Went to the Van's factory Thursday to take the tour and get a ride in the RV 14 for the first time. My overall impression of Van's and the RV
14 itself were very positive. All of the employees I came in contact with were very helpful and obviously enjoyed working for the company. I
had the opportunity to fly with Ken who was a real professional and did a great job of selling the aircraft. When I told him I was almost
finished with each kit. he asked if I had finished all the fiberglass work (tips etc). When I told him "no", he explained that I'm not close
to being done : ). I had planned to save the fiberglass work to last which he rightfully informed me, a bad idea.
A few qualifiers prior to my review: 1- I have never flown in an RV aircraft. 2- I have been flying (smooth)jets for the last 30 yrs
with little GA time in that time span 3- This is my first metal build. I have assembled a couple of ,mostly bolt together, SeaReys . The
limited time I have in GA airplanes in the last couple of years have been in airplanes with very sluggish ailerons and the corresponding
need of continuous rudder inputs.
Once sitting in the aircraft I felt like I had a lot of room. As the canopy came down, I immediately felt as if it was going to crowd my
head but once down, it was no issue whatsoever. With the bubble cracked open, there was plenty of air flow. The engine seemed hard to start as
it took 2 attempts and when it did fire off, it shook the airplane a lot more than expected. The cowling shook quite a bit and made the
aircraft seem not very solid (tin canny), however that changed quickly as the engine settled down. Ken gave an excellent brief and warned that
you fly it with finger tips, not by grasping the stick with your whole hand (yeah, yeah I thought). Aircraft felt smooth on takeoff and got
off the ground quickly. I am used to that from the SeaRey but may surprise others that are used to Cessna's/Pipers etc. Cruise climbed at
1500 fpm and could have had more if we climbed at VY. Got to 150KTS fairly easily once we leveled off. Ken handed over the controls and I
quickly realized he wasn't kidding when he said "finger tip only". WOW what a roll rate. The aircraft was far more sensitive than I ever imagined and very responsive in all axis's. After a few minutes, the aircraft became a joy to fly. There was definitely a vibration in the floor that I felt and was quite noticeable at least for me. Ken explained the exhaust exits under us and that this is what he considers smooth for a GA aircraft. The aircraft flew well in slow flight with controls still responsive. We did a full flap stall in which there was no roll off to either side. The nose broke more than I
expected, but then again, I haven't done many stalls in GA a/c in a while. The landing was smooth and I was impressed with how solid and smooth the gear felt. This a/c will definitely make some bad landings feel good. Taxiing in, I heard what sounded like cable (rudder?) wires flopping around. Although that maybe normal, I am definitely going to see if there is a way to prevent that prior to closing up the empennage.
I believe the RV-14 will make a very comfortable cross country airplane and be able to easily perform aerobatics beyond what my body will be able to take. Although I was set on purchasing a LYC-390, I am now open to other options should they become available. Overall a great experience and re-enforced my decision to purchase an RV-14.
Also as a heads up; I wanted to look at the fuselage/kit but they said it was still off limits to the public as it was still under development???? Then I was told that my fuselage kit that was due for shipping at the end of Sept was being pushed back till mid OCT.
14 itself were very positive. All of the employees I came in contact with were very helpful and obviously enjoyed working for the company. I
had the opportunity to fly with Ken who was a real professional and did a great job of selling the aircraft. When I told him I was almost
finished with each kit. he asked if I had finished all the fiberglass work (tips etc). When I told him "no", he explained that I'm not close
to being done : ). I had planned to save the fiberglass work to last which he rightfully informed me, a bad idea.
A few qualifiers prior to my review: 1- I have never flown in an RV aircraft. 2- I have been flying (smooth)jets for the last 30 yrs
with little GA time in that time span 3- This is my first metal build. I have assembled a couple of ,mostly bolt together, SeaReys . The
limited time I have in GA airplanes in the last couple of years have been in airplanes with very sluggish ailerons and the corresponding
need of continuous rudder inputs.
Once sitting in the aircraft I felt like I had a lot of room. As the canopy came down, I immediately felt as if it was going to crowd my
head but once down, it was no issue whatsoever. With the bubble cracked open, there was plenty of air flow. The engine seemed hard to start as
it took 2 attempts and when it did fire off, it shook the airplane a lot more than expected. The cowling shook quite a bit and made the
aircraft seem not very solid (tin canny), however that changed quickly as the engine settled down. Ken gave an excellent brief and warned that
you fly it with finger tips, not by grasping the stick with your whole hand (yeah, yeah I thought). Aircraft felt smooth on takeoff and got
off the ground quickly. I am used to that from the SeaRey but may surprise others that are used to Cessna's/Pipers etc. Cruise climbed at
1500 fpm and could have had more if we climbed at VY. Got to 150KTS fairly easily once we leveled off. Ken handed over the controls and I
quickly realized he wasn't kidding when he said "finger tip only". WOW what a roll rate. The aircraft was far more sensitive than I ever imagined and very responsive in all axis's. After a few minutes, the aircraft became a joy to fly. There was definitely a vibration in the floor that I felt and was quite noticeable at least for me. Ken explained the exhaust exits under us and that this is what he considers smooth for a GA aircraft. The aircraft flew well in slow flight with controls still responsive. We did a full flap stall in which there was no roll off to either side. The nose broke more than I
expected, but then again, I haven't done many stalls in GA a/c in a while. The landing was smooth and I was impressed with how solid and smooth the gear felt. This a/c will definitely make some bad landings feel good. Taxiing in, I heard what sounded like cable (rudder?) wires flopping around. Although that maybe normal, I am definitely going to see if there is a way to prevent that prior to closing up the empennage.
I believe the RV-14 will make a very comfortable cross country airplane and be able to easily perform aerobatics beyond what my body will be able to take. Although I was set on purchasing a LYC-390, I am now open to other options should they become available. Overall a great experience and re-enforced my decision to purchase an RV-14.
Also as a heads up; I wanted to look at the fuselage/kit but they said it was still off limits to the public as it was still under development???? Then I was told that my fuselage kit that was due for shipping at the end of Sept was being pushed back till mid OCT.
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