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The Last Flight

LettersFromFlyoverCountry

Well Known Member
lastflight_cold.jpg


More than a month after agreeing to selling ye olde RV-7A -- N614EF -- I finally saw an opening to ferry it over to its new owner, Chris Moseley of Grand Rapids, MI.

It wasn't particularly emotional because I've had a month to get over it, and I was happy to be done with the frustration of trying to find a period where the lake-effect snow of Michigan, and the regular old sucky winter of Minnesota would ease enough ferry it.

It gave me time to write the final blog post for my day job on the subject of N614EF.

It was -12 in Minnesota when I left yesterday morning; I'd never flown the RV in that sort of weather, so it was fun "expanding the envelope" a bit. I was a walking sleeping bag when I finally strapped myself in and launched.

I circled the field a few times, prepared to return if I heard anything resembling a stumble (Reiff preheater had the oil temp at 109 when I started her. Great product!).

As usual, I picked up flight following from Mpls but noticed something. I'm pretty much deaf now but the controllers still seemed garbled; the engine seemed louder.

It was awhile before I realized, the batteries in my Zulu 2 were dying. I could get the ANR to work by turning it back on, but it wouldn't last long. So after being handed off to Mpls Center, then Chicago, then Rockford, I'd turn it on when I heard my N number called.

Seeing a "heavy" take off from Rockford beneath me was awesome.

The cold was not . -18 at altitude. I broke out the handwarmers when the fingers started tingling after Rockford cut me loose, not even offering the frequency to try to negotiate with Chicago approach.

No matter, I wouldn't have been able to understand them anyway.

I headed for my usual turn at Joliet, a steady stream of Southwest 737s in front of me. I descended to 3500.

The single muff heater in the RV was doing its part, which surprised me, but I needed to get some batteries, so I landed in Valpairaiso, borrowed the crew car, and headed to WalMart, while they topped off the tanks. Can't deliver empty fuel tanks to a new owner.

That also gave me time to come up with a strategy for getting through the snow lines I could see to the north.

I launched out of KVPZ and headed southeast of South Bend, which was reporting IFR, because Goshen was reporting VFR and, indeed, they were in the sunshine.

It was just a matter of hop-scotching from one airport to another based on their ATIS broadcasts, swinging east of Battle Creek (the farther I could get from the lake, the better).

There were only a few moments when visibility was quite poor but I realized the construction of these bands of light snow and there was blue sky above.

I contacted Grand Rapids approach 20 miles out; I was almost there.

"The field just went IFR", they said. So I circled. And circled, and finally just landed at 9D9, which was hard to find since it was covered with white.

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I found the nice little terminal after wading through four foot high drifts. "I can sleep here tonight and just start the plane every hour," I thought.

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But Chris called and said the conditions looked good at the field. So I launched again.

"The field just went IFR again," approach said. So I circled some more but a few minutes later approach said, "proceed direct to Grand Rapids, contact tower."

I saw an opening to punch through the squall and found the field (it's hard to find airports when there's snow all over the place) and landed...and felt the plane pulling to the right. More rudder...rudder...rudder! And the plane pulled to the right even more. I could feel it skidding but by the time I thought, I'm going to end up in the snowbank, I was slow enough to coax her back with a little left brake action. My suspicion plowing through a snowbank at 9D9 packed a little snow on one of the brake pads.

The closing was uneventful, I grabbed a Southwest flight (A2 in the Southwest queue at Grand Rapids, A1 at Midway. With drink tickets!!!), and was home by 11 p.m.

It was the perfect last flight
 
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New Owner

Bob, I hope the new owner takes good care of your aircraft. I really enjoy your writing.
 
The old "All's well that ends well" saying comes to mind. Not just the flight, but the saga. All of us will go through this at some point, if we are lucky. Selling something as personal as and aircraft you have built has to be tough. You have been an encouragement to so many here on VAF over the years, and in this, that continues. Godspeed, my friend.

Bob Kelly
 
Sorry about the sale Bob. Just wanted to note; don't feel bad about Chi town approach. I've been through there many times now and get the same treatment every time and from every angle. No one hands off to Chicago approach, maybe they'll give you a frequency to see if they'll clear you in, bu ive never been successful. For flight following of course. I trick them sometimes if heading home from the east, I climb to 10,500 and just go right over them! Guess I showed them! I too have enjoyed your writing. Don't imagine we've heard the last from you though. The love for aviation can't be stopped quite that easily.
 
Bob, you are one of the first VAF people I met. My son and I camped across from the gathering spot in Scholler. I have enjoyed following your adventures, up and down, ever since.

I will be awaiting your writings of Vlad's adventures, and will be sure to get the first printing. You and Vlad will make a great RV Team.

Keep posting!!
 
Sorry about the sale Bob. Just wanted to note; don't feel bad about Chi town approach. I've been through there many times now and get the same treatment every time and from every angle. No one hands off to Chicago approach, maybe they'll give you a frequency to see if they'll clear you in, bu ive never been successful. For flight following of course. I trick them sometimes if heading home from the east, I climb to 10,500 and just go right over them! Guess I showed them! I too have enjoyed your writing. Don't imagine we've heard the last from you though. The love for aviation can't be stopped quite that easily.

Whenever I've asked, i've been able to get picked up. But I'm usually up between 5500 and 7500, high enough where I'm not going to be a problem for them.

Anyway, currently planning on building an RV-12. I don't know if I'll be able to actually fly it. But it turns out I actually like BUILDING airplanes.

But if anyone has a right seat open when flying around the Twin Cities, you know where to find me.
 
Bob, you are one of the first VAF people I met. My son and I camped across from the gathering spot in Scholler. I have enjoyed following your adventures, up and down, ever since.

I will be awaiting your writings of Vlad's adventures, and will be sure to get the first printing. You and Vlad will make a great RV Team.

Keep posting!!

yes, sir, I remember it well. That was one of the best AirVentures I ever had thanks to you two and a few others who just happened to be camp nearby and just happened to be RVers.

You know, flying into Oshkosh has been great and camping in HBC has been fabulous, but it'll be nice to set up a campsite again in Scholler and be able to stretch my arms and make some dinner on an open flame .
 
Bob,
Did you, or could you have, asked Grand Rapids for a Special VFR clearance? Might have saved some time.
Best wishes in the future.
 
Honestly, I don't know, but i'd seen what the marginal VFR looked like (and I presume some actual IFR) and I wasn't real anxious to venture into it any more than I may or may not already had. ;)
 
Hey Bob,

I know the owner and the plane! Chris belongs to our chapter and will be bringing the plane to us at Sparta often. I'll keep an eye on both of them!!!

Hope to see more of you on line and future OshKosh visits
 
Interesting last flight report Bob.

Is this the beginning of a RV-8 project?

You're much younger than me, I know you can do it. :)
 
Enjoyed reading your last flight Bob. I'm curious, what was your oil temp that cold flight?

And good luck with the 12!.
 
I'm the guy who was waiting for Bob on the ground in Grand Rapids. We had been frustrated by the weather for weeks, and that Thursday looked rather iffy to me. I was sitting in my car by my hangar, monitoring Bob's progress on http://www.rivetbangers.com/aprs/track.php?call=N614EF, and watching gray clouds above and snow blowing in a stiff wind on the ground. Bob was navigating between the bands of snow coming off of Lake Michigan, but it didn't look promising from where I sat.

Then the sky above me cleared up -- much better than earlier. Just then I got a text from Bob saying that he had landed in Hastings, 20 nm southeast, because GRR was IFR. I quickly called him to let him know it looked VFR from the ground and he decided to give it a try. Thank goodness, the weather held out and the controllers at GRR let him in.

Here's a picture of Bob in 614EF after taxiing to my hangar. You can see low clouds moving in from the west -- they held off just long enough.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/150313615@N05/shares/z0806T
 
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Did you consider waiting until the new medical rules took effect? However, like you said, you seem to like building and starting a new RV-12 lets you build and not worry about the new rules.
 
New rules

Bob, I enjoy your writing and thanks for sharing your "Last Flight" story.

I think you're smart building an LSA even with the new third class medical rules, as I'm sure you've researched and noted that special issuances are still required for qualifying conditions with the new rules.

And besides, the -12 is a great airplane; it's not as fast as the others, or aerobatic, but it's a joy to fly, very reasonable to own, and the journey of flight is the same (maybe even better with the improved visibility).

I've built a CH601XL, an RV7A, owned a Debonair (right up to its last flight), currently own a Baron B58 (need my head examined as this beloved family hauler is truly a money pit - maybe I need a special issueance as well...), but I'm making great progress building an RV-12 and look forward to a lifetime, at least as defined by my lifetime, of fun with it. I wish you the same.

Enjoy the build!
 
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Whenever I've asked, i've been able to get picked up. But I'm usually up between 5500 and 7500, high enough where I'm not going to be a problem for them.

Anyway, currently planning on building an RV-12. I don't know if I'll be able to actually fly it. But it turns out I actually like BUILDING airplanes.

But if anyone has a right seat open when flying around the Twin Cities, you know where to find me.

My right seat is usually open for any of the usual breakfast runs.

Vince Bastiani
RV-7
 
Did you consider waiting until the new medical rules took effect? However, like you said, you seem to like building and starting a new RV-12 lets you build and not worry about the new rules.

Considered it, rejected the idea for a couple of reasons but among them was that my medical/special issuance was going to expire before the rules would be finalized, and the market for selling was right with a willing buyer.

The new rules aren't going to make it any easier for people with disqualifying conditions to fly, despite what a lot of people think. And we've all worked too long on the new rules for me to try to game the system and fake my way through a medical.

The FAA would've gotten the paperwork on my special issuance, and the lab notes from my neurotologist and that would be that.

I believe in self-certifying, which is why if my illness continues to progress, I won't fly . I'll just build and sell airplanes and mooch rides from my RV pals, who remain the best part of building an RV.

Besides, I tend to be a live-vicariously-through-others kind of guy and I'm really looking forward to reading Chris' trip reports and stories. He has no idea yet how much he's going to love that plane. Nobody possibly could yet. It's going to be a blast watching from "the other side of the lake."
 
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Enjoyed reading your last flight Bob. I'm curious, what was your oil temp that cold flight?

And good luck with the 12!.

I couldn't get it much above 155. The CHTs never got above 323.

It was pretty brutal up there. But I was actually quite surprised that the single-muff heater did as good a job as it did. Having sunshine didn't hurt.
 
I'm really looking forward to reading Chris' trip reports and stories. He has no idea yet how much he's going to love that plane. Nobody possibly could yet. It's going to be a blast watching from "the other side of the lake."

I love it already. I expect I'll love it even more when I get to fly it, after I get done grading all the courses I'm teaching :)
 
Signature TechnicAir was a big help

By the way, I want to acknowledge and give a big thanks to the people at Signature TechnicAir at KGRR, who helped us get the closing documents updated (for December instead of November!) and gave us a nice conference room to get everything done. They were great.
 
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