RV tip over (flip upside down)

[Captain Avgas]

Originally Posted by Radomir

Bob, don't forget that a good number of these 172s you looked at had been trainers at some point in their life. Our RVs are (probably 99%) owned and flown by one person..

Hi Radomir, if you look back through this thread you will find that the issue of annual hours arose because one good soul looked at the NTSB statistics and concluded that there were more Cessna 172s suffering gear collapses than RVs (after all , this IS a thread on nose gear collapses)

I pointed out that while that was true....it was also true that there were a heap more Cessna 172s...and I proferred that in addition, the average Cessna over its life will do more hours per annum than the average RV.

And the very reason that they will do so (on average) is because so many Cessna's ARE in fact used for training (and other intensive commercial tasks). It just makes sense.

[Captain Avgas]

Whenever the RV nose gear debate arises it is inevitable that some-one from the "pilot error" camp will raise the "exemplary" performance of 'Old Blue'....Vans first RV6A prototype N666RV which has more hours on the clock than any other RV in the world and is currently used by Mike Seager for transition training (I did my own transition training in it!). This plane's history is repeatedly used as an example of what can be achieved if "proper pilot technique" is adopted.

But they may be citing a very poor example.

It has been rumoured that this particular aircraft has in fact had 3 different nosegears installed over the years due to either failure or fatigue. It has further been rumoured that Richard VanGrunsven himself collapsed the nose gear on this plane...and on a paved strip!!!.

I'm not saying that there is necessarily any truth to these rumours. But they're out there, and in the context of the broader debate on nosegear failures I believe it would be highly relevant to know one way or the other.

[sprucemoose]

Hmm. I've been a devoted member of the Van's online community for 10 years, and this is the first I've heard of this rumor.

Anyone else heard this?

[RV9798]

I spoke to Ken from Van's and he said it was just rumours. The nose gear is well designed and with proper use and care it will do what it suppose to do. He said he landed in many rough strips and so have others and there is no problems except rumors. I agree, that once you adopt a poor technique of landing-taxiing, you will have a problem. I am happy with my nose gear. It's my mini airliner......RV9A-200. Sounds cool just like Boeing 737-300. BTW Boeing have a nose gear

Pete

[Jamie]

Great. Rumors. Precisely what we need in this debate.

Why don't we just stick to the facts?

Van has been very forthcoming about every issue the RV has ever had, including the RV-3 spar 'shortcomings', the loss of the RV-8 demonstrator, etc. In the RV-8 incident he was VERY transparent and posted every detail of the incident and subsequent investigation on the company website.

I see no reason why he would intentionally withhold information about nose gear failures. Van's reputation is one of a sound and honest businessman.

If you think he is lying, why in the world would you build one of his airplanes? If he would lie about the nose gear, what else would he lie about?

[DeltaRomeo]

Originally Posted by Captain Avgas

snip...rumoured that Richard VanGrunsven himself collapsed the nose gear on this plane...snip

Urban Legend. I'm usually in the know on stuff like this.

Doug
(on my second propellor, second engine, third GPS, third set of tires and second tailwheel. Fatigue may have played a role...)

[L.Adamson]

I have now warned the RV-6A owner in the hangar next to mine, that his 6A nosegear is going to collapse any moment, thanks to the information I've gained in these threads.

He just completed his 11th year condition inspection, has over a 1000 hrs on this plane, but does not read these internet forums.

Those 1000+ hrs, also include some grass and gravel strips. The improved gear leg was installed in 98'/99'.

His only comment, was that some tailwheel buddies, when flying his plane, have let the nosewheel hit the runway to fast during the landing sequence. He always keeps pressure off it, until the last possible moment. Perhaps the buddies are use to wheel landings, while he is going for the angles of a three- pointer!

L.Adamson

[jcoloccia]

The Ford Pinto was a perfectly safe car because thousands of them drove everyday without exploding. I knew many people that had pintos, in fact, and not even one of them blew up. The ones that exploded were due to driver error...they should have driven better and not hit other cars so hard.

Ridiculous reasoning!

There are two rumors at play here:

1) Vans had a nosegear failure of thier own (propogated by us)
2) Nose gears fail because of bad pilot technique (propogated by Vans)

The NTSB report seems to confirm what Vans already knew - the old gear doesn't have enough clearance. If Vans would simply come out and say, "Hey, we screwed up...the old gears don't work....they're dangerous. It's our fault, and here's the solution", this issue would go away. Instead, they childishly insist (supported by many on VAF it seems) that a pole-vaulting aircraft is normal and expected behavior when someone makes a bad landing.

Please.

Congrats to all you folks that have never experienced a problem. You must all make perfect landings EVERY time. Amazing. Either that or you haven't yet had the misfortune of making a bad landing at just the wrong spot on an airport.

Sorry to hijack the thread but the more I think about this, the more outrageous it seems.

[szicree]

Originally Posted by Captain Avgas

It has been rumoured that this particular aircraft has in fact had 3 different nosegears installed over the years due to either failure or fatigue. It has further been rumoured that Richard VanGrunsven himself collapsed the nose gear on this plane...and on a paved strip!!!.

I heard that if you eat PopRocks and Coke at the same time, your stomach will explode!

[RV9798]

Who has logged more than 500hrs or more in an A model? Please give your experience with the nose gear.