TOP TIPS

The art of the bend I finished most of my in-cockpit plumbing last spring and over the summer. I went through lots of tubing and at least two benders and while the result was functional, it didn't give me the sense of mastery that I was looking for in the art of tube bending. Dave Parsons, of dualrudder.com fame, offered to put together a tutorial on tube bending and this week he presented the final result. As you might expect from Dave if you've been to his site, it's terrific. (Go)

Big crowd at Minnesota Wing of VAF
An estimated 80 people and over a dozen RV aircraft showed up for today's (Saturday) meeting of the Minnesota Wing of Van's Air Force. It was one of the largest turnouts ever, held in the Spirit of St. Croix hangar of president Doug Weiler and RV-7 builder Paul Hove. Members heard presentations on Valspar paint, the travels of Tim Olson's RV-10, DAR Tim Mahoney's concerns, and Pete Howell on EMags and PMags as well as lean-of-peak operations. I also took plenty of pictures. (More)
Related link:
See Flash slideshow from the meeting

Canopy installation option for RV-6
I have seen many canopy installations and they all looked good. The thing I ran across when installing my canopy and rails was that the rails that fit on top of the longerons extended outside the skin at the rear of the rails. (John Danielson in RVator's Log)

High marks for Mattituck seminar
Teledyne Mattituck held another one of its occasional seminars for pilots considering engine choices last weekend. And as before, it got rave reviews. (Yahoo | VAF)
Related Links:
Dan Baier's Mattituck seminar photo album (Yahoogroups)
Mike Bullock's photos
Teledyne Mattituck Web site
Seminar write-up (Ohio Valley RVers)

Rocket crash kills two
John Lauer, 71, and a boy died Saturday afternoon when their small plane -- a Harmon Rocket -- slammed into an alfalfa field in southwest Bakersfield, Calif. (Bakersfield Californian)
Related story:
Pilot died doing what he loved (KGET)
After-the-crash introspection (SoCal Yahoo)
Family remembers young boy killed in crash (KGET)

Panel flying impressions
"Initially I had trouble coming to terms with where to locate items for both ergonomics, visibility, redundancy, and function.  After having flown behind my panel for a while now, I can give a report as to how the layout and some systems are working."  (Tim Olson on MyRV10.com)

RV-4 restoration project
Perusing the chapter newsletter of EAA 1311 (Indiana), I came across this sad image: the wreckage of an RV-4, the victim of a bad landing this passed summer. Tim LeBaron has purchased it and is making it a new project. (More)

Landing on a lakebed
I had two thoughts when I first looked at Dan Checkoway's pictures of landing on a dry lakebed. First, I thought, "wow, that'd be easier than nailing it at Lake Elmo (21D)." But then, "hey, your peripheral vision would be useless landing there." The SoCal folks are planning a dead-stick landing contest there. Find out more in Dan's travelogue. (More)

Flying at night
To be in the air and see falling stars, the Northern lights, or maybe just our great country on a clear night is almost indescribable. Like all things in aviation, there are some additional risks to consider, and by proper planning and preparation, we can minimize these and enjoy night flight. (Todd Mather, EAA 50)

Riveting an un-snug assembly
Here's a tip via VAF on squeezing rivets when both pieces don't rest together quite right when squeeze. "Use a piece of rubber tube. This is pretty thick stuff and therefore it's not much over 1.5D. The hole in the tube could be even smaller, but this is what I was able to found my shop. The correct length rubber squeezes surfaces tightly against each other before the rivet starts to squeeze. Small difference in thickness of the tube will have big difference when squeezing. In fact, for AD3s and AD4s you'll need own helpers. Put the rubber tube to the shop head side and squeeze gently with the squeezer. As this rubber tube is pretty thick I don't squeeze rivet to the final length so after it has started to squeeze I remove the tube as the surfaces will stay together already. After this, just finish the rivet normally. (More)

Heads up!
This is one of the more interesting threads I've seen in quite awhile. How to mount the AOA? Of course, the glareshield makes the most sense, but the idea is how to make it a "head-up" display. That is: in your line of sight. Jim Ellis shows us how in this VAF thread. (More)

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

PICTURE OF THE WEEK Reader John Keen sent this along this week. It's a picture he snapped of someone's -7 at the Sport Aircraft Association of Australia (SAAA)'s annual convention at Wagga Wagga in October. "The back end of (I'm pretty sure) Australia's first flying -10 in the background," says John. Beautiful sky, beautiful plane. Thanks, John! I also have a new crop of POTW's just in. Why not send your submissions too?