Gary Baker
Well Known Member
My apologies in advance for the length of this post. I have served as an EAA Flight Advisor since the beginning of the program in the mid-90?s and wanted to remind everyone that the program is still available to builders as you get close to your own first flight. Hopefully I have included something that can be used on someone else's first flight.
I received my aircraft sign-off for my RV-6 Thursday, May 29. A friend of mine drove in from out of state to see the inspection and help me get ready for the first flight. I thought that, with Scott's help and that of a few other friends, it would not be too big a task to finish off the last few items in preparation of the first flight. Well, no one has ever accused me of being on time!
Scott and I worked all day Friday on stuff, putting panels in and double-checking things, going thru my preflight punch list. Earlier, I had forgotten to tighten up a bolt before pop-riveting a seat floor pan in place, so Scott took on that job of drilling out about forty rivets, tightening up one bolt, and then reriveting the floor pan in again. Needless to say, that was not a ten-minute job!
Another friend, Paul, flew in that evening to let me get current in his RV-6 and we flew part of the profile I would fly during the first flight, as well as flying a few engine-out landings, with and without flaps. Over the years I have flown many of the RV models, so I am familiar with the flight characteristics of the -6. I have also been an EAA Flight Advisor for the past twenty years. Well, now I was going to put all of that advising into effect and actually see how it works.
The next day, Saturday, May 31, saw Scott and me back at the hangar and more friends began to trickle in throughout the morning, asking ?what do you need help with?? I put everyone to work on different ?small? jobs and at one point, I stepped back and saw eight friends working on different areas of the aircraft! With all of this help, we called the plane ready to fly at 5 pm and I called for a lunch break. This was when I began to recharge my batteries, take off my builder?s hat, and put my pilot hat on. My current job has me flying 737?s for a major airline and I have over 22,000 hours of flight time, so I have some knowledge of being in the proper mindset at engine start. I have always pointed out to students and other homebuilders that these hours do not make me a better pilot, that I am only as good as my next flight. A successful completion of my first flight required me to put my game face on and be ready for the actual ?check ride.? After we took our break, my friends who volunteered to be a part of my flight test team, Scott, Walt, Tom, Randy, and Bernie (Smoker), sat down with me to review the flight.
I was going to fly out of Medina Municipal Airport, an uncontrolled field south of Cleveland Hopkins Airport, OH, which has a 3,500? east-west runway. The winds were very light out of the east. The very first item I covered with everyone was that each individual had the authority to shut down the flight if he saw or heard something he did not like. Randy was designated as the ground controller with whom I would talk to and give engine readings. We made sure that everyone had a handheld radio and a fire extinguisher. We noted that after I climbed out of the pattern, I would switch frequencies to 123.45 and pass info on to Randy. Bernie suggested having a back-up freq of 122.85, which immediately came in handy. I reviewed the airport layout and possible emergency fields to the east of Runway 9. We talked about the opening of the canopy and emergency steps someone could take to break open the canopy if need be, as well as cutting the seat belt and shoulder straps. I would be wearing a flight suit and Nomex gloves, as well as carrying a survival knife recommended by Gary Palinkas. We set up a staggered positioning of vehicles along the runway, so that no one would be more 1000? away from any part of the runway, with the trucks? engines running. I would not use a chase plane since I had not flown formation in a long while and had not practiced the flight with anyone. Bernie suggested taking his RV-7A up and stationing himself a few miles away in an orbiting pattern. This would put him in a position to provide directions to rescue crews if I had to make an off-airport landing. Another plus was that another RV builder, Joe, would be able to get an RV ride!
My flight profile would duplicate the EAA Flight Advisor flight test card I have passed on to many others. My plan was to add ten gallons to the eight gallons already on board. Then I would ensure that the brakes were completely broken in with a few slow taxis on the runway and perform a complete engine run-up. Climb-out would be at Vx, about 75 mph. This would, of course, allow me to get altitude quickly and confirm that my fuel-flow tests had been done properly. During the initial climb out, a control check would be performed. I would then climb out of the pattern and then fly an oval pattern over Medina at 3000? AGL. Shallow turns would be made along with shallow pitch changes. My first power reduction would be when I reached 2000? AGL over the field. A slow power reduction would be done and control forces checked. Full power would then be slowly applied and another control check completed. I was working with a new Superior XP-360 engine, received in 2007, and even though I hopefully had taken care throughout the years, I did not want to abuse it on its first flight with multiple power changes.
Air is under the tires for the first time!
Climbout
First Landing!
I received my aircraft sign-off for my RV-6 Thursday, May 29. A friend of mine drove in from out of state to see the inspection and help me get ready for the first flight. I thought that, with Scott's help and that of a few other friends, it would not be too big a task to finish off the last few items in preparation of the first flight. Well, no one has ever accused me of being on time!
Scott and I worked all day Friday on stuff, putting panels in and double-checking things, going thru my preflight punch list. Earlier, I had forgotten to tighten up a bolt before pop-riveting a seat floor pan in place, so Scott took on that job of drilling out about forty rivets, tightening up one bolt, and then reriveting the floor pan in again. Needless to say, that was not a ten-minute job!
Another friend, Paul, flew in that evening to let me get current in his RV-6 and we flew part of the profile I would fly during the first flight, as well as flying a few engine-out landings, with and without flaps. Over the years I have flown many of the RV models, so I am familiar with the flight characteristics of the -6. I have also been an EAA Flight Advisor for the past twenty years. Well, now I was going to put all of that advising into effect and actually see how it works.
The next day, Saturday, May 31, saw Scott and me back at the hangar and more friends began to trickle in throughout the morning, asking ?what do you need help with?? I put everyone to work on different ?small? jobs and at one point, I stepped back and saw eight friends working on different areas of the aircraft! With all of this help, we called the plane ready to fly at 5 pm and I called for a lunch break. This was when I began to recharge my batteries, take off my builder?s hat, and put my pilot hat on. My current job has me flying 737?s for a major airline and I have over 22,000 hours of flight time, so I have some knowledge of being in the proper mindset at engine start. I have always pointed out to students and other homebuilders that these hours do not make me a better pilot, that I am only as good as my next flight. A successful completion of my first flight required me to put my game face on and be ready for the actual ?check ride.? After we took our break, my friends who volunteered to be a part of my flight test team, Scott, Walt, Tom, Randy, and Bernie (Smoker), sat down with me to review the flight.
I was going to fly out of Medina Municipal Airport, an uncontrolled field south of Cleveland Hopkins Airport, OH, which has a 3,500? east-west runway. The winds were very light out of the east. The very first item I covered with everyone was that each individual had the authority to shut down the flight if he saw or heard something he did not like. Randy was designated as the ground controller with whom I would talk to and give engine readings. We made sure that everyone had a handheld radio and a fire extinguisher. We noted that after I climbed out of the pattern, I would switch frequencies to 123.45 and pass info on to Randy. Bernie suggested having a back-up freq of 122.85, which immediately came in handy. I reviewed the airport layout and possible emergency fields to the east of Runway 9. We talked about the opening of the canopy and emergency steps someone could take to break open the canopy if need be, as well as cutting the seat belt and shoulder straps. I would be wearing a flight suit and Nomex gloves, as well as carrying a survival knife recommended by Gary Palinkas. We set up a staggered positioning of vehicles along the runway, so that no one would be more 1000? away from any part of the runway, with the trucks? engines running. I would not use a chase plane since I had not flown formation in a long while and had not practiced the flight with anyone. Bernie suggested taking his RV-7A up and stationing himself a few miles away in an orbiting pattern. This would put him in a position to provide directions to rescue crews if I had to make an off-airport landing. Another plus was that another RV builder, Joe, would be able to get an RV ride!
My flight profile would duplicate the EAA Flight Advisor flight test card I have passed on to many others. My plan was to add ten gallons to the eight gallons already on board. Then I would ensure that the brakes were completely broken in with a few slow taxis on the runway and perform a complete engine run-up. Climb-out would be at Vx, about 75 mph. This would, of course, allow me to get altitude quickly and confirm that my fuel-flow tests had been done properly. During the initial climb out, a control check would be performed. I would then climb out of the pattern and then fly an oval pattern over Medina at 3000? AGL. Shallow turns would be made along with shallow pitch changes. My first power reduction would be when I reached 2000? AGL over the field. A slow power reduction would be done and control forces checked. Full power would then be slowly applied and another control check completed. I was working with a new Superior XP-360 engine, received in 2007, and even though I hopefully had taken care throughout the years, I did not want to abuse it on its first flight with multiple power changes.
Air is under the tires for the first time!
Climbout
First Landing!