Van's article in this last issue of RVator revealed a couple of engineering facts of life that I was not aware of. I am not a newcomer to aviation. Safety is the number one priority for me. If I choose to deviate from the designers parameters is some way, I need to become as knowlegeable as I can ab...

Yer right. There's no free lunch.

Trading this for that, is one of the things that makes this so much fun.

For a good description of the Catto Propeller's construction, see: www.cattoprops.com. Our RV-6 has a 160 hp 0-320. Mine is a two blade propeller. I had Craig Catto build the propeller assuming I would be running electronic ignition. I am still firing the plugs with Slick Magnetos, so my RPM is stil...

I chose a Catto propeller for my RV-6. The propeller is light and durable and is not harmed by flying in the rain, and importantly does not have the RPM restriction of the Sensenich metal prop. It doesn't make sense to me to neuter the engine by restricting it to lower than rated RPM. At full thrott...

As far as I know, the official cause has not been released yet. I am personally aquainted with the entire crew that built that airplane. If they know anything, they are not talking about it. Jim Wright was liked and respected by the entire aviation community here. His loss was a great shock to many ...

The acid etch must be rinsed off after being on the surface of the aluminum for a period of time. If I remember correctly, it must not be allowed to dry on the surface. After applying the conversion coating, the plane looked like it had some bad disease. I used DuPont Corlar Primer under the topcoat...

In the late 50's or early 60's, Champion Aircraft built a twin engine version of the tri geared Champ. It was not a pretty airplane. I doubt seriously if it had a "rate of climb" on one engine. Several early twins could not hold altitude on one engine, but a 50 to 1 rate of decent seemed acceptable.

I painted a Cessna 120 using these products in 1981. The paint job has performed very well over the years. I still own the plane. When you're doing this job, it seems like no matter how clean you get it it is never clean enough, but the paint has stayed on and has not peeled anywhere. The top coat i...

Before I started flying my RV-6, my experience in high performance airplanes was limited and what there was, was a long time ago. Most of my flying time was in low slow tail draggers. Citabrias, Cessna 140s, Luscombes, etc. I'm sure my RV-6 flys much like an RV-7. I wouldn't say it is a difficult ai...

These lights look like would flash real bright. I would caution about real bright strobes for night operations, if they are installed in such a way that the light can bounce off the ground where the pilot can see it. I had such an installation on a Cessna 120 several years ago. The reflected light o...

Just to qualify my original support of Van's position, the sounds that are incidental to the airshow performance are acceptable to me. What would the Air Races be without the beautiful song of the Merlins and the big radials. I think most objections are aimed at shows that seem to go out of their wa...

If I lived in AZ, I wouldn't change a thing. There are other places I would put the money.

hngrflyr

My RV-6 has a 160hp 0-320 with a Sterba Prop, with the harmonic balancer. The harmonic balancer was installed when I got the airplane. Judging from the idle characteristics, I don't think I would like it at all without it. They put em on there for a reason. I guess improving the CG location is a pre...

I agree with Van's position completely. For me, aerobatic displays are about pilot skill and demonstating the capabilities of the airplane. One of the most memorable aerobatic displays I've seen was done by a pilot flying a sailplane. Very little noise and he did a beautiful job of flying a well put...

I learned to fly in tailwheel airplanes during the 1950s. 95% of my time has been in tail draqggers. I've owned a Cessna 120 for 35 years and still do, but don't fly it much anymore. In March 2004, we purchased an RV-6, and have about 50 hours in it now. The RV-6 tailwheel steering is very positive ...