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RV News, Motivation and Problem Solving - Organized For Your Busy Lifestyle. Send In News

6/11/07 0115Z

Fri/Sat/Sun
Friday morning I flew a friend's wife from Dallas to San Angelo (384n.m. round trip) so she could be with him as his Dad had heart surgery (doing OK). One RV data point is that San Angelo is in 'Tom Green' county. 3.0 on the hobbs total and VFR weather around the area (showers nearby). Had to go in front of the line on the way down and behind the storms on the way back. Viz was about 5 miles the whole time, the 496 gave me LOTS of options and the temps were very pleasant with the rain in the area. I have never had so many bugs on Flash before (pic). Every square centimeter that faced the oncoming wind had smashed bugs. GoogleEarth track file of flight (can you spot where we circled down through a hole?)
On a related note I recently filled out the application to use my RV-6 for Angel Flight South Central. Was denied via email (our area doesn't allow experimental aircraft was told). Angel Flight of Georgia allows experimentals, and their state has 9 million people. Texas has 24 million. Shame.
Saturday I opened the package from http://www.quiettechnologies.com/ that came late Friday. It's the new headset I'm going to start wearing - comparing it with my Lightspeeds. I like the Lightspeeds, but they are HUGE and eat batteries. I went out to the airport around 1pm when the yoga instructor got back. Short answer...when I get the sidetone set correctly on my radio these will be my new headset. Incredible.
Sunday I left the house 0630 for 52F and flew over to Hicks for breakfast (GE track). Rich Rudolph (-6A), Chris Pratt (-8), Hot Stuff and others were there. Nice time. I correctly set the sidetone for the new headset and they now work swimmingly. I'm sold. Rest of day was assorted household duties.
Hope you had a nice weekend! dr

RV-"4.6" First Flight
...by Rob 'Smokey' Ray
Last Saturday I drove over to my buddy Arvil's RV factory, put on my RV test pilot hat for the 6th time and rolled my Dad's new RV6 out. This is no ordinary RV6 as it started it's life as THE RV, the RV4. I acquired a 90% complete kit from Cornerstone Ministries via donation back in 2000' and Arvil expertly adapted the wings, vertical stab and a few other items to a RV6 fuselage we had. The end product is an RV4.6 with a 160HP 0-320 and MT fp prop MGL Enigma EFIS, Safeair one ER tanks and an Electroair EI.
I jumped in for the first time, fired the 0-320 up and taxied to the end of Arvil's "long" grass runway (1500') did a long run-up, released the brakes and launched into the muggy 90 degree NW FL air. The little RV6 responded beautifully with a slightly heavy wing, hot rear cyllinders and oil and a few other minor writeups, but otherwise uneventful. It rolls as quickly as my HR2, showed 160 knots average GS during several high power test runs and had no problem getting in and out of Arvil's.
This all took place 10 years to the day from the Bandit's test flight, very cool. Add another to the Van's hobbs...
My Dad is in the attached picture with the RV grin!
Rob "Smokey" Ray
RV6 N557SR
Owner Bob Ray
Niceville, FL
EW: 975 lbs
0-320/MT FP prop

Spotlighted Thread: Garmin 496 data input line
..Q: Does anyone know if the data input line can be used for any function other than the Sonar mode shown in the manual ? If I understand the manual the data input is live only when the sonar function is enabled. Would like to know if you can use the 496 as a multi function display...
...A: If you have a Garmin panel-mount GPS (GNS 430, GNC 250XL, GX60, etc) you can connect it to your 496, and the flight plan in the panel-mount GPS will show up on the handheld. Or, if you have a Garmin Mode S transponder, you can display TIS traffic data on the 496. I believe there's now also a third-party product that can send this same data to the 496 for display. (discuss)

Ongoing Maintenance Issues: Cracked Part
...a Larry Pardue post
"I have an RV-6 Quickbuild that first flew in 1999. It has an O-360, Sensenich fixed pitch and about 900 hours. About two years ago I first noticed a possible crack in the steel bracket, inside the fuselage, that the engine mount bolts to on the other side of the firewall. I could not verify that it was a crack and figured it was just an oil trail. Lately it got quite a bit bigger, and for the first time I could feel it with a knife blade so I grounded the airplane until I could find a mechanic."
continue

Cracked Firewall Stiffener
...Kevin Johnson
I have some good info for rv-7 builders. It’s regarding cracks I found in both of my firewall stiffeners F601n LT and RT bottom side where the joggle is manufactured. The crack seen in the attached picture was found just before final riveting and after the alodine and priming process. In addition they follow the grain of the material as well.
Both of these cracks can be seen with the naked eye. If you could spread the word so other builders will be aware is much appreciated. The fuselage kit was purchased Nov. 2005. The crack can be viewed here also www.kevinsrv7.com/Crack.JPG

Advertiser Press Release: Xerion Avionix
Xerion Avionix Announces Updated Pricing For Experimental AuRACLE Engine Management Systems.

Xerion Avionix leading-edge AuRACLE I & II Engine Management Systems experimental pricing now better aligned with market demand.

Canandaigua, NY June 1, 2007: Xerion Avionix™ announced today that the company recently reviewed its experimental pricing schedule and made some changes in accordance with customer demand for its experimental non-certified versions of its popular AuRACLE™ I & II Engine management Systems. “While achieving FAA certification was a tremendous accomplishment for our company,” said Bob Northrup, Xerion Avionix Manager of Experimental Sales and Marketing, “Xerion also appreciates the tremendous growth in the experimental aircraft market. Xerion intends to support this market as aggressively as it is pursuing the certificated aircraft retrofit and OEM markets. Xerion fully intends to pass those benefits on to the experimental market as well.”

The AuRACLE II is the only engine management system on the market that has a remote-mounted Engine Interface Unit (EIU) that is certified to be installed on the engine-side of the firewall. This innovative design reduces engine instrumentation firewall penetrations down to one, a sealed cannon-style bulkhead connector; as a result, installation time and complications are greatly reduced. The AuRACLE also adds valuable secondary Fuel-Computer data. When connected to GPS navigation equipment, enhanced Fuel-Computer data is also available.

The AuRACLE shortens the scan required by scattered and outdated steam gages by providing a localized and innovative display. The AuRACLE’s ability to display the engine data on its vibrant 5.0” sunlight-readable LCD display is unrivaled in its human factors design, functional redundancy, and military-grade reliability. The AuRACLE constantly monitors the critical engine parameters, alerting the pilot to unexpected changes using its advanced exceedance monitoring system. Intelligent warning messages are displayed prominently, allowing the pilot to immediately recognize and interpret a critical situation.

The AuRACLE II is the only engine management system on the market that has a remote-mounted Engine Interface Unit (EIU) that is certified to be installed on the engine-side of the firewall. This innovative design reduces engine instrumentation firewall penetrations down to one, a sealed cannon-style bulkhead connector; as a result, installation costs are greatly reduced. The AuRACLE also adds valuable secondary Fuel-Computer data. When connected to GPS navigation equipment, enhanced Fuel-Computer data is also available.

Experimental AuRACLE list pricing starts at less than $4,000 and is currently available directly from Xerion. Contact Xerion Avionix for aircraft-specific pricing.
Xerion Avionix™ LLC is in the business of designing, developing and distributing technically innovative avionics to meet the economic and operational needs of the piston-engine aircraft market. . Xerion Avionix systems, marketed under the AuRACLE™ brand, provide the General Aviation (GA) market with levels of information previously available only to commercial aviation; at an affordable price point. The company, headquartered in Pittsford, NY, was founded in 2005.
http://www.xerionavionix.com/

VAF Calendar 60 Days Out
ADD and EDIT your own area's RV events.
06-16-2007: RV Day, Boone Iowa RV Day, Northwest RV Fly-In
06-17-2007: Aviation Day 2007, burgers and brats
06-22-2007: Rocky Mountain EAA Regional Fly-In
06-23-2007: Rocky Mountain EAA Regional Fly-In
06-24-2007: Rocky Mountain EAA Regional Fly-In
06-29-2007: GOLDEN WEST EAA REGIONAL FLY-IN & AIERSHOW
07-11-2007: NWEAA Fly-in
07-12-2007: NWEAA Fly-in
07-13-2007: NWEAA Fly-in
07-14-2007: Tarkio, MO (K57) Annual Flying Circus/Congressional Fly-In, NWEAA Fly-in
07-15-2007: NWEAA Fly-in
07-23-2007: OSH
07-24-2007: OSH
07-25-2007: OSH, RV Builders BBQ at AirVenture
07-26-2007: OSH
07-27-2007: OSH
07-28-2007: OSH
07-29-2007: OSH
08-05-2007: The Willits, California (O28) airport day and fly-in...

RV Interior Products
Classic Aero Designs specializes in ready to install interior items for RVs. Models include RV-6/6A, RV-7/7A, RV-8/8A, RV-9/9A, and RV-10.
www.classicaerodesigns.com

6/8/07 0100Z
Wishing the crew of STS-117 a smooth launch, set for June 8 07:38pm EDT. Watch online HERE.
I'm starting Friday 0600 by flying the wife of a friend 200nm to be with her husband while his Dad has heart surgery. Honored to help and grateful to have a machine that can be utilized on short notice in situations like this. Thanks again Van.
Have a great weekend! dr

Why I Love Aviation
...by Bruce Lane (RV-8)
I have an RV-8 with about 450 hours TT on the airframe, engine and propeller. About a hundred flight hours ago I started to have a grease leak on one of the propeller blades. It wasn’t bad, just enough to put a smear on the backside of that blade. I spoke to Hartzell about it and they told me that it didn’t sound dangerous but they wanted to hear from me if it got worse. Over time, it did get a bit worse to the point that little flecks of grease would show up on the windscreen after a longer flight. Note: this is the B series hub.

I talked to Steve R. at the Hartzell Service Center in Piqua, Ohio. He felt it was time to get it looked at and repaired. We agreed that I could fly it to their service center and they would repair it in about one day. This is my story of the trip (so far). I will title it “WHY I LOVE AVIATION: THE PEOPLE”.

I live in Virginia Beach, VA so a trip to Piqua (near Dayton) would be just shy of three hours battling the normal wind out of the west. My plan was to fly to Hartzell on Wednesday evening and return either on Thursday evening or early on Friday. About a week before the scheduled date I noticed a post on the VAF forum that Rick Gray (of Ohio Valley RVators fame) was considering selling his RV-10. Geez, I’ve always wanted a 10… Maybe a stop in Parkersburg, WV where Rick keeps the 10 wouldn’t be too far out of my way…

GREAT GUY #1: Rick Gray

I called Rick. He mentioned that he had personal business on Wednesday evening but could perhaps spare an hour to show me the RV-10 after he was finished. I was expecting to wait 45 minutes for Rick after I landed in Parkersburg. Nope, Rick was there about five minutes after I landed. We spent the next three hours looking over what has to be the most beautiful experimental airplane I have ever seen. The attention to detail on Rick’s plane is fantastic. I honestly don’t completely understand how Rick could bear to part with it. After I was done looking at the plane, Rick offered to let me sleep at his house (one of his young daughters lost her bed to the “airplane guy from out of town”). Rick took me back to the airport on Thursday morning for my trip to Hartzell. Rick if you read this, I am super impressed with your plane. Thanks again for the hospitality.

I took off for Piqua around 8am for a 45 minute trip on a beautiful VFR morning. Did I mention how flat Ohio is? I landed at Hartzell Field ((I17). I might have missed it without my GPS. I always thought of Hartzell as some huge high tech faceless corporation. Nope, the whole airport has about a half dozen buildings and one corporate hanger with a sign that reads Hartzell Service Center above the door. No FBO, No ATIS, a handful of cars in the parking lot. (Actually Hartzell has four other facilities in town and employs about 350 people).

Rick told me to expect the Hartzell guys to waste little time when I got there and he was right. They had my spinner and cowl off within ten minutes of my landing.

GREAT GUYS #2 & 3 Mark and Jimmy (the Hartzell mechanics)

These guys got right to work on my airplane. They answered all my dumb questions. They explained how things worked. They offered thoughtful opinions on all kinds of topics like 3 blades vs. 2 blades, composite vs. metal blades and the value of prop balancing. They even showed me Mike Goulian’s Extra 300 stored in the adjacent hanger (along with a beautiful Cub and a few other planes I couldn’t identify). They were among the friendliest people I have ever met. When Mark mentioned that he was going to be vacationing with his family in Virginia Beach in a couple weeks I immediately invited him to my house for a visit. When was the last time you did that to a guy you met fifteen minutes before?

GREAT GUY #4 Steve R (Hartzell Customer Service Manager)

Steve was the guy who had set up my appointment in the first place. On the phone the day before I left Virginia I mentioned that I may be in Piqua on Wednesday evening. Steve immediately offered to leave the company truck unlocked with the keys in it in case I needed to go anywhere after they closed for the evening.

When I arrived at Hartzell, Steve came out and introduced himself and then introduced me to the other customer service people (Jodie and Krista) and very patiently explained the whole process. He offered me a computer to check my email and again offered the truck in case I wanted to go into town.

About twenty minutes later Steve came to find me to show me an “issue”. It seems that when the builder mounted the prop on the engine he failed to take the bright orange plastic cup off the back of the hub. It is there to keep dirt out of the hub during shipping and has a big sticker on it that says “Remove Before Installation on Engine”. Mark explained that the prop normally won’t cycle with the cover in there but that it doesn’t do any real damage. I suppose that Steve could easily have used this problem to “jack up the price” but he didn’t. At about this point I realized that all these guys were “airplane guys” not just people who have a job fixing propellers. They genuinely like aviation and it shows in their attitude. In defense of the builder, Jimmy pointed out that it is more common than you might guess to find that cover still in there.

After listening to Mark’s insight on prop balancing I talked to Steve and he said the total price was looking like repair + balancing was going to be just north of $1050. I laughingly mentioned that my Chief Financial Officer had me on a $1,000 leash and Steve immediately said he could make that work.

About 30 minutes later, I saw Steve walking toward me across the ramp and I could tell he wasn’t happy. Uh Oh.

It seems that the spinner back bulkhead had been rubbing against the blade roots on the propeller because the tolerances were too close. It didn’t look too bad and it was on the thickest part of the blades but Steve felt that it should be taken care of. He decided to have one of the engineers from the main facility drive over to look at it before they dressed it and painted it. Steve explained to me that blade failures are exceedingly rare (and typically happen in third world countries on old props that have gone many years beyond their service life) but he said he never wanted to take that risk. He also mentioned that the blades are under about 20 tons of centrifugal force.

The Hartzell engineers want to change the maximum course pitch setting on my blades from 37 degrees to 31 degrees to prevent the blades from rubbing on the spinner bulkhead. This shouldn’t affect performance. They think that the root cause is that the Van’s drawing for the spinner bulkhead is too tight and may want to offer this as recommendation for all RVs with this propeller.

The paint takes about 8 hours to properly cure so it means an extra day here in Ohio. Steve made a hotel reservation for me and gave me the courtesy car for the evening.

If all goes well, Hartzell will finish up around noon on Friday so they suggested that I drive to see the US Air Force Aviation Museum (about 30 miles away in Dayton) tomorrow morning.

I have come away about $1,000 poorer but more in love with aviation than ever. I keep thinking about Rick’s RV-10 (if I close my eyes and think about my day job for a few seconds the desire to mortgage my house to buy the 10 slowly goes away). The Hartzell team joins several other companies that I would recommend to anyone (companies like Steinair and TruTrak).

Hopefully back home tomorrow late afternoon.

Cheers,
Bruce

Spotlighted Thread: Baffling Around The Oil Cooler
...showing once again the power of the net. Question posted....shortly thereafter there were links to (3) sites with extensive pictures of the install as well as two other replies with actual pictures inserted.

related: How to Insert Pics in the VAF Forums

Builder Tips/Techniques: Alternative Dimpling Technique
...Rick Galati
"I wanted to install a terminal board to a side skin. To do so required dimpled holes in the skin to accept #6 screws. At this stage of assembly using a C-frame, pneumatic or hand squeezer is out of the question. Close quarter dimple sets used with a pop rivet tool simply do not produce dimples as "sharp" as regular dimple dies. These particular dimples are in a highly visible area so a better technique was desired." continue (with pics)

More Photos From the Nuit St George RV Event (France)
...courtesy Barry Ward. Look at top story yesterday for more info on the event.
"On the left is Martin Stevens from Wales with his cup for his RV7 G-CECV. Holding the micro is Lucien Rochet president of Van’s Club France. Middle is Stan Hodgkins from England Grand Champion RV8 G-DUDE. Next is me holding a cup from the French DGAC (FAA) RV6A F-PRVM, but still don’t know why! Far right Geiser Jens from Germany with his Cup for his RV8 D-EVAJ. The second photo is of Thierry Beaumont who hosted the fly in at NSG with his soon to be finished RV8"

New Van's Accessories Catalog Item: Folding Bike...fits into side by side RVs

6/7/07   0045Z
Just want to remind everyone that a RV owner stuck somewhere other than their home base with a broken part needing assistance will always be the top story on this site. If you can get to a computer, post a 'Stranded RV' note in the forums....I'll find it. If you can't find a computer call 206.202.5059 and leave a voice message on the VAF Hotline. It will email me a .wav file of your message which I can post up here so we can get the ball rolling.   related: A quick update on Charles' stuck-in-Tucson with a cracked wood prop RV: (latest news).
Hope you have a great Thursday.   dr

Nuit St George Van's Fly In
...courtesy Barry Ward (-6A)

"The annual Van’s Club France VCF fly in at Nuit St George that took place last weekend was in spite of the weather a success. The weather in Europe so far this year has not been conducive to VFR flying so only about 25 of the scheduled 50 RVs were able to make it to the Fly In.

Each year the fly in is held at a different location so that the visitors are able to see a different part of France. Also it shares the responsibility and work of the people hosting the fly in amongst the various members of VCF.

In US terms our fly in is a laid back affair some what similar the LOE fly in organized in New Mexico. We had several folks for the US that either were on vacation or work in France who attended our fly in.

Here is a link to some of the photos taken by Olivier Carbonnier of the fly in and Saturday evening banquet.

Thierry Beaumont hosted the fly in this year and if you look at the attached photos you can see him as the proud owner of the RV8 which has just had the fuselage painted and awaits the attachment of the wings.

Stan Hodgins won the Grand Champion prize for his RV8 G-DUDE as well as his flying display. Martin Stevens won a workmanship award for his newly completed RV7. Also a German pilot Geiser Jens, (hopefully I have the correct name) won a workmanship award for his RV8.

There were 85 people at the Saturday evening banquet which was a great success. The mini train ride to and from the banquet was much appreciated. After the banquet of the way back to the hotel there was much singing helped on by the Welsh choir and Thierry Beaumont’s excellent wine from his vineyard which was much appreciated during the meal.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Avery's, Vans Aircraft, Aircraft Spruce and Bayo (a French aircraft equipment supplier) for supporting our event with door prizes.

Next year the annual fly in is scheduled to take place in Brittany."

Progress On Flash's Model
I'm having a model of my -6 made by Winston at http://www.createaplane.com/. He sent me some progress pics yesterday. Holy Cow! All we need is a little red and it'll be done. Cannot WAIT to put this in a prominent place.

6/6/07 0245Z

Scott and Deb Mills mailed me a CD with a 23 page article chocked full of pictures of their recent RV trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands. It's a big file (62MB) but well worth the download. It's the top story, of course!
Earlier in the day Tuesday I got an email from neighbor and former Marine OV-10 driver Dan Ahearn (Hostage46 in the forums). He is about to start a RV project, but his wife had never ridden in an RV. We were through with dinner so I suggested a sunset flight around the neighborhood around 8:30pm. Dan's wife and the yoga instructor help out at the school often and know each other. Great passenger. Toured the neighborhood, Lake Lewisville, the Texas Motor Speedway, caught the sunset...all the usual stops. Wore my SteinAir shirt for .....well.... Stein <g>.

Martha Ahearn after 42 min flight (Dan Ahearn photo)

New Travel Story:
Scott & Deb's Excellent RV Adventure: Turks & Caicos '07
...by Debra and Scott Mills
"Back in January of 2002 when my husband began transforming our garage into a plane-building workshop, I never dreamed that we would one day fly our little plane more than 5,100 miles to Turks & Caicos in the British West Indies and back!
Since the day the wheels first left the ground on September 11^th of 2005, Scott had flown solo as far as the northeast a couple of times. Prior to this trip my time in our RV 9A went something like this: Denver to Greeley, Salida, or Pueblo, Colorado for breakfast (or lunch) and home; Denver to Goodland, Kansas for breakfast (or lunch) and home; Denver to Sidney, Nebraska for shopping/lunch at Cabela’s and home. The day we began our RV adventure, my longest flight duration to date had been 2½ hours round trip, with total time in the air at 29 hours—most of them revolving around food."
continue (23pg/62MB PDF file)

Safety: (it can happen to the best)
...Brian Carroll
"I while ago, I posted info about a Mountain flying clinic we were having in Townsend. It was a great weekend.....until link. The Mountain flying guru himself, Sparky Imeson. I had just met him and his wife the night before, then was drinking coffee with him earlier Sunday. I wasn't scheduled to fly with him, but my buddy was. We started looking for them yesterday afternoon. We were shocked, then amazed. (discuss)

Safety Related: Doug's Basic Survival Gear - A Visual Tour
I laid the stuff I never fly without on the wing of the plane (3 years ago) and took a picture so you could see. The only change since the pic was taken is that I replaced the Sebenza folding knife with a Chris Reeve 'Aviator'. I got the fly fisherman's vest at REI, but you can pick these up anywhere. The setup shows the items I will not get in a (non-commercial) plane without. When to wear? If I'm flying solo as a flight of one I wear the vest. If I'm part of a multi-ship flight I just make sure it's on the hanger hanging in the baggage compartment.
If I'm flying over remote terrain I wear the vest. Of course there is other stuff that I carry on these remote camping trips, but this is the basic stuff I carry at all times (pic wearing it). If I'm flying over long distances (like west Texas) that are sparsely populated, but aren't necessarily inhabited by bears, I take the 9mm. If there be bears (like the yearly trips to Idaho backcountry) I take the .44 magnum. Standard firearm safety protocols apply.