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This year was to the be the first traveling to OSH in my new RV-7, however, events conspired against me and although the RV is now flying, it was short about 15 hours on the test program and some bugs are still being worked out. So… it was United once again to Chicago in the big human mailing tube. My normal trip is to depart early Sunday AM from SEA, arriving mid-afternoon at Oshkosh, and returning the following Thursday. It seems like the veterans seems to be there for the early part of the convention, while the locals descend on the site the later part of the week. Based on the RV parking there at OSH, this theory seems to be true.

I had previously flown into Chicago, then caught a flight up to Appleton. IT’s worked OK the last couple years but getting out of Appleton on the return has always been a little iffy. This time, I just rented a car in Chicago and headed towards Oshkosh. Unfortunately, most of the freeways around Chicago are under construction adding a little complexity to the trip. In all my years flying out there commercial, I think the best option is going into Milwaukee and renting the car. From there, OSH is only 1.5 hours.

As per plan I departed SEA and arrived on time at ORD, then procured a car and headed to the north, driving it in about 3 hours. I’ve been staying with family friends in the campground and this year was no different. A 25’ trailer was already set up in the woods close to the gates making the walk very convenient. As I arrived late in the day, I didn’t get to watch the Sunday arrivals but did get to have an iced beverage when I got there.

On Monday I started out with a quick tour through a couple exhibit halls just to see what’s there this year, then headed towards the Replica Fighter Association building, tucked into the southeast corner of the RV parking. I spend a fairly amount of time with that organization at OSH, and it doesn’t hurt that the clubhouse is airconditioned! The number of RV’s seems to grow each year and it was estimated that there were over 400 on site the first couple days. The peak seems to be Tuesday and by Thursday the parking seems to empty significantly.

There seemed to have been a lot of expectation that the attendance was going to be down this year, mainly due to economy and fuel prices. It didn’t take long on Monday to realize that the number of aircraft on the field was high and crowds seemed consistent with past numbers. The end of convention numbers released by EAA seemed to bear this out with a slight drop on attendance, but high numbers of aircraft.

Every year there are a number of highlights on the field and this year was no different. Monday afternoon the Boeing Dream Lifter showed up on somewhat short notice. Most of us have seen it flying around the local Seattle area, but in person, it’s a really big airplane! Another highlight was to be the Mitchell “Jet Pack” but I suspect that turned out to be a massive low-light, with some embarrassment to EAA for the promotion. A huge crowd showed up at Aero Shell Square to watch the flight, but all most saw was the tops of a lot of heads. The sound system was way too inadequate, and after waiting an hour, the actual flight demonstration was significantly underwhelming. Even in flight, all of 2 feet off the ground, you really couldn’t see anything but the top of the pilots head bobbing around. The owner said they had made thousands of flights, but it seemed that these were all in a low hover. Oh well. Maybe not quite ready for prime time.

The V-22 Osprey showed but I had already departed back home, but I did get to see two F-22’s arrive on Thursday AM. These are still fun to watch.

The afternoon airshow was for the most part, a lot of the same, but for the Yaks. A group of 3 Yak 52’s put on a great show that was really entertaining. The normal Stearman and T-6 acts were also there, but I’m just getting too old for the prop noise I think. The AV-8 Harrier also put on an afternoon demo each afternoon and for as old as it is, it’s still fun to watch. Really loud, but fun to watch just the same.

The weather this year was great for the whole week. Temps were between 80 and 90 degrees ,with light winds, making it a little on the warm side, but for once, we didn’t’ have a major storm roll though during the week.

It’s always good to shop a bit during the visit so I picked up a couple things for the RV. I’ve noticed that the shopping list changes drastically from the build phase to the fly phase and I’m not sure which is cheaper!

Overall, it was another good year at Oshkosh. There’s always a couple new airplanes to look at, a lot of the same ones, some new products, and one or two new airshow acts. Then again, I suppose it’s not about about all that, but mainly it’s about seeing friends I haven’t seen in the last year, having a couple beers and brats, and generally experiencing life in the Mid-West for a week. The convention is only over by a week and I can’t wait till next year, when I’m flying the RV back!

Mid-Morning on June 7, RV-7 303P finally levitated off the ground, 4 days short of 6 years, and 14000 rivets, since the empennage kit arrival. This first flight was conducted under  1800 broken/ overcast sky at Arlington, WA (AWO). The weather has been exceptionally cruddy recently so I was looking for enough airspace to go out and run circuits around the pattern to get the engine exercised. Dave Parsons was standing-by on ground crew this week after we called off the flight last weekend due to low clouds. The RV cranked on the 2^nd try (I really need to figure out the best way to start this)and I proceeded to the Three-Four hammerhead for run-up. All systems looked good an I started the data recorder for flight #1. There was a Cessna 140 in the pattern, but aside from that, I had the area to myself which was good. The plan was to remain in a high pattern and just make a couple laps to test the engine systems, slow down, come down to pattern altitude, make one low approach, go-around, then a final full-stop.

I took Runway 34 and slowly advanced the throttle. In what seemed about 100 feet, the RV levitated off the ground. I don’t recall having enough time to actually raise the tail and the departure angle seemed ridiculously steep. It really didn’t’ take long and I was at about 1700’ by crosswind and I just let it accelerate. The GRT  was only seeing about 1800 RPM but the engine sure seemed to be doing it’s thing so I figured I had an indication problem. I raced around the circuit several times, then pulled the power back a bit to start a decent into the pattern. At that time I started hearing a faint thumping on the fuselage and I wondered what that was. I did see 197 MPH on one downwind, full throttle with no gear fairings or wheel pants, so I’m thinking this airplane is going to match Van’s numbers. Very cool.  

Well I managed to get the airplane slowed down and extended the flaps 50% per Mike Seager’s training. So far no problem but on base leg, that thumping was more pronounced and I decided to put it on the ground. Full flaps, 85 MPH, and I had the runway made. Taxi back was a non-event and I shut it down. Total time was .5, just right for the first flight. Time for breakfast at the local airport café, as well as some well-needed time to relax.

On inspection, I found that the left rubber wing root seal had pulled free a bit (it was too long) on the bottom aft end, and was thumping in the wind stream so it was a good decision to cut it short. Dave and I pulled the cowl and found about two drops of oil in the bottom of the cowl which was attributed to a slightly loose #3 cylinder head oil return line at the case. This was tightened.  As for the RPM, I dug through the GRT EIS manual and determined that the RPM config setting was incorrect. It was 0 and should have been a 1. I also lowered the idle RPM slightly as I thought it was a bit high (this has a knock-on effect). OK, that’s fixed. I cut the wing root seal a bit and got that reinstalled.  

Dave had to head for home, but there was time for one more flight. Plan was basically the same but I wanted to validate the RPM fix. Once the engine started, it was evident that the RPM indication was fixed. Taxi and run-up were normal and it was time to fly again. Departure once again was a blast. With ½ tanks and no passenger, this really climbs. I spent about .5 running round the pattern again, this time at 2400’ as the ceiling had come up a bit. This time I had some time to relax and just watch the airplane and It really seems to fly nice. I thought the right wing was a little heavy, but it trimmed out with the ailerons still in line with the wing tips. I did get back down to pattern altitude and with a nice little cross wind on 34, about 7 kts or so, made a decent 3-point landing. Remember the bit about adjusting the idle? Well, on rollout, things got quiet, really quiet. And by the time my brain figured out the engine was winding down, it had quit, and I just missed the first turn-off. Bummer. Well, I shut down the avionics (which dumped my flight 2 data) and pushed it off the runway where we finally got it restarted. A couple RV guys from AWO helped get it going again.

Post flight inspection showed no oil leakage at all this time so I was pretty happy. We did pull the cowl and re-set the idle with the proper instrument indications. Other than the RPM indication and the left wing fairing seal, the flight went really well and I’m happy with the airplane. If the weather holds, I’m back up tomorrow. This is soooooo cool (and so worth it)!

Here's a link to the first flight video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=AcmQvlAcyGQ 

Side note: Russ “Erbman” Erb, good friend and fellow founding cohort of EAA Chapter 1000 at Edwards AFB, CA, spent the last 11+ years building a very nice looking plans-built Bearhawk (http://eaa1000.av.org/pix/erbpix/erbpix.htm) . As luck would have it, we both had DAR inspections on the same date and as if it weren’t possible, both of our projects had first flights on the same day! Congrats Russ!

Well, it's time for an update. I've been pounding away at the final open squawks on the RV, a little at a time. It seems like I'm playing Whack-a-Mole though, just when I finish one, another pops up. The good thing is that there seems to be net progress. My DAR (Federali Appointed inspector, is due on May 27th, so I need to get things wrapped up. Weight and Balance was accomplished and I have an empty weight of 1108 without wheel pants, gear leg fairings, carpets and baggage interior. That does include both pilot and co-pilot seats, boosters, armrests and harness. With all that junk installed, it pops up to 1128, with 62 on the tail. Overall, it's a bit heavy, but with the constant speed prop, and full IFR avionics, most of the weight is on the nose, keeping it well within the CG range. My empty CG camp out at 79.2" at teh 1128 weight, which is pretty good. I can basically go almost 200 lbs over gross, with full baggage (100 lbs), and still be forward of the aft limit. Basically, that's two 250 pounders, full baggage, and full tanks. Not too bad.

I ended up in Scappoose, OR for a couple days this week for RV transition training with Mike Seager. Now Mike has literaly about 10,000 hours in RVs and makes his living doing nothing but transition training. Real nice guy and knows his stuff. I had scheduled several months in advance so we never know how the weather is going to behave at this time of the year. Below is the Scappoose Creek Inn, located just off the airport and a 3 minute walk.

Day 1 Flight1:

The morining was pretty cruddy weather-wise, but not un-flyable. First things first, we reviewed my flying to-date, then started in with the pattern and landing processes. I suppose he's not that concerned with the air work, but it's the pattern that's key. Mike drew out the proceedures on paper which ended up being fairly straight forward. In the pattern we're looking for 100 MPH on downwind, then slowing to 85 abeam touchdown. Flaps half, 1200 RPM, and then trim. That takes about 5 seconds, then it's time to turn base. Full flaps, more trim, stay at 85. Turn final, aim for the numbers in a fairly steep approach. I suppose that for a Cessna driver, this approach is going to be a little steep, but for my Boredom Fighter, the sight picture seemed about the same.  With the runway made on short final, power to idle, level out about 10', let teh airspeed and begin the flare. That's about it.

So we pulled the RV-7 out, did the preflight and saddled up. Nothing really spectacular here and everything was fairly basic. This particular -7 has an O-320, fixed-pitch, with steam gages. Switches are generally arranged in the lower left of the panel, while the flap switch is just above the throttle.

We taxied out to the hammerhead and got ready to depart 15 at Scappoose, planning on hopping the west ridge and do some airwork in the next valley. Taxi was OK, but ther'e a big blind spot on the right side. I'm used to seeing good visibility out both sides, so this is a change. The O-320 powered RV accellerates  nice and I was really surprised at the right rudder required for takeoff. I'm used to some in my biplane, but not this much. We were able to climb out to about 900' and worked out way over to the the next valley where the clouds opened up and we had a bunch of space to work.

We started with the basics of the airplane control, jsut feeling how the plane handled. Some rudder yaws, aileron rolls, and pitch pull and pitch. After that exercise, it was time for some turns. At about 2500', we did normal 360 degree turns left and right, then slowed to 85 for another set of 360's, left and right, and finally, slowed to 70 MPH (full flaps) for the final set. Cool, no problem. The airplane doesn't need too much elevator for the 30-degree turns, but we do need some rudder.

It was time to head back so we made our way back to the airport for pattern work. Using the numbers previously reviewed, I attempted to match the process. I didn't feel too far behind the airplane, expecially since I haven't flown in some time due the previously blogged knee work. In short we were able to accomplish two stop-and goes without killing the airplane so that's a good deal.  Below is Mike's RV-7.

Day 1, Flight 2

It was 1:00 and time to fly again. When flying with Mike, he likes to do four sessions in a day, so a guy generally flies at 8:00 AM and 1:00 PM, giving a nice break in between. If the airplane is a serious challange, you might really need the break. I've been staying at the Scappoose Creek Inn, a B&B just off the airport, but only a 5 minute walk, so I decided to have lunch at the Hawaiian-themed resturaunt on-site. Owners have changed since I was here a couple years ago and the new owners have done the eatery in a Hawaiian theme, complete with Hawaiian music and lots of island stuff on the walls. The Hawaiian BBQ pork sandwich was pretty good but even on a nice sunny day, it seemed a little out of place. Oh well, the food was OK.

I showed up on time and we got right to the flying after putting some gas in the plane. This time around I was ready for the right rudder on takeoff so the departures are a lot smoother this time around. Weather was still a little cloudy but we did make it over the ridge to the practice area with no problems. After climbing to 2500, Mike had me warm up with some 360 turns again but since I'm also doing a BFR at the same time, he starts asking me airspace cloud clearance questions in the middle of manuevers. OK, 2500', 2350 RPM, a little aft stick, oh, let's see, we're in Class....um... pull a bit more, now too high....ummm, Class E. "Well how do you know?" OK, coming through heading 180, looking for 250, 50' low on altitude..... um...."We're over 1200' and below 18000', not in Class D or B....OK, here comes 250 degrees, roll out. Now to the right...OK, a bit more pull...."So what's cloud clearances where we are?...man, I have to think...and on it went. Doing the BFR Part 91 review while learning how to fly a new airplane. I love it!

We completed the interrogation and progressed to stalls, both power off, flaps up and down, as well as departure stalls. The RV has a slight buffet and a pronounced departure so I can see where a guy could get bit if he's not paying attention. I also learned that the recovery is just a gentle relaxiation of the stick. I was tending to let the stick go forward too much, resulting in a pretty good nose down. I suspect we'll do some more of those later.

It was on to McMinnville from the airwork so we departed the area and headed to McMinnville. It was really a nice day down there with just a little breeze and clear skies. Overall, I think I got the landings down with about 10 stop-n-goes. At first Mike handled the radios, but I was feeling a little more comfortable and started working those back in. No problem. Without pranging the plane too bad, we departed McMinnville and headed back to Scappoose where the clouds were still a little low. The coolest part was having to fly around a group of thee Bald Eagles on downwind for the first pattern, then miss another group of 4 on final for the last landing.

We finished up with a 1.7 for a total of 2.5 for the day. It was a good workout but good to be flying the RV. I can't wait to get my -7 flying! One thing I didn't even thing about until later in the day was the left hand stick in this airplane. With the exception of some sporatic C-172 and Piper time, most of my flying is right hand stick, left hand throttle. I had no problems with this airplane with the left hand stick/ right hand throttle. I didn't even think about it until later in the evening.

Day 2, Flight 1

Once again it's an 8:00 flight and Mike showed up on-time ready to go. This mornings weather was mid-60's and generally clear, but the wind was out of the north at 10G16 so it was going to be a little bumpy. The plan for the flight was to head over to Mike's airstrip and pick up his briefcase and while there, do a couple landings on grass. His airport (Vernonia) sits in a little valley and has a neat little dogleg final. It's a bit bumpy but no problem. We really didn't do too much airwork this time around, and after 3 landings at his home strip, we headed back to Scappoose. Once back in the pattern, we did a lot of landings including some no-flaps and smoothed out the takeoffs with the gusty winds. After we were done, I needed another hour, but Mike thought I was generally good-to-go. This afternoon's flight will be a little shorter and we're planning on going to find some crosswind. For the morning we logged another 1.7 with another 12 landings to a full stop. Pretty good use of time.

Day 2, Flight 2

The plan of for the afternoon is to keep it somewhat short but attempt to go find a good crosswind to practice x-wind landings. With the wind today, it shouldn't be too hard. We departed SPB and headed to the south towards Hillsboro for some work in the local Class D. Outside temp was starting to get a lot warmer, but the wind was also dying down so it wasn't as bumpy as the morning. By the time we got to Hillsboro, the pattern was kind of busy with a couple of us using 2 (the short runway), and a B-17 and corporate jet awaiting departure on the long runway. We did about 5 touch-and-goes, as well as had a tower-directed go-around to let a Beech land behind us. Well, we'd had enough and headed back to SPB for some more pattern work. As these things go, the SPB pattern was also busy with some spam-cans, a Stearman banner tow, and the local Pacer doing instruction. The Cessna's decided it was too busy and departed which made things a little easier on us. Finally, we accomplished a 1/2 flap landing, a couple no-flaps, then a couple more normal landings to round out a 1.0 for the afternoon.

at left is the training classroom, the Northwest Antique Airplane Association clubhouse, on the northeast corner of the the field.

Overall, we flew about 5.2 and had almost 40 landings in two days. I suspect, barring any mechanical issues with my RV, the first flight should go smoothly. During the drive back home, I stopped off at Auburn to go fly my Boredom Fighter, which was probably starting to feel neglected. At half the weight of the RV, 1/2 the horsepower, and a little wind, it does take a little more effort to land the BF well and after about 5 landings, they were finally getting decent in the BF again.

We finally had a really great day of weather here over the weekend with temps. in the mid-70's and not a cloud on Saturday. It's a big change from the previous couple of weekends. This big item on the list was to finally get the engine running on the RV. To get that far, the preservative needed to be drained, the oil filter changed, new oil filled, and the brake system filled. That took most of the morning and by early afternoon we were ready to run. We initially spun up the engine without lower plugs installed to test the starter and blow out as much remaining preservative as we could. The oil pressure line was also disconnected so we could prime that system. Next was a test of the fuel pump to ensure fuel was getting past the pump.

On start the engine ran nice at a higher RMP, but really ran rough at lower RPMs. That, combined with some backfires, indicated some sort of mixture problem but I wasn't sure. The engine was run about 4 or 5 times, and none were that smooth. One run seemed to have going well but the mixture cut-off wasn't working as it should.

Once back at the hangar, I noticed that the mixture arm on the fuel injector servo was hitting the aft side of the air inlet box, thus the mixture never went to cut off. While moving, the sniffle valve dumped about a cup and a half of fuel so something wasn't right. Well, I tweaked the adjustment on the mixture arm and pulled the plane out again for a run. This time, when it started, it ran nice for the entire run. All and all, I checked out the alternator, brought systems on-line, and made sure that the cut-off was working correctly.

Next weekend I'll try this again and maybe do a little taxing to check brakes and steering.