The View From My Window.

I took these pictures one winter day from various windows in my house.I really enjoy the bird life in my yard. It is amazing to me that delicate creatures, like these, can endure freezing temperatures, snow and winds continuously for days.

It all started with an engine.

For those of you who check in on the building of our RV-10 (I know you are out there, I see you on site meter), you have seen that we have been slow in reporting anything new. That is because Bruce has put aside the project for months now so as to concentrate on acquiring his instrument rating. Well, now there is a new twist. I (Becky) have been given an aircraft engine from my friend T. (who I helped with his annual on his Common Wealth) who has given me 11 hours flying his taildragger plane. Crazy I know. It is not everyday that a girl can say that she has been given an engine. It is a Continental 80hp, which is a good engine. So what does one do with an engine like that? Build a plane around it! My friend T. has said he will lend his expertise because he has built many an airplane in his time and of course Bruce is all over it too. But it will be my project and my plane... my own plane! What this does is prolong even longer the RV-10 build, Bruce gets his instrument rating, we build my plane, we bow out of 2/5ths of the Cessna ownership and finish the RV-10. It is what we wanted in the end but it happened a bit different than we planned.

Do I hear you asking "Just what plane is Becky going to build?"

I just received the plans for a Christavia MK1. It was originally designed in 1981 as a missionary aircraft.

Here are some of the specs:
Overall length.....20' 8"
Overall height.....7'
Wing span..........32' 6"
Empty weight.......750 lbs
Gross weight.......1500 lbs
Fuel capacity......15 gals
Stall speed........35 mph
Cruise speed.......105 mph
Best rate of climb.....850 fpm
Range..................315 miles
Take off ground roll...350 ft
Landing distance.......650 ft
Seating................2 tandem

My first big job will be to weld the fuselage tubing together (I told all you guys in welding class that I would weld my own plane... and you just laughed) while Bruce works on the wood wings. The whole plane will be covered in fabric (plasticized).

This plane will take us into places that we can't land the Cessna; like little back country runways, and it is capable of light aerobatics. It will be our valley hopper while the RV-10 will be our long distance plane.

I better go and get building... there is a lot to be done... but oh, so much fun!