FloMo14Builder
Active Member
I am feeling highly motivated tonight after a couple of great experiences with the Vans community today.
First I met Deene Ogden at GTU where I not only came away with my shiny new used DRDT2 dimpler, but also tons of builder tips and things to watch for, techniques, etc... I am amazed how much he managed to teach me in the 45 or so minutes I spent in his hanger, hanging out next to his RV-8.
Fast forward a couple hundred miles up I35 and I decided to swing by 52F on my way home with my new tool. I drove by the Van Cave to see if I could squeeze in another chat session with some ?RV people? but by then it was late in the day and the hanger door was closed. As I drove past taxiway Charlie and the Van cave, I pulled into the next taxiway to turn around and head to the house. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of an RV sitting in a hanger with the door open. I decided not to make the uturn just yet and do a quick drive-by of the neighboring hangers, which were also still open. As I looked into the opposing hanger I see an RV-8 sitting front and center and I thought ?cool, 2 RVs right here!? And then BOOM I look into the next hanger and there are no less than 5 RVs of various versions staring back at me!
At this point the u-turn became a parking maneuver. As I walked up to the hanger, I was greeted by a friendly face under a Vans Airforce hat. I had stumbled upon the hanger of Randy Richmond. Besides being what Kitplanes magazine describes as a legendary A&P mechanic I can tell you Randy is a very friendly and helpful person. He immediately stopped working on the baffles of the RV he was working on and began to answer any questions I could come up with. We talked about different kit versions, engine selection, avionics, planes he has worked on over the years. I found myself soaking in knowledge as fast as I could, for the second time today. We were soon joined by a retired naval aviator(who?s name I failed to write down..). The conversation then quickly expanded to include preformance comparrisons of his 8 and several of the RVs at 52F and the engines pulling them. This discussion then evolved into a wonderful story of an arrestor hook landing in Da Nang.
All this while standing among a flock of RVs! I was in heaven and had to peel myself away to get back to the real world.
So THANK YOU Vans Airforce and the Vans builder community for welcoming me in today. I am super excited to be starting this journey in earnest!
First I met Deene Ogden at GTU where I not only came away with my shiny new used DRDT2 dimpler, but also tons of builder tips and things to watch for, techniques, etc... I am amazed how much he managed to teach me in the 45 or so minutes I spent in his hanger, hanging out next to his RV-8.
Fast forward a couple hundred miles up I35 and I decided to swing by 52F on my way home with my new tool. I drove by the Van Cave to see if I could squeeze in another chat session with some ?RV people? but by then it was late in the day and the hanger door was closed. As I drove past taxiway Charlie and the Van cave, I pulled into the next taxiway to turn around and head to the house. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of an RV sitting in a hanger with the door open. I decided not to make the uturn just yet and do a quick drive-by of the neighboring hangers, which were also still open. As I looked into the opposing hanger I see an RV-8 sitting front and center and I thought ?cool, 2 RVs right here!? And then BOOM I look into the next hanger and there are no less than 5 RVs of various versions staring back at me!
At this point the u-turn became a parking maneuver. As I walked up to the hanger, I was greeted by a friendly face under a Vans Airforce hat. I had stumbled upon the hanger of Randy Richmond. Besides being what Kitplanes magazine describes as a legendary A&P mechanic I can tell you Randy is a very friendly and helpful person. He immediately stopped working on the baffles of the RV he was working on and began to answer any questions I could come up with. We talked about different kit versions, engine selection, avionics, planes he has worked on over the years. I found myself soaking in knowledge as fast as I could, for the second time today. We were soon joined by a retired naval aviator(who?s name I failed to write down..). The conversation then quickly expanded to include preformance comparrisons of his 8 and several of the RVs at 52F and the engines pulling them. This discussion then evolved into a wonderful story of an arrestor hook landing in Da Nang.
All this while standing among a flock of RVs! I was in heaven and had to peel myself away to get back to the real world.
So THANK YOU Vans Airforce and the Vans builder community for welcoming me in today. I am super excited to be starting this journey in earnest!