JdFinley.com

Fulltime RV Living Adventures

Engine Power ROT

ROT – Rule of Thumb. In the world of experimental aviation, it seems that there are a never ending supply of people that believe that they can make an internal combustion engine produce a great deal of power while using a very little fuel.  This is nothing new – it’s been going on for as… [Read More]

Ski Truck Epilogue

In initial post on this topic (here), I warned you what was coming.  In this post, I show the results!! The scenario: Wake up in my own bed, notice that the skies are clear, the ski resort has fresh snow, and the forecast is for no wind all day. The goal: Load my ski equipment… [Read More]

Formating to Food

Another great flight in search of food.  Luckily, these three near-starved aviators found sustenance and survived! This was also formation practice day.  In addition to our normal join-up and parade practice, we also began practicing missing-man passes with me flying the #2/missing-man position. Temperatures here in New Mexico have cooled down (considerably!) and the airplanes… [Read More]

Homeward Bound

I made the 800 nautical mile flight home to New Mexico this past Saturday from my Thanksgiving trip to the St. Louis, Missouri area. The visit with family was great!  I so much enjoy getting to visit with my sisters (and brother when he is there), in-laws, nieces, nephews and, of course, my Mom. Getting to… [Read More]

Go East!

My family gathers at my Mom’s home in Missouri every Thanksgiving.  I didn’t make it last year so was especially keen on attending this year.  So, I took the week off to ensure that I’d find a weather window to go east. I watched the weather during the week and Saturday bloomed as beautiful as… [Read More]

Negrito Fly-In/Camping

October 5-7, 2012 was the date for the annual New Mexico Pilots Association (NMPilots.org) backcountry fly-in at the Negrito airstrip (0NM7).  I’ve written numerous times about this strip – Negrito Landing Video, Me-Own Backcountry Flight/Ride, Negrito Camping, Negrito Breakfast – it is a truly wonderful place. The following video contains some aerial footage and photographs… [Read More]

Shimmy Shimmy

The left main landing gear on my Vans RV-3B aircraft shakes at a certain speed – called a shimmy. I’ve tried balancing the wheel/tire, rotating the tire (same side, just spinning the opposite direction), removing the wheel pant, and varying tire pressure. The result is mostly the same – the speed at which the wheel… [Read More]

Copperstate 2012

Copperstate is a Phoenix, AZ area fly-in. In the past, it moved around a bit but seems to have found a permanent home at the Casa Grande airport (CGZ). This is the same location that hosts the antique association fly-in in the spring.  Copperstate is not a huge event. They have a temporary tower and… [Read More]

First Flight

Note from JD: This post goes back to early 2012. For a variety of reasons, I was hesitant to post it until now.  Another note from JD: I posted my thoughts here on aircraft transitions. I purchased my Vans RV-3B from a local builder. The plane had been flying for a couple years but, due… [Read More]

Quote of the Day

I flew to breakfast this morning.  It was a chilly morning but the flight was oh so wonderful! Upon returning, I shutdown in front of my house. A septic tank pump truck (pooh pumper) was working at the neighbors place. The fellow yells over: Hey! That looks like my Jeep – it’s all chromed out! Lotsa bling!… [Read More]