Went over to 47N to take "Casper" the friendly white C152, out for some long-overdue pattern work this morning... was just finishing the runup when i noticed the alternator was done.
Hmmm... 2 months' worth of rust, gusty crosswind, low ceilings... fly with certainty of losing radios? No thanks. Might have to leave the pattern because of the wind... then there's the whole Mode-C-veil thing.
Witnessing my plight was one Herb "Gus" Kushner, who i've seen here but not met before today... he casually offered me a ride in his plane, as he was thinking about going up anyway. We drove across the field to the south hangars, where he unveiled this:
A very lovely Van's RV-4, done up in a scheme commemorating the exploits of a WWII P51 "ace in a day" pilot... there were a few, and now i can't remember which one. But ain't she pretty? Gus bought her completed from the builder, who'd been flying it for some time. He agreed that it would be enjoyable to build one, but he decided he'd rather be flying than building. That's a Lycoming 320 shoehorned into that cowling...
A very well-built kit, with a very well-equipped panel. The ebgine management display seems particularly useful; gives fuel flow readings for making the most fun per (expensive) gallon.
He easily rolled her out of the hangar... the silver paint looks even better in daylight.
The very clever cabin air source: a small butterfly valve operated with a vernier. Very nice, as it gets a little oppressive once that bubble canopy is dogged... I'm used to basking in the shade of a Cessna wing.
Originally, this bird had rudder pedals for the rear pilot, but Gus removed them. Must've been a strange arrangement, considering they'd have to be on either side of the front seat. And the visiblity is so poor from the back that it would be very tricky indeed to take off or land this little taildragger from the rear seat on a check ride or what-have-you. There is still a stick back there, though: more on that later.
The rod attached to the back of the front seat is a stop for the canopy guide linkage: keeps it from dropping too far, which would jam the canopy shut.
This non-standard placard greets you once you settle into the rear seat... a wise sentiment, indeed.
I have several more photos from this flight, but it's late and I'll have to get to posting more tomorrow.
