Hot threads online • Why so many for sale? Probably because they fetch a good price.(VAF) • Towing RVs Don't use the tail tie-down (RV-List) • Nightmare annual A good lesson: do the inspection before you buy. (VAF) • Cable tie adhesive They stay stuck, but not for long. (VAF) • HS/Elevator gap An oldie but a goodie. (Rivetbangers) • Rightly baffled A jigsaw puzzle without a picture.(VAF) • Fitting brakes to A Models And tips on running lines through gear weldments (VAF) • Oil Filters You can pay 'em now, or... (RV-List) • Tip-up forward skin fitting Some problems never go away. (VAF) • Sun n'Fun specials What new products await? (VAF) • Instrument panel water jet cutting. Who does it? (RV-List) • Engine mount hole drilled incorrectly Ouch! • Rattle can primer How many to do an entire airplane? (VAF)

FIRST FLIGHTS Shirley Harding, RV-6, 4/2/06, Perth, Australia (More) Ami Gale, RV4, 4/3/06, Sydney, Aus. (More) Bob Green, RV4, 3/31/06,

Flying Stories Flying to Mexico Dan Checkoway gave a talk at an EAA chapter meeting last Saturday night. He's had several fascinating travellogs on his site about his trips there. If you have Powerpoint on your computer, you can download his slideshow. (Download 4 mb)

SportPilot TV highlights Van's

Richard VanGrunsven, founder of Van's Aircraft, was featured in last weekend's edition of Sport Pilot TV, one of the better kept secrets on cable. The episode, filmed in 2005, featured an interview with Van and a little flying in the RV-10, which he called "the flying truck" of the fleet.

The show, which is intended for a very general overview of sport piloting, focused on Van's advice for deciding whether to build. "The first thing is to ask, 'is it really going to do what I want it to do?,' and the next question is, 'do I really have the capacility and time to build it?'" he said.

He described the fleet as "not gaudy, so we make up for that by attention to detail," citing the use of flush rivets, and the fairings on the landing gear,which he said are "a little tighter" than on a production aircraft. Though the episode was focused on the novice, he repeated his oft-repeated advice on attention to detail where speed is concerned. "It all ads up, a 1/2 mile (per hour) here, a mile there," he said. His favorite RV? The RV-8, he said.
Related Links:
SportPilot TV

Images from Sun N' Fun
RVator Cary Rhodes spent a good deal of Tuesday snapping pictures from Sun 'n Fun, which opened on Tuesday. Plenty of terrific pictures of beautiful RVs,and, of course, other things.. High-speed connection or plenty of time needed. (Go there)
Related links:
News from Sun 'n Fun (AOPA)

Cape Fly-in
RVator The four Durban RVs departed for Cape Town heading for Johannesburg. After routing via north west of Bloemfontein during inclement weather, they finally headed south! Eight hours later, some very tired looking RVators arrived at the beautiful Stellenbosch airfield. (South African Wing - VAF)

RV builders anchor Wichita's close-knot aviation community
Wichita's close-knit aviation community has a subset of dedicated experimental-aircraft enthusiasts.The airplane Steve Waltner expects to fly someday landed in his driveway three years ago -- $17,000 worth of pieces packed in a 6-by-16-foot crate. (Witchita Eagle)

Would rather build than fly
Beaming like a proud papa, Bill McAuliffe flips through a photo album filled with pictures of the flight he made to Alaska in the Glastar airplane he built from a kit. Behind him is the aluminum-covered frame of the RV-9A he’s now building. (Villages Daily Sun)

Van's visit to SLC
I went inside the FBO and asked at the desk if the pilots were still around and sure enough there they were looking at the weather on the computer. I introduced myself and they did so in return. It took me a few seconds to realize...(Mike Howe's Web site)

Gauges to Glass
On the cutting edge of general aviation is the new avionics we're seeing in almost every line of aircraft now. It's not at all inappropriate to say systems like the Garmin G-1000 and the Avidyne Integra are revolutionary in both their scope and capabilites. (Three part podcast from ANN)