JdFinley.com

Fulltime RV Living Adventures

Drone Registration and Government Waste

I’m sure most of you have heard about the government’s plan to force all drone operators to register their equipment (aircraft, quadcopter, helicopter, etc.). Of course, this is just another knee-jerk reaction by the government to pacify the public. The media creates the problem by reporting all these terribly frightening and dangerous “problems”, the public… [Read More]

Aircraft Purchase

When I sold my Vans RV-3, Daisy, all of my friends predicted that I would not be without an aircraft for long. They were right. I have purchased a brand spanking new aircraft and I am back in the air (so to speak).  I lasted nearly four months. This is her. She is a UDI… [Read More]

Idaho Backcountry 2014 – Part 3

Once again, we were blessed with warm overnight temps so I slept well.  An early departure to the north took us to Big Creek for the lodge rebuilding fund raiser.  Interestingly, we got there before they were ready to serve breakfast!  Apparently those Idaho folks are not early risers like we are! 🙂  Rebuilding the… [Read More]

Idaho Backcountry 2014 – Part 2

Note: This is part 2 of this trip. Part 1 is here. Arriving in the Idaho backcountry is always a thrill for me.  The beauty is simply unbelievable and the rush of landing at these airstrips – even Johnson Creek (which is a pretty mild place) gets the blood pumping. Our arrival at went smoothly… [Read More]

Idaho Backcountry 2014 – Part 1

My annual trek to the Idaho backcountry is something that I really look forward to. This year, the plan was pretty much the same as previous years. An RV-4 friend and I (me in my RV-3) would motor up north and spent a few days exploring the beauty of the Idaho backcountry as well as… [Read More]

Lacking Airmanship?

Are you lacking airmanship? Sadly, many pilots do not even know what this word, airmanship, means. This from Wikipedia: “Airmanship is skill and knowledge applied to aerial navigation, similar to seamanship in maritime navigation. Airmanship covers a broad range of desirable behaviors and abilities in an aviator. It is not simply a measure of skill… [Read More]

RV-12 Over New Mexico

This past week I uploaded some more raw flying video footage from my Drift HD camera to my computer and I thought: “Self, you have a lot of good video footage but you have done nothing with it in at least six months. You should be ashamed.” I am ashamed. The problem is that processing… [Read More]

Throttle Quadrant and Trim

I have a friend who is building a Thatcher CX-4. He had been working on his elevator trim installation and had put the trim control on the right side of the aircraft and the throttle on the left.  This triggered some thoughts that other builders may find useful so I figured I would document them… [Read More]

Backcountry Flying/Camping Trip 2013 – Part 3

Note from JD: This is the third installment of this trip. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. The day dawned spectacular on Saturday so there was no doubt that lots of flying was on the agenda. The first order of business??  Breakfast, of course. Breakfast was being hosted at the Big Creek airstrip… [Read More]

Backcountry Flying/Camping Trip 2013 – Part 2

Note from JD: Part 1 of this trip is here. Friday dawned cool, cloudy, and wet. We launched as early as possible to start our exploring adventure but there just wasn’t enough cloud clearance to get very far. When the clouds are sitting at mountain top level, it is pretty easy to fly up and… [Read More]