Naples Airport, Fl.

Gotta Love Fly- Camping!

                    Recent Fly-In and Camping trip to Blue Mountain Airpark. We had a blast!

We flew the 8 to Key West, FL!

After stopping in Naples for some cheap fuel, we headed on down the coast and launched off toward Marathon, Fl.

Once we hit Marathon, we turned SW and tracked the Overseas Hwy to Key West.  Here is a pic of the famous Seven Mile Bridge along that route.

After landing, Lori is in disbelieve that we are here. She can't believe that we just flew 750sm in an airplane that was built in our basement! We turned a 15hr car drive into a 4 hr flight. :)

I must admit, I'm still amazed at how Awesome this aircraft really is.  It truly is a "Total Performance" aircraft. 

The Kids Love the 8!

Ava (9)

Ford (6)

* The ACS Booster seat works great!  I bought the largest one they made. 

My wife's first ride in our Van's RV8!

Lori finally got her first first ride this past weekend. Yes, she was extremely nervous, but after a good preflight brief, I assured her all would be well. I kept the plane straight and level and very smooth, as her happiness is key to the aircraft's future. After flying for :30 mins her anxiety began to drop and she started to enjoy the ride.  Upon landing she was very impressed with the speed and time in which it took us to get to Nashville.  What would have normally taken over 4 hrs in a car only took us 1hr. in the plane:)   (With a power setting of 23"/2300 we made KVPC-KJWN in exactly 1hr./163NM w/a dog leg around the BNA class C airspace)

Exhaust

I just ordered my custom stainless steel Vetterman's Exhaust.... ;)

I went with the 4 into 4 pipe exhaust kit. I was told by Larry that I could expect more heat for my heater and a little more horse power with this setup. Sounds like a winner to me. Stay Tuned! www.vettermanexhaust.com

Merry Christmas 2010!

Sorry for the delay..

I just ordered my Sam James Plenum and Skybolt aerospace fasteners. I'm also hoping to order my Hartzell BA Prop and Vetterman exhaust in the very near future.... Stay Tuned!

Back from Vacation...

Firewall Forward Kit is on order from Vans! I also ordered my seat belts from Crow Enterprises and the short 2.5 prop extension from Saber Manufacturing. The extension is necessary for the RV8 James Cowl I'll be installing soon! As soon as the FWF Kit arrives, work will resume, hopefully with lots of progress! Stay Tuned!

Decision Made- Engine on Order!

Well the decision is made!

I have ordered (insert a Big GULP here) a brand new AeroSport Power IO-375 engine.
It should be here in mid- May so, Stay Tuned!

The Vans Firewall Forward kit will be ordered soon as well. I hope to have it here before the engine...

UPDATE: Sue just called from Aerosport and said the engine is ready! Now, I just have to wait on it to get trucked across North America.

Merry Christmas 2009!

Family posing for a quick pic on Christmas Day. Consequently it's my daughters 6th birthday today. Happy Birthday Ava!

*Almost done with the Electrical System. Installing stick grips, electric elevator trim, and relays.

*Just about 3 years into the standard/ full assembly RV8 project at this point..

My "Holy Cowl" Arrives!

Well, this is the only major mod that I'll be doing on the aircraft. I replaced the Vans standard cowling with the James Aircraft "Holy Cowl". I've been on the waiting list for about 14 weeks and now it's finally here.
Here I am at the ABF freight Depot in ATL. Judging by the forklift, you'd think it was heavy or something. That is until the guy almost dropped the box. I ran over to grab it and discovered it was light as a feather. The guy could have just hand carried it to my truck.

The box. This thing could have easily be blown out of the back of the truck if it were not strapped down. I'll get to work on this just as soon as I get the gear legs and engine mount installed.
More on the James Aircraft "Holy Cowl" Here-http://www.jamesaircraft.com/uck,Index.html

Finishing Kit Arrives!

I met up with the driver of Partain Transport off one of the interstate exits to help capture the box. I was able to save a little time and money by delivering the final leg myself.... Thanks again for the trailer Chris! And thanks to Greg, my neighbor, for loaning his back in helping me w/ the crate.

Let's see what's in the box! This time there is only 3 pages worth of inventory...

Update

Decisions Decisions... I have ordered the Finishing Kit and made some final decisions.

I'm going with the James Aircraft "Holy Cowl", so I deleted the necessary items from the Vans Finishing Kit. I called Will James and got on the approx. 30day wait list. I've also decided to go with a Catto 66" fixed 3 blade composite prop. As for delivery of the finishing kit, I found out that Tony Partain http://www.partaintransport.com/could hand deliver it for a cheaper rate than ABF, so he's a winner.

Basement Wall Demo

Before

After. You can see where the old doorway was by looking at the floor.

View from inside the workshop, looking out, after doorway expansion.

Well, it's time to fit the wings! The only problem is that I don't have enough room in my basement to do it. Solution: Knock out a wall or expand an existing doorway.....I chose option two. Now, I need to get some help to lift the fuse out, do a 180, and back it into the basement. Stay Tuned!

Biplane Ride!

Today I took some time off to go to a Fly-In at Peach State Aerodrome. After the main festivities, Brian Karli took me up for a ride in his Bucker biplane. You could say it was a hair raising event. Thanks Brian!

The kit arrives safely.

Special Thanks to all of my neighbors that helped carry the crates to my basement. Believe me people, these boxes are heavy!

Close up of the boxes.

Three of the four crates. The fourth one was small enough to put in the rear of GH's Bronco.

It all fits! Well, sort of...