My Transition Training

I finally got a few minutes now that graduations, confirmations, etc are over to write up a little on my transition training experience with Mike Seager. I hope some find it informative, interesting, and motivating for those building the RV10.

My building partner and I left Omaha, NE on Southwest to Portland, OR via Las Vegas the morning of May 8th. We arrived in sunny Portland about 3:30 pm and quilckly got the Sebring rental headed south on I-205. We checked into the Wilsonville Holiday Inn and quickly left for Aurora airport to get to Vans before 5 pm. Arriving a few minutes after 5 pm the doors were closed and everyone gone. The rears door was open so we walked in an introduced ourselves to the night crew. They told us all about the CNC machines as we watched in amazement how they quickly and accurately punch out the parts in the aluminum sheets. They run 16 out of 24 hours every work day. We were given a tour around and to my shock there were a few RV10 Quick Build kits in stock! I also noticed how much better qualilty the fiberglass Cabin tops are now vs the one we received. It was a learning experience seeing how everything is picked and packed and how efficient the operation is. We then went into the hanger to view the planes and closely examined 410RV. There were several parts we examined to compare our workmanship to that of the factory plane. I know know why the tech people at Vans often tell you to not dwell on a certain part and move on! After leaving the factory we headed south to Lenhart Field searching for Randy DeBauw. Randy and Cheryl came driving up shortly after we arrived in their nice white Camry. Randy opened up the hanger and there it was..................his entire HOUSEHOLD............chairs, tables, appliances, lamps, boxes, etc. Randy and Cheryl are moving into a condo and storing stuff in the hanger until it is ready.
After unpiling some things and moving out the trailer........there was the first complete RV10! We pulled it out and fired it up for a nice evening flight. My partner rode co-pilot and I got my first ride in the rear of an RV10. I can honestly say it is a great view and a very stable ride from the rear just like sitting in the front. This plane continues to surpass all my expectations every time I go up in it. Upon landing and putting the RV10 back in the hanger, Randy mentioned he needed to try out his new BBQ grill. Within a few minutes we were enjoying great juicy hamburgers, salad, pickles, and beer. What a life, what a day! We sat there as the tmps cooled on a great May nite talking about the joy of owning and flying an RV10. DAY one ends.

Day Two: We headed north to Scappoose, OR to meet Mike for our 10 AM flight time. Traffic in Portland is more than I am used to or want to get used too. The weather forecast for the week is fantastic.........sunny, clear and 70 -75 degrees. The wind was out of the north at about 7 knots. We got to the airport and saw 220RV sitting on the ramp..........just waiting for us to take her for a flight. My heart was begining to beat a little faster as the dream of flying one of these birds was soon gonna be REALITY! We preflighted RV220 while Mike finished his instructions with a student in the RV6. The first thing I noticed was the Bose headsets supplied for the students in the RV10. I would get to compare them to my Lighspeeds and see if they are worth $$$$$$$. Mike introduced himself and got to know us for a few minutes. He then began to explain his expectations for the week and his recommendations for flying the RV10 safely. I couldn't wait to get in 220RV and get in the air. I have never done differential braking before so this truly was a learning experience. We fired her up and taxied over to get fuel. So far no problem. Taxiing out to 33 I found myself riding the brakes, new student habit. We went thru the checklist on the screen, looked for traffic, and lined it up down the runway. This was the moment I had thought about over and over for several months. OKAY.........push in the throttle and fly this baby. I slowly pushed it in to get me rolling straight and Mike quickly encouraged me to push it in faster. WOW.......I thought I was on a Bungie ride at Six Flags. My body was pushed back in the seat as this baby roared down the runway.........nose up, push forward on stick, and we have liftoff! Whoa.........this is way too cool. Turn prop back to 2600, flaps up and watch her climb. We were at 700 AGL before you catch your breath. Mike had me do a few landings to full stop and then after lifting off he said fly staright and level toward that big snow top mountain. Mt St. Helen......what a site to get a heading on. I found myself still climbing 200-300 ft/min while I thought I was leveled off. The nose on the RV10 slopes down..........when flying level it really looks like it slopes more. I soon got the attitude to this bird down by looking at the wing angle and the nose slope. What a great view in all directions! We did some turns........which the RV10 loves to turn at 30 degrees or more.........it is tough to turn less than 30 degrees unlike the spam cans. We then did climbs/descents, heading work and it was time to end for the morning session. After landing I could hardly believe we had flown for an hour. The afternoon session we did some of the same routines......I was really struggling to get the plane slowed down to landing speeds at the setting Mike was asking. This plane loves speed. I went home the first nite a little frustrated. I wanted to be more proficient at controlling the plane and was fighting some of Mikes recommendations.

Day 3: I hardly slept as I kept asking myself how to get ahead of this powerful bird better than I had the previous day. The first takeoff went really well.........even Mike said it was what he expected and was looking for ( a rare event at times) Mike was a great instructor with a lot of good tips to make you a better pilot. I really appreciated his tip on feet placement on the rudders during landing and after landing to assist in learning the differential braking. He does watch to make sure you follow his tips too! The takeoffs and landing must have gotten better as we ventured out to other airports. These airports were more challenging than KSPA. Like I said, Mike continues to stretch your skills which I appreciated. The weather again was perfect........clear, sunny and 75 degrees. Preparations for landing were becoming more routine.......I only forgot to lift the flaps prior to takeoff once, and push in the prop full twice. This bird will lift off easily at 2400 rpm. What will my 265HP be like if this 220HP is this strong? We made a few landings at Kelso, WA and shared the air with a helicopter. Speaking of Helicopters, they have several doing training at Scappoose and they were a nuisance at times.
We almost witnessed a copter take off the tail of a C152 on landing. I am sure that student in the C152 had his pants full getting the prop wash from a helicopter just prior to touchdown. I believe Mike has contacted a few Flight instructors to correct this negligent helicopter flying. The afternoon session was similar to the morning session........more new airports to land at with more increasing accuracy. One airport runway was only as wide as our wings and long enough to land only. Then we would taxi back to takeoff over the trees and set up again. Flying in Nebraska we seldom have to search for the runway when in the pattern. We can usually see the airport 10 miles out at pattern altitude. I really enjoyed flying on final just clearing the treetops and dropping it in. I really started to feel good about flying this fast, resposive bird after the afternoon session. No more frustration....just pure enjoyment. This ends Day 2 flying.

Leaving the field Thursday nite we hurried to Aurora airport for the EAA meeting at Vans. I think about 10 planes flew in for the meeting including Van in his new RV10. Note the seat covers in the pic of Vans bird. He said Oregon Aero seats cost too much so he was getting some from ABBY I believe. Van provided pizza for the meeting. I never did get a DEMO ride but I did get $9 worth of pizza so I figure if I go to 5000 more meetings I will get my kit cost back! Ken gave a update on the RV12 which has been discussed at length so I will not rehash it here. The prototype shop is now OFF limits to people..........too many JOHN COX types looking for secrets!!! Sorry John!

Day 4: After a great nite meeting several new RV pilots at the EAA meeting I was looking forward to more flying in the RV10. Today we did slow flight, stalls, and crosswind landings. This plane is unbelievable in slow flight. I hesitate to write up in this forum what we did with this plane during slow flight because I still cannot comprehend why we were not in a spin several times. It was a real comfort flying this plane at its limits with someone like Mike in the other seat. Most people who fly spam cans will not believe the stall characteristics of this aircraft. After these maneuvers we headed west to the ocean. On the way to Astoria Mike wanted to show us his airstrip in the mountains. He informed me the base is a 45 degree angle over the trees and then drop it in for the final. After we flew over it I could see landing here would be a fun approach. I had it on base, angled it between the tall pines just south of the runway, added a little power to clear the tops of the trees and to ease Mikes fears, then nosed it down to the grass strip. Once on the ground Mike assisted on the brakes to stop short of the midfield ditch! What a cool landing.................in a valley with mountains all around. Wish I had a pic to show you but we were to much in awe to shoot one. We taxiied back to the end of the runway........added power and climbed up the side of the mountain towards Astoria, OR along the coast. We climbed to 4500 and cruised at 185 MPH at 2300MAP and 2400PRM.....oh yea.....9.8 GPH!!!! What a plane .....what a scenic view............this is living in an RV10. We got to Astoria and were greeted with some nice crosswinds...17kts with gusts to 24. The two runways give you lots of options to test your crosswind skills.
And yes Mike did test my crosswinds skills.....again I had to step up and improve my skills in controlling this aircraft in less than favorable conditions. On one approach the gusts got us a little squirrelly so we aborted the landing which is another interesting thing in the RV10. With all that power you need to quickly adjust the trim to relieve the stick pressure. The nice thing about how mike teaches you to land this bird is that you maintain lots of control on both the rudder and elevator till on the ground. We headed out over the ocean before turning back to KSPA.........what a view! We climbed to 5500 set up the cruise numbers and were back at Scappoose in 17 minutes. Mike said it is over a 1 1/2 hour drive by car!
I cannot really put into words how great this plane is to fly. It only gets better the more I fly it and learn what it is capable of doing. The last session with Mike was one of enjoying the Ocean view from Astoria south along the coast. We took along Mr. Pentikoff who was training in the RV6 as he was prepping for flying his RV8 which he has taken up just last week! So we had 4 chubby adults, full fuel, and a clear, sunny day over the ocean.

I did not have a high power camera to get shots like Scott Schmidt did but hopefully some of these will entice you to train with Mike prior to getting in your RV. We ended up landing at 3 other airports along the coast which truly test your pilot skills with the ocean gusts. I found it hard to believe there were so many small strips along the ocean.

It was time to head back to KSPA and call it a week. When we landed I had 10.1 hours in the RV10, several improvements in my piloting skills, and a lifetime of memories. This is only a small representation of the time we had in the air and on the ground but if you run me down at Oshkosh or give me a call at home, I would be happy to share more of our trip to Portland with you anytime. I want to thank all the people in Portland who made this trip so enjoyable. I really want to thank Randy and Cheryl DeBauw for their hospitality. I want to thank John Cox for his wisdom and entertainment. I want to thank the Grimstads for hosting the RV10 Dinner and everyone who was there sharing their experiences. I especially want to thank Van and his employees for a great AIRCRAFT!

Add a prop and some 100 LL and this bird may be ready to fly soon.

Few pics that did not load on previous posts

Great Job

I'm sure you learned a ton those days and it will make your first flight a peice of cake. Great write-up and good luck. I'll see you at Oshkosh.

I cannot beleive the weight that Mike has lost. He looks like he might blow away with a little wind. If you read this Mike, great job!!! You look like a new man.

Ah, the PNW

This makes me long to fly in OR and WA, places where I lived for many years before I wisened up and finally got my ticket. Perhaps this summer 1CT and I will take a little vacation...

I couldn't tell... is that BBQ lit? Isn't it within a few inches of the gas tank on that 10?

ddddsp.... check your mail box

I sent you a PM...

Bob,

The grill is a safe distance form the wing tank. I was personally watching it with several beers if it started on fire.
Hope the changes to the pics make the thread easier to view and read.

Thanks,
DEAN 40449

Thank you, Dean!

That was a WONDERFUL write-up! I really appreciate the time and effort your put into providing this for those still building their RV-10s. Astoria really is gorgious, isn't it! The Lewis and Clark tie in is what makes it that much more significant to me.

If you're ever in the Dallas area give me a call. Dinner is on me.

Best,
Doug

Doug,

I was hoping to make the SWRFI but it will not be possible. I do plane to fly to Copperstate or El Paso alter this year and might swing thru texas on the way. I wanna see Tony Munday and others in the area. I will certainly look you up if we get that way...........room and board?

Dean 40449

I'll certainly help anyway I can, Dean! Stay in touch and best always.

d

YES........

ddddsp said:

Hope the changes to the pics make the thread easier to view and read.
Thanks,
DEAN 40449

Click to expand...

The change in the pic size made it a great read.
Thanks,
Warren