Flying and Maintaining RV-7 N714D
This is where I will continue to post photos and commentary on "what comes after" the intense process of building your own RV.
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| Photo by John Hughes, Taken in formation on October 15, 2004 |
THE MOVIE IS HERE! Mac users click here
Special thanks to Dave Richardson for putting all of his hard work and time into the video!!!
Phase I
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- March 27, 2004 -- AIRWORTHY and AIRBORNE!!!
- April 4, 2004 -- Flying off my hours
- April 5, 2004 -- Phase I stuff
- April 6, 2004 -- More Phase I stuff, oil change, etc.
- April 7, 2004 -- Taking advantage of daylight savings, Travel John, etc.
- April 8, 2004 -- More Phase I stuff
- April 9, 2004 -- COMPLETED PHASE I
Flying & Maintaining 2004
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- April 10, 2004 -- Cleaned fuel filter; Discovered cracks in baffles
- April 11, 2004 -- Rebuilt/beefed up the left rear baffles
- April 16, 2004 -- Removed wheel pant brackets
- April 17, 2004 -- Flying; Headset hanger; Left gear leg fairing
- April 18, 2004 -- Formation flying; Finished making the gear leg fairings
- April 19, 2004 -- Installed gear leg fairings
- April 22, 2004 -- Laid up an upper intersection fairing
- April 23, 2004 -- Louie the tool man
- April 24, 2004 -- Formation photos
- April 25, 2004 -- Installed resistors inline with fuel tank senders on ACS2002
- April 27, 2004 -- Dynamically balanced the prop; Fine tuned the rudder wedge
- April 28, 2004 -- Toured the Scaled Composites factory
- April 29, 2004 -- Bribing coworkers & wowing controllers
- May 1, 2004 -- Flying in the Bay Area
- May 3, 2004 -- Heat SCAT flange; Strobe flasher; GX60 sent in
- May 4, 2004 -- Installed new heat SCAT flange
- May 12, 2004 -- More lean-of-peak
- May 14, 2004 -- Oil change, cracked cylinder (not really)
- May 17, 2004 -- Peter Garrison, Sharpie
- May 19, 2004 -- Oil cooler heaven
- May 22, 2004 -- EAA Chapter 1000 Fly-In at Rosamond
- May 23, 2004 -- Fixed noisy brake; Flying & more flying
- May 26, 2004 -- IPC; Bad spark plug; Puppies
- May 29, 2004 -- Primed some glass parts
- May 30, 2004 -- Gear leg fairing work
- May 31, 2004 -- Gear leg fairing work
- June 2, 2004 -- Upper intersection fairing work
- June 3, 2004 -- Finished the upper intersection fairings
- June 5, 2004 -- Bakersfield RV/Rocket Fly-In
- June 10, 2004 -- Wheel pants stuff, PVC chocks
- June 11, 2004 -- Finished wheel pants; 186 knots true airspeed!!!
- June 13, 2004 -- Made a map slot
- June 15, 2004 -- Primed fairings & wheel pants; Rudder wedge; 188 knots true airspeed!!!
- June 16, 2004 -- Oil change; Finished priming
- June 17, 2004 -- Flew IFR to work; Trip planning
- July 5, 2004 -- Found exhaust crack, beefing up oil cooler baffles
- July 6, 2004 -- Injector line, restrictor collar
- July 8, 2004 -- LA Times article photo shoot
- July 11, 2004 -- LA Times article came out
- July 16, 2004 -- Finished repairs, installed oil cooler, re-wired coils, reinstalled exhaust, flying again
- July 17, 2004 -- Mass RV Arrival at Flabob for Trish's wedding
- July 21, 2004 -- Photos of new oil cooler baffles, coil rewire, copilot PTT, night flight
- July 22, 2004 -- No work meeting, flew anyway
- August 3, 2004 -- Moved to the new hangar
- August 4, 2004 -- Waterskiing off the back of the RV; Couch on casters
- August 5, 2004 -- Flights to work
- August 6, 2004 -- Flying with my father
- August 7, 2004 -- Flew up to Portland
- August 11, 2004 -- Fixed the coil wiring (again)
- August 13, 2004 -- Installed the Dynon dongle; Oil change, compression check
- August 15, 2004 -- Spoiling a coworker
- August 22, 2004 -- Formation; Video shoot for a TV production
- August 23, 2004 -- Wired Dynon alternate serial harness
- August 26, 2004 -- Playing with the Lightspeed Headset wiring; Dynon data logging
- August 28, 2004 -- iButton stuff
- August 29, 2004 -- Formation flying
- September 1, 2004 -- Dynon debugging
- September 4, 2004 -- Headset battery back stand
- September 5, 2004 -- Formation w/Dave; First Sunday; Camarillo
- September 7, 2004 -- Aerobatics, oil change, maintenance items
- September 8, 2004 -- Breakfast flight; More unusable fuel testing
- September 11, 2004 -- Breakfast formation flight; Young Eagles; Oil door strut
- September 12, 2004 -- Formation flying; Replaced tires & tubes
- September 13, 2004 -- Flight to the Bay Area
- September 14, 2004 -- Trip home; Bill Esther's fuel cap tool
- September 15, 2004 -- What's the dam frequency?
- September 17, 2004 -- Night flight back, autopilot babble
- September 18, 2004 -- New shop light; Flabob Flly-In; First oil analysis results
- September 19, 2004 -- Formation fly-out; Trip to the Bay Area
- September 21, 2004 -- Troubleshooting a bad RPM sensor
- September 24, 2004 -- Packing for camping; iPod mounting base
- September 25, 2004 -- Formation practice; Lake Isabella; Enroute airshow
- September 29, 2004 -- Oil change, etc.
- October 4, 2004 -- Trip home from the Bay Area
- October 5, 2004 -- Cool coax stripper; Blue Dot Receptor adapter
- October 8, 2004 -- Copperstate
- October 9, 2004 -- More Copperstate; Started TruTrak Digitrak autopilot installation
- October 10, 2004 -- TruTrak Digitrak wiring
- October 11, 2004 -- Finished TruTrak Digitrak installation and setup
- October 12, 2004 -- Digitrak flight testing, magnetic calibration
- October 14, 2004 -- Survival knife has a home
- October 15, 2004 -- Las Cruces, Carlsbad Caverns, etc.
- October 18, 2004 -- Lightspeed headset repair
- October 19, 2004 -- Lower intersection fairing work
- October 21, 2004 -- More lower intersection fairing work
- October 22, 2004 -- Filling and sanding lower intersection fairings
- October 23, 2004 -- Riveted Linas' aft fuselage; Finished the lower intersection fairings
- October 27, 2004 -- Oil analysis results
- October 29, 2004 -- Fuel tank drain tool; Mountain views
- October 30, 2004 -- Snow at Big Bear; Flying with my father
- November 1, 2004 -- Oil pressure relief valve spring
- November 6, 2004 -- Breakfast RV invasion at Santa Maria
- November 8, 2004 -- Icing and IFR with the Digitrak
- November 9, 2004 -- Instrument flight home
- November 10, 2004 -- ONC charts, Mexico trip planning
- November 11, 2004 -- Veterans Day fly-out to Chiriaco Summit
- November 12, 2004 -- Headed back up to Livermore
- November 13, 2004 -- Flew home from Livermore
- November 16, 2004 -- Tech Counselor visit
- November 18, 2004 -- Lunch at Big Bear with Yellowtail
- November 20, 2004 -- Flew to Livermore; San Francisco Bay Tour
- November 22, 2004 -- Northern California flying
- November 23, 2004 -- Back to the Bay Area
- November 25, 2004 -- Beautiful cloud/moon/sunset photos
- November 26, 2004 -- Mother's Billet, oil change, started experimenting with polishing
- November 27, 2004 -- More adventures in polishing with Nuvite
- November 30, 2004 -- FAA icing seminar
- December 6, 2004 -- Formation practice, more clouds/sunsets
- December 7, 2004 -- MAF tour
- December 8, 2004 -- IFR to John Wayne, bought the Jeppesen Mexico kit
- December 9, 2004 -- Marker beacon troubleshooting
- December 10, 2004 -- Flew chase/video ship for Tom Yaberg's RV-7A's first flight
- December 11, 2004 -- CO (carbon monoxide) and gas sensor kit
- December 12, 2004 -- Tailwheel play issue
- December 15, 2004 -- 12" tail numbers for Mexico
- December 23, 2004 -- Flight up to the Bay Area, severe turbulence
- December 24, 2004 -- Lunch with mom at Monterey, photos up the coast
- December 26, 2004 -- Demo ride with Billy
- December 27, 2004 -- Demo ride with John; GPS database, Jeppesen Skybound
- December 29, 2004 -- Oil change; Oil cooler flange failure
- December 30, 2004 -- Burn DWG OP-27; Repaired oil cooler, updated installation technique
Flying & Maintaining 2005
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- January 1, 2005 -- Lunch fly-out at Fox; Video camera mount
- January 5, 2005 -- Date with Jen at Catalina
- January 8, 2005 -- Oil door stiffener
- January 9, 2005 -- Oil door pop-open spring
- January 11, 2005 -- Weather let up, did some flying, video of Corona
- January 12, 2005 -- Lunch at Mojave, aerobatic video
- January 13, 2005 -- Flying with Cassius
- January 14, 2005 -- Corona still flooded
- January 15, 2005 -- Laughlin fly-out
- January 16, 2005 -- Big Bear breakfast fly-out
- January 19, 2005 -- Installed BMA capacitance adapter on left tank
- January 20, 2005 -- Installed BMA capacitance adapter on right tank
- January 22, 2005 -- Formation practice; Broken starter wire ring terminal
- January 25, 2005 -- Tufting of Bill Marvel's RV-8A, vortex generators
- January 30, 2005 -- Santa Monica Typhoon lunch, Big Bear, oil change, starter wiring photos
- January 31, 2005 -- Finished oil change, photos of new ground wire
- February 5, 2005 -- Formation practice, Palm Springs Air Museum
- February 6, 2005 -- Formation practice, tufted Tiger
- February 9, 2005 -- New brake linings, rotated tires
- February 10, 2005 -- Cleaned tail light lens
- February 13, 2005 -- Formation photos
- February 25, 2005 -- 12" numbers, shoe polish dye
- February 26, 2005 -- Flew to Punta Penasco, Mexico; Lost tailwheel steering, fixed tailwheel key
- February 27, 2005 -- Death Valley w/Starbuck & Yellowtail
- March 2, 2005 -- Oil change; Minor baffle crack
- March 4, 2005 -- Mountain playgrounds & chasing rainbows (video)
- March 6, 2005 -- RV-10 Tech Counselor visit; Poker with a curfew
- March 8, 2005 -- Fresno with Tom; Harris Ranch; Odyssey PC680
- March 9, 2005 -- Started the annual
- March 11, 2005 -- Kern River run; Wide angle lens
- March 12, 2005 -- IFR flying video
- March 15, 2005 -- Flew to the office for meetings
- March 17, 2005 -- Jack Lockamy's first flight; Dusk over Los Angeles
- March 18, 2005 -- Flying with Gerald Richardson
- March 25, 2005 -- Finished the annual condition inspection; Flew up north
- March 26, 2005 -- Night flight home
- March 29, 2005 -- Day/Night switch for the TruTrak
- March 30, 2005 -- Missing Man formation for Robert Reed
- March 31, 2005 -- SPINS VIDEO; Painted tailwheel spring & fork
- April 2, 2005 -- FFI formation practice
- April 3, 2005 -- High altitude testing, FL200
- April 4, 2005 -- Aerox oxygen system, funky valve
- April 6, 2005 -- Flew up to Las Vegas
- April 8, 2005 -- Flew home, power outage, flew some more
- April 9, 2005 -- Rosie's Vernitherm
- April 10, 2005 -- Riveting w/Linas
- April 11, 2005 -- Good deal on a pulse oximeter
- April 12, 2005 -- Fueling up and preparing for the New Orleans trip
- April 20, 2005 -- Pipe thread fittings, lubes, and sealants
- April 21, 2005 -- Lunch with Mike (Glasair)
- April 23, 2005 -- Formation toward San Diego
- April 24, 2005 -- Replaced the tires
- April 26, 2005 -- Oil change; Ram air discussion
- April 27, 2005 -- Fast glass formation
- May 1, 2005 -- Passed my FFI checkride, got my FFI Wingman card
- May 8, 2005 -- Fixed my heavy right wing; Installed the oxygen system
- May 20, 2005 -- Updated Hartzell propeller manual revision
- May 25, 2005 -- IFR flying, GPS approaches
- May 27, 2005 -- First landing light burned out; "Downgraded" to 55W
- May 28, 2005 -- Got the special order oxygen system
- May 29, 2005 -- Fly-out to Todd's
- May 30, 2005 -- Tech Counselor visit; Visting family; Night flight home
- May 31, 2005 -- Aluminum concealed hinges from Guden
- June 1, 2005 -- IFR to Santa Monica; RAIM unavailable
- June 3, 2005 -- Re-weighed the plane; Empty weight of 1113 pounds
- June 8, 2005 -- Flew to work; Another RV victim
- June 11, 2005 -- Tri-tip fly-out to Agua Dulce
- June 12, 2005 -- Formation with Brad, ILS in formation
- June 13, 2005 -- High weight high altitude test; Oil & filter change; Kelly vs. Champion filter element; Removed exhaust & magneto
- June 14, 2005 -- Wrapped exhaust
- June 15, 2005 -- 500-hour Slick mag check; Sprayed heat coating on exhaust; Tested exhaust wrap
- June 17, 2005 -- Lemoore NAS; Camping at Oceano
- June 18, 2005 -- Students at Oceano
- June 19, 2005 -- Grand Canyon
- June 23, 2005 -- Relocated fire extinguisher; Made more chocks
- June 24, 2005 -- Buffet at Jean, NV
- June 26, 2005 -- Photos over the lake; 12" numbers again
- June 28, 2005 -- Homebrew slaved EFIS
- June 29, 2005 -- Flew to Guadalajara
- June 30, 2005 - Tequila
- July 3, 2005 - The trip home
- July 5, 2005 - Mathisen Oil Company; Warming up the oil; Chino smoked in
- July 6, 2005 - LA Center tour; Flew to office; Packed for Yellowstone
- July 7, 2005 - Flight of seven to West Yellowstone
- July 9, 2005 - Smiley Creek, Idaho
- July 10, 2005 - Flight home via Twin Falls and Auburn
- July 11, 2005 - Oil analysis results
- July 16, 2005 - Formation practice with Trish
- July 19, 2005 - Accelerated stalls; Formation with Mike
- July 23, 2005 - Mike Holland's first flight; Formation & acro with Hog
- July 24, 2005 - Escorted Mike away from the airport
- July 27, 2005 - RV breakfast fly-out to Mojave (was Santa Paula)
- July 28, 2005 - Flight up to Livermore
- July 30, 2005 - Formation with Lucky, breakfast at Porterville
- July 31, 2005 - Flight home from Livermore; Oil & filter change
- August 6, 2005 - Formation with Wingnut
- August 7, 2005 - 4-ship formation beach run
- August 10, 2005 - Trip to the office
- August 11, 2005 - Primed the canopy latches; New hangar couch; Cleaned the belly
- August 13, 2005 - Flew chase for Walter's first flight
- August 14, 2005 - Local formation flying w/Wingnut and Hog
- August 19, 2005 - Santa Paula breakfast fly-out
- August 20, 2005 - Local formation flying
- August 23, 2005 - Broke 600 hours
- August 30, 2005 - Bumpy night flight over LA
- September 1, 2005 - Mid-year annual, oil change, lubed prop, strobe power supply
- September 2, 2005 - Added stiffeners to tailcone
- September 3, 2005 - Filled pinholes on cowling
- September 4, 2005 - Filled pinholes on cowling
- September 5, 2005 - Finished filling pinholes, primed cowling; Lower tailcone skin stiffeners
- September 6, 2005 - Sunset reflections
- September 8, 2005 - TC visit in San Diego; Flew to work
- September 9, 2005 - New AVI-PAK strobe power supply; Flew up to Jean, NV
- September 10-11, 2005 - Formation practice in Boulder City
- September 13, 2005 - Family flying day
- September 16, 2005 - Installed the Roady2 XM radio
- September 22, 2005 - Local flying
- September 23, 2005 - Checking tire wear and pressure
- October 6, 2005 - Fetching my wife
- October 7, 2005 - Got my first ride in an RV-9A
- October 8, 2005 - Red Bull Air Race, Blue Angels, Fleet Week in San Francisco
- October 9, 2005 - Oil & filter change; Magneto timer from Brewington Tech
- October 10, 2005 - Spark plug terminal clip
- October 15, 2005 - Fiberglass layups for access panels
- October 16, 2005 - Filled and primed access panels
- October 18, 2005 - Made trays and removable satellite antenna platforms
- October 20, 2005 - Kitplanes was here
- October 24, 2005 - IFR to Camarillo
- October 26, 2005 - Installed the Garmin GPSMAP 396
- October 27, 2005 - More 396 wiring; Night photos over LA
- October 28, 2005 - Flying with the Garmin GPSMAP 396
- October 30, 2005 - Flying with prospective builder Elie Curetti
- October 31, 2005 - Flight home
- November 1, 2005 - Flying with Jon to Giant Rock and the Integratron
- November 2, 2005 - Polished the tailcone; 396 update and cover plate
- November 5, 2005 - Boulder City Airport Day, Falcon Flight Formation
- November 6, 2005 - Practice formation for Nellis
- November 10, 2005 - Flight up to Nellis
- November 11, 2005 - Press day; Practice; Flew home and back again at night
- November 12, 2005 - Airshow Day 1
- November 13, 2005 - Airshow Day 2
- November 18, 2005 - Flight home, oil change, new spark plug wires
- November 22, 2005 - Fresno, Livermore
- November 24, 2005 - Thanksgiving; Avoiding weather and terrain out of Truckee
- November 25, 2005 - RV fly-out to Kernville
- December 1, 2005 - IFR flying to work; Serious economy
- December 3, 2005 - SportAir RV Assembly workshop
- December 6, 2005 - Formation practice with Dave Lind
- December 7, 2005 - Discount on AOA oil analysis kits
- December 11, 2005 - Oil change, found small crack in front baffles
- December 14, 2005 - Changed tires, brakes, repacked wheel bearings; Tire & brake wear trends
- December 18, 2005 - Formation for an engine hanging BBQ
- December 19, 2005 - Trip up to Livermore
- December 20, 2005 - Flight home; Jeppesen 4mb card
- December 21, 2005 - 6-ship Formation practice
- December 22, 2005 - 8-ship Formation practice
- December 23, 2005 - Flying up north; Night IFR approach
- December 24, 2005 - IFR flight to Chico, tech counselor visit
- December 26, 2005 - 252 knots
Flying & Maintaining 2006
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- January 1, 2006 -- Laughlin; Oil change
- January 4, 2006 -- Overhauled the tailwheel
- January 14, 2006 -- Getting cheap fuel at Hesperia
- January 16, 2006 -- Oil & filter change; Engine condition inspection
- January 17, 2006 -- Finished engine condition inspection
- January 22, 2006 -- Replaced the tailwheel; 12" numbers for Mexico
- January 23, 2006 -- Flew down to Guadalajara via Obregon
- January 29, 2006 -- Trip home
- February 5, 2006 -- Chico to California Pines; Started the condition inspection
- February 6, 2006 -- Fire/smoke near Chino
- February 8, 2006 -- IFR pitot/static/transponder check; Removed old quadrant; Old control cables
- February 11, 2006 -- Added belly stiffeners; Oil analysis results
- February 14, 2006 -- Finished DJM throttle quadrant install
- February 16, 2006 -- New footwell carpet
- February 17, 2006 -- New baggage area carpet; Fuel cap mishap
- February 19, 2006 -- Flying over LA and Hollywood
- February 20, 2006 -- SoCal lunch at Camarillo; Rosamond
- February 25, 2006 -- Formation over Oceanside
- March 2, 2006 -- Prop chafing spinner & spinner bulkhead
- March 3, 2006 -- Repaired prop chafing
- March 9, 2006 -- Doug Bell tailwheel fork
- March 14, 2006 -- Helping Mike disassemble for paint
- March 27, 2006 -- Two-year anniversary flight; Oil change
- March 30, 2006 -- Formation with Hog; Recurrent spin practice
- April 3, 2006 -- Built a new trim tab
- April 8, 2006 -- Eat here and get gas
- April 10, 2006 -- Replaced GPS antenna
- April 12, 2006 -- Vegas with a tailwind
- April 19, 2006 -- Dan the economaniac
- April 21, 2006 -- Fuel at Flabob
- April 25, 2006 -- Shaking off the instrument flying dust
- April 26, 2006 -- Formation at Overton, NV
- April 29, 2006 -- Gear leg fairing paint prep
- May 7, 2006 -- Re-testing for best glide speed and ratio
- May 14, 2006 -- Rotated the tires and proactively replaced a tube
- May 20, 2006 -- Chino fly-in and air show
- May 21, 2006 -- 2nd day of Chino air show; Engine maintenance
- May 23, 2006 -- Engine maintenance
- May 24, 2006 -- "Cheap" gas at Flabob
- May 26, 2006 -- .025" fuel injector restrictors; Bogi-Bar tow bar; Tail-Mate tailwheel hoist
- May 29, 2006 -- Formation with Wingnut and Redtail
- June 4, 2006 -- FFI Flight Lead practice flights at Apple Valley
- June 20, 2006 -- Chasing Jim around
- June 24, 2006 -- Formation routine at Ramona; Practice at French Valley, Flabob
- July 2, 2006 -- NWFC (formation clinic); passed my FFI Flight Lead checkride
- July 3, 2006 -- Oil analysis results
- July 8, 2006 -- FFI Flight Lead card arrived from Stu
- July 18, 2006 -- Cross-country trip day 1
- July 19, 2006 -- Cross-country trip day 2; Punxsutawney
- July 20, 2006 -- Cross-country trip day 3; IFR in the east
- July 25, 2006 -- Oshkosh
- July 28, 2006 -- Trip Home from Oshkosh
- August 9, 2006 -- Oil & filter change; Wilkerson retread tires; New brake pads
- August 24, 2006 -- Flew back to Oshkosh for the SportAir workshop
- August 28, 2006 -- Back from Oshkosh (again)
- August 30, 2006 -- Sent AF-2500 in for repair
- September 7, 2006 -- Oil & filter change
- September 8, 2006 -- Broken oil return tube
- September 18, 2006 -- Smoke/fire near Gorman
- September 23, 2006 -- Performing at Rob Harrison's airshow wedding
- September 27, 2006 -- More smoke/fire near Gorman
- September 30, 2006 -- Flying for SkyTypers
- October 1, 2006 -- Scoping out SWFC practice areas
- October 3, 2006 -- Flight up to NorCal, TFRs on the 496
- October 13, 2006 -- QT Halo headset, Flight to LOE6
- October 15, 2006 -- Oil & filter change
- October 18, 2006 -- Flew Jen up to Truckee
Special/Noteworthy Trips in N714D
Anniversary Trip 2004
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- Introduction - Background story, route planning, etc.
- June 19, 2004 - Chino, CA to Provo, UT to Casper, WY to Minneapolis, MN
- June 20, 2004 - Minneapolis, MN to Gary, IN
- June 21, 2004 - Gary, IN to Taunton, MA
- June 22, 2004 - Replaced Starter
- June 23, 2004 - Taunton, MA local flying
- June 24, 2004 - Taunton, MA to Bar Harbor, ME
- June 25, 2004 - Bar Harbor, ME to Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
- June 28, 2004 - Repaired the oil cooler/baffle brace
- June 29, 2004 - Charlottetown, PEI to Portsmouth, NH to Norwood, MA
- June 30, 2004 - Norwood, MA to Katama, MA to Provincetown, MA to Norwood, MA
- July 1, 2004 - Norwood, MA to Warren, OH to Platte, SD to Chamberlain, SD to Pierre, SD
- July 2, 2004 - Pierre, SD to Rock Springs, WY to Las Vegas, NV to Chino, CA
Mexico 2004
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- Introduction - Background story, route planning, insurance, procedures, etc.
- December 18, 2004 - Chino to Ciudad Obregon to Guadalajara
- December 19, 2004 - Hanging out at the pad
- December 20, 2004 - Checked out the grass strip at Chapala
- December 21, 2004 - Guadalajara to Ciudad Obregon to San Diego to Corona to Chino
- Full Expense Log (all fuel, landing, parking, airspace fees, etc.)
Mexico 2005
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- Punta Penasco
- Guadalajara
Dallas/New Orleans for Jen's Birthday 2005
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Nellis AFB Air Show 2005
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Mexico 2006
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Dan Checkoway ()