I decided to order a QB wing to save a little time on the project. It won’t be ready until April. In the meantime though I figured I could get started with some of the fuselage build. The weather was terrific in the Northwest for MLK day. With the day off from work, there was not a better day to visit Van’s and pick up my fuse kit. Van’s had my big box of parts and a 14′ tube with the longerons waiting for me. In about 30 seconds a forklift and 4 guys came out of nowhere and put said big box and long tube in my truck.
With all the extra time I had, I waited in front of the hanger to get my free ride. It turned out that the factory 7 was in the shop getting a new engine so I opted for a ride in the 8. Joe Blank was a great host and pilot. He took me for the all too familiar $50,000 ride (more like $30,000 ride at this point). It was great to get my hands on the stick and feel how smooth and precise an RV is compared to the Cessnas and Piper I’ve always flown.
After a total of 7 hours in the truck, I arrived home safely. My builder friend Jason came by a few minutes later and helped me get all the stuff into the garage. Exhausted, I only managed to pull out the inventory list from the crate before dozing off.