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WDYDWYRTW? 3 / 29-30 / 2025

DeltaRomeo

doug reeves: unfluencer
Staff member
OVC and windy N.TX first half of Saturday - committed to lawn duty during the afternoon.
How's the RV'ing in your area this weekend?
 
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Attached the empennage and learned how to squeeze every last inch out of my shop. After having the fuselage level for mounting the HS, I had to lower the tail so the VS could clear the 82” ceiling. I had about one inch of clearance from my oil tank, which thankfully has a slopped front. Removing the tail now to regain space and finish up a few other things on the fuselage. I’m really jealous of all you guys with spacious shops!
 

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We flew up the coastline from Watsonville to the Golden Gate and then around the bay. The weather was forecast to be icky, but it turned out to be a gorgeous day instead! I took someone for their first flight in an RV and they were blown away by the experience. I feel truly blessed with the freedom to fly and lucky to be able to take advantage of it!
 

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Attached the empennage and learned how to squeeze every last inch out of my shop. After having the fuselage level for mounting the HS, I had to lower the tail so the VS could clear the 82” ceiling. I had about one inch of clearance from my oil tank, which thankfully has a slopped front. Removing the tail now to regain space and finish up a few other things on the fuselage. I’m really jealous of all you guys with spacious shops!
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And I thought I didn't have a lot of space!
 
I was lucky to log an hour of local flight before the storm on Saturday morning. Winds calm.

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Tough life of a Wyoming sheep herder.

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Nah. I disagree on sheep herder’s “tough” life, all the ones I’ve met in MT are very relaxed and enjoying the scenery, awesome horsemen too. All on a 225,000+ acre ranch. Plus, the ranch I hunt, I found, pays them damn well, with a nice retirement, 401K and profit sharing.
 
This weekend was the AOPA NZ fly-in at Omarama in the South Island. This fly-in starts with some in-depth briefings before breaking into groups and heading out to do some strip work. I believe there were about 45 aircraft in total although I never did a specific count up - everything from Cessna 180/185's to Maules, Piper Cherokee's to RV's. There were a wide range of strips on offer from the hard core to the more relaxed, but all of them challenging in their own way. The day started for Kate and I with a day-break flight up to Omarama where we were able to sneak in just before the fog rolled over the airfield and halted all plans until midday, when the fog finally burnt off. Due to the late start we only managed five strips, however the scenery was stunning, the lakes were like glass and the skies smooth. At the end of a long day we enjoyed a great dinner at Omarama before flying home on Sunday at low level to avoid the building turbulence on the tops. In all, 3 hours of very enjoyable flying with a solid group of aviation enthusiasts. I think I may have sold a helicopter pilot on the idea of building an RV too. Her husband has a Maule but it doesn't excite her as much as the idea of a performance sport aeroplane like the RV series.
 

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