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What did you do with your RV this weekend? (3/18 thru 3/19, 2023)

4 ship lunch run

Flew with 3 other RVs to Quincy CA
 

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Repurposed

Repurposed fuselage stand into a wing install fixture with dihedral, tilt and beight adjustment.
 

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On Friday the Navy was quite busy on the waters of Puget Sound. Heading to Chehalis for lunch saw a ballistic missile sub coming back to the Bangor sub base with its five-boat escort. Saw the USS Barry (DDG-52), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, returning to Naval Station Everett following six years of forward-deployment in Japan. And saw the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) departing the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton for sea trials after an 18 month overhaul before eventually sailing to San Diego.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt heading out:

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On Saturday flew back via Mt. Olympus after lunch at Westport. It was good to see it covered in snow.

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I did what I have to do

I've had a lot of non-RV weekends lately but today I put in a few hours of sanding on the front halves of the repaired and reconfigured wheel fairings. I could have had them completely finished months ago, but it's hard for me to do work I really dislike when I know there's no time pressure.
 

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Nice pictures! I spent three nights aboard the TR off Cape Henry / Virginia Beach about twenty years ago - nephew in the Black Lions squadron got me a spot on a Tiger Cruise. They were very protective of the boat - dispatched a helo to rotor-wash a pleasure boat that ventured too close as we sailed past the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Those boaters got hosed big time.

I wonder how the skipper felt about a private aircraft more or less directly overhead.
 
Nice pictures! I spent three nights aboard the TR off Cape Henry / Virginia Beach about twenty years ago - nephew in the Black Lions squadron got me a spot on a Tiger Cruise. They were very protective of the boat - dispatched a helo to rotor-wash a pleasure boat that ventured too close as we sailed past the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Those boaters got hosed big time.

I wonder how the skipper felt about a private aircraft more or less directly overhead.

Wow, that's pretty cool!

And thanks! I never get too close, especially above the ballistic missile subs with their five-boat armed escorts about.

The Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca have lots of GA traffic overhead, along with airliners, commuter airliners, Boeing experimental and factory pre-delivery flights, and EA-18G Growlers, P-3 Orions and P-8 Poseidons from Whidbey NAS.

A ballistic missile sub coming back to the Bangor sub base:

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I did get intercepted once in the Olympic MOA by Growlers. The Olympic MOA has gotten much busier since then with the addition of many more Growlers based at Whidbey NAS in recent years, so I just avoid it when it's hot.
 
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Finished CI#7

Finished my CI. For reference, no significant out of normal changes or replacements, just a by-the-check sheet CI. About 22 real labor hours over four days from out of service to back in service, paperwork done. It was oddly enjoyable, no surprises. 42F is about as cold as I like to work though. Now we wait for WX to be permissive. :)
 
I continued working on my wife's "she shed" in an effort to regain control of my airplane factory floor!
 
I flew out to Bermuda Dunes to take my wife's cousin -- a retired firefighter and private pilot -- for a ride in the RV-6. He's been looking for an RV of his own. Hopefully some inspiration was provided.

Being from that vicinity, he was able to point out sights that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise: Painted Canyon (he told some interesting stories of helicopter rescues down there), the Empire Polo Club (where the Coachella Music Festival takes place), the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament, etc along with some other history of the area.

On the way back home, I got some practice filing an urgent pilot report.
Despite having my lap belt cinched down tight, a few moments of severe turbulence in the Banning Pass had my head hitting the canopy hard several times. Thankfully nothing appeared to be damaged. But the small metal travel chocks that were INSIDE my tool bag in the cargo area ended up on the floor next to the copilot rudder pedals. The only thing I recall was a brief clanging sound and something yellow flying past my face.

In my head, the voice of Darth Vader said, "Impressive. Most impressive."

--Ron
 
Finally replaced the electric heater in my garage that quit 2 years ago, it was $106 on Amazon and I reused the existing cord/plug on the old heater. Kicking myself for not doing it sooner.
All of a sudden I don’t mind working out there and the temp agrees with sealants/fiberglass etc.
Slow but steady process re-sealing my tank. 2 areas were leaking on the lower rear baffle but I decided to reseal everything while the tank was off. Slow going but a lighted makeup mirror and harbor freight acid brushes seem to be doing a decent job. I replaced my flop tube with a fixed fuel pickup tube and installed the sending unit in the first bay on the cover plate.
 

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Mississippi headwaters - Lake Itaska

Flew north from home base about 20m to grab this shot of the very beginning of the Mississippi's long journey to the gulf. The river heads north initially, and can be seen just above the landing light.
 

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Took my granddaughter up

Hayden is 8 and finally got up the nerve to go with me. When we were putting the airplane away after, she was begging me to take her up again.
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Flying for food…..

Saturday I flew solo to Cleveland TN (KRZR) for the $10/plate CAP breakfast. Nice conversations with several folks.About 120nm each way from Hensley.
Sunday my neighbor Pat joined me and we flew to Columbia, SC (KCAE) for our first meeting of the South Carolina Breakfast Club. Another $10/plate breakfast prepared by EAA Chapter 242. 30 airplanes and about 80-90 attendees.

About the South Carolina Breakfast Club: "It's a home cooked southern breakfast, great fellowship and flying! Every other Sunday since 1938, pilots & aviation enthusiasts in and near South Carolina have meet for breakfast. That's it! No dues, no meeting requirements!" The SCBC missed a few meetings during WWII and more because of COVID. Pat and are now lifetime members!

Today (Monday) Capt Sandy and I flew to Elizabethton (0A9), borrowed the courtesy car, had a nice lunch at The Southern Restaurant, then shopped “antique“ stores for an end table before returning to the airport, filled the fuel tanks and had a nice short flight home.

Regards,
 

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I actually got to fly for the first time since late February. Living on a grass strip has some limitations. I need okay weather, the runway plowed, and the ground frozen. All 3 came together on Sunday. Monday too, sort of. Temperature warmed to mid 30s and the ground started to thaw. Now I have a muddy RV-6 very much in need of a wash.
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Andy (crabandy) sent you a pm. From photo it appears there may be a dam of sealant surrounding the fuel sump hole. This could hold back moisture when sumping the tank.
 
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Not on the weekend, but taken today:

Paine Field (KPAE) and the Boeing Everett Plant. Looks like 777Xs are stacking up on the diagonal runway, and four in the parking lot just west of the factory. The flight line is full, as are the employee parking lots.

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A couple of ballistic missile subs tied up at Bangor sub base:

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