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Lighten up! RV-9 builder and pilot Pete Howell always seems to be experimenting. A few months ago, at a quarterly meeting of the Minnesota Wing of Van's Air Force, he gave a presentation on his e-mag/p-mag set-up, and described how he can get his fuel flow down to around 4 gph in some cases. He was back for more last Saturday for more when the Wing held its first meeting of 2007 in the airpark hangar of Dick Nordquist, a multiple offender. This time, Pete has figured how to provide an outstanding HID landing/taxi light system, and still have money left over for lunch. (More)

The RV-12 drops in for a visit
Living at Independence Airpark, we are blessed with mild weather [What's your definition of mild? -Ed.], natural beauty, and lots of homebuilt aircraft. For those who like Van's RVs, Independence Airpark has for many years been home to a large contingent of RV builders and pilots. Many of our residents and chapter members have built at least one of each model Van's Aircraft has sold. EAA Chapter 292 was a natural place for Ken Krueger, engineering manager at Van's Aircraft, to visit with the new Light Sport concept airplane, the RV-12, on its first public flight outing. (EAA 292 newsletter)
Related links:
See more pictures
RV-12 home page

Big Bend by air
By RV, Big Bend is about three hours away from Waco into the wind, and two hours coming home. It's the perfect way to visit this visually exciting area and makes a great weekend getaway. (Mike McMains in EAA 59 newsletter)
Related link:
Big Bend RV tour (VAF)

The resistance
What is it about the Oregon area and homebuilding? It's not just Van's. And it's not just companies. It's the builders themselves. How did it start and what is the connection? Ken Scott takes a look. (Air & Space Magazine)

Am I ready to fly?
Spring has come and I'm ready and anxious to get my new homebuilt aircraft into the sky; our first flight! I have spent the last few weeks tweaking all the little odds and ends left over from building the project, and it's now or never! (Jack Dueck EAA Chapter 1410)
Related links:
Flight testing your homebuilt (Hotline)
Transition training in your RV (Hotline)

Confessions of a repeat offender
After spending a little over 2000 hours in the shop 'slow-building' the two place RV, I was riveted out and fiberglassed out and generally convinced that building an airplane was a once in a lifetime experience (or if you're lucky, less!) So why am I now most of the way through building an RV-10 in utter defiance of my own sage advice? (Dan Masys)

Under-dimpling epidemic
Occasionally, I am asked to check quite a few projects in their early stages. Of course this is a good idea so that the builder doesn't progress too far down the construction path with any bad metalworking habits. There is one problem I see in so many cases that I'd call it chronic: under-dimpling aluminum skins. Lately an increasing number of builders are opting for the somewhat new DRDT-2 welded steel c-frame rivet dimpler from Experimental Aero. After noticing several builders in a row who were underdimpling their holes I remembered that all of them had been using the DRDT-2 and became suspicious. Finally, when inspecting Bruce Swayze's RV-7A empennage work recently where I noticed the same thing, I began to suspect a correlation. (Randy Lervold in the "Home Wing's" newsletter)

Conduit in the wings
I thought you might be able to use this. There have been some very elegant solutions to running conduit in the wings, but I believe my solution is one of the easiest. I used 1/2" CPVC and pipe suspension clamps from the local ranch and supply store. The CPVC is thinner and lighter than PVC. It is intended for potable water and can be found in mobile home construction. (RV-9A builder John Morgensen)