Mark Spy gets TV love

Another media look at homebuilt airplanes that you won't see people on Van's Air Force point out. That would disturb the "media is stupid about aviation and is only interested in destroying it" mentality.



Great job by Mark Spy in not adopting the bunker mentality.

I Believe I Can Fly

A high school documentary project features a supporting cast of RV airplanes.

John Stiegelmeyer and Miss Understimated

I always like to see positive stories about general aviation and, in particularly, RV airplanes and the people who fly them.

Vinton Today, a news cooperative in Iowa, today features Capt. John Stiegelmeyer, and his RV-7A Miss Underestimated.

Danny's dream. Glenn's decency.

All in all, I'd have to say Glenn Brasch is the primary reason I go to Oshkosh every summer. Well, OK, there are some airplanes there, too.

Glenn has written a terrific story in Plane & Pilot about a ride he gave to a kid.

Why would any kid want to do that?” That was the social worker’s response to my offer to take any child flying for free—that is, any child who was a patient at the local cancer center for children. She probably thought I had something up my sleeve, some hidden agenda. I did not. I explained to her that, for me at least, when I was flying, all the world’s problems had a tendency to stay on the ground, and I thought that might be valuable to a child suffering from cancer. She reluctantly posted my offer in the waiting area. I expected my phone to ring off the hook, but I didn’t get a single call for months. I suspected the posting was removed from the wall after my departure.

Read the whole story here.

Glenn lives down in the Tucson area. You know where one of my first destinations will be if I ever finish the RV-7A? Tucson.

Getting unstuck

Famed RV-6A builder/pilot Alex Peterson (you may have seen his aerobatic video here) is like Batman. I -- and I guess this makes me "the commissioner" -- put out the Bat Signal a week ago on Van's Air Force. I needed a motivation flight. Alex saw the signal and stopped by South St. Paul today.

I've been stuck on the project lately and when I went to putter around today, I just ended up sorting nuts and bolts and screws and such; not something that's going to get a plane built. But that's the way building an RV can be; sometimes you need a nudge.

So Alex dropped in and took me for a spin. Here's the takeoff out of South St. Paul. Note the glider in the grass we pass on the way out.



Alex let me fly a little bit and I was consciously trying not to exert any backpressure on the turns, but I increased altitude so I must have. It was weird to look over at the airspeed indicator and see 160. I'm used to plodding along at 90 in a Warrior.

We flew up the St. Croix River, looked for Doug Weiler's house in Hudson (Doug heads the Twin Cities RV builders' group) and then headed back -- a half hour of good flying in which -- for the record -- neither Alex nor I opened our laptops during the flight.

After he dropped me off, he advised, "just start on anything and plow forward," and he and his friend, Benny (who was visiting from Israel) headed north back to Anoka.

And I plowed into some firewall forward stuff.

Mission accomplished.

Upside down

If I had to do it all over again -- and I'm kind of thinking I will some day -- I'd probably build an RV-9. The "9" didn't exist when I ordered the "7," which is aerobatic capable and all that. Great, but I'm unlikely to do much aerobatics, what with the possibility of aggravating the Meniere's Disease, which makes you dizzy.

Heck, just watching this video of Twin Citian Alex Peterson makes me all nauseous.

Go build a kit

Here's another favorable general aviation article that those on VAF who never let facts get in the way of a good paradigm will ignore.

David Allen, a retired Boeing computer software engineer, is a patient and determined man.

Twenty-five years ago, this Edwardsville resident decided he wanted to build an airplane from a kit, and he finally got the chance to start the project four years ago.

"I was single when I moved to California in 1962 to work for North American Aviation," Allen said. "A guy I worked with taught me how to fly, and I've been interested ever since, but it took me 20 years to pull the trigger and buy the first kit."

David and Mary's RV-10

I'm pretty sure that the RV-10 you see above was but a gleam in the eyes of David and Mary Maib when David stopped by to see my RV-7A project several years ago. But today, David reports, he was given an airworthiness certificate by DAR Tim Mahoney (who is obviously shown here).

It's a gorgeous airplane, hangared just across the field at South St. Paul Airport from that RV-7A project which, if you ask me, probably doesn't look that much further along than when David checked it out back in my garage. By the way, it's got not one, not two, but three Vertical Power 200 units!

The chances are pretty good that you've never met anyone who worked as hard on the RV-10 as David and Mary. If you want an example of dedication, they're it. They were out at the hangar all of the time.

Up until a month or so ago, David was the chief pilot for Target Corporation. But he's cashed out, they've built a home in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. They've sold the hangar to Wip at Wipaire, and after David flies off the -- presumably -- 40 hours, they're blowing this popcorn stand called Minnesota and will live where you don't need to plug your car in at night unless it's an electric vehicle.

So my joy at today's big moment is tempered by the bittersweet awareness that the birthing of the RV-10 will soon be followed by a "goodbye."

By the way, David, are you taking that engine hoist with you? If not, I know a guy nearby who'll buy it.

Poplar Bluff man builds airplanes

It's always nice to read articles about RV builders. This morning, the News Leader in Springfield, Missouri profiles RV-10 builder Richard Bowie.

Richard Bowie isn't exactly one of the Wright brothers, but he builds his own airplanes. He may not go down in history quite like Amelia Earhart, but he's gotten lost in the sky before.

Bowie is a local legend because he has a 2,000-foot landing strip in his yard on U.S. 60, between Poplar Bluff and Dexter. He got his license to fly almost 25 years ago and built his first aircraft in 1996.

Having a need for speed, Bowie, also a motorcycle enthusiast, was born with a sense of adventure, he said.