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Took my friend Harry flying today in a RV7. Harry was a WWII fighter pilot and instructor and flew privately into his 80s. He did a beautiful job flying the RV. Here is my favorite picture. Notice the view out the top of the canopy. Harry will be 100 on August 21.

So if the only issue is the controls why can't you fly to a big airport and fly a big pattern. I would bet money I could get one down without major damage. If you have never tried it it is amazing how much control you have with just rudder and elevator trim.

I've had a couple of calls lately. One funny as it said that the local authorities had a warrant for my arrest and if I didn't call them within 30 min the "cops" would be at my door to arrest me. The call back number was a 900 number so anyone calling it would incure a charge. Another more...

When I did my Private we did one whole session using throttle, rudder and elevator trim. He had me fly it right down and just used the elevator to flare. Good practice and I have played with it in various airplanes over the years.

I helped build a Glasstar kit and I have built two RV7s. He had the quickbuild option on the kit and it came with the fuselage halves installed. Very straightforward with a great instruction manual. Easier than the RV7. If you have good basic mechanical skills and have done some work on...

Fly at least twice a week. Also 1.5 seems about right per lesson. Any less and you don't learn it well and any more overwhelms you. Also it looks like you don't have a very aggressive instructor. I did and he had me landing and taking off from the first lesson. When we flew we would end the...

Find an IFR Cessna 150. You could get one in the $20,000 range. You don't need a wiz bang glass cockpit to get an instrument rating. A friend went that route and got his private, instrument and commercial ( rented an Arrow for the complex) in a 150 and sold it for what he paid for it. Bought a...

It pretty much eliminates the cam spalling problem on Lycomings. On the subject of overhauls, there is many different ways and prices and it depends on the engine shop or IA or wherever you get it done. A field overhaul done to factory new specs by the right person can be as good or better than...

I had Classic Aero do my RV7 seats in vinyl. I looks, felt and smelled just like leather. I don't think I will ever do leather again.

You have to split the case to get the cam in and out and that requires taking pretty much the whole engine apart. Of course I've only built four Lycomings so I guess I don't know enough yet. Western Skyways charges $8,000 to do a teardown inspection witch is complete disassembly and re assemble...

Also if you just have the cam replaced the labor is very close to the labor of an overhaul.

If you are going to keep the airplane I would do an overhaul. Now there are several different types of overhauls. Field overhaul by an A&P or IA. the parts only have to be within serviceable limits. That means if something is just barley in limits it can be used even though it will be worn out...

35.0 hrs (part 141) 8 weeks solo 7.0.. 1976 when SNA was the busiest GA airport that year.

This one was an Oshkosh winner in the mid 90's. It has all the original logs, engine etc. Almost flawless stock wheelpants. Needs a good touch up polish and it is spectacular but still a $40-45,000 airplane.

I have a Cessna 140 that I did for a friend for sale right now that is in that same boat. Over $60,000 in it and asking $45,000. He bought it for $25,000 and I put a new interior, re wired most of it, redid the panel with all new instruments, redid the firwall forward. Aerosport power did the...

I have flown in almost all of the class B's in the west and Salt Lake is the worst. The controllers are the least helpful I have encountered. Denver is one of the best.

Didn't you turn the alternator field switch off on the failed alternator?

There are high (prop control forward) and low (prop control pulled out) speed stops on the blades so if you get an overspeed pull the throttle back and pull the nose up until below redline. Lower the nose and now it works like a fixed pitch prop so just keep it under redline and fly to the...