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Transition training on short notice?

R

rbenua

I'm New Here
Hi all, new to VAF as I've just purchased a 1/3 share of a flying RV-9 based at KSQL.

I'm still waiting on details for the insurance but I believe that I'm going to need 10 hours of training in a tailwheel side-by-side RV (but not necessarily a 9, since tailwheel 9s are relatively uncommon and there may not be anybody with a LODA to instruct in one).

I contacted Mike Seager and he's booking out at the end of April, which I understand is a pretty good lead time for him and would be pretty reasonable if I were finishing up a build, but is a while to wait around with a working airplane. Does anybody know of any other instructors on the west coast who might be available on shorter notice? Or is it worth it to wait the couple of months and go fly with Mike?
 
rbenua said:
Hi all, new to VAF as I've just purchased a 1/3 share of a flying RV-9 based at KSQL.

I'm still waiting on details for the insurance but I believe that I'm going to need 10 hours of training in a tailwheel side-by-side RV (but not necessarily a 9, since tailwheel 9s are relatively uncommon and there may not be anybody with a LODA to instruct in one).

I contacted Mike Seager and he's booking out at the end of April, which I understand is a pretty good lead time for him and would be pretty reasonable if I were finishing up a build, but is a while to wait around with a working airplane. Does anybody know of any other instructors on the west coast who might be available on shorter notice? Or is it worth it to wait the couple of months and go fly with Mike?
Click to expand...
Not many people have the correct LODA to give transition training, so waiting for Seager might be your best bet. If you can convince the other owners to let you do the training in a plane you own, then the LODA requirements either go away completely or it's very easy to get (not sure current status of LODA regulation, but I think it has been removed entirely for owners). I can understand them wanting you to get training in a different plane though, those first few landings in an RV can be bouncy....
 
rbenua said:
Hi all, new to VAF as I've just purchased a 1/3 share of a flying RV-9 based at KSQL.

I'm still waiting on details for the insurance but I believe that I'm going to need 10 hours of training in a tailwheel side-by-side RV (but not necessarily a 9, since tailwheel 9s are relatively uncommon and there may not be anybody with a LODA to instruct in one).

I contacted Mike Seager and he's booking out at the end of April, which I understand is a pretty good lead time for him and would be pretty reasonable if I were finishing up a build, but is a while to wait around with a working airplane. Does anybody know of any other instructors on the west coast who might be available on shorter notice? Or is it worth it to wait the couple of months and go fly with Mike?
Click to expand...

If you're asking is it worth waiting for Mike rather than flying with someone who has "some time" in an RV? Yes, it is worth waiting for Mike. You'll get very high quality RV instruction.

That said, there's no need to wait for Mike if it just doesn't work with your schedule. There are others that are RV transition instructors as well. You're in the Bay Area, and Mike is in Oregon, so you're obviously willing to travel. Have you contacted Alex DeDominicis in the Dallas area? Or, Bruce Bohannon in the Houston area? Both have access to tailwheel RVs and have helped many learn to fly them.
 
agent4573 said:
Not many people have the correct LODA to give transition training, so waiting for Seager might be your best bet. If you can convince the other owners to let you do the training in a plane you own, then the LODA requirements either go away completely or it's very easy to get (not sure current status of LODA regulation, but I think it has been removed entirely for owners). I can understand them wanting you to get training in a different plane though, those first few landings in an RV can be bouncy....
Click to expand...
Above is correct. Currently a LODA (waiver) is needed only if the cfi or other person furnishes, in a for-hire manner, his airplane for your use. There is nothing illegal with you using your airplane for training, and paying a cfi. Since your insurance company wants you to have this, they surely will insure a cfi (who meets their prerequisites) in your plane (but get it in writing).
 
www.aopa.org

FAA LODA requirement eliminated

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 received overwhelming bipartisan support in both the Senate and House before arriving on the president’s desk and being signed into law on December 23.
www.aopa.org

For reference on the LODA discussion. Heard great things from a good friend about Bohannon in Texas.
 
SPX said:
If you're asking is it worth waiting for Mike rather than flying with someone who has "some time" in an RV? Yes, it is worth waiting for Mike. You'll get very high quality RV instruction.

That said, there's no need to wait for Mike if it just doesn't work with your schedule. There are others that are RV transition instructors as well. You're in the Bay Area, and Mike is in Oregon, so you're obviously willing to travel. Have you contacted Alex DeDominicis in the Dallas area? Or, Bruce Bohannon in the Houston area? Both have access to tailwheel RVs and have helped many learn to fly them.
Click to expand...
Indeed, I'm looking for an experienced RV trainer. I don't *need* to get it done right away for any particular reason - at the end of the day it's just a hobby, after all - so I'm just trying to weigh my impatience and wanting to be able to use the plane I just paid for versus wanting to get the best quality of instruction I can.

I haven't contacted any other instructors yet. Alex De Domenicis' website suggests that he might have similar lead times to Mike, but I'll reach out to him and see what his current schedule's like. From some searching, it looks like Bruce has an RV-8, and my co-owner tells me I'll most likely need a side-by-side for the insurance.

From what they told me, it sounds like doing it in our plane will be a no-go, but I need to read through the insurance documents for the exact details.
 
rbenua said:
From what they told me, it sounds like doing it in our plane will be a no-go, but I need to read through the insurance documents for the exact details.
Click to expand...
Unless you are good at reading legal documents I strongly suggest calling your new-to-you insurance agent with any questions. As I said earlier, I doubt (but may be wrong!) that any insurance company that requires dual for you would not allow that training in your airplane, as long as the cfi meets certain experience requirements (which may be hard to find).

As to the term ‘LODA’, this is a generic term for a waiver. It is true that one specific and recent LODA, allowing instruction for hire to you in your airplane, is no longer needed (The FAA changed the FARs). But an older LODA is still needed, if the EAB airplane used for instruction is furnished or owned by someone other than you, and a charge is made for its use.
 
rbenua said:
Indeed, I'm looking for an experienced RV trainer. I don't *need* to get it done right away for any particular reason - at the end of the day it's just a hobby, after all - so I'm just trying to weigh my impatience and wanting to be able to use the plane I just paid for versus wanting to get the best quality of instruction I can.

I haven't contacted any other instructors yet. Alex De Domenicis' website suggests that he might have similar lead times to Mike, but I'll reach out to him and see what his current schedule's like. From some searching, it looks like Bruce has an RV-8, and my co-owner tells me I'll most likely need a side-by-side for the insurance.

From what they told me, it sounds like doing it in our plane will be a no-go, but I need to read through the insurance documents for the exact details.
Click to expand...

As Bob said, your ins co will almost certainly cover transition training by a CFI in your airplane. An even better approach (IMO) is to add your instructor as a Named Insured on your policy. In addition to making coverage unambiguous, this will provide coverage to your instructor as well as you in the case of a claim. If she/he is only covered by the open pilot provision (and not a Named Insured) your coverage won’t necessarily protect the instructor. When I did this, there was no increase to the premium (I did transition training with Bruce Bohannon, who has lots of experience and provided excellent training).

Again as Bob advises, best to discuss this with your agent or the insurance carrier.
 
Not sure if you found someone for your transition training yet.
I used Marco Caflisch when I bought my RV-6 last year at KPAO. He lives in SF so shouldn't have a problem driving KSQL to meet you.
He owns an RV-8 and used to fly my RV-6 before I bought it. He also does AT-6 training.
https://advantage-aviation.com/instructor/marco-caflisch/
He's really good and thourogh. Your biggest challenge will be getting low enough before you level off and judging your decsent rate so you don't bouce it when you touch down. Descend until you think you're going to hit the runway. Then level off looking at the horizon so you only drop 1" every 5 seconds. I kept letting it sink too fast and bouncing the crap out of it 🤬
 
Drop me an email or PM, I'm local at KSQL and can help. Looks like you have PM's disabled.
-Greg
 
Ah, I never updated this thread but I'm going out to fly with Alex De Dominicis next weekend. Thanks all for the advice and offers; I'll keep this thread in mind if I need more help with anything locally.
 
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