Dave Moorman

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=120 BGCOLOR="#0000FF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="310a3640.gif" border=0 width="163" height="100" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="5" VSPACE="0"></B></I><FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Britannic Bold" ><I><B>Van's Air Force - Minnesota Wing</B></I></FONT></div> <div> <I><B>The Twin Cities RV Builder's Group</B></I></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=20% BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> <B>*  *  *  *  *</B></div> <div> <A HREF="default.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="_"><U><B>Home Page</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="About.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U><B>About Us</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Events"><U><B>Events</B></U></A><B> </B><A HREF="JoinEmail.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Email Group"><U><I><B><IMG SRC="1641f0c0.gif" border=0 width="31" height="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="RVator.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="RVator Log"><U><B>The "RVator's Log"</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="MList.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Member List"><U><B>Member List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Member Project"><U><B>Member Projects</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Completed aircraft"><U><B>Completed Aircraft</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="First flights"><U><B>1st</B></U></A><A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="First flights"><U><B> Flights</B></U></A><A HREF="JoinEmail.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Email Group"><U><I><B><IMG SRC="1641f0c0.gif" border=0 width="31" height="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="Techs.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tech counselors"><U><B>Tech Counselors and DARs</B></U></A><B> </B><A HREF="JoinEmail.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Email Group"><U><I><B><IMG SRC="1641f0c0.gif" border=0 width="31" height="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="Trans.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Transition training"><U><B>Transition Training</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="Tips.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Builder Tips"><U><B>Building Tips</B></U></A><B> </B></div> <div> <A HREF="ForSale.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="For Sale"><U><B>For Sale</B></U></A><B> </B><A HREF="JoinEmail.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Email Group"><U><I><B><IMG SRC="1641f0c0.gif" border=0 width="31" height="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="Links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rec Links"><U><B>Recommended Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="Vendors.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rec Vendors"><U><B>Recommended Vendors</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="Join.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Join Wing"><U><B>Join the MN Wing</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="JoinEmail.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Email Group"><U><B>Join MN Wing Email Group </B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="Contact.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>Contact Us</B></U></A></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>*  *  *  *  *</B></div> <div> <A HREF="Homecoming.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vans Homecoming"><U><B>2003 Van's Homecoming</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="VansTrip.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Trip to Vans"><U><I><B>A Trip to Van's </B></I></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=360 BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>First Flight - Dave Moorman, Centerville, IA</B></div> <bR> <div> April 8, 2001</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0fc902c0.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="300" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Start date- August 19, 1997.</div> <div> Building time of 1,500 hours.</div> <div> Final inspection- 3-31-01.</div> <div> First flight was 4-8-01.</div> <bR> <div> When the tail kit came we never thought all those pieces would ever amount to anything, guess we were wrong! Just seems like yesterday that we started on it, but then we never thought we would ever get it done.  We built this airplane in our garage in the winter months only.  We did everything but paint the fuselage and wings. Everyone in the family had to help, that means the kids helped too.  I ran the bucking bar and my wife ran the gun. We got things down to a science. We knew how many hits it would take to set the rivet by the rivet size.  The hardest part about building the RV was the paint scheme. We wanted the paint scheme to be different, but not gaudy.  The plane was at the paint shop  getting ready to be primered and we still didn't know how we wanted to paint it or the colors.  We saw a car drive by</div> <div> and loved the color, so we hunted them down and got the color number off of it. It sure draws a crowd and everyone loves the colors we picked.</div> <bR> <div> Engine is a Lycoming 0320-E2D 150 h.p. with a metal Sensinich prop.  We bought the engine in St. Louis sight unseen and had it shipped here.  We had it delivered to my wife's work-she works with her brothers, so they called and told us it had arrived.  Before we could get there to see it, her brothers hid it and replaced our Lycoming with an old Army jeep engine!  The engine was supposed to be in a crate, but when we walked over to it, it was on a wooden pallet and was wrapped in a paper like material.  It didn't look like the engine we thought we had bought.  My heart was ready to quit when I ripped the material off ever so slightly to reveal this huge mouse nest.  My wife was ready to kill me. She didn't like paying so much money for something that we had never seen. Needless to say and to make a long, "funny" story short - all the people that were gathered around for the joke had a huge laugh and still laugh about it to this day.  After I realized it wasn't an airplane engine, they showed me where my real, Lycoming was. I was never so relieved and it made a great story for our local EAA chapter newsletter!</div> <bR> <div> Cruise speed is 180.</div> <div> Empty weight of the plane is 1,073.5 pounds.</div> <bR> <div> Basic VFR panel. First flight consisted of 30 minutes of slow flying and just playing with the controls. There were no problems on first flight. I had to fly off 25 hours before I could take any passengers.  The wheel pants and leg fairings weren't painted for the first few flights, so I flew about 40 hours without them.  After installing them, I noticed about a 15-18 m.p.h. increase in speed.  Paint used was a Dupont, base-coat, clear-coat.  Stripes and N numbers are painted on.  Seriously thinking about building another RV.</div> <bR> <div> We have been flying a Piper Tri-Pacer for about 5 years and hopefully will never have to fly it again!  An RV spoils you tremendously and we love flying it.  The only other trouble I have had with the RV is, the exhaust clamp broke,</div> <div> but that was fixed and ready to go quickly.  </div> </td> </tr></table></body>