How often do you get to fly an RV, a J-3…and a Spitfire in the same day? (Well, not a REAL Spitfire, but an airplane that is a 90% scale version, true to the original in looks and aerodynamics - and equipped with a 430 HP V-8 engine….that’s probably as close as I am ever going to get to the real thing!)
The Spitfire stares down the RV-8…..
I flew up to Cisco, Texas last Thursday night in the RV-8 (what a great way to travel on “business” – even stopped in College Station for dinner with Louise) so as to be in position to do a test flight in the Supermarine Aircraft Mk26B Spitfire for a future magazine article. I tried to remember the last time I flew a single-engined tail dragger with that much horsepower, and then realized the answer was easy….oh yeah – never. I am not a huge fan of auto engine conversions in general, but I am not so prejudiced that I won’t look at them if they are appropriate – and if you want to build a Spitfire (or Mustang) replica, you pretty much have to use a V-8 if the nose is going to look right. It was a fun airplane to fly, but a bit busy with retracts and an electric prop that had to be operated manually (They hadn’t sorted out the automatic system yet). One of the nice things about the RV’s is the ability to go fast without the mechanical and operational complexity of retracts. But flying a Spitfire with the gear sticking out? Sorry…some things just shouldn’t be done!
Look Ma….no glass!
After a nice evaluation flight before the winds came up, I climbed back in the Valkyrie for a short trip to Fort Worth to check on our little one in the paint shop. The usual gang of miscreants was hanging out at 52F of course, so we traded lies over cheeseburgers and they convinced me (didn’t take much convincing to be honest….) to take Doug’s new (to him) J-3 around the patch a few times. It seemed like I was the only one to have much experience in the 65 HP model, and they wanted to know if I thought it was performing up to par. I’ve got about 500 hours in type, spread over close to forty years, and it sure was fun to crawl back into the rear seat and shoot a couple of landings. Cubs are such great creatures – landing one is sort of like walking, once you have figured them out – I love looking out the open door at the right wheel as it touches down. It’s such simple flying.
Doug traded the “Coral” scooter for this!
Back in the Valkyrie once again, I cruised for home at 9,500’, thinking about how the RV enables such a great day of aviating. Texas is a big state, but these airplanes sure can shrink time and distance. Bouncing imaginary Messerchmitts in the morning, bopping on and off the grass in a Cub at lunch, and cruising high above the heat and bumps with the autopilot on and the Eagles on the XM in the afternoon – RV’s can definitely improve your life….
Paul
The Spitfire stares down the RV-8…..
I flew up to Cisco, Texas last Thursday night in the RV-8 (what a great way to travel on “business” – even stopped in College Station for dinner with Louise) so as to be in position to do a test flight in the Supermarine Aircraft Mk26B Spitfire for a future magazine article. I tried to remember the last time I flew a single-engined tail dragger with that much horsepower, and then realized the answer was easy….oh yeah – never. I am not a huge fan of auto engine conversions in general, but I am not so prejudiced that I won’t look at them if they are appropriate – and if you want to build a Spitfire (or Mustang) replica, you pretty much have to use a V-8 if the nose is going to look right. It was a fun airplane to fly, but a bit busy with retracts and an electric prop that had to be operated manually (They hadn’t sorted out the automatic system yet). One of the nice things about the RV’s is the ability to go fast without the mechanical and operational complexity of retracts. But flying a Spitfire with the gear sticking out? Sorry…some things just shouldn’t be done!
Look Ma….no glass!
After a nice evaluation flight before the winds came up, I climbed back in the Valkyrie for a short trip to Fort Worth to check on our little one in the paint shop. The usual gang of miscreants was hanging out at 52F of course, so we traded lies over cheeseburgers and they convinced me (didn’t take much convincing to be honest….) to take Doug’s new (to him) J-3 around the patch a few times. It seemed like I was the only one to have much experience in the 65 HP model, and they wanted to know if I thought it was performing up to par. I’ve got about 500 hours in type, spread over close to forty years, and it sure was fun to crawl back into the rear seat and shoot a couple of landings. Cubs are such great creatures – landing one is sort of like walking, once you have figured them out – I love looking out the open door at the right wheel as it touches down. It’s such simple flying.
Doug traded the “Coral” scooter for this!
Back in the Valkyrie once again, I cruised for home at 9,500’, thinking about how the RV enables such a great day of aviating. Texas is a big state, but these airplanes sure can shrink time and distance. Bouncing imaginary Messerchmitts in the morning, bopping on and off the grass in a Cub at lunch, and cruising high above the heat and bumps with the autopilot on and the Eagles on the XM in the afternoon – RV’s can definitely improve your life….
Paul
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