adamsrv10

The Trinidad has served us well over the 6 years of ownership. I have taken the plane on many trips around the eastern part of the country. They include Tampa, FL, Savannah, GA, West Virginia, Charlotte, NC, Ocean City, MD, Hamilton, OH, Various places in PA, Oshkosh, WI, Upper Peninsula of MI, and lots of places local to the New England states. I’ve probably missed a few…

As with all things in life, some things change. There have been some changes in the lives of my airplane partners to warrant them getting out of the partnership. Thus the decision to sell our bird.

This sale got me to thinking forward to what might be next for me in this aviation world. Of course, the thought to build my own plane resurfaced, and launched me into research mode again.

One of the things that I really wanted to do was to at least see an RV-10 up close, and personal. I wanted to make sure that the interior space and baggage area was sufficient for our needs. So I reached out to the local EAA chapter, which I am a member of, to see if anyone locally was building one. I was connected to a local chapter member who lives an hour away from me, so we setup a time to meet at his house to look over and talk about his project.

Jim’s RV-10 isn’t 100% complete yet. He is a little over half done working on the fuselage, specifically fitting the cabin top onto the structure. Below is a picture of the stage where Jim is at when I went to visit.

I was able to see the baggage compartment and access door, and also sit in what would be the back seat with a cushion on the frame to get a feel for what it’s like inside. Jim and I spent about an hour together talking about his experiences with the build and lots of suggestions if I do end up building. It was certainly a good thing to see the project I’m considering in progress to get a grasp on the magnitude.

Even though this was a very productive visit, I still felt like I really needed to see a finished one in person.