My first flight in an RV (6) - initial thoughts and thanks Nigel!

exsterminator · #1 06-08-2015, 11:26 AM

Like I assume many other members on this forum, I am hugely interested and want to own my own RV one day but have to make do with living vicariously through all the other builders and fliers on the board as (young) family life dictates most of my schedule and budget. I have been a member here since 2008, have only posted maybe a dozen times and the "flavor" of RV I prize has changed time and again. I read Dan C's build log start to finish back in the day and spend countless hours reading all manner of threads here.

Yesterday was the first time I have seen an RV up close, sat in one and went for a flight.

I got my PPL in 2001, have less than 75 hours TT and have not flown in over 10 years. However, my love of flying hasn't abated and I always look up to the sky when I hear an engine above. Aside from an hour in a Lancair Legacy with its builder in 2007, I hadn't even got into a GA aircraft until 2 weeks ago. That was a stunning Cirrus SR22TN which its owner kindly took me for a round trip 200-mile flight on.

The Cirrus was magnificent. The all-glass cockpit, rich leather interior with custom stitching, roominess and sense of "technology" was amazing. It felt like climbing into a luxury sports car with every tiny detail attended to. The Entegra R9 system, even to the uninitiated like me, made the complexity of flying so logical and ordered. Vivid colors, flashing screens, audible warnings of traffic and altitude immersed me. And of course, it flies beautifully - fast, stable and predictable.

As memorable an experience as it was, it left several lasting impressions on me. Should the owner offer me another flight, I will leap at it. But I know I will never want to own one (assuming of course I could even afford it) and this certainty was due to the hour I spent with Nigel in his 6.

Why? Leaving cost of acquisition and maintenance aside, the experience of flight in both aircraft was so wildly different. For me, the RV captures the "magic of flying", a sense of engagement and harmony with the aircraft, a canopy that offers all-round visibility and proximity to the sky. You are nestled in next to your co-pilot, wedged between the engine and the baggage compartment. There is no roominess or true sense of luxury, no overwhelming allure of technology that draws your attention inside instead of outside. I know there is no definition of my "mission" here and that in all honesty, the Cirrus isn't likely to fit mine.

Again, these are only my initial impressions after an extremely short time in each and I acknowledge my inexperience as a pilot. What I saw and felt is going to be different to the next person. But in this short time, I left certain that my path in aircraft ownership and flight would be along RV lines. Now the decision will be whether I feel I am able to accomplish the 200-odd smaller tasks required to build my own airplane, or whether I buy one built by one of you fine people! But I do know that I really liked the situational awareness and warnings offered by some of the glass technology that it would need to be part of my RV, as well as an autopilot . . .

And if you read this Nigel, thank you once again for creating a memory and for inspiring me to keep this dream alive no matter how long it takes.

Mike S · #2 06-08-2015, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exsterminator

Yesterday was the first time I have seen an RV up close, sat in one and went for a flight.

First off, congrats on the first exposure to the world of RV--------and of course congrats on the ride.

Beware of the snake bite............................................

woodmanrog · #3 06-08-2015, 05:27 PM

Dan
We are going to be selling N100nt probably within the next six months or so. We are building an RV14 and need to sell our 6A before finishing our build. Contact me at woodmanrog@gmail.com and we'll talk.

wirejock · #4 06-08-2015, 05:38 PM

Congratulations Daniel. It sounds like you've been bitten.

MikeyDale · #5 06-08-2015, 07:16 PM

You're HOOKED!

cccjbr6 · #6 06-08-2015, 11:30 PM

You hit the nail on the head. I was is a -22 partnership for 7 years before moving up to a 6A. Definitely a lot of airplane and performance for the money compared to a Baron. But hand flying it for an extended period of time gets old quick. I also don't miss the expense. It was hideous. Annuals ran between $6K and $12K. The only thing I do miss is the parachute and I miss it mightily. A RV anything designed with an integral parachute would be the perfect plane.

epaslick · #7 06-09-2015, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exsterminator

Like I assume many other members on this forum, I am hugely interested and want to own my own RV one day but have to make do with living vicariously through all the other builders and fliers on the board as [...] life dictates most of my schedule and budget.

This is so me. Are you sure you haven't been reading my mind? you are describing my life almost to a T.

Quote:

Originally Posted by exsterminator

Yesterday was the first time I have seen an RV up close, sat in one and went for a flight.

I haven't been able to do that yet. If there is one in my area I haven't found them yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by exsterminator

I got my PPL in 2001, have less than 75 hours TT and have not flown in over 10 years. However, my love of flying hasn't abated and I always look up to the sky when I hear an engine above.

I got mine in 2000, and have just over 100 hours. like you it's been over 10 years since since the last time I logged time as PIC (or anything else).

Quote:

Originally Posted by exsterminator

Aside from an hour in a Lancair Legacy with its builder in 2007, I hadn't even got into a GA aircraft until 2 weeks ago. That was a stunning Cirrus SR22TN which its owner kindly took me for a round trip 200-mile flight on.

I have a friend who flies professionally and I've been able to catch a ride occasionally in a Cessna Centurion he flies. I otherwise fulfill my aviation cravings as an A&P for a Regional Airline in Northwest Arkansas.

I dream of building or buying an RV and have been setting up the garage but I keep being interrupted by life whenever I get ready to lay money down on a kit to start build. Until then I live vicariously through the adventures of the fine members here at the VAF.

pierre smith · #8 06-09-2015, 04:52 AM

Daniel,
We have as many, if not more, bells and whistles available to us as the Cirrus has, at a fraction of the cost....with the exception of the parachute. Check out Garmin, Dynon, AFS and MGL 'glass' systems.

Best,

Arlen · #9 06-09-2015, 05:12 AM

You can have a ballistic parachute in an RV-7 or -9, offered by BRS: http://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/ex...vans-rv-7-rv-9

David-aviator · #10 06-09-2015, 05:42 AM

Daniel and Eric, may your dreams of flying a RV come true. Being here will feed into it, this place is loaded with guys who have walked the walk, they will share with you what they know always.

Being an aviator is special and flying a RV is very special. We who feel it are born with it wired in. I was a poor rural kid who latched on to every airplane that flew over in those days, wanting to be there and do it. From Piper Cubs to P-51's to B-36's, they were all exciting to see and hear. On a really good day, as I was milking cows, my favorite uncle flew through the yard very low in a F-86, I ran out just in time to see a slow roll as he climbed away - that experience lit my fire and it still burns today. At the time the USAF had interceptors based in Iowa, not far from our home in southern Minnesota.

Everyone tries to find a way to realize the dream - do not let is slip away. Many do and regret it their entire lives. It's amazing how many dream the dream late in life, it never goes away.