What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

High Altitude RV Flight

n5lp

n5lp

fugio ergo sum
Just an alert for those of you who don't get "Sport Aviation." I got the March 2012 issue today and found a nice article by Mike Kerzie of Arizona. Mike took his Parallel Valve IO-360 powered RV-7 to 26,900 feet about this time last year. That was the absolute altitude for that airplane at that weight on that day.
 
I saw his airplane at Copperstate and it is very nicely built and lots of attention was certainly paid to keeping it very lightweight. Nice polish and paint job.
IMG3141-M.jpg


Simple panel with an iPad, handheld GPS, no co-pilot brakes, and little or no interior paint.
IMG3142-M.jpg
 
That is very cool

I would love to do something like this some day in mine - I'd be worried about the canopy cracking the whole time....
 
Another amazing RV accomplishment and very similar to what I think is the first RV altitude record by Terry Jantzi of Canada.

http://home.hiwaay.net/~sbuc/journal/high.html

Terry's airplane is now owned by Nancy Burkholder of Minneapolis and I have flown it many, many times giving dual.

These are quite remarkable airpanes.
 
don't take this lightly. you would need quite a bit of preparation to do this. i brought mine to 18K when i got my O2 system years ago. that was easy. quit a sight from a tiny rv. she was climbing @500fpm when i reached my goal. :)

YEA!
IMG_1126.jpg
 
I've had mine up to 17.6 DA and as mentioned, she was still climbing at 500 FPM, which is what I had the AP set for.

I did notice that it was still trimmed nose down when compared to a short wing RV.
 
the FAA can report that mine has been to 21K.... loaded over the rail with Christmas trip baggage. Indicated speed was 90 kts and ground speed on that day was 207 kts. the pilot was beginning to get loopy and will not do that again.
 
Last edited:
mask or cannula?

Steve Melton said:
the FAA can report that mine has been to 21K.... loaded over the rail with Christmas trip baggage. Indicated speed was 90 kts and ground speed on that day was 207 kts. the pilot was beginning to get loopy and will not do that again.
Click to expand...


Were you just using nasal cannula's or did you have a mask. Were you not getting enough oxygen?

I've only been to 13.5 in mine. But foresee needing to go higher out west.
 
jeffkersey said:
Were you just using nasal cannula's or did you have a mask. Were you not getting enough oxygen?

I've only been to 13.5 in mine. But foresee needing to go higher out west.
Click to expand...

nasal cannula, not enough O2. my O2 was set at 16K. that was the first time I had been up that high and I also don't believe I was breathing correctly to get the O2. that was dumb.
 
Last edited:
I've been to 18k (absolute, did not check the DA) in mine, with cannula oxygen. Still climbing fine, still in low-90s for oxygen saturation. Would like to try it higher some day just to see....

I often fly cross-country at 13-15k. More efficient and necessary in some places to get flight following.
 
If you have an O2 failure at 25,000' figure how long it would take you to get to an altitude where you could recover from hypoxia (10,000?). You might want to consider an emergency "can" of O2.
 
I took my -10 up to 17,999 on autopilot set at 500 FPm during the Phase 1 testing . Used a pulse demand system for O2, same as in my glider. Have been that high soaring many times, no loss of brain power with oxygen.

The -10 handled the climb well, had to drop to 300 FPM around 10K due to cylinder temperature for about 2K to bring them below 400. Engine was not completely broken in at that point, routinely go above 12K for long flights with no issues.

The autopilot started having trouble about 17.5K, sort of flying like it was drunk. Took a while to level out and pick up speed on top. Ceiling is obviously higher at a slower climb, but am not IFR.
 
Altitude-Induced DCS

If you plan to fly high (18K & above), having a good source of oxygen is not the only thing to to be aware of. Consider the slight possibility of Altitude-Induced DCS (Decompression Sickness). The FAA has published a 4 page brochure https://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/DCS.pdf that discusses DCS. Some highlights include:
- Altitude DCS is a risk every time you fly in an unpressurized aircraft above 18,000 feet
- Be familiar with the signs and symptoms of altitude DCS and monitor all aircraft occupants, including yourself, any time you fly an unpressurized aircraft above 18,000 ft
- Keep in mind that breathing 100% oxygen during flight (ascent, enroute, descent) without oxygen prebreathing prior to take off does not prevent the occurrence of altitude DCS
- Do not ignore any symptoms or signs that go away during the descent. In fact, this could confim that you are actually suffering altitude DCS. You should be medically evaluated as soon as possible
Be safe, be smart & pay close attention to what your body is telling you.
 
Can you imagine being at 20k and having a cockpit fire that can't be controlled? That concerns me more than hypoxia. Maybe that's because I've been hypoxic before in the alt chamber. Nope probably not. Fire is scary.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top