RivetBangers.com

i got a ride in my buddy's GP4 today! that is one touchy airplane! all you have to do it breathe on the stick, and the thing is pitching. very nice flying on all other axis, but pitch will take some getting used to. i didn't land it, but it does land nicely. cruises about 220KTS!! with an IO-360 and a 3 blade MT prop.

here's a few pics-



this is the view from eye level on approach. much worse than the RV slider!





this is lynn, the owner, and my goofy mug!



just look at the view behind us! it was a gorgeous day here in central illinois.

Cool looking plane. At first glance I thought it was a taildragger, then I notice the little wheel in front. The rear looking visability is awesome. Too bad you don't get that looking forward.

The WX there is AWESOME! It is lousy here and continued lousy forecasted all week!

Nice plane! Slippery little bugger, huh?

The second pic is kinda interesting. What are all those holes drilled in the top of the panel?

I have noticed several RV's with different methods of getting warm air to the windscreen. Some install louvers, fans and various vents to clear the 'shield of fog. The warm air from below does the trick well, I understand.

Is that what he has done? Is that a speaker?

CJ

sorry to hear about your wx CJ.

and yes, it is quite a slippery little bugger. he does have precise flight speedbrakes on it. he is pretty good at speed control at this point, so he doesn't use 'em much. says they are worth the price when needed.

i'm not real sure what the holes are for. i meant to ask, and forgot. my guess would be avionics cooling/windscreen defogger. i am pretty sure they are not speakers as i don't think he has room under that dash for a speaker. it's a tiny little airplane!

jim,

it feels like you're taxiing a taildragger from the deck angle on the ground. weird. newer mooney's are like that too, but not quite as pronounced as this thing.

I bet those holes are speakers.

i'll find out the next time i see him. he does have a really interesting/neat/safety thing in this airplane...he calls "bitch betty" it's a voice annunciator that checks EVERYTHING in the airplane. EGT, CHT, seatbelts, etc...even says "have a nice flight" at the end in a sultry female voice. kinda cool!

A "Bitchin' Betty" is an aural awarning system. The TAWS B systems have it. It calls out "Terrain, Pull Up... Terrain, Pull Up".

The AOA system (Precise Flight, I think?) that WS and many others are using in their RV's have an Aural warning too. Those systems bitch, "Angle, Angle... Push, Push..."

I love this stuff and want to put things like this in my plane!

Hey, you got today (Columbus Day) off? Working on your plane?

I am going to the airport to install some lights at the FBO. My buddy wants some ramp lighting. Fortunately, it is the INSIDE work I plan on doing today. TORRENTAIL here still!

I wish I was working on MY plane!

CJ

yeah, those systems are pretty cool!

i'm in the office today. since i'm in sales, i really don't get holidays and vacations & stuff. i just take days off whenever i want. if i'm not here, i don't get phone calls, but i still get my base salary. now, i'm definately not here on the major holidays, and i take plenty of days off, but if i don't have anything to do, i'm usually here.

my schedule is really nice. it's the most flexible position i've had.

No CJ, I didn't do any building today. But I FLEW MY 8 for about 3 hr. Made a 170 mile trip (one way) to fly my 88 year old mother around the eastern half of the state. She LOVED it!! Kinda nice. 188 mph down and 220 mph back. Can't beat the rv's!! Once you start flying them the more you like them. WARNING!! They are VERY ADDICTIVE!
Dan 47.1 hrs.

Dan,

Cool! Hey, soooo...

When are you going to become a repeat offender?!?

Time for the next version!

CJ