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What did you do with your RV this weekend? (8/22/2020-8/23/2020)

DeltaRomeo

doug reeves: unfluencer
Staff member
It seems I've been spending more time lately doing simulated flying than actual, so it was a nice change to do some real world aviating. Saturday morning I flew over to KXBP (Bridgeport) for gas only to find three airplanes waiting at the broken pump. They were ‘waiting on the guy to drive out’. New plan - over to Decatur (KLUD), got my gas and was back at 52F in time to get on the treadmill for a couple miles, followed by some weights. I really only needed about 10 gallons and was looking for a reason to fly. A good way to start a Saturday - .8 off the surface.

"Start your day the RV way!"

Pics of gas pumps are boring and it was hazy, so below are some grabs of data gathered just to have something to post.

First image the ground track (full size crazy big):
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Second/third images the arrival at KLUD and 52F, complete with taxiing to the pump and back out:
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Semi-respectable overhead break and 180* turn to final back at 52F. Wasn't much wind ... You can see the little kink where I grabbed full flaps at the 11 o'clock and just a bit of 1171 in the upper right...
IMG_1622-X3.jpg


Fourth pic from Garmin Connect later at home showing the charts and stuff compiled. Elevated heart rate correlates with being on the ramp pushing the plane and dragging the fuel hose around <g> (full size):
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By the time I got back to the 'USS Roanoke' the heat was really starting to climb and the bumps were building. Time for ground and shade. Workout, then lunch with three RV builder/owners, and back home for yardwork and work work. All this data recorded on a Garmin D2 Delta PX they are letting me play with for a few months - tells time too. Talks to my Garmin Pilot app, and through the use of lasers and ball bearings or something it uploads my flights to a cloud-based logbook in the background while I'm trying to find a rag to wipe my plane off. The more I use it the more I like it, and I don't want to give it back :^).

My workout:
Screen%20Shot%202020-08-22%20at%202.37.31%20PM-X2.png


I can promise you I put the 232 calories I burned off right back on at lunch. ;^)

In the age of CV-19 I'm kinda digging the Pulse OX monitor - I find I look at it more closely and often. Pulse OX info for Saturday morning - you can see the grey 'hill' when I was flying (read off scale on right side). O2 reading stayed pretty constant because I didn't go very high (read off left scale).:
(not actual size....but close ;^))
IMG_1615-XL.jpg


On the subject of the watch while I'm thinking of it, some military folks seem to be using these Garmin smartwatches as a backup pressurization tool and nav aid. You can set the baro-based O2 altitude alert for 10,000' or such and you'll get a vibration on your wrist if, for example, you're in a jet and the cabin altitude exceeds whatever value you've set. If the pressure sensors are T.U. this is a nice Plan B to some. Supporting articles:

https://www.military.com/daily-news...has learned that,that retails for around $450.
https://theaviationist.com/2019/10/...so-many-garmin-smart-watches-at-mcas-miramar/
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...kpit-navigated-home-using-their-smart-watches

Enough nerdy stuff. ;^)

Sorry it wasn't a nicer day for outside pictures. Hope you had a nice RV weekend. Lots of RVs beating up the sky in N.Texas Saturday morning. All good.

v/r,dr
 
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Yesterday is close enough to the weekend, right?

I flew my 9A down to Montgomery Field, where I meet VAF'er bruceh, and his daughter. Given the ~90° temperature, I think that Bruce and I may have been secretly hoping to do lunch somewhere close. Alas, his daughter had other plans for us. So a ten minute walk to a sandwich shop it was. The walk to and from turned out fine, but a little hot. The food was great. The company was great. And the flight was just perfect. I drove away from the airport thinking about how the flying that I do for work is so different than when I fly the RV for fun. I'd take the RV flying anyday!!

PS - Sorry Doug that you ended up paying >$1 gallon more for gas! But I guess if you can't get gas, it really is not as inexpensive as they advertise, is it?? [ed. Yep! dr]
 
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Yesterday I flew the -12 to Twin Lakes Air Park (S17) near Augusta, GA for an annual condition inspection. This is the first time in seven years that I've had anyone other than me perform maintenance. My ole body has gotten too rickety to perform the annual tasks. It was kind of like leaving your child off at the bus stop for his first day of school. On the other hand, it will be good to have a qualified second set of eyes looking over the aircraft.

This particular shop specializes in LSA maintenance and is certified on Rotax and Jabiru engines.
 
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Working weekends and taking RV for an evening flight pretty much daily. On Sunday morning while checking a rural system saw an RV overhead at 10-11K. Never thought Reed would deliver the blank panel from Salt Lake City. Thanks man I owe you big time!
 

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It’s too bad I don’t have any pictures because it was a fun weekend indeed.

Friday

We were supposed to do a 12 ship pass and then a missing man formation with the remaining airplanes in 4 ship diamond formations in trail over a National Cemetery for a fallen veteran. Two Strike Eagles and the ACC Commander were also going to take part in the ceremony. We were all briefed, airplanes ready, but alas, the weather would not allow such an endeavor.

Time to engage plan B. I had Keith Ward with me and he and I decided it was time to procure lunch. I filed the IFR flight plan on ForeFlight and within minutes we were headed to St. Simons Island (KSSI) 214 nm away. Landed and walked from the FBO to the highly acclaimed Southern Soul BBQ. This place has been featured on the Food Network and several magazines. It’s a solid “10!” It was superb as always and of course I done ate too much! Nice flight home and happy as a clam.

Saturday

Another 12 ship was planned. This time, it was to honor a fellow Falcon RV Squadron mate. He built a gorgeous RV-9A while at FFC, but since moved to a local air park, Eagles Landing. He’s been a mechanic at DAL for 30+ years and just recently retired. We flew overhead in various formations with smoke and all, landed, and parked all 12 airplanes in his front yard where a crowd of neighbors, coworkers, and other squadron mates awaited. We performed a smoke out and did a coordinated shutdown and the audience cheered! Greg was completely surprised and loved that we had done this for him. He had a very tasty catered BBQ dinner for everyone and it was a fabulous evening of socializing and camaraderie. Of course the evening wasn’t complete until the remaining RVs departed and performed a couple of “exciting” passes!

That marks another amazing RV weekend!
 
Flew to Summerville, SC (KDYB) on Sat morning for a weekend with daughter and her family. Planned to go tubing on the Edisto on Sunday morning before flying back home Sunday afternoon. Weather had different plans. Thunderstorms over the Edisto basin on Sunday morning cancelled the tubing plans. And we had a narrow weather window after those storms passed before new storms would encroach on our route of flight. Photo shows flight home on Sunday at departure time. We still had a nice visit and good to see family.
 

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Working weekends and taking RV for an evening flight pretty much daily. On Sunday morning while checking a rural system saw an RV overhead at 10-11K. Never thought Reed would deliver the blank panel from Salt Lake City. Thanks man I owe you big time!

He probably needed a mission.
 
Day trip to Minneapolis

Yesterday, I took a day trip with one of my sisters from my Indiana home field to Flying Cloud Airport (KFCM) to go visit a dear Aunt for a couple of hours. A beautiful sunrise welcomed me as I drove to the airport and we had an enjoyable flight of about 2:45 on the ride up. It was a kick pulling into Thunderbird Aviation and getting a front row spot at an airport I had done some of my early training at nearly 40 years ago.

The trip home was 2:25 with the help of a little push, including some deviations around some isolated thunderstorms. Flying past Gary Airport we were treated to a brilliant rainbow as we began our initial descent. All that in a day and home in time for dinner...what a great time machine! 18+ hours of driving vs under 6 in the -7...gotta love it!
 

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Mitch,
How does the mask work with the microphone? I am giving a ride to a friend next week, In a C172, and I’ve asked him to wear a mask - mostly because my wife has some immune issues. Not sure it does any good, but I want to follow the protocol. Are your transmissions audible on the other end? How does it affect cockpit communications?
 
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