Love At First Sight

Jay Honeck said:
Oh, jeez, I'm a mess. I'm afraid I've fallen head over heels in love with the most beautiful aircraft I've ever seen.

Well, technically I haven't actually "seen" it, but -- thanks to the wonders of the internet -- I have gone over 192 high-resolution photos with my RV-8A guru, one rivet at a time.

Even he, a guy who has built 30+ RVs, has 3000+ hours in-type, and makes his living doing RV transition training, allows that "this is a good one".

Coming from a reserved Minnesotan who tries to dash my hopes at every opportunity, and is actively opposed to hyperbole, that's the equivalent of a verbal cartwheel. :D

I can't sleep. I'm dreaming about overhead breaks. I'm struggling to remain coldly detached -- and failing miserably. I remember this feeling well, but I haven't felt it since the first time I saw my wife, some 36 years ago.

The prebuy inspection is in 12 days. :D
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Jay - no joke - I did an overhead break in a skyhawk at a towered airport. The CFI said on the radio we wanted the overhead and the tower gave instructions saying "we'll call your break. "

It was his attempt to make flying fun again. Basically a big slow u-turn into the downwind naturally losing altitude back to TPA on the turn.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Jay - no joke - I did an overhead break in a skyhawk at a towered airport. The CFI said on the radio we wanted the overhead and the tower gave instructions saying "we'll call your break. "

It was his attempt to make flying fun again. Basically a big slow u-turn into the downwind naturally losing altitude back to TPA on the turn.
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Now THAT is funny! :lol:

I've done overhead breaks in the Pathfinder at totally dead airports. They are fun, but to do them best you need an aerobatic plane like the -8. :D
 
I've done one as the #2 in a flight of 3 skylanes, we did it for spaceing
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Nicely done! :thumbsup:

We're following a faster pace than I ever expected, but I'm loving life - First date to proposal was only about 10 months and a few days, but it'll be 13 months of engagement before we're married. Aiming for a house by September of 2014 and first kid by April 2016. :)
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Ya'll are slowpokes.
First date to proposal: 1 week.
Proposal to wedding: 7 months.
Then we slowed down.
Wedding to first child: 6 years.
We'll have been married 32 years this August.

It's not how I would recommend doing it, but it certainly worked for us.

John
 
Skylane81E said:
I've done one as the #2 in a flight of 3 skylanes, we did it for spaceing
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Our skydiving op on the island uses Skylanes. Watching their near-aerobatic approach to land is always entertaining. It doesn't usually include an overhead break, but downwind-base-final usually looks like a loss-of-control accident in progress.

Then, magically, they touch down as light as a feather. Amazing what doing ten landing a a day, every day, does for proficiency.
 
Listening to Burlington, VT ATC (thanks to LiveATC), where our RV guru will be arriving in a few minutes, via the Executive Mail Tube. (AKA: Airlines)

Dang, for a place that's harder to fly to than Germany, Vermont is a busy place. Especially considering they are under a severe weather advisory.

The prebuy happens in a couple hours, if all goes as planned. Keeping our fingers and toes crossed.
 
Jay Honeck said:
Listening to Burlington, VT ATC (thanks to LiveATC), where our RV guru will be arriving in a few minutes, via the Executive Mail Tube. (AKA: Airlines)

Dang, for a place that's harder to fly to than Germany, Vermont is a busy place. Especially considering they are under a severe weather advisory.

The prebuy happens in a couple hours, if all goes as planned. Keeping our fingers and toes crossed.
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Don't sweat it... This one is yours..:yes::yes::)
 
...the flying world waits, breath bated...
 
Maybe he's out doing overhead breaks with his wife in tow and haven't yet found the time to express his glee online? :dunno:
 
LandSickness said:
Maybe he's out doing overhead breaks with his wife in tow and haven't yet found the time to express his glee online? :dunno:
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It was hurry up...

...and wait.

The prebuy inspection has gone extremely well. Spectacular even. Everything has been better than average, with no surprises.

Unfortunately, the weather Gods of Vermont did not smile long enough to perform the evaluation flight, so that has been postponed until tomorrow morning.

We are extremely happy with what we have heard. We are hopeful that the flight will go well, and we will soon have this deal wrapped -- but it ain't over until the plane flies right.
 
Hard to think that it won't fly well with everything else in such good shape.

I'd go ahead and ice down the bubbly.
 
Jay: I lived and flew out of BTV for 15 years, and was an airport rat there most of the time. Send me a PM and I can perhaps get more info on the plane and builder.
 
wabower said:
Hard to think that it won't fly well with everything else in such good shape.

I'd go ahead and ice down the bubbly.
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Negative. We made it this far once before, only to have the plane fly poorly.

That plane had a heavy wing and a squirrelly stall, along with too-hot oil temps. We rejected it, despite a spectacular price.

No, the flight portion is just as important -- or more -- than the ground portion of the prebuy. We are optimistic, but this ain't in the bag quite yet.
 
Oh, you're right. I forgot it was a home-built. Silly me.:rofl:

Jay Honeck said:
Negative. We made it this far once before, only to have the plane fly poorly.

That plane had a heavy wing and a squirrelly stall, along with too-hot oil temps. We rejected it, despite a spectacular price.

No, the flight portion is just as important -- or more -- than the ground portion of the prebuy. We are optimistic, but this ain't in the bag quite yet.
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Jay Honeck said:
Negative. We made it this far once before, only to have the plane fly poorly.

That plane had a heavy wing and a squirrelly stall, along with too-hot oil temps. We rejected it, despite a spectacular price.

No, the flight portion is just as important -- or more -- than the ground portion of the prebuy. We are optimistic, but this ain't in the bag quite yet.
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If it were freshly built, I'd look at those problems and say, "Well, it's a tweak here and there, easily fixed". "Heavy" wings can be cured with a little trailing edge adjustment, and cooling issued can be fixed by correcting baffling or sealing.

If it's been flying a while, though, and the owner finds characteristics such as those acceptable, I'd question what other less than stellar judgment calls he's made.

Of course a factory built airplane can be wildly out of rig and have severely less than perfect flight characteristics also; the big difference is you generally have to pay someone else to fix those for you. Regardless of the plane's origins, though, if you're not looking for a "fixer-upper" project you want one that flies right when you buy it.
 
DaleB said:
If it were freshly built, I'd look at those problems and say, "Well, it's a tweak here and there, easily fixed". "Heavy" wings can be cured with a little trailing edge adjustment, and cooling issued can be fixed by correcting baffling or sealing.

If it's been flying a while, though, and the owner finds characteristics such as those acceptable, I'd question what other less than stellar judgment calls he's made.

Of course a factory built airplane can be wildly out of rig and have severely less than perfect flight characteristics also; the big difference is you generally have to pay someone else to fix those for you. Regardless of the plane's origins, though, if you're not looking for a "fixer-upper" project you want one that flies right when you buy it.
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The problems my RV guru found in that plane could not be tweaked away. Cooling problems were inherent in the homemade plenum the builder used, and the squirrely handling could be traced to a twisted airframe. (The plane in question had been rebuilt from a wreck.)

Trust me, if I could have fixed the thing with the proper application of $10K, I would have bought it. Sadly, my guy couldn't guarantee that it would ever fly straight -- so we walked away.
 
Prebuy inspection complete, and passed. Workmanship excellent, compressions great. Everything clean and tight.

Evaluation flight complete -- and passed. Oil, CHT, EGT temps all nominal. Flight characteristics nominal. All avionics work as advertised.

Four course GPS-verified speed run: 174 knots. (200 mph)

Four course GPS-verified cruise speed (23 squared): 169 knots. (194 mph)

Flaw Report:
2 missing lock washers on oil filler door
One rivet on bottom shows half-moon in paint.
Evidence that alternator belt hits inside of cowling on start-up/shutdown. (A common RV-8 issue)
Airspeed indicator inaccurate at low speeds.

No other anomalies noted.

Offer made -- and accepted. Waiting for banks to do their thing! :D

Next stop...Minneapolis, for installation of quick-adjustable rudder pedals (for Mary).

Then...I will finally actually get to see the damned plane we've been dancing around for two weeks! :D
 
Congo Rats, Mary and Jay!
 
Congrats!!!!!!! I'm jealous and green with envy.. Enjoy her uhh or him??
 
Thanks, all. We are stoked!

*sigh* I am really starting to hate banks.

Even though I gave both of my banks the head's up last week that I would need to wire transfer funds today, they are both acting surprised, like they've never done this before in their lives.

Meanwhile, my RV guru/delivery pilot can't leave Vermont until the funds hit the seller's bank account. He's got a long flight ahead (6+ hours), and needs to be skooting soon.

Supposedly the funds are "on the way"...but they haven't hit the seller's bank...yet. Grrrrr....
 
Congrats! A great flying machine will be yours shortly.

(Although, are you having the "half moon" thingy fixed?? :D )
 
LDJones said:
Congrats! A great flying machine will be yours shortly.

(Although, are you having the "half moon" thingy fixed?? :D )
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Spatter a little dirt on the bottom, and no one will be able to tell. :D

My RV guru was actually aggravated that he couldn't find any other flaws. He finally admitted, at the end of his exhaustive report, that I could "do no better" than this one.

From a somewhat taciturn Minnesotan, that is high praise, indeed. :D
 
Congrats Jay! Can't wait to join you!! :yes:
 
And...an hour later, the seller still hasn't received the funds.

Which means my delivery pilot is still sitting on the ground, with the meter running.

God, I hate banks...
 
I hope that now you will post more pics. The only one you shared with us is just tantalizingly too little...
 
Jay Honeck said:
*sigh* I am really starting to hate banks.

Even though I gave both of my banks the head's up last week that I would need to wire transfer funds today, they are both acting surprised, like they've never done this before in their lives.
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And probably, their answer will be, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid...."

Ron Wanttaja
 
Woohoo! Congrats, Jay! I know you can't wait to get out and cruise the beach in your new ride.

Are you doing any transition training?
 
CJones said:
Woohoo! Congrats, Jay! I know you can't wait to get out and cruise the beach in your new ride.

Are you doing any transition training?
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Yup, my RV Guru (Tom Berge) is a "one-stop shop", providing purchasing advice, evaluation/prebuy inspections, delivery AND transition training.

I can heartily recommend Tom to anyone making the jump into the strange, new world of experimental planes. He is extremely thorough, with a scientific mind and meticulous nature. With over 3000 hours in RVs, and having built dozens of them, he has forgotten more about RVs than I will ever know.

As my seller said, after we closed the deal: "That was as close to an MRI for airplanes as you can get.". :D

When you're dealing with planes that were built in someone's basement, that's the kind of guy you want evaluating things.
 
That sucks about the bank issue. But congrats on the plane! I just flew my first RV (he even had me sit pilot seat) and it was awesome. Very different from my tiny 150.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
That sucks about the bank issue. But congrats on the plane! I just flew my first RV (he even had me sit pilot seat) and it was awesome. Very different from my tiny 150.
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Cool, no? :D

The bank in Vermont still has not received the funds. I called my bank one minute after they opened this morning -- it is now almost five hours later.

My delivery pilot is losing his weather window and daylight to get back to Minneapolis. This will mean at LEAST one extra day (at $350/day, plus expenses).

This sucks.
 
Banks business is almost always done in molasses. :mad2:

Congrats on all the inspection hurdles being cleared at least. :cheerswine:
Now the important question...have you settled on a name yet?
 
LandSickness said:
Banks business is almost always done in molasses. :mad2:

Congrats on all the inspection hurdles being cleared at least. :cheerswine:
Now the important question...have you settled on a name yet?
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"Full service bank", my ass.

"Amelia" comes to mind... :D
 
Have they said why it's taking so long? I've had similar transactions take place in under an hour. If I were in your shoes and they cost me another three-fifty, I'd seriously have to consider closing my account with them.
 
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