The RV...laugh?

Ok, we've all heard of the RV grin but I experienced something that I've never heard of: the RV laugh.

So, prior to the RV, I had a 1951 Aeronca Sedan. Nice plane and I loved it but they didn't set any speed records.

I was always the butt of many slow jokes. I remember on the way back from the Van's "free ride", I flew in my Sedan with another couple of friends in their Cessna 170. We stopped for gas and after topping off, they decided to hang back and finish their cigars while I got a half hour head start. I watched them pass me sometime later and arrive at the next stop way before I did. I'm pretty sure that they were all gassed up by the time I got there.

It gets worse, another friend has a Marquart Charger biplane. Yep, it was a speed demon next to the Sedan.

Today, we got a chance to put that Charger next to my RV in flight. OMG! I swear he must have installed a hover button in that plane. I just couldn't control myself over the air to air frequency. I let out an uncontrollable belly laugh...the RV laugh!

He told me that I must have been looking forward to that moment for a long time. Yes Brian, I was...and it didn't disappoint!

Keep pounding those rivets and put a buddy to shame!!!

I had one of those experiences yesterday. It starts with me in flight training at Sierra Academy years ago. I had finally left the C-152s behind and was working on my ME rating in a Duchess. You know how it is with new pilots: this was the best aircraft ever. The power! The climb! Bwahahaha!

So I take off from KOAK with an RV-6 #2 behind me. He catches up to me shortly after takeoff and sits on my wing for a minute - pitched up to slow down! Then he waves, drops the nose, and is gone! I look at my instructor, who is looking at me, and we both say, "I want one of those!" (I had been toying with the idea of building something at that time, but I hadn't decided what.)

So yesterday, there is a Duchess doing touch-and-go work in the pattern when we are getting ready to depart for breakfast. At last I've come full cycle. As I rocket past the Duchess, I can't help but laugh and tell the story to my passenger, another RV pilot. Who knows? Maybe another student pilot has just been set on the path to an RV.

Aero commander

Coming out of Ashland with my friend in his Aerocommander who suggested we fly over Crater lLake before heading for Seattle. So we did and leasurly flew over the lake enjoying the view at about 120mph. I was wing man as we broke off for Seattle. After putting along for a while i was waiting for him to speed up for the cross country. Finally I asked him if he was going to speed up or did he want to cruise at this speed to save fuel? We might have been doing 130 mph by then and i didn't know he was maxed out. Those big aerocommanders are roomy but slow! He apologized and said he was going as fast as he could. I layed back a bit and then told him I was going to cruise on by if he didn't mind. I went WOT and with a safe distance went by at 200 mph. He couldn't believe how fast I went by and mentions this often since.
Another time I was approaching class D space when a Bonanza called in from my right about the same time I did. ATC gave us similar instructions to which the Bananza questioned about the path of the RV. ATC told him no worries the RV was faster. LOL again.

And the Pilot in the SR-71 asks ...

Careful, there is always someone faster. It was satisfying to beat a Beech Baron in an actual race though ...

Bob Axsom