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RV8 Training

laz

Well Known Member
I just received my transition training form Bruce Bohannon in Angleton TX. If you are building a RV8 this is the place to get some training and time in a RV8. Bruce is one of the best instructors I have meet in all my years of flying. He is patient and knows how to teach. You will fly a very nice RV8 that bruce owns from the front seat.

I have around 30K total flight time, 4K in all kinds of tail wheel airplanes and currently fly my 1946 Tcraft on a regular basis. I have an ATP, CFI CFII and CFME. As Vans recommends the money you spend getting this training is the best money you will spend on your RV. No one, no matter how skilled a pilot, should pass up this opportunity.

My RV8 is just about done, It should fly in less than a month. I called my insurance company and they really like to see some transition training, so I started to check out the options.

I live in Ohio and could not find anyone local. So I ended up with two options, Mike Seager in OR, or Bruce Bohannon in Angleton TX ( 1 hr south of Houston)

I decided to go with Bruce , mainly because he has a RV8 that he uses that is set up with rear brakes and rudders so you actually get to fly the plane from the seat you will do your first flight in. I know of no other RV8 in the country set up to do instruction. Mike Seager uses a RV7 which will work fine. In my case Houston is 2 time zones closer and little easier to get to.

Flew down to HOU and showed up on Wed. morning at 9 am to fly with Bruce. He spends at least an hour briefing me on the RV8 flying characteristics and his plain in particular. Bruce has his own field with two grass runways that are around 2000 ft long. He has two other airports near by with longer paired runways.

After the first takeoff we headed for one of the airports and did some of the usual air work on the way. Slow flight stalls etc. Bruce talked me thru my first landing and after that we just kept doing more landings. We flew for anoint an hour and a quarter, then back to his field . We flew agin in the afternoon for about 2 hours.

The flight conditions for the whole day were windy, so I received a lot of x wind training. Bruce teaches 3 point cross wind landings in the 8. 95% of my landings were 3 point. Wheel landings in the 8 area pretty uneventful , but a Bruce points out if you get caught with the tail in the air too long you can end up in a bad spot.

This of course is just my opinion, but you will not be disappointed if you go with Bruce Bohannon

He can be contacted at 281-889-8078, or [email protected]
 
I just received my transition training form Bruce Bohannon in Angleton TX. If you are building a RV8 this is the place to get some training and time in a RV8. Bruce is one of the best instructors I have meet in all my years of flying. He is patient and knows how to teach. You will fly a very nice RV8 that bruce owns from the front seat.

I have around 30K total flight time, 4K in all kinds of tail wheel airplanes and currently fly my 1946 Tcraft on a regular basis. I have an ATP, CFI CFII and CFME. As Vans recommends the money you spend getting this training is the best money you will spend on your RV. No one, no matter how skilled a pilot, should pass up this opportunity.

My RV8 is just about done, It should fly in less than a month. I called my insurance company and they really like to see some transition training, so I started to check out the options.

I live in Ohio and could not find anyone local. So I ended up with two options, Mike Seager in OR, or Bruce Bohannon in Angleton TX ( 1 hr south of Houston)

I decided to go with Bruce , mainly because he has a RV8 that he uses that is set up with rear brakes and rudders so you actually get to fly the plane from the seat you will do your first flight in. I know of no other RV8 in the country set up to do instruction. Mike Seager uses a RV7 which will work fine. In my case Houston is 2 time zones closer and little easier to get to.

Flew down to HOU and showed up on Wed. morning at 9 am to fly with Bruce. He spends at least an hour briefing me on the RV8 flying characteristics and his plain in particular. Bruce has his own field with two grass runways that are around 2000 ft long. He has two other airports near by with longer paired runways.

After the first takeoff we headed for one of the airports and did some of the usual air work on the way. Slow flight stalls etc. Bruce talked me thru my first landing and after that we just kept doing more landings. We flew for anoint an hour and a quarter, then back to his field . We flew agin in the afternoon for about 2 hours.

The flight conditions for the whole day were windy, so I received a lot of x wind training. Bruce teaches 3 point cross wind landings in the 8. 95% of my landings were 3 point. Wheel landings in the 8 area pretty uneventful , but a Bruce points out if you get caught with the tail in the air too long you can end up in a bad spot.

This of course is just my opinion, but you will not be disappointed if you go with Bruce Bohannon

He can be contacted at 281-889-8078, or [email protected]

WoW! Wish I had of known that earlier, sounds like you had a blast :cool:

I could not find anyone on the West Coast to do specific RV8 training so I used Mickey Holton out of Torrance to re-establish my tailwheel skills in his Citabria.

Mickey is an excellent instructor and my transition from the Citabria to the RV8 was very easy :). Mickey Holton 310-325 6169
 
Wow, wish I would have known about Bruce! Getting training in the front seat of the 8 would have been priceless. Thanks for posting.
 
I'm definitely planning on going to see Bruce whenever my -8 finally nears completion. Definitely helps that he's relatively local to me.

Fun aside: you probably got lots of good looks at the racetrack right there by Bruce's place. I drive that track a few times a year, and it's kinda fun to watch people flying in and out in between my on-track sessions.
 
You will have to ask Bruce about the rear seat brake setup. Its kind of propriety .

Yes I did see the race track.

Mike
 
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