I’m now doing what I hope is the last annual condition inspection on my RV-4.  There have been a few minor squawks but I’ve got them fixed up.  My work now turns on rebuilding the instrument panel, replacing the canopy hinge, installing the wheel pants, finishing up the fairings, and getting it painted.  About a week’s worth of work for someone who knows what he is doing.  It will probably take me months.

I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of this plane.  I’ve travelled all over the place in it.  Take a look at my Travels Page up top.  But now I just want to find something I can put around locally in.  Something I can give friends rides in.  Something fun and affordable.  I’ve been caught up in the fly high, go fast culture for a while now.  Time to get back to my roots and what I really enjoy; low and slow fun flying.  I want to be able to land on back country strips again.

RV pilots will tell you stories of landing on back country strips.  A good RV pilot will need at about 1000 feet of runway to get their plane stopped.  Some really good RV pilots can get the planes stopped in about 800 feet.  The best can get them stopped in 500 feet.  I want to be able to land in places where there is only 200 feet of runway or so.  I don’t expect to start out being able to land that short but I think I can work up to it.  I also want to be able to fly in to out of the way places and camp beside the plane.  I want to be able to take my son and our camping gear with me.  We travel pretty light so a Rans Coyote will work perfectly for us.  It’s affordable, it will keep me in the air, it will allow me to share my love of aviation with more people.  It will allow me to give others a view of the beautiful planet God created for us that they might not otherwise get.  You can’t really appreciate the view from the tiny window of an airliner.  But cruising along at 80 MPH at 1000 feet MSL, you get an appreciation for what God has created for us.

Can’t wait to sell this RV-4.