|
|
There are those people out there, but the reaction I typically get is just the oppisite. Even though my plane is an ugly duckling, it is often one of the most popular at a fly-in if I take my cowl off. Most people are curious and encouraging though reserved.
I have also had an opportunity to change some attitudes through perseverance.
I asked Gary Sobek, a well-know DAR and tech counselor in the So-cal RV-group, to do a tech inspection for me. He refused to come near my plane because it had an alternate engine. That sparked some heated debates on the So-Cal RV-list.
As I continued to attend fly-in events and fly formation with the Group, Gary became more and more accepting of the rotary. I think that if you were to ask him today, he would cautiously admit that the rotary can be a reasonable alternative to certified engine.
Now, I remember a nice looking RV-8 with a military paint scheme parked across from me when I was down there flying off my 40 hours. If that is the same guy (an airline pilot), he was nice enough to me, but he had just bought that RV-8. His knowledge about several RV-related subjects was fairly poor. IMHO, people who have never built a plane are in no position to pass judgment about the decisions made by people who have actually built one and/or know something about the subject.
I woudn't worry too much about his opinion. Just get your's flying so you can show him how cool the engine really is. And then, after it is flying faster and better than his, don't forget to constantly remind him of how little you spent FWF. :-)
Or, you can just tell him that if you gives you any more lip I am going to come down there and kick his butt......... (in an air race) :-)
--
David Leonard
Turbo Rotary RV-6 N4VY
http://N4VY.RotaryRoster.net
http://RotaryRoster.net
On Sun, May 18, 2008 at 8:37 AM, Mike Wills < rv-4mike@cox.net> wrote:
Mark,
Re your comment about the "flying
chainsaw"... Met a guy yesterday at EAA Chapter 14 with a pretty nice RV-8,
IO-360, CS prop, blah, blah, blah. Nice military paint scheme and good
construction. Pretty typical RV-8. I've seen the airpalne and the guy around
before and have always gotten a pretty snooty, aloof vibe from him so havent
ever spoken to him before.
Yesterday it was the only really interesting
plane there so I struck up a conversation. He was relatively talkative and I
mentioned that I had a flying RV-6A and an almost ready to fly
RV-4.
Him: "The -4 is a great flying plane - you are
going to have a blast flying it! O-320?"
Me: "Uh, no - Mazda rotary out of an
RX-7."
He scrambled away like I had plague mumbling
something about stupid people screwing up perfectly good RVs. I saw this coming
which is why I've never really talked with the guy before. Still torques me off
when I meet some close minded jack ass like this who is supposedly an
Experimental aviation supporter.
Mike Wills
RV-4 N144MW
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, May 18, 2008 6:57 AM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Lancair ES - 20B
Takeoff
Thanks Kelly, The old-timers at the airport call me "the
flying chainsaw". ;-) But that's ok. 100LL is $5.10/gal
and I'm burning mogas at $3.62/gal. While nowhere near cheap, it is
$1.48/gallon less than 100LL. I've noticed a newfound interest in the
rotary engine amongst the airport bums lately. Mark
Mark,
You sure do not have anything to apologize for
!!..........Flying that
thing has to be a thrill every time........Awesome !!
--
Kelly Troyer
"Dyke Delta"_13B ROTARY Engine
"RWS"_RD1C/EC2/EM2
"Mistral"_Backplate/Oil Manifold
--------------
Original message from "Mark Steitle" <msteitle@gmail.com>:
--------------
If anyone is interested, I posted a video of my
3-rotor Lancair on Youtube. I apologize in advance for the
photography (my son-in-law took the video). ;-) And no, it isn't
out of focus, it was 94* the day it was taken and what you're seeing is
the heat coming off the runway. Check it out at... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiSSGU7wmMA#GU5U2spHI_4Mark
S.
|
|