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There Just Aren't Enough Pictures of Rockets On This Forum!

logansc

Well Known Member
Hey, I pay my dues too!

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Hahahaha! I thought some of you guys might have a bit of fun with this one! I just really like Mark Frederick's classic beauty...what can I say? I tend to fly mine on short hops (about 500 sorties at this point) and it flies just the same and just as well as it did on day one. Wonderful airplane!

Ron: We're thinking of reinstating the Race to Ridgeland, probably sometime in October this year. I'm counting on you to lead the way around the course as always. By the way, I have really enjoyed following your discussions associated with RV competitive aerobatics. You're clearly enjoying the "ride" and getting really good at it too.

Pierre: My "N" number is both from my past and an attempt at brevity. I flew combat in VMFA-115 as a Marine First Lieutenant. There are only two letters in the phonetic alphabet (Golf and Mike) that have only a single syllable, plus one other (Foxtrot) that is often transmitted as a single syllable. I just put 115 together with FM since the combination was in fact available in the FAA registry. FM (Fox Mike) is also one of the frequency bands used with forward air controllers, so it all fit together (in my mind, at least!) pretty well. Only five syllables to say my whole N number (not counting the N or "experimental").

Zilik: That is a model of a serious F1! I'm pretty sure mine can get off the ground quicker than the original, but it has me on top end, for sure! On the other hand, mine is still flying...just sayin'.... ;>)


Lee...
 
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N/C,S/C

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I have 3 friends in the Carolinas with F1 Rockets, my good friend Kevin "Rocketman" is flying wing in our airborne wedding last spring.
 
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Okay! Now we're talking...those are a couple of great looking birds. I like the solid white RV-4 too, I'm kind of partial to solid color paint jobs! As far as I know, there are only three solid color F1's: Jim Winings/solid yellow, Doug Rozendahl/solid red, and mine in dark blue.

I previously owned an RV-4 and enjoyed it very much. What I find interesting about my Rocket is how much it is like and how much it is NOT like, an RV-4.

If you like RV-4's, you'll like (love) Rockets.

Heavier, faster, roomier, and more solid feeling.

Less nimble but faster climb and accelerates harder.

Equal formation performance (accel and decel).

More stable, a better IFR platform, wider speed range, higher top end.

Otherwise, all of the fun and ease of ownership and maintenance of the RV-4.

Rockets are more expensive but they hold their value rather well---probably about the same overall out of pocket, all in.

What's not to like?!!


Lee...
 
Lee,
Another good friend of mine, Alex Newsom in Cheraw SC has an all black F1. I'm hoping to put together an RV/Rocket get together here at 8A7 when it warms up, as we have 7 RVS and an F1 here. If all the local Rockets including yourself came, there would be 5 that I know of, including a Harmon that I believe is all yellow.
 
I need to get some of those fancy air to air shots!

maybe spring will make me get that done!! Let me know, I'm over in NE TN, quick trip to Winston-Salem!!
Greg
 
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Why are these not more popular? And what exactly makes a "rocket" a rocket?

In general, take an RV airframe and modify it to accept (and least) an IO-540.
In specific, an RV-4 modified with John Harmon's parts is a Harmon Rocket II. An F1 Rocket is a complete kit from Team Rocket (Mark Frederick) who is not currently producing them.

Then there are versions with both Harmon and Frederick parts, called, appropriately 'the best of both worlds'.

They are not as common because they take more time and money to build (Harmon) or are not available (Team Rocket). (Deleted comment on business strategy).
 
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Vern,

There are parts available for the F1 series again. Mark and I are working to get everything made in the U.S.

Right now, we have gear legs, engine mounts, firewalls, and several other related parts. Cowlings and spinners should be available fairly soon.

It's a slow process, but we plan to have fuselage parts available next. There is no set timetable though. This is a labor of love.

Nonetheless, in the not too distant future, it should be possible to build a brand new F1 or F4 again. It might even be possible to get a jump ahead of the pack by using a few RV parts as has been done in the past by others, if you know what I'm saying.

Wait. What's an F4 you ask? Well, it's almost identical to the F1 except that it will use a 4-cylinder engine. Externally, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference since the prop location remains unchanged. On the inside, you'd find an extended engine mount, and the battery and other items will be moved up from for W&B reasons.

If you're interested, email me at [email protected], see us at Oshkosh in blg. D, or follow our blog at http://www.flyboyaccessories.com/category-s/28.htm

Me? I'm building the first pre-production F4 in my shop right now. Hey, Lee Logan.... it's gonna be all BLACK!
 
It's great to hear from all of you (especially you, Ben---Semper Fi). Rockets are just terrific airplanes and certainly fit well within the RV family. For that matter, there wouldn't be any Rockets if there hadn't been RV's first.

So...I'm up for any fly-in you guys can put together (fixnflyguy?) and for that matter, you might put early October on your calendar for a trip down to Ridgeland (3J1). I'm not traveling as much as I expected during retirement, so putting on the "Race to Ridgeland" again is a possibility (I've gotten a couple of offers of help, which are very welcome), so...

Anyway, any news about F1 and F4 parts being available is very welcome and certainly Mark F. has been helpful to anyone who has asked for his assistance with their aircraft over the couple of years since he shut down the kit assembly line. I for one would love to see it kick off again. Vince Frazier built one of (if not the) first "composite" Harmon/F1 airframes. There were only three guys with comprehensive build sites out there when I was building mine (Vince, Randy Pflanzer, and Doc Throck). There is a little of every one of their airplanes in mine---thanks guys! In fact, I just replaced the tail stinger and tail wheel assembly in mine with Vince's FlyBoy stuff last month.

For Palamedes: Basically, the Harmon is literally an RV-4 (and RV-4 airfoil) with some parts replaced by John Harmon parts, mated to a different engine mount and a 540 just as Vern says. The F1 benefitted from some additional engineering work by the Czechs who manufactured the kit (without any RV parts) under Mark's direction to make it into a "quick build". Also, there were two different wing options on the F1, EVO and Sport. It wasn't THAT quick a build because though some of it was premanufactured, the rest was neither pre-drilled nor trimmed to fit, only formed and rough-sized.

There are many more Harmon's flying than F1's (350 or so, I believe); my current count (certainly not complete) is that there were something like 180 F1 kits built with something over 100 now flying. I've been trying to keep tabs but haven't heard of any new finishers in quite awhile. Anyway, it's a great airplane that in many ways sits right at the top of the two-seater RV "food chain". Mine will do 215 knots indicated at full power near sea level and I usually see 190 knots true at 22/2200 at 10,000' and above burning just under 13 gph (the equivalent of about 8.5 gph in a 4-banger). I even passed a Baron at altitude once coming back from Birmingham. Rockets will burn less gas than RV's at similar speeds and altitudes.

Anyway, just playing the role of Johnny Appleseed here I guess. Thanks to all of the Rocket guys who've checked in. We'd love to see yours over here sometime Greg! Where are you, Smokey?

Good flying, everyone!


Lee...
 
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What a beauty! That one is a very early F1 and was (I believe) originally built by John Cash. It was the inspiration for my solid color paint job in the first place. It's great to hear that it is now in South Carolina.

Do you have any more information on it? I'm trying to inventory all the F1's, including kit serial number, owners name, airfield, basic description (wing, engine, prop, major avionics...), first flight, etc.

Have the owner PM me if you don't mind. I'd love to know how the airplane is doing.

Regards,


Lee...
 
What a beauty! That one is a very early F1 and was (I believe) originally built by John Cash. It was the inspiration for my solid color paint job in the first place. It's great to hear that it is now in South Carolina.

Do you have any more information on it? I'm trying to inventory all the F1's, including kit serial number, owners name, airfield, basic description (wing, engine, prop, major avionics...), first flight, etc.

Have the owner PM me if you don't mind. I'd love to know how the airplane is doing.

Regards,


Lee...

Jimmy Cash was the builder. He said he did the first flight of a customer built F-1. He is quite a guy, I had him do the first flight on my RV-7.
He and a friend brought another F-1 to Townsend to get some paint work done. N1BY was a solid dark blue color. I think it is in Idaho now

Only pic I could find since my computer crash
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found another one on a backup drive
 
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Just when I thought I had built my last airplane, then this. MAYBE my wife will let me build one more.

Here's a few shots of my old Rocket. It's now in TN.
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Black Jack

One of the prettiest and most memorable RVs I have ever seen was Jim Cash's Black Jack. He flew it into an early LOE gathering and I was pretty stunned. I took lots of photos which are now lost. The best photo I could find on the net was from an EAA newsletter. Does not do it justice at all.

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I simply MUST build one of these next.

I just have to figure out how to do it while staying married... :eek:
 
Pierre: My "N" number is both from my past and an attempt at brevity. I flew combat in VMFA-115 as a Marine First Lieutenant.

Beautiful Rocket....

Lee, your stint in VMFA-115 didn't happen to be 68'-69' in F-4's did it?

Gary
VMFA-334 68'-69' DaNang and Chu Lai
 
We're getting some nice pictures in this thread. There are some very good looking Rockets out there! Vern: What can you tell me about C-VGRL? I don't have anything on it on the list. It's spectacular!

Gary P: Not quite, I was in Chu Lai and Danang in VMFA-122 and then VMFA-115 in F-4's in '70 and '71. Things moved pretty fast for all of us back then! I left Vietnam at the end of my combat tour, still a 1st Lt and with only 750 hours of flight time including flight school! Two thirds of my total flight time was in F-4B's. Seemed kind of wild and wooly a lot of the time! Loved every minute of it.


Lee...
 
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Gary P: Not quite, I was in Chu Lai and Danang in VMFA-122 and then VMFA-115 in F-4's in '70 and '71. Things moved pretty fast for all of us back then! I left Vietnam at the end of my combat tour, still a 1st Lt and with only 750 hours of flight time including flight school! Two thirds of my total flight time was in F-4B's. Seemed kind of wild and wooly a lot of the time! Loved every minute of it.


Lee...

Just missed you then. In Sept 69' we rotated to Iwakuni to fly 24 hr air support when the USS Pueblo was captured off N Korea. Wild and wooly maybe, I wish I remembered it. :D
 
We're getting some nice pictures in this thread. There are some very good looking Rockets out there! Vern: What can you tell me about C-VGRL? I don't have anything on it on the list. It's spectacular!

Gary P: Not quite, I was in Chu Lai and Danang in VMFA-122 and then VMFA-115 in F-4's in '70 and '71. Things moved pretty fast for all of us back then! I left Vietnam at the end of my combat tour, still a 1st Lt and with only 750 hours of flight time including flight school! Two thirds of my total flight time was in F-4B's. Seemed kind of wild and wooly a lot of the time! Loved every minute of it.


Lee...

C-GVRL is an HR-II with some F1 parts. 2013 first flight, dual SkyView, Night VFR, six custom designed avionics modules including auto-trim (predates Dynon's). Oregon Aero interior, half-inverted oil, inverted fuel, canopy ejector, oversize tires, many aerodynamic tweaks, IO540 with one Electroair, O2, iPad, jacuzzi. HOTAS.

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Here is a picture of my second HRII, finished in 2001

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Here is a picture of my next Rocket, a F1 with the blue Rocket. This picture take on my farm strip.

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F1 built for Bill Kehn, windsor ontario, in 2008, with my EVO in the background

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This F1 was built by Wayne Hadath, Waterloo, Ontario in 2005? He still flies it regularly and has been in the SARL race circuit for many years
The picture was taken in Jackson Tennessee, just after landing. The controller had a thick accent, and a speech impediment. It made for an interesting conversation!

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And here is my current aircraft an EVO F1. This picture was taken in 2007? at the first SARL race in Taylor Texas. It is not a great picture but the only flying pic that I have.
I now have 936 hours on this plane. I have never owned a plane this long and can not imagine flying anything other then the EVO wing!

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Vern: Thanks for the input. I finally woke up and checked out your build website. Sure wish it had been up and running when I was building mine! Your airplane shows a very high build and craftsmanship standard.

Randy: Another Pflanzer built Rocket in this crazy world would definitely NOT be a bad thing. Please let us know if you start another project; your build site is still one that most others are judged by. I just drooled over your airplane when I was building mine. Your Cobra was very cool too!

Tom P: You seem to have quite an eye for paint schemes! Beautiful airplanes...that "shark infested" RV-8 is a show stopper!

Tom M: I was wondering when you'd check in! For anyone contemplating building a Rocket (especially an F1), there probably isn't anyone (other than Mark?) who knows more about building one correctly. No one has made one go faster either---Tom still holds the Rocket speed record, I believe. Well, except maybe for that one interesting test flight in mine in a dive passing 12,500' when I miscalculated my target indicated airspeed...!

Gary: Thanks for your service. Sorry I missed you...we all had some great adventures over there. Semper Fi...



Lee...
 
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New FBO at Bakersfield Muni L45 home of the Rocket.
 

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Rocket canopy on RV-8

How difficult would you expect to take a Showplanes fastback canopy frame, but still use the front rollbar and do a fixed flat wrap front windshield? I love the look of the fastback and the look of the flat wrap front windscreen, and I would love to combine that on my -8
 
How difficult would you expect to take a Showplanes fastback canopy frame, but still use the front rollbar and do a fixed flat wrap front windshield? I love the look of the fastback and the look of the flat wrap front windscreen, and I would love to combine that on my -8

Anything is possible, depends on how crafty you are. I'm no RV-8 expert, but I doubt that the flat wrap w/s is gonna play nice with your RV-8 forward baggage compartment.

Any more posts on RV-8 canopies.... you might want to start a new thread. This is WAY off the OP. :rolleyes:
 
F1

F1............
 

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How difficult would you expect to take a Showplanes fastback canopy frame, but still use the front rollbar and do a fixed flat wrap front windshield? I love the look of the fastback and the look of the flat wrap front windscreen, and I would love to combine that on my -8

You can find some flat wrap front windscreens on -8's. I also like the look. I'm sure you pick up .008 kts to boot!

Do a search here. I think there are a few threads.
https://vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=149057
 

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