Matt's RV-7 Project

On the way home from the grocery store this evening, I got a call telling me that a friend from work was killed in a plane crash earlier today. Jerry was one of the nicest and most energetic guys you'd ever hope to meet, and one of the best stick and rudder pilots I've ever known. I talked to him on the phone just this morning, and he was his same old self - eager as ever to get back into the air. It's far too early to know what happened, but the weather all across the midwest was pretty crummy today.

In 2005 Jerry and I flew his Super Decathlon to Idaho and back, a trip of 3000 miles in a single week. We went into a lot of the back-country strips and high-altitude airports, and he taught me a lot about taildraggers and mountain flying. The memories from that trip are ones I'll never forget.

Then the next year we went to Florida together to earn our seaplane ratings, which was another unforgettable experience. He got a real kick out of flying a J-3 Cub off the water. I remember we went to this really terrible fish restaurant one night to prepare for the oral exam and checkride, and spent as much time laughing as studying.

Mary and I had planned to spend last weekend at his place in the Ozarks, but I begged off at the last minute because I was tired from getting over a cold. Now I wish I'd gone anyway, but I'm glad I at least had the chance to talk to him a couple times this week.

Jerry was a teetotaler, but you can bet I'm having a drink for him tonight. He was one of my heroes and I'll miss him.

Sorry for the interruption. I promise the next post will not be such a bummer.

I bought a pair of custom carved teakwood grips for my control sticks. These are made by a guy in Washington state who, as far as I know, does nothing but turn out these amazing pieces of airplane sculpture. He might also practice zen meditation and catch flies with chopsticks - I really can't be sure. No website, but if you know how to contact him, he can make you a custom set of grips to your specifications. Super nice guy too.

Then I gave them to a friend from work, who very generously ran them through his laser and engraved labels for the switches right onto the wood. It turned out looking great:

The passenger's stick has a push-to-talk (PTT) button and a four-way trim switch. The pilot's stick has switches for PTT, trim, autopilot disconnect, and engine start. Yes, I am putting a start switch on the stick… with a fuel-injected taildragger, you normally need three hands to start the engine: one to turn the key, one to monkey with the throttle and mixture, and one to hold the stick back to keep the airplane from going over on its nose. Since I'm not a Hindu deity I can't manage this very easily, so I will put the starter control right on the pilot's stick grip. There will still be a key switch in series with the button for safety, so you won't be able to accidentally engage the stater if you bump the stick with your soda.

The videos on this site are a pretty good reference for how to work with aircraft electrical wiring:

I bought this Daniels AFM8 crimper on eBay last week. This is the same tool used by pro avionics shops to make wiring harnesses. Including the extra positioners, it would have cost more than four hundred bucks new, but I got it for just over a hundred. How can I afford not to save that much?!

Okay, it's possible that I may have a tool addiction.

It does a great job of crimping the little machined pins used in D-sub connectors, though.