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RV for a beginner pilot?

LampiesJR

Member
Hi guys

We are on the lookout for a RV6/7 project. With that, I'm testing for my PPL tomorrow! My question is, how docile taildragger is the 6/7 for a 50hr pilot with absolutely no taildragger time?

A lot of pilots have told me not to go this route, because it might just be a Very expensive training experience with a RV, which I understand, but RV owners have told me otherwise?

Regards
 
No problem. Just get decent training and you'll be fine. I had about 7 hours of tail dragger time and maybe 170 total when I started flying the -4.

RV's are the 172 of tail draggers. They can bite you but it's almost always pilot error and not bad airplane characteristics when they do.
 
Hi guys

We are on the lookout for a RV6/7 project. With that, I'm testing for my PPL tomorrow! My question is, how docile taildragger is the 6/7 for a 50hr pilot with absolutely no taildragger time?

A lot of pilots have told me not to go this route, because it might just be a Very expensive training experience with a RV, which I understand, but RV owners have told me otherwise?

Regards

I can't speak about the docility of a 6/7. But I can say that right after I got my PPL, I went and got my tailwheel endorsement in a J-3 Cub. It was a wonderful experience. After the J-3 I found a Super Decathlon spritely and easy to land (not that the J-3 was hard - but you see much less in the back seat with an instructor up front). J-3 time was pretty cheap.

As to the cost of training for tailwheel, I got mine in about 9 hours of quite enjoyable flying. You'll probably need more than that to get insured but I don't know. After my 9, I accrued 85 hours in a Super Decathlon doing acro and formation flying. That would be more expensive, of course.

I doubt you will get insurance without a tailwheel endorsement and some time in a tail dragger (I don't know how much). So you'll somehow have to pile up some TD time to get insured.

Good luck on your test tomorrow - enjoy it.
 
Go fly an AA-1A and then decide. I instructed PPL students in these little airplanes for years with no problems. In fact, I think they are better pilots for the experience. It only takes a few hours to become comfortable with the lighter and quicker control responses, and once you become comfortable with them they're a blast to fly. [Admittedly this doesn't address the tail dragger question.]

Another suggestion: get some dual from Jan Bussell in Florida. He instructors in his RV6 and his RV6A, so you can try both and decide if you can handle a tail wheel.

Good luck.

Robert
 
If you find one with a fixed pitch prop, the learning curve should be about as manageable as any AC you can find. Eyes down the runway and no place else as in any TW AC. RV's have great rudder authority and are easy to keep lined up and pointing down the runway.

Get a ride or a few if you can, before you buy. You will learn and see new things from different pilots. I did 5 hours in a Pitts after my PPL, then bought a side by side 2 place low wing similar to an RV that has served me very well.
There are a few Extra 300's in SA. A bit of upper air time in an airframe you cant bend is like gold.
 
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Thanks guys for the reply. Yes, my "ultimate" RV is one with a 150/160hp Lycoming, a fixed pitch Sensenich prop and certainly a Slider Canopy. That is the kind of aircraft I'm planning on.

I guess it's plainly just sticking to the basics to handle your aircraft sufficient, although it sounds easier than done!

And in the meantime I got a PPL richer!!:eek:
 
Insurance is another consideration. I don't know what the insurance markets are like in South Africa, but when I contacted my insurance broker (Nationair) about adding my student pilot wife last year they said the minimum hours was 250.
 
Congrats on the PPL. I always say: flying is the most fun you can have with your cloths on :)
 
I had approx 20 hrs in a decathlon, then got current in a champ before flying my rv-4 for the first time. Have well over 500 hrs in it now. It is very a very docile airplane.

Martin Pike
 
Hi guys

We are on the lookout for a RV6/7 project. With that, I'm testing for my PPL tomorrow! My question is, how docile taildragger is the 6/7 for a 50hr pilot with absolutely no taildragger time?

A lot of pilots have told me not to go this route, because it might just be a Very expensive training experience with a RV, which I understand, but RV owners have told me otherwise?

Regards

I've posted on this before, but short version is: that's when I started transitioning to my dad's -6, just after getting my license in a C150. It took me a little while because I was not only learning the airplane, but doing my tailwheel transition, learning basic aerobatics and formation, and learning from Dad's 20k+ or so hours of flying. And I was only flying every couple of weekends when I was home from college. He wanted to make sure I wasn't going to bend his brand-new airplane before he let me run off with it.

With a good instructor and/or an experienced RV pilot you should be fine. Just don't expect that the transition will be done in a day or a weekend. Tailwheel training and transitioning to a (relatively) high performance airplane at the same time is a lot to process when you're still new to flying.
 
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