This is all you get for photos when I fly formation...it's a bit of a selfish endeavor, I suppose. I want to lock onto the plane I'm following, and I usually don't break off to take photos. So you'll just have to take my word for it that formation is a blast, it's beautiful, and it's a great way to travel. Anyway, here's the usual "Dan flew formation and all he has to show for it is this crappy photo" shot.
When we got back to Chino, I taxied over to the museum where EAA Chapter 92 was doing the Young Eagles thing. I had committed to taking some of the kids for rides today. 90% of the kids were Boy Scouts, and the Scouts don't allow the kids to fly in experimental aircraft...so the only kids I could take up for rides were the "civilians." I gave rides to three kids. The first one was this little kid who was about 4 or 5 years old, if that. I strapped him in on top of two thick booster cushions. He had never been in any plane, let alone a small plane or an RV for that matter. He really dug it. It was funny...as we took off he just screamed (in delight). The next ride was a girl who was probably about 12 or so, and her parents said she's a real daredevil and loves roller coasters. I told her we can't do anything crazy since I don't have parachutes, but we could still have some fun. She was a really smart kid and picked up on a lot of stuff. We did some steep banks and she dug it. The third and last ride was with one of the young marshalls volunteering for the event. Since the only kids left waiting for rides were Boy Scouts, this kid was like, "hey, if nobody else is going, I'd love a ride!" He said he had taken a few lessons in a Cessna 152. I let him do most of the flying once we had levelled off. He was quiet but definitely seemed to enjoy himself!
Once back at the hangar, where it was 98 degrees in the shade, I decided to make a poor man's oil door strut. After a few short flights and relatively long periods running on the ground (the line to take off each time was crazy), the oil temp managed to get way up there (upper 220s). I've been meaning to integrate some sort of strut into the oil door itself, but I'm too lazy and too cheap. I found these cool miniature gas struts at McMaster, but they're like 40 bucks a pop. Screw it. I made this little doohickey out of some hinge pin.
It works great, cost me nothing, and it didn't involve rivets or fiberglass.
Keeping the oil door open like this really helps cool the engine more quickly between flights. Pointing the plane into the wind makes a HUGE difference, and opening the oil door open can't hurt either. This door used to stay open on its own with friction, but after several hours the hinges loosened up a bit. I still need to fabricate some sort of stiffeners on the inside of the oil door, since it bulges up slightly in flight. Another project for another day.