?.well, 48.9, but hey, who?s counting? Oil change time next weekend - gotta do SOMTHING when the sun sets at 5:00 pm....
I seem to have gotten stuck on a special assignment at work that takes me traveling every week for three or four days, so I am once again stuck to flying on weekends. At least until early next year. Glad I got through my first forty before that all began ? the month of Phase 1 was probably one of the most rewarding aviation experiences I have had for a very long time! Getting up, heading to the airport, flying tests, then making it to the office before lunchtime ? now THAT?s living?.
So what have I learned that might be useful to others?
1) First and foremost, the choice of the RV-8 is one of the best that any pilot can make! Quick, agile, capable, fast?one quickly runs out of attributes to describe it! This weekend I finally gave a few rides to pilot friends, and most of them were speechless after giving it a try. This is a pilot?s airplane like no other, and versatile as well. I took it to a fly-in for lunch yesterday at Brenham, and realized that flying there for ice cream at lunch is a real possibility (for those non-Texans, Brenham is the home of Blue Bell ice cream, arguably one of life?s great pleasures!). 80 miles from home, it?s less than 30 minutes in the -8. And you can fly it as consecutive aileron rolls if you wish?
2) Put the battery in the back. I have a parallel-valve O-360, with a constant speed prop, and with my Odyssey in the back, I am still at the forward end of the box solo with full fuel. I also have a fairly lightweight EFIS panel. Argue all you want ? then bite the bullet and put it back there.
3) Go for an Alt Trak (or similar) pitch channel autopilot. Certainly you CAN fly this IFR by hand, and it really isn?t any worse than my Grumman was ? and I flew that IFR for 20 years by hand. But?this is not a cheap airplane anyway, and the additional cost isn?t that much. Or what you spend, you get a valuable copilot for those days that you get really busy in busy airspace. Not going to fly IFR? Disregard?.Mine will be my Christmas present?.
4) As Danny King briefed me before the first flight, this is an easy tail dragger to fly ? probably the easiest I?ve ever been in. Very honest, a little more prone to a bounce than a J-3, but directionally very stable. I lost a tail wheel spring connector today, and didn?t know it until I went to push the plane back into the hangar. And that was after a crosswind landing and a taxi that included both left and right turns! Very forgiving.
5) Performance numbers are just what Van?s says they will be ? or just a little better. (Kind of like if the parts bag says there are 7 of something. There will never be 6 ? but there will never be 8 either!). The blended airfoil prop is a no-brainer if you?re going with a C/S Hartzell anyway.
6) Get some rear view mirrors like Kahuna posted ? it is great to see the grin on your passenger?s face!
And yes folks, it is ALL worth it ? keep pounding those rivets, and get it flying!
As I tucked her away this afternoon after five hours of weekend flying, I was already looking forward to next weekend. And I know that as I get on the SWA 737 for Florida tomorrow afternoon, I?ll be wishing that I could have taken her instead?.Oh well, I?ll be back at the end of the week, and maybe we?ll go meet some other RV?ers next time!
Paul
I seem to have gotten stuck on a special assignment at work that takes me traveling every week for three or four days, so I am once again stuck to flying on weekends. At least until early next year. Glad I got through my first forty before that all began ? the month of Phase 1 was probably one of the most rewarding aviation experiences I have had for a very long time! Getting up, heading to the airport, flying tests, then making it to the office before lunchtime ? now THAT?s living?.
So what have I learned that might be useful to others?
1) First and foremost, the choice of the RV-8 is one of the best that any pilot can make! Quick, agile, capable, fast?one quickly runs out of attributes to describe it! This weekend I finally gave a few rides to pilot friends, and most of them were speechless after giving it a try. This is a pilot?s airplane like no other, and versatile as well. I took it to a fly-in for lunch yesterday at Brenham, and realized that flying there for ice cream at lunch is a real possibility (for those non-Texans, Brenham is the home of Blue Bell ice cream, arguably one of life?s great pleasures!). 80 miles from home, it?s less than 30 minutes in the -8. And you can fly it as consecutive aileron rolls if you wish?
2) Put the battery in the back. I have a parallel-valve O-360, with a constant speed prop, and with my Odyssey in the back, I am still at the forward end of the box solo with full fuel. I also have a fairly lightweight EFIS panel. Argue all you want ? then bite the bullet and put it back there.
3) Go for an Alt Trak (or similar) pitch channel autopilot. Certainly you CAN fly this IFR by hand, and it really isn?t any worse than my Grumman was ? and I flew that IFR for 20 years by hand. But?this is not a cheap airplane anyway, and the additional cost isn?t that much. Or what you spend, you get a valuable copilot for those days that you get really busy in busy airspace. Not going to fly IFR? Disregard?.Mine will be my Christmas present?.
4) As Danny King briefed me before the first flight, this is an easy tail dragger to fly ? probably the easiest I?ve ever been in. Very honest, a little more prone to a bounce than a J-3, but directionally very stable. I lost a tail wheel spring connector today, and didn?t know it until I went to push the plane back into the hangar. And that was after a crosswind landing and a taxi that included both left and right turns! Very forgiving.
5) Performance numbers are just what Van?s says they will be ? or just a little better. (Kind of like if the parts bag says there are 7 of something. There will never be 6 ? but there will never be 8 either!). The blended airfoil prop is a no-brainer if you?re going with a C/S Hartzell anyway.
6) Get some rear view mirrors like Kahuna posted ? it is great to see the grin on your passenger?s face!
And yes folks, it is ALL worth it ? keep pounding those rivets, and get it flying!
As I tucked her away this afternoon after five hours of weekend flying, I was already looking forward to next weekend. And I know that as I get on the SWA 737 for Florida tomorrow afternoon, I?ll be wishing that I could have taken her instead?.Oh well, I?ll be back at the end of the week, and maybe we?ll go meet some other RV?ers next time!
Paul
