Now that the crate is empty, it is time to inventory all of this stuff and make sure that they sent everything that they think they sent. Shelves are starting to fill up. Saturday 7/18/26 - Since my Dad was kind enough to volunteer to go through the four boxes of hardware and little pieces, I continued with the bigger pieces. I got through the Rudder kit, the Vertical Stab kit, The Horizontal Stab and Elevator kit and the Wing kit getting the big pieces unwrapped, inventorie

After ordering our Rans S-21 kit in November 2025, it finally showed up in July 2026. While the wait was painful, I think it will be worth it in the long run. Just a few parts, some assembly required. Just like Ikea. Having ordered kits from Van's, Glasair, and Murphy, I think this may be the only time I have ever ordered a kit with nothing back ordered. Well, the Murphy Elite order didn't have any back ordered items either, but that was just a tail kit. In this case we o

Saturday June 27, 2026 was almost a stereotypical late June day in the PNW. It was cloudy, rainy, and a bit unpredictable. It was also right on the heels of about a week of unusually warm weather. In fact, with the forecast all week making it look pretty wet, I hadn't even planned to fly. I was going to spend the day making room for the soon to be delivered, hopefully, Rans S-21 kit. Rain showers around Olympia. After the morning coffee and bull session, we went to take a

Let me start by saying that I have been very fortunate to have had all of the opportunities outlined here and I am very grateful for that. The road that led me to the point where I am going to build another aircraft is a rather long and winding one. Of course, it helped that I grew up around airplanes and was exposed to them early and often. It was that experience that led me to join the Air Force in 1985 which gave me a lot of training and experience in aircraft maintenanc

To read about how this saga begin, you can look here. 5/30/26 When last we left our intrepid hero, he was contemplating the need to modify the front bulkhead for the spinner. The initial idea on how I planned to do this can be found in this post. The sad part is that after all this work, it looks just like it did when I started. After last weekend's success, all that was left was to get the spinner back on and then go out and see if it will run, and more importantly, see if

This two month saga began here. There is a link at the bottom each page to the next post in the series. 5/22/26 The big day finally arrived, not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with a WHOOPEEE! On Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at 2:28 PM PDT, I finally got the long awaited notification that my propeller and governor were complete and ready for pick up. I used A.C. Propeller Service, inc. in Seattle for my propeller. Since they no longer do Woodward governors, which, of cour

By nearly done, I obviously mean 90% complete with 90% to go. To see how this whole process came about, you can read about it here. There is a link at the bottom of each post to the next post in the series. At Paine Field last year getting my transponder checked. Note the 777Xs in the background parked on the old runaway 11/29. 5/9/26 - 5/10/26. After making much progress last week, I was finished firewall forward as much as I could do until I get the propeller back. Tha

To see how this whole thing started, start here. At the bottom of each post is a link to the next one, until there isn't. Looks like it shrunk in the dryer. 4/25/26 - 5/3/26 The span on this post is longer than the others because I have actually made significant progress and there is less to report. The last weekend in April I was finally able to get almost everything back together. Now that the new shock mounts are installed, I removed the last two intake tubes (#2 and #4)

To see where this whole saga began, you can look here. At the bottom of each post is a link to the next post in the chain until, of course, there are no more posts. Another blast from not quite so far in the past. (Photo courtesy of Carl N.) OK, so I won't keep you on the hook any longer. The tool that I thought would solve my problem in a jiffy was the Engine Mount Alignment Pins from Aircraft Tool Supply. I really thought these would be just the ticket. 4/17-- 4/18/26 As

If you're new to this saga, and are of a mind to, you can go all the way back to the beginning here and learn all that has happened. At the end of each post is a link to the next post in the series. Friday 4/10/26. I took Friday off since I seem to be falling further and further behind. A blast from the past. From a time before I owned the airplane, in fact. (Photo courtesy Carl N.) When last we left our stalwart hero, he, I mean I , was trying to get the cotter pins out

In case you really can't sleep, or want a refresher on what happened in earlier parts, Part One can be found here, and Part Two can be found here. Hopefully we will be back to this stage soon. Saturday, 4/4/26 dawned with much hope. I had received the correct gaskets from Aircraft Spruce, and they actually arrived a day earlier than they were promised. Even better, I got everything that I ordered exactly how I ordered it. I figured I would get the Governor adapter installe

The beginning of the saga can be found here. The big accomplishment for this second weekend in what will undoubtedly become a marathon condition inspection, saw me pass a huge milestone, but not make near as much progress as I would have liked. She looks kinda sad sitting there like that. The major accomplishment is that I got the propeller and governor dropped off at the shop for overhaul. I had been dreading this step because the shop is in Seattle, just north of Boeing Fi

At Forks, one of our favorite lunch destinations. Well, it's that time of year again. Time to hang up the flying shoes and dust off the coveralls and stop flying to do routine maintenance. I always try to plan it for a time when the weather is unflyable anyway and always manage to miss and end up down during some nice weekends. This year's inspection is going to take longer than usual since I have more work that needs to be done. First and foremost, I need to have the prope

Saturday 11-8-25 was a very fine day. We had just come off several weeks of mostly back to back storms and had been seeing a lot of rain. Last weekend it looked like this weekend would be another rainy one, so I had made plans to do other things this weekend, but later in the week, the forecast changed and it looked like it would be good for flying. It was. The last time I flew was 10/15/25, about three weeks ago, so I was getting a little antsy and was glad to see the wea

The newest model in the Van's Aircraft lineup is the RV-15. There have been many things written about it so far and I will not try to...