RV-14 1st Flight - 180kts TAS

[DanKeys]

Finally got N58TV Airworthiness Inspection and did 1st flight on 11 Aug 2020. We (I am using the Additional Pilot Program with Bill Gill from Lee's Summit, MO, just east of Kansas City. Bill has a LODA and over 2,000 hours doing transition training in his RV-7) were running the IO-390 hard for the first several hours during engine break-in. At 25" & 2500 RPM we were showing between 177-180 Knots TAS (see pix). We had a couple of minor squawks after 1st flight. Re re-did the magnetometer calibration (seems to work better if there is no re-bar under plane and AHARS is calibrated correctly) and the canopy closed contact switch displayed correctly on the ground but airborne at 175+ knots needed slight adjusting. After 7 days/week for two years and two weeks it doesn't even seem real to have it finished and flying.

[DeltaRomeo]

Dan,

Congratulations on the FF and wishing you a pleasant Phase I.

v/r,dr

[DanKeys]

Finally got RV-14 N58TV Airworthiness Inspection and did 1st flight on 11 Aug 2020. We (I am using the Additional Pilot Program with Bill Gill from Lee's Summit, MO, just east of Kansas City. Bill has a LODA and over 2,000 hours doing transition training in his RV-7) were running the IO-390 hard for the first several hours during engine break-in. At 25" & 2500 RPM we were showing between 177-180 Knots TAS. Level at 4530' we were indicating 180kts TAS (see pix). We had a couple of minor squawks after 1st flight. Re re-did the magnetometer calibration (seems to work better if there is no re-bar under plane and AHARS is calibrated correctly...Duh! I do it right 'cause I do it twice!) and the canopy closed contact switch displayed correctly on the ground but airborne at 175+ knots needed slight adjusting. After 7 days/week for two years and two weeks it doesn't even seem real to have it finished and flying.

[Tom023]

Congratulations on the first flight and great performance! My first flight was August 12, 2019 and I just recently saw 179kts TAS at same power settings. No fairings 154, main fairings 167, ditched SafeAir static ports for Vans 169, nose wheel fairing no change (big surprise) washed off 5.5 years of hangar grime due to building and cleaned aluminum 179 (Even bigger surprise).

[romaja]

Congrats on your first flight! Did you do the QB?


Thanks,
Jim

[DanKeys]

I didn't want to do the Quick-Build because I was absolutely sure that I could build the plane faster than it would take to wait on the QB kits. I built an RV-12 and was ready for inspection in 52 weeks. So hey, now I was experienced and that should make up for the more complexity of the 14. Boy, was I ever wrong. The 12 had around 12,000 pop rivets and the 14 around 21,000 solid countersunk rivets (I didn't count them, but saw that figure from some other 14 builders post). I worked 7 days/week for two years and two weeks, with only 6 days not working on the plane in that time. I also had every option I could fit in the plane and it still be able to get off the ground, so that took time also. And that is with Stein building my panel. I wouldn't recommend anybody build any plane without having Stein & crew build the panel. He IS that good. See his workmanship and find anything better.

[jdmrv7a]

Congrats on the RV 14 standard kit. You will like the 14 even more as you travel and fine tune the Garmin G3 system.

I agree that the Stein airframe harnesses and avionics harnesses reflect years of experience and top quality work. And when you make that troubleshooting call they have the simple solution. I will add that Specialty Flightline pre-made fuel, break lines and hoses make the job much more enjoyable and the quality second to none.

I built the 14-A Quickbuild in 2018 from April until October, 1150 build/assembly hours. Prep, deburring, scuffing, cleaning and priming easily added 200 hours.

RV 14-A QB build= 1100-1300 hours. Paint and Interior-200 hours. Phase 1 testing and tweaks 100 hours.

How many hours is the standard Kit?

[SantosDumont]

180kts. nice!