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How long did it take you to fly Phase 1 testing?

AX-O

AX-O

Well Known Member
Just wondering how long it took you to fly your 40 hrs of phase 1 testing (please don't tell me 40 hrs. I am looking for time in days, weeks or months). I am trying to plan a flight to OSH this year but it looks like the time line may not be realistic. I have alot of work ahead of me and don't know if it is doable :(

I have a certified Lyc 0-320 with mags and a catto prop. I am ASSUMING the DAR will require 40 hrs for Phase 1 testing.
 
Three Months

First flew on 7 June this year and finished Phase 1 around 1 September so about 3 months. Up here in Seattle, the weather gets in the way and I had a trip to OSH in the big United human mailing tube (for the last time!). Some guys fly it off in a a couple weeks, some take a year, just depends on your approach and if you find any major issues.

Jim
 
Back in 1997, I only needed 25-hours with my certificated engine and prop. It took 29-days to complete the 25-hours and fly outside the Phase I test area.

First flight out of the test area was to Edward's Air Force Base Open House 1997 as one of the show planes.
 
First flight Dec 10 and currently at 20 hours. I hope to be done by the end of January or early February. Mostly weather dependent, though I will be on a business trip for the next week.

greg
 
Your configuration sounds like a 25 hour test plane

I first flew my RV-6A on March 21, 2004. With some MAJOR problems in the 25 hour phase 1 testing I was still able to finish the requirement and fly away to my new home in September, 2004.

Bob Axsom
 
With two of us flying and a perfect run of summer weather ... 3 weeks to complete the 40 hour test period. About another week to complete our test plan.
 
It took me about 6 weeks to complete my 40 hour test period. That included a fair amount of weather and maintenance related downtime.
 
It took me 60 days to fly off my 40 hours in the late fall to winter months. First flight Oct 20; completed phase 1 on Dec 29. I thought that went pretty good consider the variability of the weather in in STL during those months.
 
40 days later

My first flight was on Mothers Day 2008, May something-ish. I made OSH with about a month to spare. A mag timing issue was the only squawk to address.

Steve
 
IMHO after being a repeat offender, if you are worried about the time line, you probably will not make it. Your gut feeling in this case is probably the safest judge of where you are at in terms of completion.

Remember safety first OSH later.

Gary Specketer
40274 Flying
 
A little under a month

I got very lucky, the weather was great and even though I lost one week while one piece of equipment was sent back to the manufacture for repairs I managed to get all 40 hours completed in a month.

First flight was August 5th and on September 3rd, hour 40.6 was logged and my wife was given her first ride.

That was a LOT of work and it wore me out. Here are the entries from my log book:

Date_____Lnds___Hrs
8/5/2007___3_____2.0
8/11/2007__4_____2.1
8/12/2007__4_____4.1
8/18/2007__6_____4.2
8/19/2007__3_____2.7
8/24/2008__2_____0.5
8/25/2007__7_____5.7
8/26/2007_11_____4.4
9/1/2007__25_____4.4
9/2/2007___7_____6.1
9/3/2007___8_____4.4

Totals:____58____40.6
 
how long?

Bonnie and I completed our phase 1 test flying in 18 days by both of us flying. I did the first flight on April 11, 2007 and on April 29 we flew together to the Dairy Queen at Graham, TX.
 
As a Flight Advisor.....

I almost hate to say this at the risk of offending anyone, but remember that Phase 1 is a TESTING period - it is not just about putting hours on the airplane. I will be the first to admit that Flight Testing an RV is NOT "Experimental" flight test so much as it is "Production" flight test - but because no two aricraft (or their systems) are ever alike, there is a lot of work to do, and a lot of things to figure out. Experienced pilots and builders will have a lot better feel for how quickly they can progress through this phase - those that haven't done it before should think very carefully before trying to hurry it up. Setting an arbitrary deadline and then just boring holes in the sky to make it can set you up for surprises in both the aircraft systems and how the avionics work. The FISK arrival is no place for surprises.....

Again, no offense meant to anyone that has done this fast - just want to put in a plug for those with less experience not to rush things. Good post-flight inspections can take time, as does data reduction and just plane figuring out why the heck the autopilot or EFIS just did something you weren't expecting.

(My Phase one took about 2.5 months by the way - and then "phase 1.5", when I really learned how the EFIS worked, took another fifty hours and several months)

Paul
 
I had the luxury of being retired and temporarily living in a motel while my wife was in FL bossing the remodeling contractor around. So, my plan called for a two hour morning flight and a two hour afternoon flight. I got lucky with a string of decent Minnesota weather from Thanksgiving until mid December. With no distractions, I managed to reach 40 hours in 18 days. I agree with Paul, that "Phase 1.5" will stretch out for a while while I learn more about the EFIS. Flying in the daytime, and data reduction/study in the evenings worked for me.
Now I am anxious to get it back from the paint shop and start traveling!:D
 
All,
Thanks for the information. I was thinking 6 weeks may be doable if not major problems were found.

Gary 40274 said:
Remember safety first OSH later.

Gary Specketer
40274 Flying
Click to expand...

Gary,
I am a flight test engineer and comepletely understand the safety first and fun later.


guccidude1 said:
15 days for 40 hours here in Reno-by-sea. My butt was dragging. Dan
Click to expand...

That is crazy:eek: I have never heard of that. The most we have done at work has been 40 hrs in a month.
 
I agree with Paul. Also, put Oshkosh out of your mind as much as you can--the goal is having a bug-free airplane, not making a trip. Two years ago I was in your shoes. I first flew on Feb 27th and finished Phase One on June 6th. Phase 1 1/2 was getting some cross country time on the plane, and on me. I did make the Big Show. I had two problems, both related. A blocked fuel vent line created enough vacuum in the tank to actually create a fuel leak. The fixes only took 2-3 days. Good luck on your testing!

Bob Kelly
 
AX-O said:
Gary,
I am a flight test engineer . . . . . . . . .
Click to expand...

If you are an engineer then you should double your time estimate. As a flight test engineer maybe you ought to triple your estimate.

I have a flight data recorder in my plane so was very efficient at collecting data and plotting off line from the downloaded files. As mentioned previously, there is a lot of work. Also, you need good smooth air to get good data. Weather can effect you time to complete as well as any mechanical issues you need to correct.
 
Enterprise first flights - 40 hours.

The first flight was on June 9, 2005 and the Hobb's clicked over 40 hours on July 1, 2005 for a total of 23 days. The airplane went into the paint shop on July 5th and I got it out on July 23, 2005. My first flight to OSH was on Sunday, July 24, 2005.
 
2 Months

It took approximately 2 months. The first 20 were fly, tweak, and test. The next 10 were more fun with more flying and less tweaking. The last 10 were lots of fun with mostly flying.

It truly does take about 20 hours to get most of the bugs out. In the first half, plan on shorter flights and getting it right early.

My 2 cents.........
 
Do not set a time line

I got my airworthy cert on July 5th 2008, I thought that I would easily make LOE in October, but the reality is 6 months have past and only 15hrs on the hobbs!!
Some small ignition problems for a start delayed first flight then 5 days after first flight we had a hurricane Ike blow through, then medical problems hit first a broken foot, (broken during the hurricane) delayed further flights, then back problems which resulted in back surgery delaying flight testing even further! Needles to say LOE came and went with only a handfull of hrs on the hobbs. I have just been released by the Doc to start flying again, so 6 months after airworthy I can resume flight testing. Hopfully have the forty flown off by the begining of March. If it goes to plan it will only have taken me 8 months to fly the forty hours!!

Hopfully you will have better luck than I have had, just don't cut any corners to meet your time line.
 
The RV-4 had a 25 hour phase 1 and it took 4 months, I was a very low time pilot and it took a while to get used to flying it. The plane was also at an airport that was around a 30 minute drive from home.

Nine years later I finished my RV-10 and I am fortunate enough to live on an airpark, it took 11 days to fly the 40 hour phase 1. The next day I loaded it up with my three kids and we headed for Oshkosh.

Rob Hickman
N401RH RV-4 N402RH RV-10
 
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