Simon Hitchen
Well Known Member
Building Motivation
While searching the web for interesting color schemes for my 7 I came across an RV-7 owned by Darwin Barrie. I emailed Darwin and asked if he had any other photos I could take a look at, he promptly replied and did indeed kindly send me some additional shots. It was then that I noticed that Darwin was based in Arizona. I fly for an airline and as luck would have it I had a 48 hour layover in Phoenix coming up a few days later. I emailed Darwin and asked if a hangar visit was possible and convenient. I was quickly invited to come on down to his home/hangar to see the aircraft and even do some flying with him, more than I had expected. We met at 9:00 AM on a perfect 70 degree, calm, sunny Arizona spring morning and spent the next 7 hours talking shop, screaming around the desert and eating mexican food! It was a very enjoyable day to say the least. As anyone who has seen Darwin's 7 knows, it's a beautifully finished aircraft and a really motivates those still building to keep on pounding those rivets! Of particular note is the quality of all the glass work on the aircraft, boy I have a lot to learn.
Here are some of the photos
Enroute to PHX over Denver MSA 16800
Strapping in to 7EE
Flying down the mountain ridge
A few slow rolls
On approach to Stella air park
And finally a proud owner, Darwin with Bailley
Many thanx to Darwin for a great day out and top marks to the Forum and the Vans community for making this sort of experience possible. Gotta go do some building!!! PS Note to all pilots....Refried beans and 9 hours at 35000 feet, not a good combination....Aircon Packs to high flow!
While searching the web for interesting color schemes for my 7 I came across an RV-7 owned by Darwin Barrie. I emailed Darwin and asked if he had any other photos I could take a look at, he promptly replied and did indeed kindly send me some additional shots. It was then that I noticed that Darwin was based in Arizona. I fly for an airline and as luck would have it I had a 48 hour layover in Phoenix coming up a few days later. I emailed Darwin and asked if a hangar visit was possible and convenient. I was quickly invited to come on down to his home/hangar to see the aircraft and even do some flying with him, more than I had expected. We met at 9:00 AM on a perfect 70 degree, calm, sunny Arizona spring morning and spent the next 7 hours talking shop, screaming around the desert and eating mexican food! It was a very enjoyable day to say the least. As anyone who has seen Darwin's 7 knows, it's a beautifully finished aircraft and a really motivates those still building to keep on pounding those rivets! Of particular note is the quality of all the glass work on the aircraft, boy I have a lot to learn.
Here are some of the photos
Enroute to PHX over Denver MSA 16800
Strapping in to 7EE
Flying down the mountain ridge
A few slow rolls
On approach to Stella air park
And finally a proud owner, Darwin with Bailley
Many thanx to Darwin for a great day out and top marks to the Forum and the Vans community for making this sort of experience possible. Gotta go do some building!!! PS Note to all pilots....Refried beans and 9 hours at 35000 feet, not a good combination....Aircon Packs to high flow!
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