The forecast said "Rain likely." What that meant was widly scattered rain showers. But in the slice of the sky under which Oakdale Airport (O27) was residing it was severe clear. I got out to the airport at about 9:00am. Since this was the first good VFR day in about a month I expected to see almost no one at the airport. I wasn't disappointed. Not a soul in sight. But I didn't care, I was going out to see my best girl.
I pulled my trusty RV-4 out of the damp hangar and did my pre-flight. I was just strapping in when I heard my buddy Dennis' diesel engine rattling up from behind. "Where are we going?" Dennis shouted over his wife Kim.
"We're going anywhere." Was my answer. After some debate we settled on Los Banos (LSN) for breakfast.
I started up and flew around the pattern 3 times while he got his plane ready. There was a stiff quartering crosswind but in the RV it was barely noticable. Dennis and his wife were finally settled and were were ready to go. I pulled out onto runway 10 and pushed the go-stick forward. I almost don't notice the acceleration any more but this day I did. It had been a month since I had flown. I really like that "getting pushed back in your seat" feeling. If you haven't flown your RV yet then you'll have to get used to it.
During the 1800 fpm climbout I take a look around. It's one of those majestic, beautiful flying days. There is blue sky with towering cumulus taking up about 50% of it. I turn southward and position myself roughly over Geer Rd because it roughly points to Los Banos. I level off at only 2500 feet because the clouds warn me not to go any higher. After about 5 minutes I see Dennis in his RV-6A pulling up on my 5 o'clock. He stays about 300 feet back. A nice respectful distance by a guy that doesn't normally fly formation. Dennis started buiding his RV-6A before I started building my 4. He is a great guy. Heated his garage up in the dead of winter so I could cut my canopy in a heated environment, and even used his low-boy trailer rig to haul my airplane out to the aiport. Comeradery is just one of the many facets of homebuilding that I have come to enjoy. Guys like Dennis make building and flying a lot more enjoyable.
We cruzed along and enjoyed the scenery. The world looked so fresh from the recent rains. This is green season in California and everything looked gorgeous. We began our descent over Kesterson Wildlife Refuge. We flew through a light rain shower during the descent which was great because it cleaned our canopies. The rain shower also showed me where I need to seal my canopy better!
I called for a left cross wind entry to 14. Dennis called in number 2. As I called my left pattern, Dennis kept calling RIGHT pattern. I didn't get it until I was on the ground. Oh yeah, it was a right pattern I was on. Dang dyslexia! Ground effect finally let go and let the 4 touch down. I taxied down to the south end of the ramp and parked next to the sidewalk. There wasn't any wind to speak of so I just rolled my tailwheel into the little divot that the tiedown chain is in.
After Dennis tied his plane down we walked through the gate and over to Country Waffles to have a great breakfast. Los Banos is a great stop if you're hungry. You have Ryan's, McDonalds, Me-n-Ed's Pizza, and Country Waffles all right across the highway from the airport. A 2 minute walk, no more.
After breakfast we talked out on the ramp for a bit until it started to sprinkle. Then Dennis headed off to Merced to survey some job sites he's been working on. I headed back to Oakdale. The shower we had flown through on the way to Los Banos had gotten a little bigger and had parked itself over Turlock. I got another windshield wash with bigger rain drops this time but still no big deal. Just pull the carb heat on and let RV just push it's way right through.
I got back to Oakdale to a 10 kt direct crosswind. I paid a little more attention in the landing than normal but that's about the only thing that was difficult about the landing. The RV just straightened right out from it's crab once we were over the runway with very little effort. I taxied back to my hangar and pushed her back in.
So there you have it. Not a long adventurous flight. Only .7 round trip. But whether you're flying local or cross-country it's a very enjoyable airplane -- like nothing you've ever flown -- unless you've flown an RV!
Keep building it is SO worth it!
I wanna FLY!
CJ