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An Unexpected Hiatus in Our RV-9A Build Journey
An Unexpected Hiatus in Our RV-9A Build Journey
If you've been following our journey building the Vans RV-9A, you might’ve noticed things have been a bit quiet lately. Life threw us a few unexpected turns—classic aviation style—and we had to hit pause on the build. But not without a few adventures and silver linings along the way.
Three weeks before our planned flight down to Sun 'n Fun, an aerospace expo in Lakeland Florida, we rolled our trusty Cessna 150 in for its annual inspection. What we thought would be a quick check and tune-up turned into a cascade of maintenance surprises. Our Continental engine had been leaking oil, as many do, but this time it had crossed the line into fire hazard territory. Not ideal.
Sam teamed up with our local maintenance shop and dove headfirst into resealing everything that could possibly leak. Push rod tubes? Ordered. Gaskets? Pulled and Ordered. But as the inspection went on, more issues came to light—and we had to make the tough call: it was time for a full engine overhaul. Sure, we technically had 200 hours left before the official overhaul was due, but considering the last one happened in 1972, the engine was clearly ready for a well-deserved revamp.
With the engine half-disassembled and Sun 'n Fun fast approaching, things weren’t looking great for our Florida flight plans. But Sam, never one to back down from a challenge, pivoted—hard.
Enter: a Cessna 150, owned by the same man who’d be overhauling our engine. The catch? It had a broken radio and no ADS-B. Sam struck a deal: if he could fix the radio and install ADS-B in time, we could take that plane to Sun 'n Fun.
With less than a week before wheels-up, Sam pulled off what I can only describe as avionics wizardry. He got everything working and prepped for the flight... until the final snag. When he went to bring the plane home, he realized the airworthiness certificate was missing from the records onboard.
Pivot #2.
We decided we would pack up the car and drive down to Florida instead. Who doesn’t love a good road trip, right?!
And just when we thought the week couldn’t get more chaotic, we got the call: OUR WING KIT HAD ARRIVED!
While we may not have flown to Sun 'n Fun in our own plane this year, we’re rolling into Sun ‘n Fun with a wing kit at home and spirits high.
Sun 'n Fun: Pamphlets Galore, One Purchase, and the Blue Angels
Sun 'n Fun: Pamphlets Galore, One Purchase, and the Blue Angels
This year’s Sun 'n Fun was one for the books. We arrived when the gates opened each day, buzzing with excitement and soaking in every ounce of aviation goodness we could before the sun and heat drained the life out of us.
We geeked out over Barrett Precision and Rotax engines, swooned over the multitude of Vans' RV-9As on display, and took full advantage of the incredible learning opportunities. Sam caught up with some of his favorite aviation gurus, and we sat in on every Garmin seminar offered. There were also countless other classes—covering everything from flight safety to riveting techniques—that had us jittery like students on the first day of school.
While we wandered the vendor booths at Sun 'n Fun more times than we can count—collecting pamphlets, chatting with reps, and taking mental notes for the future—we only made one official purchase. With our Wing Kit now sitting in our hangar, we knew it was time to get serious about wingtip lighting. So we went on a mission to find FlyLEDs, the Australia-based company known for their superior landing and taxi light systems for Vans RV aircraft.
Unlike most vendors clustered together, FlyLEDs was way out in what felt like Queensland. Okay, not really Queensland... but it sure felt like it in that Florida heat! We trekked out to the more arid corner of the vendor area and finally found their booth—totally worth the journey.
The rep (FlyLEDs' founder, no less) was an absolute joy to talk to. Friendly, knowledgeable, and incredibly efficient. Within a few minutes, we had what we needed and left feeling confident in our purchase—and even more excited to get back to building.
Of course, no Sun 'n Fun is complete without the airshows, and we made sure to catch them daily. The highlight? The Blue Angels. Watching them tear across the sky never fails to stir something deep inside. If that doesn’t make you proud to be an American, I don’t know what will.
After a few sun-soaked, adrenaline-filled days, we made our way to visit Sam’s Aunt Mary Jane’s house. What a character. She welcomed us with enough sweets and snacks to feed a battalion. At that point, we were suddenly very thankful we weren’t flying—the post-snack extra pounds would’ve made for some rough overweight takeoffs.
We spent time laughing, swapping stories, and watching old family 8mm reels. It was nostalgic, hilarious, and incredibly special. Those are the moments we’ll cherish just as much as the airshows.
Back to Reality (and to the Build!)
Back to Reality (and to the Build!)
We’ve been back for a week now, slowly crawling out from under the mountain of family, house, and work catch-up. But the itch to get back to the RV-9A has returned full force. Next week, we begin hangar cleanup and Wing Kit inventory—it’s finally time to dive back in.
We may have had a short hiatus, but this journey is far from over. Here's to the next chapter—less oil leaks, more rivets, and the dream of soaring in a plane we built ourselves inching closer every day.
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