Still pluggin' away on my rudder. After the quick completion of the VS, the rudder seems a little more complex. Consequently slowly me down slightly. I will write more about this later and post some pics.During the construction phase, it is very helpful to seek out 'inspiration' as often as possible to keep pounding those rivets...knowing that one day it will be a flying machine. I am learning that the construction phase will have its ups and downs along the way. That 'inspiration' may take many forms. From reading about the excitement of first flights or cool trip reports like this one to AZ http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=44602 on VAF. But the one 'inspiration' that beats 'em all is the chance to actually go flying in an RV. I have been fortunate to get two RV8 rides so far...the -8A factory plane, and of course John Loretz's 'straight 8' as previously posted. Well, this weekend I was invited to go flying by local builder and pilot Scott Mills http://www.itsallaboutusnow.com/ based at Front Range airport. The airport is about 10 mins drive east from my house. This is probably where I will keep my plane when its finished if I havent moved to the other side of town by then. So I was excited on a couple different fronts, one-to see his hangar and plane and two-to see the side by side cockpit view of the RV9 which will be identical to my 7. So far I have only seen the tandem view of the 8's.
Our flight on this day would be a breakfast run out to Greeley. Scott tells me this is standard fare for himself and several flying buddies and hangar mates. If they are in town, they are flying, usually for a breakfast run...weather permitting of course. Greeley is far and away the most popular destination for homebuilders in the area. Weekend mornings are usually packed with homebuilts on the ramp. It is a short flight from Front Range, skirting Class B airspace of DEN along the way.
It was an unusually gray day for a June morning in Colorado, but we've been having a lot of crazy weather this year. So, I find the hangar easily, Scott's directions were solid and the airport isnt too big. It was a nice hangar and big, with the beauty of three RV's parked inside. Two RV6A's and Scott's RV9A. Immediately upon arriving, I was thinking this ROCKS! I can see why they spend so much of their free time here. After some chit chat about airplanes, weather and our destination we pull out the three flying machines.
We departed FTG as an RV flight of two...a loose formation takeoff. Very cool...I had never flown in formation before so I was digging this. FTG is a tower controlled airport so I wasnt even sure you could do this, but it was no big deal to these guys, apparently they and everyone else there does it all the time. Of course, Gary in his 180hp RV6A pulled away from us slightly on takeoff and climb but we hung in there. We flew east away from FTG until we got outside of the class B airspace and then took a left turn and headed north toward Greeley. Gary, who was flying in front of us did about a 75 degree bank, high performance turn...really could see the performance of these planes from our vantage point. They are literally like poor man's fighter planes. So, up to Greeley we flew in loose formation...with another RV6A and Glastar in trail....four planes total.
Arriving at the hangar...it was spacious, three RV's fit easily.
What a sight, three RV's lined up and ready for some fun! Notice the substantially bigger 'tail feathers' on the 9 compared to the older 6's. This was a design change in the 7's and 9's.
On our way back from breakfast, we stopped at Platte Valley airport for some cheap 'go' juice. This is SOP for pilots in this area looking for cheap gas, Platte Valley is well known for that. Neat little airport, self serve pumps and a few houses along the runway. It must be an airpark community.
Gary filling up the left wing tank on his RV6A.
Scott getting ready to do the same. Scott did his own patriotic paint scheme on his 9A. He grumbles about some things he doesnt like about it (all builders probably do!) but I think it looks nice.
Summary: Had a blast, great group of guys and I felt fortunate to be tagging along. The cockpit view and size of the RV9A was excellent. Scott also has the tipup version so that was nice to experience as well. I enjoyed this day very much!! Back to pounding those rivets so someday I can join in the fun!
Unfortunately the RV7 was down for maintenance, so I was offered a ride in the 200hp RV8A demo plane. I was a little disappointed not to fly the -7, but happy to fly a 200hp version with a Constant Speed prop since this is similar performance to what my plane will be like. Very impressive indeed! Takeoff roll was nothing short of amazing for someone who has flown Skyhawks and Diamonds! Even with two of us aboard, I could literally feel the g-forces push me back into the seat from the accelleration down the runway. Joe pointed out a spot about 850 ft down the runway and said we should be off the ground by then, sure enough, he didnt lie. The plane flies great, very responsive yet doesnt go anywhere you dont want it to go. 'Fingertip' flyng is the way to go in an RV, the stick forces are very light, but firm. I was grinning from ear to ear as I weaved through the Oregon clouds (14oo broken, 3000 overcast). If I wasnt convinced beforehand, the flight left no doubt this is the plane for me!!
