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VAF Charity Cap Sightings

Good thing you are not a lawyer Doug, the guy behind you has a taste for those!

Martin Sutter
Building and flying RV's since 1988
EAA Technical Counselor
 
Those VAF Hats wind up in the coolest places!

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RV-12 Expo 2014

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Kaitlyn Tepe - Event organizer extraordinaire!

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Jerome Martin - RV-12 Builder

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Cleco Speed Contest - Two of Synergy's most beautiful & talented!
 
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RV-7 Build Crew! I think it was a reunion or something.

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West Thumb, Yellowstone National Park. I tried to get the elk to wear it, but...
 
Hat sighting in Sydney

Bonnie and I flew, no not our RV, to Sydney to visit Australia for a week before going to New Zealand. Yesterday we took a harbor cruise and went to a ballet at the Opera House.

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We will be on the New Zealand flying tour starting next week.
 
Got my mug between the Subaru and Twin Keck telescopes while visiting the Mauna Kea Observatories in Hawaii last week. At 13,677' it would have been nice to have some O2... ;) Outstanding place to visit so go there if you are ever on the 'Big Island'...

http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/

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HAT SIGHTING - INSIDE THE FUSION REACTOR...

Hello Doug and VAF community,
This is my hat sighting post. In keeping with your front page posting back on October 15th, 2013, they finally shut down the fusion reactor and I was able to get my hat sighting picture. I can neither confirm nor deny that a hat was sighted inside the DIII-D Tokomak magnetic fusion reactor. Thanks for VAF and the entertainment value it brings. Kind Regards, TG.
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Maybe Bigger than my RV grin

My grin after a 45 minute ride with Blue Angel #7 was at least as big as the one I had back in 2009 when I first flew my RV-7a "Sky Terrier." An awesome ride and we hit a maximum just over 8G.

For some awesome pictures check out the Blue Angels Facebook page. Our airshow this weekend has The Blues, the Snowbirds and the Viper East F-16 Demo Team. I am the POC for the Snowbirds this weekend - totally awesome.

I know I have used the word Awesome a lot but I did I say it is an awesome weekend :D
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https://www.facebook.com/USNavyBlueAngels
 
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Local news hat sighting

With Mark S - wins an award for his sweet RV9 and gets on TV. I had one of my many VAF hats on for the interview.

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Beijing Van's store

Found this store in a mall located in Beijing China. Didn't find any RV items there, only clothing.


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Found this store in a mall located in Beijing China. Didn't find any RV items there, only clothing.


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Hmmm. Wonder who used who's logo. Being as I grew up in the 70s skateboarding and surfing I knew that Vans logo before I knew of the RV version.
Regardless still would like a hat if they were available in a nice flex fit.

ed: Nice hat, but not mine! And I have one, too <g>. v/r,dr]
 
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Love the scenery!! My wife and I love to bare boat charter out of the BVI. Usually use Sunsail. Sailing is our other passion.

gene, welcome to the =VAF= family. nice ti see you have been to the bvi too. i have been coming here for 35 years. a piece of paradise. great bio. keep the posts coming. turbo out.
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It was a great aerobatic contest today at X35. At least 5 RV's competed. It was great to just sit and watch.

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gene, welcome to the =VAF= family. nice ti see you have been to the bvi too. i have been coming here for 35 years. a piece of paradise. great bio. keep the posts coming. turbo out.

Turbo, here is one of our favorites from our last trip. It has been WAY too long since we were there last. Planning of a trip next year. Can't wait.
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BTW, I just joined the 6A club. I purchased a really nice RV6A. Should be delivered tomorrow. :)
 
I took advantage of an offer to join a long-time buddy at the 100th running of the Indy 500. It was a fantastic experience! Also added a couple extra days to visit the National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, and the Wright Cycle Company/Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. Both of these are absolute musts for everyone and anyone involved in the aviation world, right up there with Oshkosh. Donation for the hat sent to the Gary Sinise Foundation.

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Valley of Tears

Taken at the Valley of Tears Memorial on the Golan Heights Israel. The city in the background is in Syria. Russian series tank shot at point blank(hole in turret behind us)

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Pictured here is Capt. Alan Searle (RV-8 & RV-12 builder) flying a C47 on his way over the "Hump Route".

In Aug 2016, Alan and crew piloted VH-XUX (1944 C47) from Australia to China. The flight was conducted to honour those men who helped bring victory and peace by flying supplies over the Himalayas to the Chinese while Japan controlled their borders during WWII.

Follow link for full details on the flight including background, aircraft details and overcoming two engine failures.

http://flyingthehump.com

I'm proud as heck of this guy to call him my father-in-law, airshow buddy, RV-12 build partner and go-to-guy for advice on just about anything.

Impressive! My mother's first husband was killed flying the Hump in a C-46. After the war she married the guy's hooch-mate and fellow Hump pilot which was my father.
 
My dad, Alexander (AB) Bell was a C-47 pilot who flew the Hump. I was always fascinated by the stories he would share of his experiences flying the Himalayas. After his passing, his inspiration lead me to purchasing my first airplane, a Piper Cherokee which my son Ben and I learned to fly in. Ben went on to build an RV-8 and I purchased an RV-4 and later an RV-7 which I still have. I hope to one day experience flying s C-47.
You guys did it right...more vodka lol...wish I had been there. Congratulations!
 
Thank you for posting this, My wife's Uncle Hugh Sillin was also a Captain that flew the Hump and went to a lot of their annual get to gathers here in the states. He did fly with me in my first airplane, a Cessna 120 and I was impressed with his flying the Hump stories. He did pass away a couple years ago but was still flying until a few years before that.
 
This is an awesome story that I never knew or read about til today. And what a story it is!
My dad was with the 14th Air Force (51st FG, 26th FS), the "Flying Tigers" that followed the AVGs, in Kunming for almost three years. He didn't ship home until early 1945. He told us stories about the never-ending supply issues and the terror of flying the Hump in the [usual] bad weather. My brother and i grew up with the Flying Tigers and the 'Hump" as part of our daily lives. Dad passed away in December 2013 at age 92. As such, this story has particular poignance for us. Thanks much for posting.
 
Visiting my Grandson and brought him a VAF toddler hat and a t-shirt I had made for our lobster flyin ths year. He wore the hat all day and wouldn’t take it off till bed. :)

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Ordered the Hats from EMBROIDERY KING in Lewisville and provide a donation to a local Aviation charity for youth.
 
VAF HAT SIGHTING

Chris Pratt at Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 4,2018.


Went looking for ancient alien landing sites as described on the History Channel. I couldn?t seem to find any sites or spaceships. If the ships were built out of sandstone like the rest of the Wat that could explain why no evidence was found ? the ships burned up on entry into the atmosphere.

But seriously, it?s a truly impressive site built on a massive scale. A bucket list item.



Side note: Out of 1,500 hundred identical carvings adorning the inner side of the perimeter wall, this is the only one where the figurine shows teeth. Probably the sculptor?s idea of an inside joke.



Chris
 
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