Learning to fly an RV

Hi group,

Our club is looking into purchasing a built RV6A or 7A. We have numerous members who are all qualified pilots. We currently have a 172 and a 175 with CS prop. How many hours would you say the average person takes to become proficient enough for solo flight in a 6A or 7A? No fancy stuff.

Peter

It certainly depends on the pilot, but on average I would guess 2-4 hours.

Be careful though, after flying the RV you will throw rocks at the spam cans.

Larry,

LOL, we'll still own a spam can as well so we'll have to amend the club rules on rock throwing.

Pete

Welcome to VAF!!!!

Peter, welcome to VAF. This is an excellent place to come for info.

You might want to contact Mike Seager, and get some solid info from the guru of transition training. Mike is not too far away from you, bit west of Portland Oregon.

If you have a CFI in your group, maybe have him take training with Mike, then be the checkout pilot for your group.

Good luck on the RV idea, I did notice there is a 7a for sale on the days classifieds.

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=69755

Fitzroy said:

Hi group,

Our club is looking into purchasing a built RV6A or 7A. We have numerous members who are all qualified pilots. We currently have a 172 and a 175 with CS prop. How many hours would you say the average person takes to become proficient enough for solo flight in a 6A or 7A? No fancy stuff.

Peter

Click to expand...

Peter, you will love flying an RV. However, I'm not sure how the club arrangement will jive with the FAA prohibition against experimental aircraft rental. You probably need to run this by someone like Mel who can help you determine the legality (and thus insurability) of your plans.

update: just noticed you are in Canada, rental issues may not apply to you.

Insurance probably dictates

Fitzroy said:

Hi group,

Our club is looking into purchasing a built RV6A or 7A. We have numerous members who are all qualified pilots. We currently have a 172 and a 175 with CS prop. How many hours would you say the average person takes to become proficient enough for solo flight in a 6A or 7A? No fancy stuff.

Peter

Click to expand...

Most insurers require RV transition training from a qualified instructor and a log book endorsement. In my opinion there are good reasons for the insurance company requirements.

Since RVs are clean and cruise 50% faster than most spam cans (like the Cherokee 180 I transitioned from), if you get one with a FP it will take longer to slow down to pattern speeds than a spam can.

An RV's landing speed is slightly higher than Cessna/Piper single engine aircraft. More precision/pilot proficiency is required during touchdown and roll out (see all the threads about folded nose gears), especially since the tapered leg landing gear is not damped. Store a lot of energy in the gear legs with a hard landing and the gear will launch one back into the air. The sight picture is important because one doesn't want to land on the nose gear!

None of these issues are anything other than adjustments, but having transition training from a qualified instructor can help one make the accommodation more easily. They already know what you should be doing - you won't have to figure it out by trial and error.

LarryT

insurance requirements for transition training

From the insurance companies I have spoken to, they all require 5 hrs of transition training.

humptybump said:

From the insurance companies I have spoken to, they all require 5 hrs of transition training.

Click to expand...

AVEMCO requires no transition training but they do require you to speak to an EAA Flight Advisor before your first flight.

After that, your premium ends up almost double than those of the other guys AND you're not covered for the first 10 take offs and landings. This is what I was told by AVEMCO regarding me and my experience a few months ago. YMMV.

Gentleman,
Thanks for the responses. Once again the insurance companies are likely to be be the biggest hurdle. Our club has defined membership, all of which are listed with the insurance agent. We'll check to make sure we have a green light before buying. And we do have a CFI in the membership plus arrangements with other flight schools when required. We'll likely have to do a stepping stone approach to get everyone up to speed on it. Whatever "it" ends up being.

Peter

Fitzroy said:

Hi group,

Our club is looking into purchasing a built RV6A or 7A. We have numerous members who are all qualified pilots. We currently have a 172 and a 175

Click to expand...

Peter, Going from a 172/175 to an RV will be like going from a city bus to a 2-seat sports car! Once your club guys get in the RV you'll be looking to by 2 more (RV's) to replace the 172 & 175.

RV' are not hard to fly just a little different. They have a few quirks but when you learn them and how to safely deal with them, you'll find RV's are just "big puppy dogs". I would strongly advise 4-6 hours of transition training before anyone is allowed to solo your new RV. Some guys (or gals) will be ready in 2-4 hours and some will take 2 or 3 times that long. It took me 4-6 hours before I felt I was actually flying the plane and not just "holding on for the ride". You'll know when your ready! Don't rush it, just enjoy................ Also, you might as well start looking for RV # 2 & #3!

RV7a transition

My partners and I just bought a 7a and recently completed the transition/checkouts. The insurance company wanted 3 hours of dual and then 2 hours of solo prior to passengers. For us, that was about right. We range from 400 hours with a lot of high performance time (but rusty), to mid-time mostly 172 time to low-time but learned to fly in an RV6a.

The RV7a is very easy to fly! It handles and responds so well, it is hard to describe. The ground handling takes and hour or so to get used to, but then you will love it. The CS prop was a bit of an adjustment for my partners. Probably the biggest overall difference is the power to weight ratio, its more like a launch than a takeoff.

Also, a modern glass panel with integrated autopilot and IFR GPS take some time to learn and master.

Good luck, you will love the plane.