The 2019 Camrose Fly-in Breakfast

I don't normally post all my flights as they are not very adventurous and kind of boring. However today is a different story. I rented C-FWTO and I took my kids out to the Camrose Fly-in breakfast. I always enjoy these as they are a family event, and I get to check out at all the RV's and also to look at some of the build examples. So I generally take lots of reference pictures.

However I really enjoyed flying with the kids and I don't do it that much.
 

The 2017 Edmonton Airshow

I worked the EAA booth at the Edmonton Airshow. Not much to report other than it was a fun filled weekend of airplanes.

The Edmonton Airshow 2016

I had volunteered to work the EAA booth for this years Airshow. So much of the week was spent on printing up pictures of various builds in the local EAA group so that I can post them up in the booth. I also decided to bring my vertical and horizontal stabilizer (The first empennage) to show at the booth. So much effort has gone into setting up everything for the show. I even brought a small compressor, squeezer and rivet gun to have riveting demonstrations.

We managed to get a Cozy 3 brought in front of the booth.

At least the kids had a blast!
 
 Of course my favorite plane made an appearance.

The final EAA meeting for the 2016 summer break

Today was the final EAA meeting before the summer break. The event was held out at the Parkland Airport (CPL6). It was a pretty good turnout. Unfortunately only one member was able to fly out that day even though it was decent VFR weather. The BBQ was delicious of course and after we were given a tour of the various planes and hangers that the Edmonton Flying Club has. I must say that I am extremely impressed with the 'stable of planes' that the flying club has. All new/newer Cessna's with Glass cockpits and very well taken care of. 

Many thanks to the Edmonton Flying Club for the opportunity to tour their facility.

Of note was a privately owned Cirrus with a paint scheme that caught my eye. Very simple and clean, yet striking in my opinion. Not 100% sure about the gold color for me (although I think it is amazing on this cirrus) but the simple transition and the pin striping and details peaked my interest. Took a bunch of pictures for my paint scheme ideas.

Camrose Fly-in 2016

I had made arrangements to catch a ride out to the Camrose Fly-in with Darin (a local RV14 Builder). Mike (who is building an F1 Rocket and an Stewart S51) had also joined along. Camrose is about an hours drive away, but is a fairly large fly-in event. It attracts quite a number of planes and a good portion of the little towns population.

I was extremely keen on looking at all the RV's to compare my work with what others have done. Well...the very first RV7 made my knees a little week. What a beautiful example. C-GVCB was a beautiful plane. I admired the paint job, with its sharp lines and pin striping. Its build quality is exceptional. My heart sank a little as I think mine didn't measure up. I took a million pictures as I love the paint job!!!

Quite a selection of other planes...Of note I really like the Christian Eagles.


I then was back on scrutinizing all of the RV's. Taking note of how folks have finished certain items like the empennage tips. Some have feathered with fiberglass, some haven't. Either looks just fine to me.

Another beautiful example we C-FMWX which was stunning. I took note of how well built it was
Interestingly the builder has used camlock studs for much of the fiberglass attachments. I looks quite professional.


So it turns out that ALL RV's have bent tabs in lieu of riblets on the elevator and trim tabs. Most have screwed the wingtips on, one or two have riveted them on. In the end...it appears all have had some riveting troubles that I am experiencing on the wing tanks. You have to look really close as the paint hides much of the concern, but there where some examples of rivets that where canted just a bit on every planes tanks. I get the impression that I am not lonely with trying to get the riveting perfect on the tanks. Its tough to do!!

Red Deer Fly-in Breakfast

What a beautiful day for a road trip! The sun is shining and its nice a warm. My buddy Mike and I hopped in the car hit Starbucks for a Coffee and drove out to the Red Deer Airport. The Red Deer flying club was hosting their annual Fly-in Breakfast. What a treat. Breakfast was the usual fair. Eggs, Pancakes, Ham and Coffee. We showed up just about 8:30am. We were in for a treat. Mike spotted the F1 rocket straight away. We decided to eat first and then go stroll around. But wouldn't you know, the F1 rocket and an RV7 were soon getting set to leave. Unfortunately mike didn't get a chance to look over the F1 rocket. I know he's burning for having questions answered as he's just getting into his F1 build.


But the disappointment of missing a plane didn't last long as there where so many other great planes around. A very nice Shinn 2150 was at the show, and the pilot was kind enough to let me jump into the cockpit. A tight fit for my 6'-3" frame. But so much fun nonetheless.







There were a good number of RV7A's on hand which I was in heaven. Pilot Jay who I met last year had his out but he has switched his rudder out with the original (RV9?) rudder configuration the RV7 was to have. He was very pleased with the handling of the plane with it. Pilot Eugene was there as well as a few other new folks that I got to meet. I took a ton of pictures of little build details, or differences that I keep for future reference for all those future head scratching moments. Just a wealth of great information. By the time we were ready to head for home, my cheeks were sore from smiling...what a good day.

Edmonton Airshow

It was a sunny day and quite enjoyable when it warmed up. For Edmonton's first airshow in about 20 years....Not too bad. It was pretty disorganized and they just were not prepared for the amount of people. Good show nonetheless. The were about 20 planes on display. A incredible P-51 and a B-25. Ken Fowlers F1 Rocket was there and A cassutt racer just to name a few. We also got to see Pete Mcleod perform in his Edge 540, Carol Pilon, Stephan Trischuck and Bill Carter. A beautiful T-28 Trojan also made a presence.

A Good Day

2015 Camrose Fly-in Breakfast

I attended my first fly-in breakfast in Camrose Alberta. What a fun event. It was a treat to see a number of different planes. I focused on the Van's Aircraft. I was really interested in taking a look at some of the examples and I was not disappointed. I was able to view three of the many RV-7A's up close. One of the RV's in my opinion was a bit of a poor build quality on the tail. 

On the other hand, there were two very beautiful examples of really nice quality work. I met the Pilot (Jay) of C-FXPT who in my opinion has a very beautiful example. It was a pleasure to be able to talk to Jay and get some of his advice. I thank him very much for his time. Did I mention that he has a very nice paintjob!!

After leaving the Fly-in, I felt reassured that I was making the right choices to accept/reject some of my build quality. It helped lift my spirits to soldier on!

I did make mental note that all three planes bent the tabs on the elevator/trim skins rather than fashion riblets....hmmmm