JdFinley.com

Fulltime RV Living Adventures

Double Circle Airstrip Landing Video

Several weeks ago I stopped at the Double Circle Ranch backcountry airstrip in Arizona. Yes, I know, I am way behind on my video production…  🙁 I mentioned the stop at Double Circle in the this post and I still feel the same way – it is a really neat place! The runway is a… [Read More]

Cactus Fly-In 2013 – Part 3

The first couple installments of my Cactus Fly-in report are here and here. I took a bunch of photos of aircraft.  Of course, they never turn out quiet like I wish they would.  Someday, I will become a photographer with equipment that does what I want it to do!! The quality of workmanship is amazing… [Read More]

Cactus Fly-In 2013 – Part 2

The first part of my Cactus Fly-in report is here. The one and only forum that I attended was the session on backcountry flying. The work that the Arizona Pilots Association, New Mexico Pilots Association, Utah Back County Pilots Association, and the Recreational Aviation Foundation is impressive.  They all deserve our membership and support. I… [Read More]

Cactus Fly-In 2013 – Part 1

Last weekend was the annual Cactus Fly-In at Casa Grande Arizona. This is an Arizona Antique Aircraft Association event and always draws out some awesome antiques. This year was no different. I had some work to do in Phoenix the week before the Cactus Fly-In so I flew the RV-3 over early and based it… [Read More]

Glowing Red Bluffs

The mountains and bluffs of western New Mexico can be spectacular.  Many folks fly over this terrain at 12,000′ and during the middle of the day and completely miss the grandeur.  The colors jump in the right light – particularly red. At sunrise and sunset, the light strikes the bluffs and lights them up like… [Read More]

Hot Magneto Problem Solved

I finally found the problem (mentioned here) that was causing the left magneto on my Lycoming O-320 to be intermittently hot (active). Yay! I had searched and searched for the occasional problem. Traced wires, tested switches, and so forth. Finally, this past weekend, I was REALLY studying the P-Lead and magneto and the problem stuck… [Read More]

Camping at Roosevelt Lake

A month had passed since my last camping expedition so it was once again time to experience “the wild.”  It’s still a bit cold here in New Mexico (not really but I’m a weenie) so heading west to Arizona is the safe bet.  I camped at the backcountry airstrip known as “Grapevine” last month, as… [Read More]

What happened to the Subaru Aircraft Engine?

youtu.be/wKgrYV3ZRGo

It is an interesting question. I invested no less than ten years towards the conversion of Subaru engines for aircraft use and have followed the movement closely for about fifteen years. In my opinion, I was successful – more on this later.  Why are we not seeing Subaru Aircraft Engines at fly-ins and magazines?  Where… [Read More]

Clouds on the Manzano Mountains

I shot the following photos flying to breakfast a few days ago.  I thought the cloud formations were very pretty (and bumpy). These are the Manzano Mountains in west central New Mexico that run along the east side of the Rio Grande river.  It is fairly typical to have cloud formations like these that seem to… [Read More]

Two-Stroke Motors

Two-stroke motors are not new.  I know that this may come as a shock to some of you. In the homebuilt aviation circles that I frequent there seems to be a recurring discussion about the use of these engines in aircraft.  The discussions are usually heated and rarely have parameters established to allow those participating… [Read More]