my progress may slow down slightly

[RV9inIowa]

I haven't posted for a while, so I thought I'd stick some pics up. I'm almost to the "roll the canoe" stage, except that I'm building my fuselage right side up. It's getting crowded in the garage and is hard to take pictures now.



The local airplane club / rental scene wasn't working out, and I was experiencing severe aviation separation disorder. There are only 2 known cures: build your RV quicker, or buy a certified airplane to fly while you build. I couldn't build any quicker, so....

It's a Beech Skipper, kind of like an RV but way (way way) slower. I bought it in SC and flew it back to IA, which was a cool cross-country flight. I'll sell it when the RV is done, or let my daughter learn to fly in it, or keep it, or....

PS - I also bought an O-320, partially rebuilt. Just needs assembly (and cylinders!)

Going to OSH in a few weeks - loving this aviation life!

[Spike]

Kick Butt!!! Congratulations!!

Tell us all about it. I have seen the Skippers before but don't know much about that except that the early ones didn't have a great reputation. Its purty!!

John

[TomC]

Dave,

That's cool. Where are you keepin' it? Mike in Vinton is a good A&P if you need one.

Good Luck

[cjensen]

That's AWESOME Dave!! I've always liked the Skipper! Love to see more pics of it...

If you fly over to central Illinois for any reason, stop at BMI and say hi!

[JohnR]

Dave, that is pretty cool. Give us some more details! Maybe when CJ visits we will run up and see your project and your new toy if we have time. I could pick up the wing stands too.

[dons]

Neat new toy Dave, hope it doesn't slow down the RV construction too much, but I know about the withdrawal, been way too long since I have been in the air.

[RV9inIowa]

The Skipper is great, just like an RV, but a "little" bit slower.... more like a LOT slower. If I get 95kts I'm doing great. But, it's really comfortable inside, much wider than a 150/152 and I think my daughter will enjoy flying in it. That's the official reason.... "I didn't want to buy a plane, but I did it for the children"

The Skipper flys a bit differently, more solid than a Cessna and I think it's way better built than a Piper "Tramuahawk". In fact, it's a utility category airplane at any loading. It seems well behaved, even in agressive stalls.

The best part is the cabin comfort. Because of the way you step in, I never have to adjust the seat. Way better than a 150. Two adults are not even close to shoulder-to-shoulder.

The main limitation is the weight. It holds 30 gallons of fuel, which is good for long trips but eats up the payload. I usually keep it at 15 or 20 gallons. It has an O-235-L2C (118 HP) so it only burns 6 gph (7 flat out) but there isn't a lot of climb, especially on a hot day. It does seem to do better in xwinds than a 150, which is good for IA.

I think it weighhs about 1150 lbs, and the max is 1650. Pretty similar to an RV, but with way less power. It does have one of those dangerous nosewheels, though

I've got it at KCID, and I'm going to try to be my own mechanic, for now. I have a friend who's an A&P/IA and he's been helping me and signing things off. There are a lot of little tweaks to make, but I've almost got them all done. Once this phase is past, there will be more flying than fixing. I'm actually enjoying the work - I'm getting more comfortable with the plane, and with airplane ownership.

I'll post some panel pics later, but it's pretty primitive. One KX170 without glideslope, one old transponder, and a new Garmin 340 audio panel. At least I can plug my iPod in!

I hope to meet some of you at OSH - I'll be shopping for a few Beech bits and some RV stuff too!

I haven't stopped building, and I actually bought an engine today ... although at the moment it is more like a carful of engine parts. This will be an adventure too... I wonder how it goes together?