RV Builder's Hotline - September 9, 2006

September 9, 2006

Hot threads online
•	Tail nav/strobe light install Ways to connect it to the rudder faring. (Yahoogroup)
•	RV-10 cowl fitting How much to trim (VAF)
•	A reminder not to play when you're tired Don't let this happen to you. (rvsqn)
•	When the hole ain't straight It matters on the wing attach. (Yahoo)
•	When elevators don't agree Could be a warp. (Rivetbangers)
•	XM antenna through fiberglass Will it work (RV List)
•	Van's wheel farings What works best to ensure good tire clearance? (RV List)
	Aileron stop Various techniques explored (VAF)
•	Trim tab position in level flight What's the proper configuration. (VAF)
•	Aviation engines How to learn. (VAF)
•	RV-6 step installation question. You know those steps? They break. (VAF)
•	Cylinders ECI vs. Superior vs. others. (RV List)
•	Is EFIS vulnerable at engine start? Is more protection in order? (AeroElectric)
•	Bose vs. Lightspeed Battle of the headsets (RV List)

FIRST FLIGHTS

Neville Boyle, Bendigo, Australia. RV-10. 8/20. (Pix)

Stuart Summers. Scarborough Qld
Australia. RV-6A. 9/6/06 (More at Van's)

Ronald Maier, Westbrook, Maine. RV-8. (More at Van's)

Frank Hinde, Corvallis, OR. RV-7A. 9/8/06 (More at Van's)

FEATURED STORY

Van's Homecoming 2006

Screenshot from Andy Karmy's movie

"This year's Van's Homecoming was well attended. I flew down to Aurora OR on Saturday to meet up with friends and browse the new planes. Things that stood out this year is that there were quite a few RV9As in attendance and the RV10s are starting to roll in. WOW the 10s that are being finished are seriously nice! From what I could see the RV10 with leather, glass panels, autopilot, etc is quite a competition for Cirrus (if someone wants to build it). Instead of still pictures this year I made a quick movie of the trip." (Andy Karmy on Karmy Flying Adventures Web site)
Related Links:
Dave Parsons' trip report
Van's Homecoming (Van's)
Dave Charno's pictures
Stanley fly-in
Morris SkyFest 2006 pictures

RV had "issue" with the right wing in Wyoming crash
Wyoming RV crash

National Transportation Safety Board Air Safety Investigator Jennifer Kaiser said witnesses reported seeing the left wing fold as the pilot, William "Bill" Armstrong of Laramie, pitched upward off of runway 03.(Laramie Boomerang)
Related link:
Fog factor in plane crash (Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

What's wrong with hardware stores?
AN hardware

Aircraft quality hardware is not that expensive and is dependable and consistent quality. The real question is why in the world would you want to risk you life on anything less? (Dave Vandenberg, EAA 439)

Baffles the RV-10 way
Baffles Rick Gray of the Ohio Valley RVators has been working for several days on baffles for his RV-10 project. View Rick's slideshow
Related threads & links:
I hate baffles (VAF)
Phil's RV-7 project: Baffle tour
Those baffling baffles (oncloud7.com)
Baffles (dualrudder.com)
Archive: Whither the FWF kit? (RV-List)

Aileron travel stop bracket
Aileron stops This issue cropped up on a couple of different bulletin boards this week. In fact, I raised it on the Yahoo list when my down travel on one aileron was 34 degrees. It also came up on VAF this week. In the end, however, all roads (airways?) lead to Mickey Coggins' solution.
Related link:
Aircraft rigging: Straighten up and fly right (Sport Aviation - Sept. '06)

To Brazil by RV Brazil

Hector Eduardo Iglesias had a dream when building his RV-6A. He wanted to fly from Houston to Brazil. He can cross it off his list now. (More)

CALENDAR
September 10-16, 2006

MN: Maple Lake. Sunday. Pork Chop fly-in. MGG Contact: Wayne Flury.

NC: Asheboro. Friday-Saturday. Airfest 2006. 25 NC.

WI: Racine. Saturday-Sunday. Wings and Wheels. RAC. (More)

COMING UP
OH: EAA 1409 Technical Fly-in. Wood County Regional Airport. Saturday September 16. (See schedule -- pdf)

NM: Santa Teresa. Land of Enchantment RV Fly-in. October 13-14 (More)

ACCIDENT REPORTS

NEW INCIDENTS
None Reported

OTHER NEWS

Great shakes
On the inside of prop vibration testing (AvWeb)

Calendar worthy?
Van's is looking for photos for their 2007 calendar. They should use construction photos one of these years.

RV area at Cooperstate?
Aircraft parking boss Jim McChesney wants your opinion. (RV-List)

Cowl modifications
Bob Axsom details his. (EAA Chapter 732 September newsletter)

What are RV10 selling for?
About $230,000 for this one. Does anyone build these to actually fly them themselves?

Are you looking for trouble?
The issue is not whether you're paranoid; the issue is whether you're paranoid enough. (J.R. Warmkessel in Flight Line)

Mike Seager trains RV-ators
Lauran Paine Jr. writes about this full-time transition instructor. (Page 118 September Sport Aviation. No electronic copy available)
Related link:
The Mike Seager Program

NEW WEB SITE LISTINGS

Phil Mercier's RV-4 project (Go)

ChucChub.com (Go)

HOTLINE UPDATE

Next week, if all goes well, the Hotline will be delivered by way of a new program that Rob Riggen has developed at ExperCraft. It should make producing and distributing the Hotline more efficient. You'll also be able to manage your subscription so that there's no human handling requests to subscribe/unsubscribe etc. (of course, we've only had 1 unsubscribe request in 6 months and we're closing in on 1,000 subscribers! )

BUILDER QUICK Q & A & TIPS

Control locks

Control lock For a neat idea, here's what I did on my RV- 6A. This is made from a simple coat hanger. Just drill a couple of holes in the bottom flange of your instrument panel and it fits like this. This holds it rock solid and I kept it tucked away in the seat pocket when not in use. BTW - this was fellow RV builder Paul Golias' idea originally. Of course like all good ideas, I shamelessly copied it (Eric Newton in EAA 105's September newsletter)

Fuel Drain tip
There I was this morning just doing some detail things to kill time while I wait for some parts. I decided to install the fuel drain on my left wing. I put some fuel lube on the threads and started screwing it in. It went about four turns and stopped. Fearing I had it crossed threaded, I pulled it out and verified the the threads in the valve and the fitting were fine. I put a little oil on the valve but still no luck. The drawing shows the fuel drain flush with the fitting. I couldn't find anything in the directions. I measured the valve and saw it was a tapered fitting. Before I grabbed a bigger wrench, I called Vans. They said, "Oh yea, the drain only goes in three to four turns, that's an error on the drawings". Good thing I didn't grab that bigger wrench. I can't imagine the havoc I would've created if I had followed the drawing. For those of you coming up to this part, the drain sticks out, about 5/8th's of an inch of threads showing. Torque to about 70 in lbs and you should be all set. Jorge Fernandez Miami, FL (VAF)

ARCHIVES

See a list of previous RV Builder Hotlines organized by date and subject. (Go)

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

The plan to drive the car a little longer and use the money for the RV project seemed like a good idea at the time.

Actually, I don't know exactly what this is, but an RV-10 builder in Switzerland just documented his trip to Lithuania to fly a Yak. See the entry for September 6th here.

The RV Builder's Newsletter is published every Saturday morning and is distributed to those interested in building and flying the RV aircraft featured by Van's Aircraft Inc. There is no cost to subscribe and the newsletter is delivered by e-mail in html format. Archives of the newsletters are available at http://rvbuildershotline.com. ©2006 Bob Collins. This newsletter is not endorsed by, approved by, or affiliated with Van's Aircraft Inc., although we like to think they think this is a good idea. Please send news, letters, pictures or comments. If you would no longer care to receive this newsletter, just click here and hit SEND. I promise, it really will unsubscribe you.