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RV-14A versus RV-9A

dweyant

Well Known Member
I have an RV-9A that my wife and I built.

I love the airplane. April 30th will be three years since I completed it, and I have about 350 hours on it so far. It is a great IFR plane, great cross country plane, etc.

I want to build an RV-14A. My wife thinks I'm crazy (I'm also supervising, through Tango Flight three RV-12 builds right now), and she is likely correct.

Should I seriously think about it, or not? I'd like a faster/bigger plane, but mostly I just think I'd like to build another airplane.

Thoughts/Opinions?

-Dan
 
The 14 is a really wonderful kit to build, and the airplane is a joy to fly. Yes, I am the Van’s East Coast Rep but I get nothing for convincing you to build one. ��.

If you have an opportunity to get near Atlanta come and see me and we can go fly it.

Vic
 
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The 14 is a really wonderful kit to build, and the airplane is a joy to fly. Yes, I am the Van?s East Coast Rep but I get nothing for convincing you to build one. ��.

If you have an opportunity to get near Atlanta come and see me and we can go fly it.

Vic

What I really need you to do is convince my wife :). Maybe I talk her into coming as well....

-Dan
 
Another option - build an RV-10 instead.
The RV-10 is, in my opinion, Van's best airplane, a real no brainer option. All in, and RV-10 project is not much more expensive than the RV-14, but does so much more. My experience is the RV-10 is a little faster than the RV-14 as well. My economical LOP cruise was ~171 knots at 11.5gph flying low, and down to ~9.5gph at 14K+.

The RV-10 is also a much easier sell to the boss (I did it, so can you).

Carl
 
I had a real nice 7A that was also very trouble free. We traveled with it and enjoyed it tremendously. I end up selling it and regret that decision very much. I then decided to build a 14A, it has been absolutely a Joy to build and it is coming along really well. It will be more $$$ for the fuel but I have a bit more space.
 
Have your wife sit in a 14, if the extra room doesn't sell it, and it might not, nothing will.

Since you already have a 9 the marginal gains might be hard to justify to her. Maybe better to go the 10 route.

I was looking to build a 9 just before the 14 came out. Once my wife sat in the 14 she was all thumbs up for the 14 over the 9. If we already had a 9 she would have given me the stink-eye.

I had already built a Sonex but she understood that it could not fulfill the mission of a 9 or 14. Now that we have been traveling in the 14, she is not interested in discussing another build. Me building two airplanes was her limit.
 
All in, and RV-10 project is not much more expensive than the RV-14, but does so much more.

All other things being equal (like avionics), the RV-10 standard build airframe kits add up to about $13K more than the RV-14, and the IO-540 is $14K more than a 390. By the time you add up other things like upholstery, primer & paint, etc you are probably looking at $30K more to build a comparable RV-10. For some people that's 'not much more expensive' but for others it's a deal breaker...and the operating costs on the -10 are higher too (fuel and insurance).

The -10 will also take longer to build, and it has a different mission than the -14...two more seats and greater useful load are nice if that's what you're looking for, but the -14 offers acro capabilities, bubble canopy, and more nimble handling than the -10.

My experience is the RV-10 is a little faster than the RV-14 as well.

Sadly this appears to be true, at least comparing the -10 to the -14A. But look on the bright side, the OP will be able to go a bit faster in a -14A than he did in his -9A while burning a lot more fuel :)
 
Unless you need 4 seats, you would be hard pressed not to love the RV14. Every time MJ comes back from a flight she gushes how much she is in love with her new toy. I feel pretty much the same way and that's after owning 3 RV6's. Myra's next adventure is getting acro training. Can't do that in a 10.
 
What are the real world fuel burns and speeds on a 14A?

I do abouot 147 knots (IO 320 with CS Prop) on my 9A at altitude, burning about 6.5 gallons LOP.

What would be reasonable on a 14A?

-Dan
 
I see 165-170 KTAS on the 14A with 10 or less gallons per hour. I haven't spent a lot of time at LOP yet.

Vic
 
I consistently see 155 KIAS and 170 KTAS at 7500 feet burning 8.2-8.3 gph running LOP.(Superior XP400, dual PMags).
 
I see 165-170 KTAS on the 14A with 10 or less gallons per hour. I haven't spent a lot of time at LOP yet.

Vic

I consistently see 155 KIAS and 170 KTAS at 7500 feet burning 8.2-8.3 gph running LOP.(Superior XP400, dual PMags).

The 14 and 14A prototypes based on the west coast will both cruise at 170 - 172 Kts TAS at 8.2 - 8.3 GPH (depends on actual conditions), at 9.5 - 10.5K.

Fuel flow could be a bit lower (at the expense of slightly lower speed) because neither of these engines has had any flow matching work done with the injectors, so these specified values are with the mixture only slightly lean of peak.
 
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My experience is the RV-10 is a little faster than the RV-14 as well.

Sadly this appears to be true, at least comparing the -10 to the -14A. But look on the bright side, the OP will be able to go a bit faster in a -14A than he did in his -9A while burning a lot more fuel :)

Depends on the conditions and situation.....

If Van's RV-10 and RV-14A demonstrators are flown side by side at 10.5K, WOT/2350 RPM and just slightly lean of peak, they will both be at a TAS of about 170Kts. The RV-14A will be burning about 8.3 GPH with the RV-10 burning about 10.5 GPH.

Down lower, if you are willing to burn the fuel, the RV-10 can be a bit faster.
 
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