Builder: Mike Thompson

Project: RV-6

The tail kit for N140RV was started in my garage on Memorial Day weekend of 1998. The aircraft was a slow-build, pre-punched kit.

 

First flight was 30 December, 2003, making it (just barely!) a Centennial Edition.

 

In the intervening 5 years there was a year out for a house remodel and 6 months out for carpal tunnel diagnosis, surgery and recovery. So I figure 3 ½ years actual build time.

 

I had my carpal tunnel episode during the skinning of the wings and though I’m SURE it had nothing to do with the constant on-off-on-off process of getting the skins drilled and fitted and riveted, the result was that on doctor’s orders I added pneumatic cleco pliers, a pneumatic rivet puller, and a pneumatic rivet squeezer to my tool box.

I recommend these tools to any and all RV or aluminum kit builders!

 

 

 

I was attracted to the RV for several reasons:

 

1) Good cross country capabilities

2) Aerobatic

3) Good short/rough field capabilities

4) Aerobatic

5) Aluminum construction

6) Aerobatic

7) Good support and builder experience base

8) Aerobatic

9) Great looks (taildragger and slider)

10) And did I mention that it’s aerobatic?

 

 

My daughters were young enough when I started building that it was required the plane have a name. Our family all had/have personal “mascots” taken from the adventures of Winnie The Pooh – my wife’s is Roo, the girls have Pooh himself and Eeyore. Mine was Tigger - and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

So far Tigger the RV(C)-6 has been to Florida (Sun and Fun), Sedona AZ, Slidell LA (5 trips for the Katrina Airlift), Bogalusa MS, the gulf coast more times than I can recall, Marfa TX, Champaign IL (3 trips), Mena AR, Las Cruces AZ, and most recently Oshkosh. Add in a lot of local flying hither and yon, Sunday breakfasts at Fredericksburg, milkshakes at Brenham, and local fly-ins… and we still have only 250 hours on the aircraft. 

The time just doesn’t build that quickly when you have a fast plane!