The Drive
Today was the day! My empennage kit is ready, I got a day off, a U-Haul trailer, and my buddy Lee to ride passenger. We headed down to Aurora State Airport (KUAO) to pick up the kit from Van’s headquarters. First thing this morning we went over to UHaul to pick up the trailer, a 6’x12′ covered trailer. Well, at least that’s what I ordered. I walk into the rental place and tell the guy at the counter that I had a trailer to pick up and he says, “I’ve got you in a 5’x10′ trailer for 1 day.” I very quickly said no, I ordered a 6×12. He says, “oh I’m showing that as your ‘preferred’ equipment, but we don’t have any of those in the area.” So much for UHaul’s reservation guarantee. So….. we get an uncovered 6’x12′ – more on that later.
We jumped in the Jeep and started driving, a quick 3 1/2 hours drive and we’re in Aurora, Oregon – just south of Portland. Skies were beautiful and I’m starting to get excited. I might actually get to take one of the demo flights offered by Van’s for prospective customers. Keeping my fingers crossed – I’m not exactly a “prospective” customer since I already bought a kit. The answer is always no ’till you ask right?
Windshield View 
A bit windy but… 
CAVU! 
Let’s do this 
Parked out front
Pick up
Most important thing first though – we’ve had to get an airplane (part)! I walked into the Van’s front office and it was awesome. And by awesome, I totally mean boring. A few airplane pictures on the walls, a small display with a few landing lights that you can try out (heed the warning on the display about them being really bright), and a display with some glass avionics going through their demo “flights” – a G3X Touch and a Dynon/AFS screen. Not sure what I expected, it’s a warehouse not a retail store after all. Shortly after we walked in, a very nice woman came out from around the corner, I filled out some paperwork, and she gave me the gate code to drive around and pick up the kit. A few minutes later, a guy with a fork lift is loading the kit onto the trailer and I’m smiling ear to ear – I’m actually building an airplane.
Lunch
The day wasn’t over yet though. I talked to Lee and we decided to grab lunch and then catch the factory tour at 1:30 PM. It’s about this time that we both realized we’re starving. Lee found this awesome little place just a couple miles from the factory and we grab lunch. Definitely a great place to visit if you’re ever itching for a $100 hamburger.
Factory Tour
After lunch, we headed back to the factory for the tour. Lee and I were the only ones there, which from what I gather is pretty normal. It was great though since it made for a very personal experience. When the tour starts, you walk through a small door off the right of the counter, and immediately you’re in the warehouse section of the factory. Sadly, I can’t remember the name of the guy who gave the tour, but it was a really nice laid back sort of thing. I don’t know if it was because I mentioned I had already purchased the tail kit or not, but the tour felt like 3 guys talking airplanes a not a sales pitch. One of the first things he asked – literally just a couple minutes into the tour – “have you flown in one?” In my head I’m thinking, “no but please please please please can you arrange a demo flight.” But I managed to maintain my cool – “No, but if you can work out a demo while we’re here that’d be great.” Without so much as a second thought he said, “Yeah we can probably work that out. Let’s make the tour quick and I’ll go confirm with my boss that we can get you a ride.”
At this point, the tour kinda becomes a blur to me. We went through the warehouse, the area where they pack all the kits, where they punch and form all the parts, the quick build staging area, etc – but my mind was on one thing. Let’s go flying. The tour ended in the best spot – the hangar where they store all the RV models. I got to see all the models up close and really get a feel for the different aircraft in the Van’s fleet.
The Flight
From the hangar, we headed back up to the front office. A quick bit of paperwork later and we’re introduced to Sterling – our demo pilot. We walk back through the factory to the hangar, and Sterling starts moving planes around and pulls the RV-10 out of the hangar. Lee climbs in the back, I jump in the right seat and Sterling in the left and after a quick safety brief and engine is started. I’m already starting to feel a goofy grin form on my face. We get the taxi clearance and head toward the runway. Sterling does the run-up, get takeoff clearance, and taxi onto the runway. We get lined up and…. HO-LY CRAP does this thing have power. Coming from a Cessna 172, this is just a different world. This thing is light and has power to spare. With 3 adults in the plane, we were barely past the numbers and already off the ground.
Right as the video cuts off, Sterling turned the controls over to me and it was my airplane to fly around for about 30 minutes. At first I was super timid, just trying to get a feel for the controls. Having never flown a center stick control, it takes some getting used to. The RV-10 is the SUV of the Van’s fleet, but control pressures were super light and comfortable. It wasn’t long before I was comfortable and decided I wanted to do a couple of steep turns and get an idea how the aircraft handles. In a word, superb. Before I knew it, the flight was over and I’m descending back toward KUAO to pick up the downwind. Sterling takes over the controls and lands the airplane, and I can feel it. The “RV Grin” has taken over my entire face.
The Return Trip
Lee and I thank Sterling and head back to the front. It’s time to start the drive back home. We get back on the highway and about half way between Portland and the Washington line, things start to go a bit south. Remember that uncovered 6×10 trailer I got from UHaul. Well it worked perfectly – until it started to rain. At first it’s just a few sprinkles here and there and I’m not worried, but as we go along the rain gets heavier. I stop for gas and decide to throw a tarp over the kit to keep it from getting soaked. Strike two. The tarp that I always keep in my Jeep wasn’t there. So… the kit’s just going to have to get soaked. The entire trip back I’m staring in my rearview mirror like the whole thing is just going to disintegrate on me.
Eventually, we get back to my house. After a couple tries, I get the trailer backed into the driveway and Lee and I unload the kit into my garage. It’s getting late, so we say our goodbyes and Lee heads for home. Initially I was going to leave everything packed and deal with it in the morning. But, my nerves are nagging me to take the top off and see how wet everything got. Very – that’s how wet it got, it got very wet.
I pulled everything out of the crate and got things out of packing paper, wiped off, and separated to dry. With that I called it a night. I’m an RV-10 kit owner – and soon to be a builder.