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First Flight, Unique addition to the RV Family!!!

BruceEicher

Well Known Member
It is with great pleasure that I get the rights to tell you Klaus-Peter Morhard of Southern Germany has successfully completed his first flight of his LOM engine powered RV-7!!!

I first met Klaus and his family two summers ago when we accepted his request (on VAF) to host his son Matthis for a school year here in Wilsonville Oregon. So we have been following the -7 project, anticipating the long awaited first flight. The decision to install a non-Lycoming power plant as always brings difficulty and added design and fabrication. Klaus-Peter?s strive for perfection might have also added a bit of time. Even the need to change prop choices after a failed test run added almost a year. But Klaus kept at it over many years and built a beautiful airplane!

And Friday here is what I heard from Klaus in Germany:

Hello my friends!
I did not have the time to answer your last e-mail, because I prepared my first flight.
AND TODAY - this was the day!!!!!!!!!
I?m still flying and the feeling is better than I thought it would be.
I was flying for 30 minutes and everything was just wonderful!
Great TAKE OFF and PERFECT LANDING!   
Anke and Mika and some friends have been at the airport and ------- STANDING OVATIONS?..
I?m sitting in the living room, but still flying 
And it is a pity---- tomorrow and all the weekend and all the next week will be bad weather and rain rain rain.
So the next flight has to wait. But I?m impatient to have the wonderful flying machine under my ?()?.
The first flight was with the parachute, but now I will fly just to have fun fun fun fun fun fun?? and Mika is also impatient to fly with me.
Matthis is still on the ?road? , but he will arrive today or tomorrow at midnight. He will also be very surprised about my good time in my RAVEN 
You see I?m so excited and I?m sure the feeling will last very long????
My RV is not very fast, because I have less power than the LYCO ones, but it is very very economic. 135 kts and just 23 litres per hour?? that means 6.5 hours endurance?.
But this numbers have to be confirmed the next flights?..
Anyway I?m so happy, because I feared the first flight, but it flew like a real RV. Just wonderful!
Last night I could not sleep because I was afraid ----- and this night I will not sleep, because the feeling is so great.
Klaus

Klaus-Peter Morhard is a happy man after his first flight of a long and sometimes challenging project.
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The LOM engine required a one-up custom fabricated engine mount. As design and fabrication of metal structures is Klaus-Peter?s profession, he had a leg up on this.
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Matthis Morhard hanging out with the Locals in Oregon
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Oregon native hanging out with the Locals in Germany! Klaus-Peter becomes a Van?s RV Rep each year at Germany?s AERO Show. Also shown is Van?s own Funnyman, Daryl.
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Klaus-Peter had some good friends look over his -7 during construction and certification. Here is Airplane Designer Ken Krueger posing with Klaus and his ?Raven?.
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Many people will continue to ask; ?What?s under the cowl??
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continued

Extra hours, days, and even years went into the design and fabrication for this unique engine installation and cowling.
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The boys Mika and Matthis have been helping hands whenever they could over many years of construction.
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Klaus had many fine RV examples in Germany with experienced help from these builders. Here he is posing with Herman and his -7.
And in the background is another example of Klaus-Peter’s work, the control tower! His company designs and fabricates steel stairs, catwalks and fire escape type structures.
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Continued

Shot taken from the tower with Klaus-Peter, son Matthis, Herman Schiele, Klaus's wife Anke, my wife Katie, my (single) sister Beth, and son Mika.
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I believe we will all remember the first take-off of the kit plane we build, but if you are like me the first landing you will remember even better! Oh! What a relief it was!!! Klaus said his was perfect! And he did come to Oregon to train with Mike Seager last summer.
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And another “RV Grin” as Klaus-Peter rolls back to the hangar after his first 30 minutes of flight in his new RV-7. Do you think he looks happy?
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This first flight success could not have happened to a more deserving man and his family. I wish you all the very best flying times with your new RaVen!
PROST!!!
 
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Awesome!!

That is really quite the accomplishment!! Way to go Klaus! Can we hope to get a video walk-around and flight for this beautiful airplane someday soon? It would be great!
 
Congratulations!!

Klaus-Peter,
again, my best wishes and congratulation for the first flight.
You built an extraordinary and perfect plane.
I had the luck to be a whitness at Friday evening in Winzeln-Schramberg and with Clemens, we flew with his RV-7 as escort plane. I think we all had our RV-Grin in the face until the next day.
I hope my -6 will be ready within 1 year so we can make commen RV-trips.
Good Luck (again) for your flight testing
Karsten
 
Congratulation's on the First Flight! I don't think I have seen one of those power plants, can you give us some details.
 
Looks like a 332A or AK supercharged 4-cylinder, about 140 HP. I've love to see some detail shots of the installation.
 
Coming soon!

Looks like a 332A or AK supercharged 4-cylinder, about 140 HP. I've love to see some detail shots of the installation.

Hi Dan,

It is a M332C I understand. Klaus just regained his VAF logon password and should post some pictures and answer some questions.
The weather has been poor for more flights but of course he hopes that will change soon.
 
Thank you folks

Thank you very much Bruce for your great report about my first flight.
and Thank you very much folks for your answers.

Sorry for my late response, but everybody flying an RV will understand me.
In about 2 weeks I flew now 15 hours AND I'm still dreaming. I first had to fly and I had NO TIME to look for anything else.
I love to look out my canopy (preferably at FL95 :) ) and I forget anything else. The long, difficult and hard way is now turned into nice and enjoyable flights!

Please DO NOT try to do the same. Just do the RV's like VANs says and you will be without trouble. You will be really fast (with a Quick Build) and you will be flying within a reasonable time.
And another recommendation:
please use the ADVANCED instruments. In my opinion these are the BEST.

Okay?
Why did I try the stony way? Today I do not understand it anymore.
But I have a nice and unique RV. And I'm lucky: it's flying good.

Here you will find a short Video at Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veXTaMt8b2U&feature=youtu.be

What else you are interested in?
Now I have to wait for my engine to be inspected for the first time and so I will find some time to answer your questions.

@BRET: the LOM engine is made in Praque (Czechoslovakia) (it's a 1:30 hours flight from my airfield-that's why I decided to choose this engine)
The engine has 180 hp @ 3000RPM with compressor and has only 3,9 litres.
the engine is injected and has a very modern (gear driven) fuel pump.
That's why it is very economique and burns all kind of fuels (from 87 oct.)
(no diesel of course).... I hope this helps....

If you want to know more, please don't hesitate to ask me.

Thanks again
Klaus-Peter
 
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