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First Flight: Canadian RV-6 C-FSPB

Rob Erdos

Well Known Member
RV Folk,

I'm very pleased to report the recent first flight of our RV-6, Canadian registration C-FSPB, nicknamed "SparkPlug" by my wife.

I recall walking the grass at Oshkosh in 1979 as a much younger man, and seeing Van's arrival in the first RV-4. I just stopped in my tracks in gaping, stunned awe, pointed at the airplane and said, "one day I am going to have one of those!" Life sometimes tempers our dreams, but I am thrilled to have achieved that 30+ year goal.

The project had a long gestation, being initially started by Mr. Daren Findlay of Mission, BC. He completed the majority of the airframe, and as he is an aircraft sheet metal repair professional, I considered it a Super QuickBuild RV-6 kit. I bought the project from him in 2010 and trucked it 2200 miles home.

The project made slow progress in my hands due to a busy professional schedule, but I plugged away at the installation of the engine and systems until I moved it into the care of RV-builder extraordinaire Dale Lamport last summer. Dale had built eleven aircraft previously (pause for awe!), so I knew that the project was in good hands. He finished it.

It is equipped with a Mattituck TMX-IO-320 engine, Hartzell constant speed prop, and single LightSpeed electronic ignition plus magneto.

The awesome (and expensive) avionics are dual 7" Dynon Skyview and associated boxes, and a Garmin stack of GNS400W GPS, GNC255 Nav/Comm, GTR200 Comm and GMA 240 audio panel. It was designed for IFR, so I expect to be spending some time working to properly seal the tip-up canopy.

It weights 1093 lb empty, before paint and interior.

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The cockpit got a lot of attention, and I'm pleased to report that I wouldn't change a thing.

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...and finally the requisite "RV grin"!

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The RV-6 is everything that we had hoped. It combines impressive performance with legendary handling, and will let me indulge in aerobatics, formation flying, IFR travel and $100 hamburgers. Guys, keep building!

Rob Erdos
RV-6 C-FSPB
Ottawa, Canada
VAF contributor 2014
 
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Outstanding Rob - very glad to hear that you've got it flying. No matter what else you have to fly for others, having your own machine is just...priceless!

Paul
 
Rob congratulations! Talk about small world. Here "Sparkplug" is in Canadian Van's Cave three days ago :D







 
Another great 6

Those 6's and 6a's just keep coming. Good looking panel Rob. You're gonna' have a lot of fun with Sparkplug!
 
RV-6 Flying

Congrats again Rob to you and your wife. Enjoy many years of flying it. See you down this way soon.
 
Congrats! Lots of RVs coming out of Smiths Falls ... I think I met Dale at the EAA 245 open door a few weeks back, very knowledgeable guy (Though he said 13 RVs when I spoke to him :p).
 
Ah yes, I heard of the RV-12 he was building in his basement :)

Is he on here? He sounds like the kind of guy it would be good for me to keep in touch with!

Also, I'm going to be looking to fly a few RVs before I make the jump ... sounds like Smiths Falls is where I'll find them ... there's a couple of -9As in Ottawa, but I've yet to make contact with an owner willing to take me for a ride.
 
Dale's Magic Number: "13"

Thanks guys!

Dale does nice work, that's for sure. I can't thank him enough for his help this year. Thirteen airplanes! I can't comprehend that. It took me all afternoon to replace a light switch. Not coincidentally, he's not on the site very often, probably because he is busy building stuff.

Hey, JF, if you're looking to fly an RV, I'd certainly accommodate once I have flown off the restrictions.
 
Ah yes, I heard of the RV-12 he was building in his basement :)

Is he on here? He sounds like the kind of guy it would be good for me to keep in touch with!

Also, I'm going to be looking to fly a few RVs before I make the jump ... sounds like Smiths Falls is where I'll find them ... there's a couple of -9As in Ottawa, but I've yet to make contact with an owner willing to take me for a ride.

There are lots of two-seat RVs in the Ottawa area, so you should be able to get a ride in a model of interest. Smiths Falls has one or more of each of the following models: RV-6, -6A, -7A, -8 and -9A. Carp has a good selection too. And there are a few at various grass strips east of Ottawa.

If you want a ride in an RV-9A, offer to buy Vlad dinner, and he'll probably show up tomorrow afternoon. :)
 
Thanks for the offer Rob, and sorry to hijack your thread :p

So far I've met one 9A pilot, didn't have luck with him, could try again later ... Where do I find this Vlad, I'll gladly treat him to a 100$ burger for the privilege :)
 
Thanks for the offer Rob, and sorry to hijack your thread :p

So far I've met one 9A pilot, didn't have luck with him, could try again later ... Where do I find this Vlad, I'll gladly treat him to a 100$ burger for the privilege :)
Many visitors to this site don?t read every post of every thread, so there may be many RVers in the Ottawa area who miss this request for a ride. You?ll have much better luck getting a ride if you start a new thread with a clear title.

If you are interested in an RV-8 flight, I?d be happy to take you up in ours sometime. You?d be #2 in the queue, and other commitments are keeping me away from the airport a lot lately, so I can?t promise when I?d get you up.
 
Congrats Rob!

Hey Rob,

Congrats to you and your wife on your first flight. I was talking to Fern Villeneuve tonight and he mentioned that he just took a RV-6A for it's maiden flight out of Hanover, Ontario this past Monday.

Ron Fleet is the builder and Fern took it up on it's maiden voyage. I told him that you also had your first flight this past week and he was quite happy for you.

Once again, congrats Rob and I hope to be there in the next few years1

Cheers,

Don
 
Congrats on your First flight Rob ! Nice to see more RV's in Canada

Glad you were able to connect with Dale Lamport to complete your project. Dale is partly responsible for me starting a RV-8 project. He had an incomplete empennage kit for a RV-8 in stock. He built it for me. If I had not met Dale, I would still be dreaming of building a RV...
 
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