A warm Fall Sunday evening

svanarts · Post by **svanarts** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 7:55 pm

My son and I have a ritual. We drive out to the airport on Sunday afternoons after church. He rummages around looking for frogs, bugs, and lizzards. I open up the hangar and putter around on the RV-4. Usually working on those things that after almost three years of flying start aren't quite done.

Late that afternoon my friend Dennis showed up. Dennis completed his RV-6A last year. "Whatcha up to this afternoon?" Dennis asks.

"Not much, what are you up to?" I reply.

"I figured I'd come out here and chase you around the sky." Was his good natured retort.

"I'll need some fuel." Was my answer to his challenge.

"I'll see you up there." Now we were committed.

It's warm for this time in California's Central Valley. It was about 76 deg F as I taxied to the fuel pump. I took my time fueling up the trusty young bird. I took time to listen to the cattle in the field down the hill bellow at each other. I savored the click-clicking of the ground strap as I pulled it over to clamp onto a protruding exhaust pipe. One tank filled, and now the other tank filled. As I retract the hose and wait for my receipt to print I stop to watch an airplane take off. It's only a Cessna. Only a Cessna? When did I start thinking in those terms? Before I can ponder this my receipt has spit out.

I squeeze back into the cockpit and strap in. I just sit for a moment to feel the warm breeze and smell the faint hint of smoke. A farmer is burning twigs in the distance. Harvest in the valley is over. The heat and dust have given way to cooler air and haze from burn piles all over the valley. I look at the windsock lazily bobbing up and down in the breeze. No more than 5 knots I'd say, quartering from the northwest as usual.

I fire the RV-4 up and taxi out. Everything looks good as usual and for the first time in almost 2 weeks I line up on the runway. I push the throttle forward, sink back in my seat, and three seconds later my tail is coming off the ground. One second later my mains lift off into the autumn sky.

As I fly past the far end of the airport I see Dennis scrambling to get in his plane. By the time I've flown the pattern and made a landing he is at the runup area ready to go. We launch into the air looking like slightly mismatched bookends. Neither of us has painted our planes yet. We head over to a friends house and buzz him. No one home. Dennis says he's lost sight of me and asks my postion. I'm on your six, I tell him.

He heads south and I head north to buzz another friend's house. I radio my position to him and he heads that way to follow up on my buzz job. I see him coming and pull around hard and come in behind him. Dennis again says he's lost sight of me and asks my postion. I'm on your six, I tell him.

Dennis banks hard and dives toward the river. He follows the river up to the foothills. Suddenly he shoots up trying to find me. I pull the power back and dive under him and stay there. He banks left and right looking for me. I bank to stay under him. Finally he gives up and picks a direction. I pull up behind him. Dennis asks me for my position. I'm on your six, I tell him. That's just not right, comes Dennis' answer.

I finally released Dennis from his misery and pulled off to the south. Dennis made a crosswind entry into the pattern and I came in (you guessed it) on his six on a long final.

After landing and putting our planes away we thanked eachother for a fun flight. The flight couldn't have lasted more than thirty minutes but it was enough to recharge both of us. Both of us ready once again to face another work week.

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 8:24 pm

...and that is why we build our own airplanes, for stories like that!

Keep 'em comin'!

CJ

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 9:31 pm

that should be published! great write up, thanks!

Post by **Spike** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 7:08 am

I loved it. Well, all but the Cessna comment

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 3:45 pm

HA!

I had to go back and re-read it!

I guess I was in full agreement and didn't even wince at the comment!

CJ

Dan A · Post by **Dan A** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:58 pm

Spike & CJ,
You both will be in agreement and have the same sentaments after you have flown your RV's

Dan (You may ask me how I know!!

)

Post by **Spike** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 7:16 am

Yeah, but in the mean time I will love my Cessna, I will I will I will. Seriously, I do love it. Its so darned affordable and reliable. Quite a good aircraft. Its just a bit, uh, slower than an RV

svanarts · Post by **svanarts** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 12:08 pm

I guess that was my point. I loved the Cessna I learned to fly in, that ratty old 150. I loved the 172 I used to rent regularly. There was a time that I run out to watch anything launch into the air. I loved seeing any plane fly. Now that I've immersed myself in the world of experimentals, the factory jobs just seem to leave me cold. I get excited seeing anything from an X-Air to a Zenith to a Lancair take off now. You guys are all on your way there. Sooner or later you'll know what I mean.

Dan A · Post by **Dan A** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 9:42 pm

Yes, it's true, we all love the planes we fly as we can express ourselves that way. But, after flying the RV, all the other airplanes are just - - - - -airplanes.
D

captain_john · Post by **captain_john** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 10:04 pm

I sure do have fun flying the spammers.

I can only imagine how much fun it will be to finally fly the plane which I have been slaving over for years!

I do get to fly some nice spammers, though!

CJ