FLYING STORY
RV Formation Clinic
This weekend was the long anticipated Ohio Valley RVators 4th Annual Formation Clinic, and by "long anticipated" I mean that I've been stressed about it for months now. Combine the fact that it would entail two nights away from home base (which is, of course, two nights longer than I usually stay out, and the issue of inclement weather possibly stranding me somewhere is always a stress event for me) with the even more stressful fact that this would be my first time ever at the controls of an airplane that was deliberately placed just a handful of feet from another airplane for an extended period of time and you might understand why I was a little nervy about the whole thing.
I have ridden as a passenger in formation flights before, so I knew exactly how much of a challenge this would be. The stress went beyond the concern over the loss of life, limb, or airplane, however. If you have ever read Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff," you will recognize the fear of being the guy that "screws the pooch." In order of priority, being the pooch-screwer does fall below the fear of getting badly or irretrievably hurt, but not by much.
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Rocky Mountain Rocket: Modifying an RV for speed
That's right, a four-place "RV-6." Trust me, I know all too well theeffects of hypoxia, but I assure you I am getting plenty of oxygen as I
tell this story of speed, of power, and of a gearhead turned dentist.
(Jim Bush in Sport Aviation) (More)
Group therapy
In a short, but prominent, blurb in this month's Loop Magazine (registration required), the very active RV Squadron in the U.K. gets props (pun intended) for its fly-outs, such as the one chronicled here a few weeks ago. Next up for the squadron? The flight to France.
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Yahoo RVsqn group
TIPS/Q&A
GPS and Spelling Waypoints
I was coming from Norwood back to Great Barrington, GBR. It was at night, very familiar with the route, and I'm tired, I know I'm into a head wind. This was in a slow airplane to begin with and so I'm curious how long is it going to be until I get home? Can I stay awake? And I look and it says 12 hours. I go, Oh my God! What? I knew the wind was strong, but it couldn't be that strong.
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Foam rib technique
Dave Nellis offers a tip for making foam ribs: I have uploaded four pictures that show how my friend created foam ribs for his RC model B-29. This should give some idea on how to improvise this method for closing the HS and VS glass tips as discussed last week. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
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