Sport Pilot Talk

I was going through my videos and found a Powerpoint slide show I turned into a video for my hanger party celebrating the completion of the RV-12 build. It is hard to believe it close to 2 year since she took her first flight. Order the kit in Oshkosh 11 and started the build in Oct. 2011 and she got her pink slip in Aug 2011. This has been one of the most rewarding projects I have ever done.



http://youtu.be/Gu63wLan3A0

Now looking for a second build project, maybe something slow and for off field backcountry flying

Any suggestions?

I just started my zenith ch 701 build. It's a really great back country plane.

Looking at your timeline in the first post it looks like you went back in time. I am guessing the finish date was August 2012?

Having seen the Highlander Super Stall fly I really think it would be a fun off airport machine, but it would be a completely different type build from the 12. You could also do something like the Lil' Cub that won the Valdez STOL contest.

David, before choosing your backcountry a/c give a good think to which backcountry most appeals to you and how far away it is. Just one example: Our Arkansas State Liaison, Dave, chose to build a Highlander while he was living in western North Carolina, wants to fly it out west, and realized that only made sense if he moved closer to the country which was his motivation. The more 'backcountry' some of these planes are, with their high lift wing devices and cartoon tires, the less inviting they are to fly meaningful distances.

Another example, coincidentally also a Highlander builder, lives in Florida but has the same aspirations. So Wes has now invested in a trailer capable of hauling the plane plus all their camping gear so that they can spend the summer out west. (The trailer actually solves one other issue: those mountain summer storms can be violent and full of hail, and being tied down on a ramp makes one feel pretty vulnerable).

Per 3Dreaming's point, the second Highlander builder doesn't really describe what he got from Just as a 'kit'. He describes it as having driven to the factory to receive a large parts bin. From looking at the construction manuals (which are now dated), they were polar opposites from the RV-12 instructions I reviewed.

Congrats on the anniversary! Great LSA...

Jack

I am thinking back country lite, grass fields that i wouldn't land the RV-12 A little rough but not manicured turf. My guess fights in the 300 - 400 mile range around the east coast and north east from KPTW. With a great fun factor.

David, I know exactly what you mean. Take a look at Blackwater Airfield, which is near where I live:
http://theraf.org/content/blackwater-ai ... y-briefing

Spring-fed swimming lake, hot & cold showers with plumbed toilets, and hiking trails all within a few hundred yards of your aircraft, where you can pitch your tent, most likely have the 6,000' airstrip to yourself and watch the deer on the runway with morning coffee. We (the RAF) managed to open this airstrip to public access last year; it's a very special place. We've been doing this all over the country for ten years now, and have even built pilot shelters at some of the airports we've made accessible to camping pilots. If that sounds inviting and something you'd like to know more about - given your backcountry aspirations - perhaps you should give Lloyd Babcock a call (he's our PA state liaison) or simply check out our website and join Team RAF. (You'll find the state liaison list here: http://theraf.org/content/state-liaisons ) Altho' we function primarily on donations, we encourage folks to join as non-donors. That makes it possible for them to learn more about us, and in time we get the donation...but out of a sense of support and appreciation rather than felt obligation.

BTW I think your RV-12 would be fine at Blackwater. Other trigear LSA a/c have landed there without a fuss.

Jack