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Questions from non-RV owners

istrumit

Well Known Member
So, I was loading up my 10 last Monday for a 1.5 hour flight back to Nashville.

I had my wife, my 15 year old son (who is taller than I am), my 12 year old daughter (who is the same size as my wife), myself, our 50 pound dog, our luggage, a K-cup coffee maker (luggage), and 40 gallons of fuel.

A friend of mine at the airport saw this and asked me who was staying behind. He was serious.

I said, "no body - we're all headed back".

He couldn't believe it.

I was still 120 pounds under the weight limit and well withing CG. Could have still been within limits with full fuel.

And I easily made 170 knots at 7500 feet all the way home.

RVs rock.
 
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Last fall I had a guy in a Bonanza seriously try to talk me out of departing from Leadville, OAT was close to 50F, he said "You'll never make it!" I told him to keep watching because one of us was about to get surprised.
 
Then there is the spam can guy on the ramp saying "nice Cirrus". More often than not I do an explanation as to the value of an RV-10 over a Cirrus.

Carl
 
Then there is the spam can guy on the ramp saying "nice Cirrus". More often than not I do an explanation as to the value of an RV-10 over a Cirrus.

Carl

I'm still trying to understand why people have such high regard for the Cirrus. just another dull grocery getter, IMHO.
 
It was about 60F. 800 feet field altitude.

And I climbed out at 1000 feet per minute no problem.

As for the SR22, I have rented one and I have a friend with one...and I find them to be dull, heavy, and kind of dated. Not to mention the BUCKETS and BUCKETS of money my buddy has had to pour into his over the last 5 years.

Maybe they have a few knots on my 10 - although I am not sure of that.

The RV-10 feels like a sports car.
 
I do that same thing all day long! I looked long and hard for a plane that will out perform the -10 and I cannot find one. Great speed, useful load, interior room and affordable to operate and maintain. Amazing machines!
 
I do that same thing all day long! I looked long and hard for a plane that will out perform the -10 and I cannot find one. Great speed, useful load, interior room and affordable to operate and maintain. Amazing machines!

You can get the performance, speed wise at least, from a Bo or a 22, although you can't get the useful load.

I know this comparison has been knocked around a million times on this board.

But, holy cow, what a machine the 10 is, and what sold me on it was that its soooooo much cheaper to maintain than certified.

I could buy a used 22. It wouldn't be as pretty and new looking as my ten for the same price, but I could have purchased one. BUT, I could not have afforded to maintain it. That's what makes the RV a no brainer, IMO
 
You can get the performance, speed wise at least, from a Bo or a 22, although you can't get the useful load.
...
Every time I'm in a Bo, it feels like the window is trying to push me over to the center. I find the -10 MUCH more comfortable.
 
That is exactly what drove me to the -10. Ease of maintenance both man hours and $$$.

My typical load is myself, wife, 18 year old daughter, 16 year old son and my girls 80 lbs of bags. Plus I normally leave with full fuel. Always climb out at 1000fpm, usually around 115-120 kts and cruise 170 on 13gph. No other plane can do it. You can get close, but it will cost you so much more. I have a friend with a Cessna Columbia and he spends north of $25k/year to maintain. I couldn't spend $2000 on a CI if I tried, and that includes the A&P that spends a full day assisting with FWF.

Gotta love this plane. Getting ready to launch on a West coast trip to Palm Springs from South Texas Wednesday. About 950nm. Can't wait!
 
Just parked my unpainted 9A on the ramp at KEYW next to a new Cirrus. I got 3 complements and a thumbs up - he got a big fuel bill.

Chris
 
That is exactly what drove me to the -10. Ease of maintenance both man hours and $$$.

My typical load is myself, wife, 18 year old daughter, 16 year old son and my girls 80 lbs of bags. Plus I normally leave with full fuel. Always climb out at 1000fpm, usually around 115-120 kts and cruise 170 on 13gph. No other plane can do it. You can get close, but it will cost you so much more. I have a friend with a Cessna Columbia and he spends north of $25k/year to maintain. I couldn't spend $2000 on a CI if I tried, and that includes the A&P that spends a full day assisting with FWF.

Gotta love this plane. Getting ready to launch on a West coast trip to Palm Springs from South Texas Wednesday. About 950nm. Can't wait!

I agree with all you said, but your fuel flow caught my eye. I get the same performance on 10.5-11 gph. Have you carefully balanced your injectors?
 
Bo

You can get the performance, speed wise at least, from a Bo or a 22, although you can't get the useful load.

I know this comparison has been knocked around a million times on this board.

But, holy cow, what a machine the 10 is, and what sold me on it was that its soooooo much cheaper to maintain than certified.

I could buy a used 22. It wouldn't be as pretty and new looking as my ten for the same price, but I could have purchased one. BUT, I could not have afforded to maintain it. That's what makes the RV a no brainer, IMO

-8 builder/pilot here but I do have some Bonanza time. Actually, older A-36 models do have a pretty good useful load and CG range and are pretty efficient for an airplane of their size. They fly pretty nicely too, but they do cost a lot more to maintain.

Skylor
RV-8
 
I have not balanced my injectors. Have given it some thought, but never moved on it. Any suggestions on who could help with a project like that?
 
I agree with all you said, but your fuel flow caught my eye. I get the same performance on 10.5-11 gph. Have you carefully balanced your injectors?

I agree, and get the same.
He didn't say at what altitude (A lot of flat landers never get above 5000' :eek:)... that makes a huge difference.
 
I'm jealous

I had my wife, my 15 year old son (who is taller than I am), my 12 year old daughter (who is the same size as my wife), myself, our 50 pound dog, our luggage, a K-cup coffee maker (luggage), and 40 gallons of fuel.
I'm very jealous. The useful load on my Lancair 235 with me in the plane is only 320 lbs. Add full fuel and I can only carry 60 additional lbs.
 
Normal cruising altitude for 13gph/170kts is 7500-8500. That seems to be the sweet spot. Can go higher and save some fuel, but most trips are 1 hour or less.
 
You guys are making me want to sell my RV-7 tail kit and start on an RV-10 :)

When I bought my tools and eventually my RV-7 tail kit, It was just my wife and I. Now, I have a beautiful 9 month old daughter.

I told my wife that I will probably start on an RV-10 once I get the -7 built. Ha. Of course, I also said a few weeks after my daughter was born that when she turns 15, I'll give her the choice of my buying her a car or a Cessna to learn to fly.

Those RV-10's are probably the best value for performance and load thats on the market. That design would make a fantastic certified aircraft that would probably outsell the Cirrus.
 
I agree, and get the same.
He didn't say at what altitude (A lot of flat landers never get above 5000' :eek:)... that makes a huge difference.

My flight testing shows an improvement of 0.3 nmpg per 1000ft. I can get 170 kts. on 10.0 gph, but only at 10,000 ft. and higher. The effects on altitude on RV-10 performance are really striking.



The above data are from a couple dozen cross-country trips with the family. Each line is a 30-minute window of constant conditions, downloaded from the G3X and averaged for each variable. Fuel flows and TAS have been repeatedly verified. I understand why the certified guys are skeptical. :)
 
WUofX_JCrFV0nbVQzWSg7bRCSOJf9SJtcShnLMnjvHVt7Ano9a2yLxTIN305_wDYl4B97Mm7EOQ-qzn4Jd8XH0txt9TWg1WM0kpfFbfXTtvbHGNIjke4VW2hrHHU28a4soVAfu1elJyjHn9j3tBejKf1Pq84jY-rkXgnZ9HZY56-LpyXD4v_Ql63-FOQW9VkO2mtO1oAsEZTLdDntes-0bpY8HyF_WoSxCyaPUVYQFi2CcKK8kUu9NiJogNErMknHJ2Rk8La2IrCAuYFcxhY_Pfq3IpqTcFscvccmRMSFIfzHe5DDbylj60JoIRL5Xfc0foC-W6ubCApbKBjkCypg8pPxQSyqY7qQTQ8QATf_I6VXgx0RwCkBqXhJ8d-kharvykRO7Klr3SnbDeZPUUZZHx-CjIcWnxw1emXX-vhk21tDu9mkexbgjh_SuFjdqPgkGeKctY71MOsXEbmi6dbxQK2lHW_SAUtDYtDge_1pr9rTZj2ITZZnYJgjN9l0_wGdINnI7lSd3g_ba02hZ8mRu-ZP-iqLXC8BfpE9Ic3XGcpW2uKHsDgBVpl2NLMFFJOC0cYxLOUR4IZSXnIgBrUGqLLvJv9wzvBA-Im7CPAClyI_hROORUy=w1327-h888-no


13,500 msl

9.5 gph

Had a bit of a tailwind :D

Somewhere between SLC and Torrington WY
 
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-8 builder/pilot here but I do have some Bonanza time. Actually, older A-36 models do have a pretty good useful load and CG range and are pretty efficient for an airplane of their size. They fly pretty nicely too, but they do cost a lot more to maintain.

Skylor
RV-8

Same here. My 1975 A36 with turbo normalized 550 has 1600lb useful load (4000 gross weight increase with the TN550) and plenty of CG range and performance to comfortably fly at that gross weight. Typical cruise is 192ktas @ 11,500' and ~16.8gph WOTLOP. Big rear double doors make it easy to load cargo and passengers, no comparison to loading an RV-10! It will never be as efficient as an RV, nor as fun to fly, but it's an amazing machine. My maintenance costs have been very reasonable because I do a lot of work to keep the costs down.

-Greg
 
Getting back to the original question by the original poster, I had someone ask me once if it came in any other colors??? I really didn't know where to start with the answer.

Vic
 
I have not balanced my injectors. Have given it some thought, but never moved on it. Any suggestions on who could help with a project like that?

Depends on your engine. If you have an Airflow Performance controller, Don Rivera of same is your man. After 2 iterations, my IO540 is balanced to within 0.1 gal. Cost me <$75 and 2 hours time, including flight tests.

If you have a different system, search the archives for GAMI test or spread for how to DIY.

As I recall, my initial fuel flow spread was about 1.5 gal. Running LOP, best I could do was 13 GPH.

Sorry for the thread drift.
 
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