Airworthiness Certificate Issued

I tend to be quiet on most forums (this one included), but thought I'd share a bit of news. After almost 12 years of building (I'm slow, so sue me!) my RV-7 got it's airworthiness certificate yesterday. I had Bob Wood (DAR) perform the inspection. His price was quite reasonable, and he actually gave the plane a fairly thorough inspection. He was extremely enjoyable to work with, and I very much appreciated his attention to detail and willingness to share his experience. All in all, it was a great visit.

I now have the pink slip and my operating limitations in my hot little hands. I need to put the plane back together, address a few lingering issues, and get her ready to fly. I ordered my empennage kit on August 29, 2001, did the first work on the plane on September 13, 2001, and set the first rivets the next night. Next stop, first flight.

The best of luck and flying to you.

Congratulations!!

Dwight, congrats on this milestone--------not many left

Dwight-

Great news. Getting that pink slip is a great accomplishment. Have fun and be safe in your phase 1 flight testing.

Congratulatinos Dwight! I've been following your build for years and have been impressed by your persisitence. I KNEW you'd get there eventually!

Congrats!!

Pink Slip

Congrats. You stuck with it all these years, and now you will soon be sporting an RV Grin. Have fun, and fly safe.

Congratulations!

I hope to see you and your plane at Sun-n-Fun next year!

Always great to hear that another RV is in the air, Congrats!!!

Congratulations Dwight,

It is a moment that I too am approaching, I can not wait... Did my two hours of RV tail wheel time for the insurance requirement with Kent Gorton yesterday in 18 knot xwind, his RV 6 took a lot of rudder and I am thinking I might get another hour or so on a calmer day.. But had my first experience with a tailwheel RV.
I just have to be a little more less agressive with stick inputs, there is a lot of difference in a citabria and a Vans RV concerning inputs.
Even witha thousand hours of Beech 18 time on freight it is a big difference.but that was 35 years ago.
Smilin' Jack

Congrats!
I got my RV-8 airworthiness cert in June, but had some trouble with my custom engine. I'm not flying yet.
I just wanted to add that it might be a while before you are ready. So don't run headlong into that first flight. Your Baby deserves the same careful flight test program as your building program. I took Mike Seagar's conversion training, and I'm working from a flight test book(s).
It's taking longer than I expected, but I'm still having a hoot of fun.

Way to go, Dwight !!!

I got my pink slip one year ago this week, and I'll never forget what a milestone that was for me. Huge. Bigtime congratulations to you.

I appreciate all the congratulations, and kind words. I very much hear the thoughts about not rushing into flying before the plane (and I) are ready. That is uppermost on my mind. I do have an interesting problem, though.

I'm buttoning the RV back up from my inspection, and that is going well. I've already done transition training with Mike Seager, so I'm good there. I"ve stayed current by being partnered on a Citabria, so am good on that front (and the comments about how an RV is different from a Citabria sure resonated with me).

Here is the challenge ... in just 9 days, on the morning of September 4, our runway closes for (in theory) 50 days. They are rebuilding it. I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic about that 50 day estimate, but lets just say that if it runs long I won't be surprised. SO there is _some_ pressure to "get 'er done", and get in the air.

That said, I refuse to worry about the arbitrary deadline. If I fly before next Wednesday, fine. If not, fine. And if not I'll just spend 2 months working on wheel pants and gear leg fairings and other odds-and-ends. Or something. Right?? It has been 12 years and I just refuse to rush head-long in the last week and maybe try and fly before everything is really ready.

But, man, it is looking good now ... and, who knows, maybe I'll fly it before they close the runway.

Great outlook ...

You're spot on. This is no time to be in a hurry. That first flight requires a ton of planning and forethought. My planning for first flight tried to entail all the things that could go wrong and the best response in each case. When folks kept asking me when first flight would be, my response was, "When I'm certain I'm ready." The emphasis was on ME being ready, as that was a bigger challenge than the plane being ready.