Toddsanderson
Well Known Member
Hi Folks,
I have been a lurker for awhile and might be interested in a 10 or 14, but I need some help. Warning- may be a long post, but appreciate input.
Anyway, first, let me tell you my history wand what I am now looking for. I have been flying for 30 years. I am a CFI, Multi-commercial, etc. Anymore, the majority of my flying is a 900NM trip from NE Indiana to SW FL 10-20 times per year.
Starting about 25 years ago (for the trip mentioned above) I started with a Turbo Saratoga and as the family grew I moved up into Barons, P Barons, and the Dukes. Once the kids went off to college I bought a couple of Glasair IIIs to make this trip since it was just me and my wife. Before purchasing the G3s, my wife developed general anxiety - not just about flying, but just about everything. Flying in just about anything (even when we take a Citation XLS) scares her; however, she is getting better as time goes.
Anyway, back to airplanes So, I absolutely LOVED the Glasair. 214 knots cruise on 12 GPH making the trip about 4:15 non-stop with 2 hours of fuel in reserve! 28 lb/ft wing loading for an exceptional ride, 2500 FPM climbs, descents at 275 knots indicated, yada yada. However, this plane scared my wife to death. It was just too much airplane for her to control (even more so than the Duke) and just scared her. So, I sold the G3 and bought a Cirrus G2 with avidyne upgrade to help her. Long story short, I absolutely HATED the Cirrus. It was a 166 knot airplane on 14.5 GPH which was acceptable, but nothing to get excited about considering how "clean" it was. The seats were hard, the finish cracking everywhere, the wheel pants were a PITA, flap speed too low, and maintenance cost as much, if not more, than my twin pressurized and turbocharged Duke. I was so unimpressed that I sold it 5 months after buying it for a big loss and was never happier to be rid of a plane. Of the 50 aircraft I have owned it was my least favorite. I bought it for the parachute to make the wife comfortable. I thought I could learn to love it - I was wrong.
Anyway, I know the RV10 and 14 have low wing loading and I think I can deal with that by picking days that all less bumpy, but I would like to hear some real world performance numbers and icing experiences. Yes, I know you are not to fly in ice, but let's face it, if you fly IMC in the winter you will find ice. I'm just curious to hear real world experience of how the RV handles the ice. The Glasair did not handle it well and the Cirrus was only slightly better. It had TKS, but it was a bad design on the early 22s.
I read the article posted about a turbo, flutter concerns, and other non approved modifications. It seems than Van has done well by sticking to tried and true methods. With that said, does anyone have real world experience with a turbo RV10 and also with the RDD electric anti-ice? Is there any real world numbers out there with a 300HP engine in the 10 (especially around 14k ft or so?) A little extra power is always nice in the climb on a bumpy day or to climb out of ice. I'm not looking for more top speed.
Finally, it appears the 14 might make more sense as I really don't need the rear seats, but it appears there are not many flying and rarely do they come available.
Thanks in advance for any input
I have been a lurker for awhile and might be interested in a 10 or 14, but I need some help. Warning- may be a long post, but appreciate input.
Anyway, first, let me tell you my history wand what I am now looking for. I have been flying for 30 years. I am a CFI, Multi-commercial, etc. Anymore, the majority of my flying is a 900NM trip from NE Indiana to SW FL 10-20 times per year.
Starting about 25 years ago (for the trip mentioned above) I started with a Turbo Saratoga and as the family grew I moved up into Barons, P Barons, and the Dukes. Once the kids went off to college I bought a couple of Glasair IIIs to make this trip since it was just me and my wife. Before purchasing the G3s, my wife developed general anxiety - not just about flying, but just about everything. Flying in just about anything (even when we take a Citation XLS) scares her; however, she is getting better as time goes.
Anyway, back to airplanes So, I absolutely LOVED the Glasair. 214 knots cruise on 12 GPH making the trip about 4:15 non-stop with 2 hours of fuel in reserve! 28 lb/ft wing loading for an exceptional ride, 2500 FPM climbs, descents at 275 knots indicated, yada yada. However, this plane scared my wife to death. It was just too much airplane for her to control (even more so than the Duke) and just scared her. So, I sold the G3 and bought a Cirrus G2 with avidyne upgrade to help her. Long story short, I absolutely HATED the Cirrus. It was a 166 knot airplane on 14.5 GPH which was acceptable, but nothing to get excited about considering how "clean" it was. The seats were hard, the finish cracking everywhere, the wheel pants were a PITA, flap speed too low, and maintenance cost as much, if not more, than my twin pressurized and turbocharged Duke. I was so unimpressed that I sold it 5 months after buying it for a big loss and was never happier to be rid of a plane. Of the 50 aircraft I have owned it was my least favorite. I bought it for the parachute to make the wife comfortable. I thought I could learn to love it - I was wrong.
Anyway, I know the RV10 and 14 have low wing loading and I think I can deal with that by picking days that all less bumpy, but I would like to hear some real world performance numbers and icing experiences. Yes, I know you are not to fly in ice, but let's face it, if you fly IMC in the winter you will find ice. I'm just curious to hear real world experience of how the RV handles the ice. The Glasair did not handle it well and the Cirrus was only slightly better. It had TKS, but it was a bad design on the early 22s.
I read the article posted about a turbo, flutter concerns, and other non approved modifications. It seems than Van has done well by sticking to tried and true methods. With that said, does anyone have real world experience with a turbo RV10 and also with the RDD electric anti-ice? Is there any real world numbers out there with a 300HP engine in the 10 (especially around 14k ft or so?) A little extra power is always nice in the climb on a bumpy day or to climb out of ice. I'm not looking for more top speed.
Finally, it appears the 14 might make more sense as I really don't need the rear seats, but it appears there are not many flying and rarely do they come available.
Thanks in advance for any input