While vacationing in the Carolinas my son and I had a chance to Czech out (pardon the pun) the new Sport Cruiser. Being similar in size, shape and specs to the RV-12 and flying the Rotax 912 engine it seemed like the next best thing to flying the RV-12 itself to get a feel for these type of aircraft.
My overall impression was favorable. Now for some of the details.
Construction quality was excellent. Nice fit and finish everywhere both inside and out. One of my personal goals should I build an RV-12 is to mimic a production aircraft finish and the Sport Cruiser would be a good example to follow.
Climbing aboard was typical RV. Sit on the seat back and slide down into the cockpit. A handle located between the seats was helpful. Once inside with two people we had lots of room (46" wide cabin). Our shoulders never touched. (getting out was just as easy and the hand hold slot on the dash panel helped. This was a well thought out design).
The stick was in a comfortable location and the throttle was in the center console. The rudder pedals were adjustable (fore and aft) and this feature worked really well. You could adjust both the pilot and passengers peddles independent of each other. This would be another "production feature" I would really like to duplicate in my RV-12.
After securing the lap belt and shoulder harness I could still easily reach all controls and switches on the panel. Pull down the tilt up bubble canopy and get ready to go. View over the nose was good. In fact I have to say the tilt up bubble canopy is the only way to go. Except for the fact that you did not have a 120 MPH wind in your face you almost forgot the canopy was even there. Forget the slider. Tilt up is the way to go.
Pull on the choke, turn on the master switch then the fuel pump, hit the starter and the 912 jumped to life. Idle was between 1800 and 2000 RPM but did not seem harsh or excessive. In fact it was quite smooth and quiet.
The Sport Cruiser has a free castoring nose wheel so steering is differential tow brakes. I prefer a steerable nosewheel but it was easy to adapt to the differential brake steering.
Runup was the traditioanal mag and carb heat check.
It was a calm day so no crosswind to contend with. We used 10 degrees flaps for takeoff (more on that later). Advance the throttle and the plane accellerated smoothly. Hold right rudder for torque. At no time did the engine feel harsh or labored. Full throttle produced 5100 RPM on takeoff roll. Add very little back pressure to lighten the nose and let it fly off (which occurs at a low airspeed, about 45 to 50 mph) then lower the nose and accellate to 70 MPH in ground effect and add another light pull to climb.Climb out at 70 MPH was 800 FPM. It never felt mushy. Retract the flaps and head out to the practice area.
At this point I will mention two things I did not care for. The flaps are electronic and digital. Push the button and the flaps go to 10 degrees. Hold the button on too long and it jumps to the next digital setting of 20 degrees. The trim is also electric and digital. Its very positive but two clicks of the button on top of the stick is a big change in trim. I would prefer both the flaps and trim to be manual controls so I have a feel for how much I am changing them. The digital system has no feel and could be inadvertantly bumped without noticing. There were trim gages on the panel for reference.
Once at altitude we leveled off at full throttle and the engine quickly accellerated to 5500 RPM and the air speed shot up to almost 140 MPH in a matter of 4 or 5 seconds. This is a clean bird. Since you cannot hold that RPM indefinitely we throttled back to 4400 RPM and about 100 MPH. Again the engine was smooth and quiet at any RPM.
Pitch would trim positively and hold an airspeed well. Rudder was virtually not necessary. Ailerons were neutral stability. We put the plane in a 30 degee bank with our feet on the floor, trimmed it out, let go of the stick and flew a 360 degree turn with the ball centered and never lost altitude or changed bank.
Throttle off stalls occurred at 35 MPH or below and the nose would not break with the stick in my lap. There was plenty of buffet in the stick for warning and we were in a mushing stall losing altitude. Relax back pressure and shes flying again.
Back to the airport at 5200 RPM and about 120 MPH. Pull the throttle back and wait for less that 80 MPH. Click on 10 degrees of flaps and slow to 70 MPH for the rest of the pattern. Sink rate was about 500 FPM. Turn final and go to 20 degrees of flaps. Heres another wierd part. There is very little flare required. You set up your approach at 70 and while crossiing the numbers just pull the nose up a little (maybe pull the stick back an inch or so) and wait. I normally fly a Cessna 172 that requires quite a pull in the flair yet I was able to squeak on both landings in the Sport Cruiser. In fact my son flew with the instructor next and my son doesn't have his license yet. All his instrucition time has been in a 172 and he was able to the land the Sport Cruiser with ease (as long as the instructor held a little forward pressure on the stick to prevent him from flairing too much). Like most RV's you fly the Sport Cruiser with a thumb and two fingers so you don't overcontrol in pitch.
Now for the rest of the story. The Sport Cruiser sells for $80K but the "nicely equipped" version I was flying was $120K. The guy that took a ride after me wrote a check for one and he only has 2 hours total time flying in anything! I'm hoping I can get an RV-12 in the air for something more like $40K.
If you want the take a ride for yourself the folks I flew with are based at Rowan County Airport in North Carolina.
Overall, this was a pleasant experience and confirmed my position on the RV-12 and light sport aircraft in general. These are not your fathers ultralights but real airplanes. I wish they had these when I was training for my private. They are a lot nicer than the cramped and noisy 150's. If the RV-12 flies anywhere near as nice as the Sport Cruiser then I'm in. I really liked flying behind the Rotax engine. Light Sport Planes are not only something I could enjoy now but I could see flying the 12 well into retirement without overtasking aging reflexes.
I am currently looking at Air-park properties in North Carolina for my retirement home but thats another story.
Frank
My overall impression was favorable. Now for some of the details.
Construction quality was excellent. Nice fit and finish everywhere both inside and out. One of my personal goals should I build an RV-12 is to mimic a production aircraft finish and the Sport Cruiser would be a good example to follow.
Climbing aboard was typical RV. Sit on the seat back and slide down into the cockpit. A handle located between the seats was helpful. Once inside with two people we had lots of room (46" wide cabin). Our shoulders never touched. (getting out was just as easy and the hand hold slot on the dash panel helped. This was a well thought out design).
The stick was in a comfortable location and the throttle was in the center console. The rudder pedals were adjustable (fore and aft) and this feature worked really well. You could adjust both the pilot and passengers peddles independent of each other. This would be another "production feature" I would really like to duplicate in my RV-12.
After securing the lap belt and shoulder harness I could still easily reach all controls and switches on the panel. Pull down the tilt up bubble canopy and get ready to go. View over the nose was good. In fact I have to say the tilt up bubble canopy is the only way to go. Except for the fact that you did not have a 120 MPH wind in your face you almost forgot the canopy was even there. Forget the slider. Tilt up is the way to go.
Pull on the choke, turn on the master switch then the fuel pump, hit the starter and the 912 jumped to life. Idle was between 1800 and 2000 RPM but did not seem harsh or excessive. In fact it was quite smooth and quiet.
The Sport Cruiser has a free castoring nose wheel so steering is differential tow brakes. I prefer a steerable nosewheel but it was easy to adapt to the differential brake steering.
Runup was the traditioanal mag and carb heat check.
It was a calm day so no crosswind to contend with. We used 10 degrees flaps for takeoff (more on that later). Advance the throttle and the plane accellerated smoothly. Hold right rudder for torque. At no time did the engine feel harsh or labored. Full throttle produced 5100 RPM on takeoff roll. Add very little back pressure to lighten the nose and let it fly off (which occurs at a low airspeed, about 45 to 50 mph) then lower the nose and accellate to 70 MPH in ground effect and add another light pull to climb.Climb out at 70 MPH was 800 FPM. It never felt mushy. Retract the flaps and head out to the practice area.
At this point I will mention two things I did not care for. The flaps are electronic and digital. Push the button and the flaps go to 10 degrees. Hold the button on too long and it jumps to the next digital setting of 20 degrees. The trim is also electric and digital. Its very positive but two clicks of the button on top of the stick is a big change in trim. I would prefer both the flaps and trim to be manual controls so I have a feel for how much I am changing them. The digital system has no feel and could be inadvertantly bumped without noticing. There were trim gages on the panel for reference.
Once at altitude we leveled off at full throttle and the engine quickly accellerated to 5500 RPM and the air speed shot up to almost 140 MPH in a matter of 4 or 5 seconds. This is a clean bird. Since you cannot hold that RPM indefinitely we throttled back to 4400 RPM and about 100 MPH. Again the engine was smooth and quiet at any RPM.
Pitch would trim positively and hold an airspeed well. Rudder was virtually not necessary. Ailerons were neutral stability. We put the plane in a 30 degee bank with our feet on the floor, trimmed it out, let go of the stick and flew a 360 degree turn with the ball centered and never lost altitude or changed bank.
Throttle off stalls occurred at 35 MPH or below and the nose would not break with the stick in my lap. There was plenty of buffet in the stick for warning and we were in a mushing stall losing altitude. Relax back pressure and shes flying again.
Back to the airport at 5200 RPM and about 120 MPH. Pull the throttle back and wait for less that 80 MPH. Click on 10 degrees of flaps and slow to 70 MPH for the rest of the pattern. Sink rate was about 500 FPM. Turn final and go to 20 degrees of flaps. Heres another wierd part. There is very little flare required. You set up your approach at 70 and while crossiing the numbers just pull the nose up a little (maybe pull the stick back an inch or so) and wait. I normally fly a Cessna 172 that requires quite a pull in the flair yet I was able to squeak on both landings in the Sport Cruiser. In fact my son flew with the instructor next and my son doesn't have his license yet. All his instrucition time has been in a 172 and he was able to the land the Sport Cruiser with ease (as long as the instructor held a little forward pressure on the stick to prevent him from flairing too much). Like most RV's you fly the Sport Cruiser with a thumb and two fingers so you don't overcontrol in pitch.
Now for the rest of the story. The Sport Cruiser sells for $80K but the "nicely equipped" version I was flying was $120K. The guy that took a ride after me wrote a check for one and he only has 2 hours total time flying in anything! I'm hoping I can get an RV-12 in the air for something more like $40K.
If you want the take a ride for yourself the folks I flew with are based at Rowan County Airport in North Carolina.
Overall, this was a pleasant experience and confirmed my position on the RV-12 and light sport aircraft in general. These are not your fathers ultralights but real airplanes. I wish they had these when I was training for my private. They are a lot nicer than the cramped and noisy 150's. If the RV-12 flies anywhere near as nice as the Sport Cruiser then I'm in. I really liked flying behind the Rotax engine. Light Sport Planes are not only something I could enjoy now but I could see flying the 12 well into retirement without overtasking aging reflexes.
I am currently looking at Air-park properties in North Carolina for my retirement home but thats another story.
Frank
