For the safety of aviation and other people, I will tell you how the problem arose from poor maintenance.
Aircraft
A near miss in the traffic pattern
Within 500 feet is a near miss air collision according to the FAA. This bozo needs to learn common sense on go-around procedures regardless if it’s at a towered or uncontrolled airport.
Assumptions lead to near miss
I was focused on the approach and touchdown point and didn’t hear any other radio transmissions, so I assumed she was waiting on our arrival. I looked immediately to the left, and saw a Cessna in a climb directly over our wingtip.
Wrong frequency leads to Citation vs. Cherokee on runway
Comm #1 was somehow inadvertently set to the wrong frequency and it was not noticed due to expectation that there was no traffic and thus not uncommon for a lack of radio communications for an early morning departure.
This could have been deadly
The Cessna leaking fuel tanks appear to be a systemic problem and it is inconceivable that the FAA is unaware of the problem and obscene that there have been no ADs issued to warn pilots to have mandatory fuel tank inspections and ground the aircraft anytime there is the smell of fuel in the cockpit or fuel stains behind the filler caps or under the wing above the door.
Maintenance issue leads to RV-3’s engine to quit in-flight
A ground wire came loose and landed itself onto the ignition switch (where both left and right ignitions attach), which caused both ignition systems to ground and, in turn, shut off ignition to engine during flight.
Nothing in my private pilot training prepared me for this
The real question is how did I not see a helicopter on the runway?
Kitfox seat cracks on takeoff
After further inspection upon shutdown, the seats themselves were cracked and were pressing onto the physical cables of the ailerons. The controls weren’t able to be moved without major physical input. The seats were written up for repair and we went home a bit shaken over the whole thing.
Plane ends up in farmer’s field thanks to debris in carburetor
On the way home I experienced a loss of power in cruise flight at 2,500 feet msl (1,500 feet agl) near Malcom, Iowa.