My RV weekend was Sunday and Monday. Friday night I went across many time zones and got in rather late from work. So when Saturday came along I felt the need to keep my feet on the ground despite having a couple of very good RV opportunities and outstanding flying weather. One was a breakfast fly-in in TN and another was a local formation flight with a few of the guys from the Falcon RV Squadron. Hard to pass up, but a pilot has to know his limits!
Sunday
I took my son Max back up to Chilhowee (92A) in the RV-8 for some more glider lessons. Beautiful day. A couple of things happened that made me think, “this kid is going to do alright as a pilot.”
The first thing that happened was that a motor glider failed to clear the traffic pattern and pulled out onto the runway to back taxi while my son was on short final. There are no go-around options in a glider! My son maneuvered the glider, adjusted his aim point and did what was necessary. He extended the air brakes, put her into a slip, touched down at his intended point, cleared the runway mid-field just as the motor glider got turned around to see the whole thing unfold. His instructor sitting in the back seat didn’t have to say a word!
The next thing that happened is that his instructor got out of the glider to let Max go for his first solo of the day. Normally the instructor will get out, secure the rear seat, get the necessary ballast, and turn the glider around. Max was taught to use a short memory aid for his Before Takeoff checklist:
Altimeter
Belts
Ballast
Controls
Cable
Canopy
Direction of Wind
Emergency Procedures
He used his checklist and realized that his instructor forgot to retrieve the ballast. The glider would have been a bit tail heavy without the ballast and it would have made for a very sporty flight.
I’m very proud of him for using good procedures and judgement. His instructors are impressed by his skills. Not too shabby for a 15 year old! Maybe he got something out of the hundreds of hours of riding in the back seat of the RV!
After his lessons we stopped at the Rome airport for a nice dinner at Sam’s Burger-Deli. Great food and decor!
Monday
I was invited to watch the first engine start of Steve’s RV-7 in Auburn, Alabama (AUO, about 65nm from Falcon Field). Steve did a beautiful job with his airplane. I’m expecting to hear about his first flight in a few weeks. A few of us flew down to help, Russ Boland in his C-140 who also built a gorgeous RV-7, Jon Abarr in his beautiful RV-7, and myself in the -8. Jon is a jack of all trades and is probably one of the best mechanics I’ve ever known. He’s got kind of like a 6th sense and he is relied on heavily by the Falcon Field RV Squadron.
While there, Jon told me to grab a wrench and make myself useful. We all looked over the engine and adjusted and corrected a couple of minor things and eventually ended up with a successful engine start. Lot’s of smiles! After putting the plane back in the hangar we were all treated to a celebratory lunch by Steve.
Short flight back to FFC and cleaned up the RV. It was nice RV day indeed.
See y’all next weekend!