F.8L Falco, N988RP

 

 

It is with regret that I must relist my Falco in the For Sale section of the Sequoia website. I had a buyer who had been wanting my Falco for the past several years, and we were finally able to come to terms on the sale. The buyer came during the annual conditional inspection that took place in September. There was only one issue that the buyer wanted to be addressed, and I had agreed to repair it by the time he came back in October to pick up the Falco.

The problem seemed to be the Bendix RSA fuel servo. During the run-up and test flight after the inspection it was noted that the idle speed was quite high and could not be adjusted to the correct RPM. I adjusted the throttle linkage and was able to get the idle down to the correct setting of 700 rpm. I did feel some looseness in the servo linkage and the buyer and I agreed that we should send off the servo to have it flow-tested and if needed, overhauled. The unit, fuel divider, fuel nozzles and fuel pipes were all sent to Airflow Performance in Spartanburg, North Carolina. The flow check found that the servo and everything else was within specifications and Airflow Performance did not feel the servo needed overhauled. They did clean the fuel nozzles.

After the fuel system was returned I re-installed everything and was able to reset things to get the proper rpm and correct idle mixture setting. I then flew several times and everything was operating normally.

All of this information was conveyed to the buyer, and he was set to come on October 16th to fly the Falco home. I received a call from the buyer on the morning of the 16th saying that he wanted out of the sale and that he had felt that he was not the right person to own my Falco. So we’re back to square one.

 

It's time to sell my prize possession Falco, N988RP. My age is taking its toll and some health issues are looming so it’s time to sell. I'm looking for a slower, putz-around type of airplane instead of this fast, sleek, fully IFR and fully aerobatic cross country airplane.

I started construction in October, 1988, and spent a total of 12 1/2 years building her and enjoyed every minute of it. First flight was on May 5th, 2001, and she has been a great flying airplane. I even won an Oshkosh bronze Lindy (third place plans built) trophy in 2005. Boy, that was a nice surprise. I have loved building and flying balsa wood model airplanes since I was young and when I started looking for a homebuilt project I was drawn to many of the wood built ones. I fell in love when I first saw the ads for the Falco F.8L. It has sleek lines, fast, somewhat economical to fly and it was built of wood. What more could I ask for.

At the time I started the Falco project, I was in a partnership in a Piper Comanche 250 and didn't see the need of having the expense of another flyable airplane, with that in mind, I used building the Falco as a hobby instead of trying to construct her in the shortest time possible. I had given myself a thirteen year time span to finish her and I beat that time by six months. I remember telling my other EAA club members that I had no date set for the first flight but just wanted to enjoy the whole building process and that's what I did. N988RP was built in Santa Barbara, California, and after flying off her required twenty five hours I flew her to her new home in the Missouri Ozarks in July of 2001. She resides at the Mountain View, Missouri, (MNF) airport.

N988RP has always been hangered. I have never flown aerobatics in her except for one split-s turn which did pull 3 1/2 gs. All conditional inspections have been performed with all paperwork kept for reference. Conditional inspections are performed in September and the next one is due September, 2012. I hold an Experimental Repairman’s Certificate for N988RP and have performed all of the inspections.

What can you expect if you come and inspect my Falco? First is that she has been very well kept and maintained. There is some normal wear and tear that comes with age, she's now been flying for eleven years plus, but still has a lot of good flying time left in her. I would rate her paint and interior both 9’s and there’s nothing major that needs to be fixed or repaired.

If you are interested in purchasing N988RP, please call for a visit or if you would just like to chat.

Bob Brantley
rpbrantley@pvbroadband.com
(417) 277-5255

2001 Falco F.8L Oshkosh Winner 2005 & Featured in February 2005 Sport Aviation “EAAers In Action pages 70-71”

360 hrs TTSN Lycoming IO-320-B1A 360hrs SMOH with Hartzell Propeller HC-C2YK-IBF 360hrs TTSN

Great Cross Country Aircraft 42 Gallons Onboard Fuel Full IFR Panel

Garmin 430 with a TruTrak Pictorial Pilot single axis Autopilot

Always Hangered Last Annual Condition Inspection completed September 2013

No damage history, Hangered at Mountain View MO (MNF)

 

Falco F.8L Serial #1052 360Hrs TTSN
Building Started 10/1988
First Flight 05/05/2001

Equipment List:

IO-320-B1A 360hrs SMOH
Hartzell Propeller HC-C2YK-IBF 360hrs TTSN

Full IFR Panel

Garmin 430 GPS no WAAS
King KX 155 Nav/Comm
King KT 76A Transponder
King 202 VOR head w/glide slope
King 204 VOR head
TruTrak Pictorial Pilot w/single axis autopilot (installed 7/2011)
Davtron M800 Digital Clock/Timer
Davtron 301F Digital Outside Air Temperature Gauge
EII SR-8A Smart Engine Analyzer (4 Cylinder Head/4 Exhaust Temps)
EII VA-1A-80 Digital Volt/Amp Meter
EBC 502 ELT
Flightcom 403d Intercom w/Digital Clearance Recorder
Flightcom Denali Noise Canceling Headsets (2)

Concorde Aircraft Battery
Pitot heat, wing tip and tail strobes
E-Z Aircraft Engine Heater
Koger Sunshade

Upholstery:
Seats Medium Gray Herqulon Fabric
Carpet Charcoal Grey Mercedes Benz Wool

 

Price $85,000.00

Bob Brantley
rpbrantley@pvbroadband.com
(417) 277-5255

 

 The Sequoia Falco Association is offering this space as a courtesy to the builders and owners of our aircraft. We make no representation as to the condition of the aircraft involved. We will not offer an opinion on the potential value of any of these aircraft. All correspondence should be between the seller and the potential purchaser.