RV-4 build log: Tiger Meet

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Tiger Meet

Instead of building (Saterday), two of my boys, my father and I went to Ørland Air Force Base for the "Open Day" at the Tiger Meet. Tiger Meet is an annual training event for NATO fighter pilots. At the Open Day they show off their planes and flying skills for the general public.

The show consisted of lots of F-16 flights, single and formation. Formation flying with F-16s and a Mi-24. Mi-24 maneuvering capabilities and a breathtaking display of the F-18.

Just as interesting was the static display consisting of 20 someting airplanes with "Tiger camoflage", several helicopters and an E3A.

I had to smile when my 7 year old son entered the E3A and said; "Look at all the rivets". The all tigered up F-5 is the last one registered in Norway, and the Tiger Meet was the last time F-5 was used.

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Why?

For some reason people very seldom ask why I want to build an airplane, but they very often ask where. When I tell them, they immediately ask how I am going to get it out of there when it's finished...

Anyway, the real question to answer is probably why an RV-4 instead of some other plane. You just don't wake up one morning and say, "aha, it has to be an RV-4". Well, that was exactly what happened to me. I have always wanted to build real airplanes. I have looked at lots of kits, tried several finished ones, made large excel sheets, on and off for several years. Then I woke up one Saturday morning, everything was crystal clear, and the order for an RV-4 was sent to Van's before 10 AM the same day.

In hindsight, things like value, performance and so on can be brought up, and the RV-4 will come out among the best. But the truth is that some things in life has very little to do with logics and excel sheets.