Tail Number
Going into this build, I knew I wanted it to be a tribute to my late father. Aviation was always a passion of his, and probably those early days of MS Flight Simulator shaped my interest as well. While he wasn't much for turning wrenches he did enjoy watching the build process of the RV-10, later joining me on breakfast flights and a cross country trips. N514SW follows the standard of it being a 14 with an extra bit to honor him—with his initials.
Paint Scheme
My dad was an ornithologist (study of birds) by profession. He later departed from the science side of things moving to the executive leadership side of zoological things, he retained his interest in birds and bird watching. He specifically liked waterfowl, as evident by the number prints hanging in my parents house. Talking to my mom about this project, she couldn't identify a single bird but mentioned the Hooded Merganser as one that came to mind.
I went to Evoke and worked with them on this concept and came up with this scheme. Now I don't want it to literally look like a bird, but would like to use the same colors so someone who knows could see the resemblance.
I know it might seem a bit too early to think about these things but I assure you its not. In the case of Evoke, they have a running list with hundreds of projects in front of you. I plan to have the plan flying and a good 50-60 hours on her before getting her done.
