|
-
POSTING RULES

-
Donate yearly (please).
-
Advertise in here!
-
Today's Posts
|
Insert Pics
|

09-01-2014, 10:55 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Poplar Grove, IL
Posts: 24
|
|
Factory Tour/ Demo Flight
Went to the Van's factory Thursday to take the tour and get a ride in the RV 14 for the first time. My overall impression of Van's and the RV
14 itself were very positive. All of the employees I came in contact with were very helpful and obviously enjoyed working for the company. I
had the opportunity to fly with Ken who was a real professional and did a great job of selling the aircraft. When I told him I was almost
finished with each kit. he asked if I had finished all the fiberglass work (tips etc). When I told him "no", he explained that I'm not close
to being done : ). I had planned to save the fiberglass work to last which he rightfully informed me, a bad idea.
A few qualifiers prior to my review: 1- I have never flown in an RV aircraft. 2- I have been flying (smooth)jets for the last 30 yrs
with little GA time in that time span 3- This is my first metal build. I have assembled a couple of ,mostly bolt together, SeaReys . The
limited time I have in GA airplanes in the last couple of years have been in airplanes with very sluggish ailerons and the corresponding
need of continuous rudder inputs.
Once sitting in the aircraft I felt like I had a lot of room. As the canopy came down, I immediately felt as if it was going to crowd my
head but once down, it was no issue whatsoever. With the bubble cracked open, there was plenty of air flow. The engine seemed hard to start as
it took 2 attempts and when it did fire off, it shook the airplane a lot more than expected. The cowling shook quite a bit and made the
aircraft seem not very solid (tin canny), however that changed quickly as the engine settled down. Ken gave an excellent brief and warned that
you fly it with finger tips, not by grasping the stick with your whole hand (yeah, yeah I thought). Aircraft felt smooth on takeoff and got
off the ground quickly. I am used to that from the SeaRey but may surprise others that are used to Cessna's/Pipers etc. Cruise climbed at
1500 fpm and could have had more if we climbed at VY. Got to 150KTS fairly easily once we leveled off. Ken handed over the controls and I
quickly realized he wasn't kidding when he said "finger tip only". WOW what a roll rate. The aircraft was far more sensitive than I ever imagined and very responsive in all axis's. After a few minutes, the aircraft became a joy to fly. There was definitely a vibration in the floor that I felt and was quite noticeable at least for me. Ken explained the exhaust exits under us and that this is what he considers smooth for a GA aircraft. The aircraft flew well in slow flight with controls still responsive. We did a full flap stall in which there was no roll off to either side. The nose broke more than I
expected, but then again, I haven't done many stalls in GA a/c in a while. The landing was smooth and I was impressed with how solid and smooth the gear felt. This a/c will definitely make some bad landings feel good. Taxiing in, I heard what sounded like cable (rudder?) wires flopping around. Although that maybe normal, I am definitely going to see if there is a way to prevent that prior to closing up the empennage.
I believe the RV-14 will make a very comfortable cross country airplane and be able to easily perform aerobatics beyond what my body will be able to take. Although I was set on purchasing a LYC-390, I am now open to other options should they become available. Overall a great experience and re-enforced my decision to purchase an RV-14.
Also as a heads up; I wanted to look at the fuselage/kit but they said it was still off limits to the public as it was still under development???? Then I was told that my fuselage kit that was due for shipping at the end of Sept was being pushed back till mid OCT.
Last edited by Qui : 09-01-2014 at 11:03 AM.
|

09-01-2014, 11:12 AM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Hubbard Oregon
Posts: 9,035
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Qui
Taxiing in, I heard what sounded like cable (rudder?) wires flopping around. Although that maybe normal, I am definitely going to see if there is a way to prevent that prior to closing up the empennage.
|
HI Chris,
Glad to hear you enjoyed the flight.
I doubt what you heard was cables slapping around because if someone has their feet on the rudder pedals during taxi (likely), there is not any loose cables or any place for them to slap.
As for hard starting... the engine is fuel injected which is much more sensitive to start procedure that an engine with a carb. Couple that with an airplane being flow by a lot of different pilots though out the day and a level of uncertainty at any give time of what state the engine is in (unless it was the very first engine start of the day... then Ken has no excuse  )
__________________
Opinions, information and comments are my own unless stated otherwise. They do not necessarily represent the direction/opinions of my employer.
Scott McDaniels
Van's Aircraft Engineering Prototype Shop Manager
Hubbard, Oregon
RV-6A (aka "Junkyard Special ")
|

09-01-2014, 12:40 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: New Orleans, LA
Posts: 474
|
|
Still Under Development?
Quote:
Originally Posted by rvbuilder2002
HI Chris,
Glad to hear you enjoyed the flight.
I doubt what you heard was cables slapping around because if someone has their feet on the rudder pedals during taxi (likely), there is not any loose cables or any place for them to slap.
As for hard starting... the engine is fuel injected which is much more sensitive to start procedure that an engine with a carb. Couple that with an airplane being flow by a lot of different pilots though out the day and a level of uncertainty at any give time of what state the engine is in (unless it was the very first engine start of the day... then Ken has no excuse  )
|
Darn Scott, I was hoping you were going to address, "Also as a heads up; I wanted to look at the fuselage/kit but they said it was still off limits to the public as it was still under development???? Then I was told that my fuselage kit that was due for shipping at the end of Sept was being pushed back till mid OCT."
__________________
Stoney
First RV-14 Flight 04/17/2016
Serial #140087, N214SW - Sold
|

09-01-2014, 01:03 PM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Hubbard Oregon
Posts: 9,035
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by jswareiv
Darn Scott, I was hoping you were going to address, "Also as a heads up; I wanted to look at the fuselage/kit but they said it was still off limits to the public as it was still under development???? Then I was told that my fuselage kit that was due for shipping at the end of Sept was being pushed back till mid OCT."
|
It's not still under development by engineering, but there is a lot involved in getting many hundreds of parts (some welded, some machined, many punched and formed, etc.) all into production and then land in one box to be shipped to you. I imagine any delays that are happening at this point are related to ramping up production for the first run of parts (though that is way outside of my job description so only guessing).
Engineering is heads down full speed on the finish kit. If all goes well, it should follow the fuse kit by a much smaller margin than the fuselage followed the emp/tailcone.
__________________
Opinions, information and comments are my own unless stated otherwise. They do not necessarily represent the direction/opinions of my employer.
Scott McDaniels
Van's Aircraft Engineering Prototype Shop Manager
Hubbard, Oregon
RV-6A (aka "Junkyard Special ")
|
| Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
|
| Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:53 PM.
|