Bill's Flying Adventures

2023

2022

2022 was another great flying year.  I managed to log some very exciting flying into a relatively average number of hours: 123.  Along with three other RVs, I flew to my favorite spot: southeast Utah.  I did a fabulous foliage flight to Maine.  Plus AirVenture and Triple Tree.  A great visit to Ohio to visit the Air Force Museum and Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Not to mention the usual $100 hamburger flights with airport friends.

 

2021

2021 was a great flying year for me personally.  I ended up with 163 hours -- my second highest annual total ever -- which included a 66 hour long cross-country out west in the late spring which was awesome.  I polished the RV, making it beautiful for a week at AirVenture 2021.  I installed a backup alternator.  My friends finally received their RV-10 quickbuild fuselage and finish kit so work restarted on that and we have made a lot of progress.  We have a bunch of RVs at my home airport now and I had fun flying with them.  The more airplanes in the air, the more fun it is!

 

2020

Not a bad flying year, considering the Chinese Flu fiasco.  I put in exactly 100 hours.  The highlight was flying the Mississippi River north to south.  I also explored the Mid-Atlantic area and discovered a lot of really fun places to fly.  I visited/revisited some great aviation museums:  Uvar Hazy, Creve Coeur, Palm Springs Air Museum, Pima Air Museum, Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, AAF Tank Museum.

2019

The highlight this year was a long cross-country basically flying the perimeter from Niagara Falls to Seattle, down to San Diego, then Tucson and Dallas on the way home.  Lynnette and I also flew down to Florida for a week.  I also made my second ice landing at Alton Bay, NH.  All in all, I llgged 139 hours.  After eight years, I had lost motivation on the Fokker Triplane project so I sold it, having learned building an airplane from plans is ten times harder than building one from a kit!

2018

No long cross-countries out west this year, although I did a short foliage weekend trip up to Maine and a day trip to the New England -- Block Island, Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket, Cape Cod.  Instead, Lynnette and I did a long sightseeing trip to England, and also rafted the Grand Canyon!  I logged 77 hours this year.

2017

I didn't fly as much this year as I would have liked, with only 70 hours.  The highlight was flying the RV-7 with Bruce in the RV-3 out to Oshkosh for AirVenture.  I also did a long day trip up the Hudson River, continuing up Lake George and Lake Champlain, and finishing up in the Vermont Green mountains at peak foliage.

2016

The flying highlight for 2016 was a trip out west in October.  The scenery in Utah and Colorado was just breathtaking.  I logged 107 hours.  A visit to Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas to see the JFK Assassination stuff was very interesting.

2015

When I added up my flying hours at the end of the year, I was surprised to see I was under 100.  94 to be exact.  Think that's a lot?  I spent 30 hours just polishing the RV in the spring!  I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.  I really didn't have any long trips other than Sun 'N Fun.  I went to a lot of fly-ins this year, and some good form clinics.  Clearly, it's time for another long cross-country though!  Besides flying and maintaining the RV-7, I did spend a lot of time working on the Triplane and helping Bruce with his RV-3.

 

2014

Another good flying year with the highlight being a two and a half week long cross-country out west.  I went from flying in the Florida Keys to landing on an ice runway in New Hampshire.  I was a slacker on the Triplane project, only working on it the first half of the year.  Still working on the wing spars.  In my defense, I helped my brother-in-law Bruce with the electrical system on his RV-3 restoration and helped my parents move.

2013

It was a pretty good year, flying-wise.  I flew the Bahamas Outer Islands with a high school buddy.  Great trip.  Shortly afterwards I earned my Formation Lead Card at a clinic.  During the summer, my daughter Maggie and I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane.  That was exciting.  But probably the biggest event was being part of a 49 RV mass formation overflying a Kansas City Chiefs football game.   Lynnette and I enjoyed nice trips visiting friends in Spartanburg, SC, and Chicago.   The Fokker DR-1 Triplane project continues.  I worked mostly on building the wing spars and learned how to gas weld.

2012

No long cross-country flights this year other than AirVenture in Oshkosh, but I went to a lot of local fly-ins and $100 hamburger jaunts.  Lynnette and I had some nice trips to Maine and Ocracoke, North Carolina.  I got to fly over Scotland in an RV-12. I continued with the formation flying, which I enjoy, and am working toward my Flight Lead card. I started the Fokker DR-1 Triplane project this year and knocked out the ribs.  (well, except for the six wingtip ribs).

 

2011

Althought I didn't fly as many hours as in 2010, it was still an excellent flying year.   The RV ran flawlessly all year -- albeit a flat tire rolling out at Bay Bridge -- and I logged a few hours in Bruce's Cub as well.  The years highlight was flying the Santa Fe Trail and then touring the Southwest with Lynnette, flying up the California coast, then flying back to Maryland.   I tried flying to Sun 'N Fun but couldn't make it due to weather, which was just as well given that a tornado came through later and destroyed 90 planes.  AirVenture went much better where I enjoyed the company of my Dad and two Bro-in-Law Bruce & Doug.   I continued to fun flying formation with Dragon Flight.  On the building side of things, I continued to help Bruce on his Xenos motorglider project -- which should fly in 2012 --  and started my own new project:  a World War One Fokker DR1 Triplane replica.  (Yes, as a matter of fact, I am out of my mind!).

2010

What can you say about 2010?  It was an awesome flying year.  The best I've ever had.  All the pieces were in place:  the RV was proven, flying great and looking good with insignia and invasion stripes; the weather was usually good, and Lynnette started flying on trips with me.  I took full advantage of the opportunity and flew nearly 200 hours.  The highlights were trips to Sun 'N Fun, Pensacola Naval Air Museum, Auburn Alabama, Kiawah Island South Carolina, flying the Missouri River like Lewis & Clark to Idaho, Oshkosh, Indiana, Franklin North Carolina.  I learned to fly formation with the Dragon Flight team, culminating in a 23 ship formation with Team RV and getting my FFI Wingman card.

2009

2009 was a big flying year as after five years of effort my RV finally flew for the first time on April 9th.  Next up was the 40 hour test flight period.  I had a little trouble with the engine getting too hot -- my own fault, I didn't secure the electronic ignition sensor wire good enough and it got cut slightly -- but once I resolved that, I rapidly flew off the 40 hours.  Followed by a flight to the Mecca -- AirVenture at Oshkosh.  It was a thrill flying into AirVenture in an airplane I had built myself.  I ended up with almost 100 hours on the RV by the end of the year.   I had a chance to visit the Royal Air Force museum over the pond in London which is one of the world's great aviation museums.

 

2008

Well, not having the Citabria made for a noticeable drop off in Flying-related stuff for 2008.  I devoted the time not spent flying to building the RV and came close to finishing the plane in 2008.  I got two hours of transition training in an RV-7 with Mike Seager.  I also enjoyed visiting the Chino Planes of Fame Air Museum.  Still, here they are:

2007

Not as many hours as 2006 and no real long cross-countries but still a great flying year.  I enjoyed one of my better soaring years and broke all my altitude, distances and duration records on one great flight  -- in July of all months (not usually known for good soaring conditions).  I enjoyed some great Fall flying.  Our airport, Essex Skypark, was liberated from the ADIZ.  I flew an All Grass All Day with the Trunk Monkeys on the eastern shore.  Then Bruce and I flew a cross-country to Dayton, Ohio to visit the Air Force Museum, which was great.  We also flew the Hudson River corridor; flying alongside Manhatten is always awesome.  We sold the beloved Citabria at the end of the flying season.  At the end of the year I got a few hours in one of the all time great planes -- the Piper Cub.

 

2006
I logged more hours this year than ever before:  155.  The highlight of the year, of course, was the great Oregon Trail trip out to the west coast and back in June.  Trip of a lifetime.

2005
I started the year off with a bang by getting my first ride in an RV, on a formation hop no less!  The years highlights were trips to Sun 'N Fun and Maine in the Citabria, and two "All Grass All Day" tours with a bunch of Citabria drivers in the Mid-Atlantic area.

2004

2004 was a banner year flying-wise for me personally.   I flew 100 hours,  my highest annual total ever.  I flew 85 hours in the Citabria, including a cross-country to the Disneyland of Aviation, Oshkosh, 13 hours in gliders and 1.5 hours in the Corben Baby Ace.  I ended the year with 480 official flight hours, 513 unofficially  (includes my Ultralight time, which should count, believe me!)  It breaks down into 287 tailwheel hours, 382 hours under power, and 99 hours without power (glider).

Here are the highlights:

2003

 

My 15 minutes of Fame!  My RV-7 participates in the first AOPA Fly-off episode    Read the AOPA Pilot article
   
 
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