I first flew my RV10 in February of 2009 after an 18-month build. This was my third aircraft build, and each one kept getting easier. I did not want to paint it until all the bugs were worked out and I had saved up enough cash to have someone else paint it. Besides, painting is another six weeks of time, and I wanted to fly!

There are several local paint shops, but none were very familiar with the RV10. Most required you to disassemble the plane for them and put it back together. I did not want to deal with the time it was going to take to be alongside the paint process, so I started looking at other options.

I am a member of VAF (Van’s Airforce, http://www.vansairforce.net), which is a website for RV builders that is everything RV. Doug Reeves hosts the site, and it is now his full-time job. One of the guys that he promotes quite a bit is Grady at Glo Custom. So many pictures get posted on the site of Grady’s work, and they all look great. He has many years of painting experience and now only paints RVs. An indication of how good he is is a 12-month wait list. He has also painted over 100 RVs for many satisfied customers. He takes the plane apart and puts it back together for you. The RV is nice because you can see all the connections that he removed without taking off an inspection cover other than the elevator horn. One small issue was that he is located in Roanoke, just north of Fort Worth, Texas.

The RV is a great traveling machine, so what is 1500 miles? That is just a day’s worth of flying! It has taken our family to the East Coast, West Coast, many of the northern states, and as far south as Las Vegas. Our RV10 travels well, so we incorporated its pick-up into a family vacation.

I soon committed by sending in my 10% deposit to book my slot. I planned the drop-off for the first of March 2011 so we could get it back in early spring and enjoy the warmer temps of the south before returning. As the time got closer, I made sure that all the required touches were complete prior to painting.

Also, as time got closer, I started to really pay attention to the weather. A friend of mine, Garret, had decided he would like to make the trip to Texas with me to drop the plane off. Departure would be a spur-of-the-moment time to best suit a time with proper weather that would allow us to get there in one day. I ended up committing a little late, as in the day of! The long-term forecast really looked bad, so I figured we better take what we had. I made the call Sunday morning at 8:00, and we had E-Apis complete, and we were airborne by 10:30.

We cleared customs in Great Falls, MT, and then flew direct to North Texas for the next leg. We got stopped for the night from a cold front and rolled into 52F (where Grady is located) the next morning with 7.5 hours flight time, averaging over 200 mph for the whole trip, which included the climbs and approaches. The RV10 is a great airplane! Commercial flights were arranged, and we made our way back to Canada. We actually logged more time on the commercial flights trying to get back home than we did going down.

Grady and I worked together via email as I watched the project unfold. He was finished right on schedule for our arrival to pick the plane up on April 8th, 2011. My wife, our two kids, and I flew down to get the plane on a commercial flight. Grady graciously picked us up at our hotel the next morning and brought us out to the airport to see the “new” plane. I was told the pictures did not do it justice, and they were right. It was beautiful! I spent a fair bit of time going through the airplane, making sure everything was the way it should be. All was well, and I went for a couple of tours around the pattern to make sure it worked as it should before loading up the family. The main reason for the flight was to make sure I still knew how to fly, as I have never left the plane for much more than a week between flights. I love to fly! There were no issues, so we packed up the plane and filled it full of fuel. We had a great lunch at the Blue Hanger Cafe and then loaded up for the Corpus Christi area. The location was Mustang Beach, which is on Port Aransas Island in the Gulf.

The Dallas airspace is a bit tricky for the first-timer of the area. I studied the maps quite well and had a planned route southbound. The charts on the iPad make a world of difference for navigating complicated airspace. I sure hope that Canada gets on board with this soon, as it is clearly the way to go. We climbed out southbound, remaining clear of the Bravo and nearby Delta airspace until I could get confirmation with Center for flight following. Once on flight following, you can relax more as they clear you through the airspace. Most often, they say to stay clear of the Bravo but sometimes give you clearances into the Bravo along your route.

We leveled at 7,500’ due to the strong headwinds. The air was fairly smooth, but visibility was poor. This is normal for the area, but poor for us fortunate to fly in the West. As we neared Mustang Beach, XM weather was showing clear skies and 4-mile visibility. We soon set up for the landing. One thing is for sure: when flying over water with poor visibility, you better be doing your instrument scan, as there usually is not much of a horizon. This was the norm every time we visited home in the Maritimes, as well as in the heat of summer. We turned final and landed in the 23, gusting 32 knots, 2.5 hours from 52F.

We spent three nights on the island and stayed at a condo within walking distance of the plane. It was nice to be able to go and tuck the plane in before bed each night to make sure all was well from sitting outside in the strong winds. We went to the Texas State Aquarium, the Lexington, and walked the many shops in the area. We spent many hours on the beach while the kids played in the surf and the sand. The temps were wonderful, but the visibility was always low.

I was watching a front move across the US that was stretching from Corpus right up into Canada. It passed right on schedule the morning of our departure and lasted about an hour. Behind it were clear skies and shifting winds. We would now enjoy a strong headwind for our trip to Phoenix.

We got airborne around 10:30 local and made our way westbound with great visibility. We requested flight following and climbed to our cruising altitude of 8,500’ until the terrain started to rise. 45 knots on the nose, oh joy. As the green started to brown, the bumps started as well. Climb to 10,500’ was in order, and we donned the oxygen. Winds were now 52 knots, quartering on the nose, but the ride was smooth. Truing out at just over 170 knots, we still only had 125 knots ground speed at times. Ouch. The nice thing was that the farther west we got, the less the winds became.

The planned lunch stop was Las Cruces, NM. As we neared west Texas, our daughter decided she needed to pee. At 10,500’, it takes time to get down, let alone find a nearby airport. We set our sights for Pecos, TX. We requested a diversion from center and down we went. In the meantime, our son said he had a sore belly. (Our daughter is 6, and our son is 4. Both have been flying with me since they were 18 months.) He really did not know what kind of sore his belly was, and we did not know he was gorging himself on cheese crackers. We found out as I turned downwind… cheese pâté anyone. The approach went from normal to land as fast as possible. The poor little guy was still and shocked as he had only been sick once before, and that was from doing the same thing on cheese. We have learned our lesson. Thank you, car seat, for keeping it off the plane. The flight was 3 hours.

Pecos was a great airport with beautiful runways. The FBO was of great service and had burritos for anyone that flew in. We knew our boy was not going to eat them, so we took the courtesy car and went into town. After we got everything back in order, we loaded up everyone in the plane for the last leg to Phoenix. By this time, there were dust devils everywhere, so we wanted to get high as quickly as possible. We climbed out to 10,500’ and requested flight following. The stop was worth it, as now the headwind was down to almost nothing. About 30 minutes into the flight and over no man’s land, our boy again complained about his stomach. He ate a good lunch at our stop, and now we were worried. He assured us that he did not need to be sick. We set our sights on Las Cruces for the night.

After a bit of reassurance that he was fine, he fell asleep. My wife agreed that if he stayed asleep until Las Cruces, we could continue. The plan was to fly airport to airport in case he was not fine when he woke up. The terrain was just fabulous throughout the entire leg. Ground speeds were now steady at 175 knots, and we were making great time. Our boy awoke in the descent into the Phoenix valley, a brand new person and feeling great. We were instructed to stay clear of the Bravo and made our way around to the Goodyear Airport, which is on the west side of Phoenix.

As we approached Goodyear, Phoenix approach handed us over to the Goodyear tower. We soon got instruction to be placed in a holding pattern as there was an aircraft on the runway with two blown tires. We were one of five aircraft in a hold waiting to land; needless to say, it was busy. We held over a racetrack course near the Estrella Mountains, so life was pretty good, and the scenery was great. The runway was soon cleared, and we touched down 3 hours out of Pecos, TX. 865 NM for the day and 6 hours in the air.

Our friend was there to pick us up to take us to his house. We spent three nights at his place enjoying the sun, heat, and the pool along with a few refreshments. The next destination was going to be San Diego, a short flight from Phoenix. When we looked at the forecast, each day was going to be under 20°C, so we opted for Vegas, above 30°C there. We then got a phone call from our house sitter that changed everything. There was a puddle of water on our basement floor that they could not figure out where it came from. The water was shut off before we left, but it came from somewhere. They really wanted us home, so that is what we did. It made us quite concerned as well and we knew we would feel better once we got home.

By 10:30 Calgary time, we were wheels up for Ogden, UT; just north of Salt Lake City. We would be flying over the Grand Canyon via the Tuck Up Corridor at 11,500’. Out of Goodyear, we had to fly quite a distance west to stay clear of the restricted airspace before turning northbound. Once on course with center, we were delighted with a 45 kts headwind at 10,500’. Just as forecasted, would we ever get a tailwind on this trip?

The terrain is very desolate on a direct route. You pass the odd road and there are quite a few places to touch down, but just a lack of civilization. The Grand Canyon soon came into view out of the heavy haze. The cameras were out and the shooting began. It is quite impressive to see from the air, and the rock colors are beautiful. We had flown over it before, but each time is just as exciting. Once across, we headed direct for Cedar City and then straight north from there. We started to hit a bit of cloud cover that forced us down, and most of the mountains were obscured. As we got closer to Salt Lake, we deviated a bit to stay clear of the heavier snow squalls that were happening in the area. We weaved our way through the weather and the complicated airspace to touch down in Ogden 3.6 hours from Phoenix. When we opened the door, it was clear that we had returned from the warm south.

The fuel truck came, the tanks got filled, and then we went in for lunch. With full bellies, we made the turnaround in less than an hour. The next stop would be Great Falls to finalize our E-Apis and Customs. There were only two iffy weather spots ahead that the radar was showing, so we really did not know if we could get through to Great Falls. The worst was just north of Salt Lake with a fairly heavy snow squall that lasted a couple of minutes and then we had clear skies. After that, we had to round the west side of a system just north of Idaho Falls that cleared out just before Minidoka Pass. The winds were strong on the ground but no worse in the air.

The ride was tolerable other than one hit that sent my head into the roof and woke my wife from a dead sleep. As for the kids, well, the bumps don’t phase them at all. The ride through the rest of the mountains was at 9,500’ to stay under the deck with a tailwind for the first time. It was Chinook weather, so the next concern was if a wall would form to the ground at the mountain exit, like it does west of Calgary. Everywhere remained good VFR, just windy. We exited just north of Helena for the descent into Great Falls. The winds there were 26 gusting 32 knots. They were just about right down the runway, so it was not that difficult. The problem was getting out in even colder temps in such a strong wind. We made it inside and got started on the border crossing. 2.5 hours from Ogden, UT.

It was now 17:30 local, so we booked Canpass for 19:30. Got the E-Apis done and filed the flight plan. We had ten minutes to spare to get in the plane to make our departure time. Airborne out of Great Falls, we weaved around more snow squalls and made our way to Lethbridge. We touched down at 19:30, and customs came out to meet us. They had to get their share of the painting bill.

Airborne again, we touched down in High River at about 20:20 local with 7.6 hours flight time from Phoenix. Total distance was 1,100 NM for the day. We taxied onto my hangar ramp that was covered with snow. We definitely were home; summer is still a long way away here.

With careful weather planning, it is amazing how far the RV10 can take you in a day. The family travels great, and an 800 NM is a pretty easy day. The family knows that it is important to press on in good weather, so some days are longer than others to ensure we do not get stuck. We sometimes press on to make sure the weather will pass over us at night while we sleep. It has worked well so far as we have traveled through much of the US and Canada.

We love the freedom to travel in our own plane, even though the weather sets the schedule. Being able to pick a date to leave or a destination on a whim is very fun. We had a fun trip, even though it was cut short, and really love seeing the kids learn about so many different places firsthand.

By the way, the mystery puddle is still a mystery. When I turned everything on to confirm all was well, everything was working and there are still no signs of water. Maybe next time I won’t shut anything off.