Dan Checkoway's RV-7 Project - Flying and Maintaining

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.

Dan and Jen flying in formation on the way to the Las Cruces, NM fly-in

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Punta Penasco
- Introduction and "Get Yourself Ready" Run-down
- Last-Minute Checklist
- February 26, 2005 - Flew to Punta Penasco
Guadalajara
- June 29, 2005 - Anniversary trip down to Guadalajara
- June 30, 2005 - Tequila
- July 3, 2005 - The trip home

Dallas/New Orleans for Jen's Birthday 2005

April 13, 2005 - Chino to Albuquerque to Dallas
April 14, 2005 - Dallas to New Orleans
April 17, 2005 - Adventures in Thunderstorm Dodging & Sedona's Closed; Trip Analysis

Nellis AFB Air Show 2005

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

Mexico 2006

Guadalajara
- January 23, 2006 -- Flew down to Guadalajara via Obregon
- January 29, 2006 -- Trip home

Home

Dan Checkoway ()