randylervold
moderator
With 62 hours on my RV-3B things are starting to settle in. I've updated the flying impressions section on my web site and also copied the latest installment here...
62 hours
As operating the aircraft becomes more routine here are a few more observations...
Performance ? The climb performance of this plane is the most notable overall feature and one of two areas where it really stands out from the rest of the RV family (the other being just the responsiveness or finese it is capable of). I still don't have hard numbers on climb but I've just listed >2,500 fpm in my POH. As you get up to the cruise altitudes, 6-9,000', it will still climb at nearly 2,000 fpm. Preliminary testing shows Vy at about 125 mph. I had a climb contest with a buddy the other day. He has an RV-4 with an IO-360 200 hp angle valve and was solo. We pulled up next to each other, held 140 mph indicated and went full forward on throttle and prop. I climbed away from him smartly. It simply goes up like an elevator!
Landings ? As mentioned earlier, wheel landings are my normal landing mode. 3-pointers can be tricky, and airspeed control is essential with them. I use 82 mph as my regular approach speed which is 1.4 Vso and it works well. Any faster and a 3-pointer will get squirrelly as you have too much energy and end up making several landings. Any slower and it will drop in pretty quickly with tailwheel first. Wheel landings are more tolerant of speed variations though this plane still has a fairly narrow speed envelope it likes to land at. For short field work I shoot for just under 78-79 mph and drag it in with some power, then 3-point it. Normally though, wheel landings just seem to work best for me.
Stalls & spins ? Through several rounds of testing I've determined that there is a 2 mph IAS difference in stall speeds from solo/light configuration to gross weight, both with flaps and without. Stalls are conventional but it almost always drops one wing or the other, usually the right wing no matter how centered I keep the ball. Spins are conventional, you have to really hold the stick back and use full rudder to get to to fully spin though. If you don't it will drop the nose in the direction of the rudder and spiral. Keep the rudder in and stick back hard and you can feel the inside wing truly stop flying and enter a true spin. And once you do enter a spin conventional control inputs (opposite rudder, center the stick) work just as you'd expect with recovery taking about a half turn.
Cross country ? The longest trip I've done so far was 2.2 hrs each way. No problems, just program the waypoints into the GPS, engage the autopilot, get it leaned out, and enjoy the ride. This is a small aircraft however and in spite of the cockpit storage I've built in there just isn't a lot of room for frills. Folding sectionals and looking for a place to stash them while you do something else is challenging. I'm trying to learn to rely on the electronics more since the Garmin 496 really has all the data you need in it, but I can wean myself fully from the paper pilot aids (sectionals, WACs, and Flight Guide). Am I just being old fashioned here, should I dump the paper stuff? And there's no way you're going to take your lunch and cold drinks in a small cooler like you can in a side-by-side RV. An energy bar and a bottle of water can be stuffed down beside the seat or in the area forward of the spar though. Still, that's the tradeoff you make with any sports car, right? With fuel prices being what they are I tend to use 55-65% cruise power settings which when running LOP result in a fuel burn of around 6.3 gph and 175-180 mph TAS.
Bottom line ? Overall I couldn't be happier with the plane. It is everything I had hoped it would be and then some. As mentioned in the About the project page, I like small efficient machines and this plane certainly fills that bill. It's really nice to be able to move the plane around so easily without any help. Even when cleaning the exterior there's a benefit, there's just less area to clean. Indeed less can be more!
For those not flying your -3s yet, you're gonna love 'em!!As operating the aircraft becomes more routine here are a few more observations...
Performance ? The climb performance of this plane is the most notable overall feature and one of two areas where it really stands out from the rest of the RV family (the other being just the responsiveness or finese it is capable of). I still don't have hard numbers on climb but I've just listed >2,500 fpm in my POH. As you get up to the cruise altitudes, 6-9,000', it will still climb at nearly 2,000 fpm. Preliminary testing shows Vy at about 125 mph. I had a climb contest with a buddy the other day. He has an RV-4 with an IO-360 200 hp angle valve and was solo. We pulled up next to each other, held 140 mph indicated and went full forward on throttle and prop. I climbed away from him smartly. It simply goes up like an elevator!
Landings ? As mentioned earlier, wheel landings are my normal landing mode. 3-pointers can be tricky, and airspeed control is essential with them. I use 82 mph as my regular approach speed which is 1.4 Vso and it works well. Any faster and a 3-pointer will get squirrelly as you have too much energy and end up making several landings. Any slower and it will drop in pretty quickly with tailwheel first. Wheel landings are more tolerant of speed variations though this plane still has a fairly narrow speed envelope it likes to land at. For short field work I shoot for just under 78-79 mph and drag it in with some power, then 3-point it. Normally though, wheel landings just seem to work best for me.
Stalls & spins ? Through several rounds of testing I've determined that there is a 2 mph IAS difference in stall speeds from solo/light configuration to gross weight, both with flaps and without. Stalls are conventional but it almost always drops one wing or the other, usually the right wing no matter how centered I keep the ball. Spins are conventional, you have to really hold the stick back and use full rudder to get to to fully spin though. If you don't it will drop the nose in the direction of the rudder and spiral. Keep the rudder in and stick back hard and you can feel the inside wing truly stop flying and enter a true spin. And once you do enter a spin conventional control inputs (opposite rudder, center the stick) work just as you'd expect with recovery taking about a half turn.
Cross country ? The longest trip I've done so far was 2.2 hrs each way. No problems, just program the waypoints into the GPS, engage the autopilot, get it leaned out, and enjoy the ride. This is a small aircraft however and in spite of the cockpit storage I've built in there just isn't a lot of room for frills. Folding sectionals and looking for a place to stash them while you do something else is challenging. I'm trying to learn to rely on the electronics more since the Garmin 496 really has all the data you need in it, but I can wean myself fully from the paper pilot aids (sectionals, WACs, and Flight Guide). Am I just being old fashioned here, should I dump the paper stuff? And there's no way you're going to take your lunch and cold drinks in a small cooler like you can in a side-by-side RV. An energy bar and a bottle of water can be stuffed down beside the seat or in the area forward of the spar though. Still, that's the tradeoff you make with any sports car, right? With fuel prices being what they are I tend to use 55-65% cruise power settings which when running LOP result in a fuel burn of around 6.3 gph and 175-180 mph TAS.
Bottom line ? Overall I couldn't be happier with the plane. It is everything I had hoped it would be and then some. As mentioned in the About the project page, I like small efficient machines and this plane certainly fills that bill. It's really nice to be able to move the plane around so easily without any help. Even when cleaning the exterior there's a benefit, there's just less area to clean. Indeed less can be more!
