+4.5 more for Phase 1. More climb and descent performance testing on Thursday, started methodically testing cruise performance (for range and endurance numbers) on Friday, and then lunch in Livermore Sunday. Wanted to get as much flying in as I could before starting my first condition inspection today.
Took our first trip in the RV. It was the first post phase 1 flight and my wife's first flight in the plane. A beautiful 1 hour flight to a pancake breakfast fly in. RV grins everywhere!
After 17 years of flying over 1000 hours and 3 cracks (appeared over 12 years ago stopped drilled and never grown), I finally decided to reskin my rudder with the 0.020" skins. Just need final fit and finish then I will fly without paint until my hangarmate gets some free time to spray paint for me.
Old skin on floor; new skin on installed rudder.
I have been taping or reinserting the weatherstrip at my wing root fairing since Phase I. The project finally has gotten done - some clips were made and added to the intersection fairing. If you do this it is recommended to mount the clip farther forward so the spar is not under the screw. It works fine, but the screw and nutplate (epoxied in place) was shortened.
Flew from Sacramento to Medford to drop off the wife to visit some friends.
Wify really does not like flying the -7 much but was smooth a silk so she enjoyed it. Nice to have the plane earning it's keep after all the work in recently. Pic of Mt. Shasta on the way back.
Two day last minute getaway for my lovely wife and I to South Haven, Michigan. We stayed at a B & B that was wide open - we were the only guests. Their tourist season doesn’t really start for a couple weeks, at which time it gets crowded and the prices almost double. One quick call to the FBO at the South Haven airport had us a rental car from the local Ford dealer and a night in a hangar (for only $35). When I pulled up to the FBO, the manager was waiting for me - he pulled the car around, opened the hangar, and helped me with our luggage. I felt like a movie star. My little RV6 was the only plane in that new big hangar. Easy trip - 1+15 flight vs a four hour+ drive. South Haven is a quaint, fun town, right on Lake Michigan.
Stopped in for day-two of the three day annual fly-in at VG16 in southwestern Virginia. The Landis family does an awesome job and could not be more hospitable. There were over 100 planes and 400 people at the event this year, as evidenced by the aerial photo. I'm the last one on the right!
When manufacturing my fuselage I installed an additional anchornut in the lower skin specifically for that job. I have a retaining clip that is screwed on to hold the rubber strip. Works a charm.
Pics taken on a post-maintenance test flight today. Three Fingers Mountain is about 21 miles east of Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO). The Three Fingers Lookout, which was built in 1930, is perched atop the south finger at about 6,500'.
Three Fingers Mountain, with the south finger on the right. The Cascades are in the background.