather unique warbird, so we saddled up the Helldiver and went for a ride. I’m pretty sure he liked it! It flies like a 15,000 pound RV... kinda; I wish we had controls in back so he could have given them a wiggle.

So even though I didn’t get to RVate this weekend, a couple of RV dudes geeking out over a cool old dive bomber was a pretty good time...
 

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Just before the weekend, but anyway...
First Flight of my RV-10 VH-XRK.
My hangar mate Glenn Bridgland completed the first 2 flights, and then I had a go.
All went smoothly.
Barrett with CAI, Hartzell composite, showplanes cowl with my own plenum.
Garmin Panel and a mix of AeroSport and my own consoles/panel and SFSA upholstery.

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At last I get to share a flying weekend!

Continued Phase 1. Flew from PTK to 77G; refueled and did some pattern work before returning to PTK. It was a great day to fly. Next week I'll be doing the first engine oil change and fixing a few things. Then back to flying! :D
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Hildesheim(D) RV Fly-in

I flew up to this event in Germany - it was excellent!

https://rv-pilots.eu/Images/RV-FlyIn_2022_EDVM.pdf

There were lots of RVs there from Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, and I believe one or two from Germany! :D

It was well-organized, weather was great, and I got to meet many VAFers in real life. What an amazing group of people!

Coming back from a short trip up to the North Sea island of Baltrum, taxiing back to the parking, there were helicopters flying, parachuting, a P-51, DC-3, RV formation flying, and aerobatics all happening at about the same time.

I'm a crappy photographer so no way I could capture the moment, but here's two of my favorite photos from the weekend.

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I'm a crappy photographer

not at all Mickey, nice picts, and you captured the nicest RVs on the field, though yours is kinda sitting shy ;)

Enjoyed the same event, and also quickly hopped over to Sweden in Falköping, for the EAA Sweden chapter fly-in. As can be seen, the event had a record number of members flying in :D
 

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Flying around Sat, found this lil gem. Small Airport in Sewanee, TN.
 

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Flying from Hensley for Food

On the first Saturday of the month in Hillsboro, Oregon, Roy and I would be flipping pancakes for the EAA 105 Chapter. Now, here in our new home, we joined 8 other aircraft from Hensley Airpark for EAA 1494 breakfast at Morristown, TN. KMOR. Great breakfast and fun time visiting with our new neighbors from Hensley. The 8 aircraft included our RV-7A, an RV 12, RV 8-A, a Stinson, a V-Tail Bonanza, a PA28-140 Cherokee and a gyrocopter, and an RV-6

Today, we took advantage of the lovely day and flew north to Big Sandy Regional in Kentucky - KSJS. The Cloud 9 Cafe makes a great lunch!
A helicopter with a long mower on a cable was parked on the ramp. One of our Hensley neighbors flies one of these. Amazing that a helicopter can carry all the gear - the cable was heavy!

Having fun exploring our new home!

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East of SLC.. beautiful!

My wife wanted to do a hiking event at Snow basin, so we hopped in the -4 and left Vegas. Two hours later, we were landing up in the mountains! So petty up there, much cooler than Las Vegas, and the people are so nice! The next day while she was hiking up and down the ski slopes several times, I met with some RV and Rocket guys and did almost two hours of 2 ship and 7 ship formation and BFM in the Utah valleys! Didn’t get any pictures or video of that, but it was some of the most fun I’ve had in this plane yet.. oh and I got to fly over Snow Basin where my wife saw us!
 

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EAA Sweden fly-in

My son Love and I flew down to Falkoping (ESGK) in my RV-7A, SE-XLL, for the EAA Sweden Flyin. 123 visiting airplanes, many RV's, nice weather, many friends.

Lennart Oborn
RV-7A, SE-XLL
 

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Leadville. Bucket list, check.
 

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Took it apart and started painting it!

It's been a LONG two weekends. Mid-80's inside the hangar. LOTS of unexpected pinholes despite the DanH neat epoxy skim coat(s) and nothing showing through the primer or tack coats. Flood the final color coat for gloss and BOOM - hundreds of pinholes in all my painstaking fiberglass finish work. Oh, well - if I wanted a two-foot paint job I would not have tackled it myself with neighborhood help, right? Total outlay for A&P painter (with my full-time assistance) and the Stewart Systems waterborne paint: $5,500. Total weight gain - to be determined, and posted here. A full-on cut and buff is in my future, probably when the weather begins to cool a bit in the fall.
 

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A helicopter with a long mower on a cable was parked on the ramp. One of our Hensley neighbors flies one of these. Amazing that a helicopter can carry all the gear - the cable was heavy

Huh? For real? I don’t get this. How the heck is this used?
 
European RV meeting @EDVM (Hildesheim, Germany)

I attended the same event as Mickey, Dan and many others.
The meeting was combined with a vintage aircraft FlyIn, therefore you see also other very interesting airplanes on the picture.

It was not a huge FlyIn, but it was very personal, relaxed and provided a very nice warm & cozy feeling. Especially after the absence of such events throughout the last two years over here.

Weather was a bit tricky for the southern folks as their way home was not predicted to be troublefree.

Thanks to everybody who participated and made this event to what it was!

See u next year!
 

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Georgia to Chicago and back

Needed to go to Chicago for some personal business. The stars (actually the weather) seemed to align perfectly so i cancelled my flite on Southwest and powered up the RV.
Took off just as the sun was rising, and before the cloud layer moved in and KPXE in Perry Georgia went IFR. Had a nice tailwind all the way north. Fuel & facilities stop in Bedford Indiana, Grissom Muni KBFR. Then on to Dupage airport KDPA in W. Chicago. 603 nautical miles and 4.3 flite hours.
Had to partake my 2 favorite restaurants - Portillos and Gene & Judes. Italian beef and hot dogs with fries.
Departed Dupage and made a diversion to 3MY, Mt Hawley Illinois, near Peoria. Visited with Tim, an RV7A guy i met at OSH a few years ago. His plane N54LH.
We gassed up and he flew loose formation with me as i headed south. Having spent 3 nights in the north, the weather gods consented and gave me a nice tailwind going south. Tailwind both directions - RARE.
Quick F&F stop at Beech River Regional KPVE in Lexington, Tennessee and then on to home KPXE. 696 nautical miles and 4.6 hours.
Totally AWESOME machine.
 

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I found a little airport with self-serve 100LL for $4.90/gallon!! Filled the RV-4 to overflowing and and wished I had a couple of 5 gallon jugs with me!
 
My weekend started with a long 4 hour drive to Hillsdale Michigan for a funeral for my departed Uncle. Next day his brother in law, my last remaining Uncle, passed. Funeral at the same location. 4 hour (nonstop) drive home Friday made it imperative that I needed a time machine. My good friend Jay let me borrow his RV7A on Sunday (I am a listed pilot on his insurance policy). 1+05 northbound (200 NM), 1+15 back home southbound made coping with the loss much better.
Tied down at KJXN during the services:

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Thank you Jay!
 
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As promised, an update

How much does an RV-10 bargain-basement special paint job weigh?

About 19 pounds.

This is a twenty foot job that needs ample cut and buff and probably will have some color changes added as well as pin striping down the road. Certainly some new vinyl N-numbers as one character blew off on the first cross-country a few days ago as did a few inches of the non-skid tape on one wing root. Oh well.
 

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Super!

How much does an RV-10 bargain-basement special paint job weigh?

About 19 pounds.

This is a twenty foot job that needs ample cut and buff and probably will have some color changes added as well as pin striping down the road. Certainly some new vinyl N-numbers as one character blew off on the first cross-country a few days ago as did a few inches of the non-skid tape on one wing root. Oh well.

Looking good Doc! Who was cleaning the paint shop floor? :D

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Floors of the basement shop (where we did the removable parts) and the hangar are both permanent-pink from the burgundy overspray. Saving the cleanup job for you, Vlad.

I think a pressure washing will deal with most of it - about to find out.

As a matter of fact, I did primary floor-wetting duty with hose and squeegee while Mike operated the spray gun and created all the runs and orange peel. Fun times.
 
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