Is an RV right for a new pilot?

Hello,
My name is William and I'm UK based. I am currently learning to fly on a taildragging Supercub. I am looking to buy an aircraft either now or as soon as I've completed my training (two to three months, weather dependant). I want to buy an aircraft that is practical to use, but requires some skill to fly. I wish to buy a complete aircraft and really like the RV series both for their performance and good looks.

The question is: Is an RV a safe/sensible aircraft for me to buy and fly in the UK given my low hours? Also, I'm 6ft 4, am I likely to fit?

Thank you for your time, I would be very grateful for any answers,

William

Hi William,

Probably. Personally, I had less than 200 hours total time (zero tailwheel) when I started transition training in my RV-6. I would say with proper transition training you should be OK. I spent approx 10 hrs with the transition trainer in another RV-6 and at the end recieved my tailwheel endorsement and plenty of confidence to safely operate my RV.

Hope this helps and best,
Doug

Check out UK RVSQN Yahoo Group

Hi William,

There are a lot of RV pilots on the UK RVSQN yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rvsqn/

Introduce yourself on that list and I'm sure you can find someone near you with an RV you can discuss it with, and probably sit in their cockpit.

Hey William

I had a little over 150 hours of Cessna time and a few hours of tailwheel training time when I flew my -8 for the first time. I too am 6'4", but have very wide shoulders. I fit great in the -8, less well in the side-by-side RV's, and not at all in the -3 or -4.

I don't think you will have any problems after learning to fly on a Supercub and getting some transition training on an RV.

Cheers

RV Aircraft

[Bill, If you can fly comfortably in the Super Cub you will have no problem in any RV aircraft. I have about 1500 hours in tailwheel, every thing from a DC3 to a Pitt's and the RV is the most docile tailwheel aircraft I have flown. I have a RV 4 and Van's says you will fit but I feel it would be tight. If you can find and afford it I would recommend the RV8 but remember it only has 3/4 the roll rate of the RV4. Roger Moore [email protected]

Consider a 9 for a new pilot, then "upgrade" to a 7 or 8 later depending on if you want tandem or side-by-side.

Low Time and Flying

William,

I had 60 hours in Cessnas when I began my transition training in an RV-6A. Soon after I flew the first flight in my RV-9A and am currently flying off my 40 hours. I think my RV is far easier to fly than the Cessnas that I've flown, and now I am totally spoiled by the performance.

So yes, I believe an RV is a safe alternative for a low-time pilot.

Mike Schipper
RV-9A #90768 - Flying
www.my9a.com

You may need to slow down a little

The RV is a faster airplane. Decisions will have to be made quicker and events come sooner. Of course, just pull the power back and slow down to 110 mph to give yourself time to think. By the time you fly off your 40 hours, you will have forgotten what you are worrying about now. I have flown the -6A CS, -7 FP, and my -9A FP. Not much difference until the wheels hit the ground (of course the -9A FP takes forever to get down, but that is not the issue in this thread). But looking back, knowing what I know now, if I had wanted a taildragger, that is what I would do. However, I would still go with the -9A. Don't learn in a RV. But training in a Cub, 150 or 172 and tranisitioning seems very doable to me. Regards, John.

OK Someone has to be the sceptic

I don't think the plane is unsafe but just learning to fly and buying an RV built by someone else seems like a bad idea to me. If you are going to fly it in an area of low traffic after 10 hours of dual as Doug mentioned - in the plane you buy, not another RV (every one is unique) - I think it is manageable. You will probably have more trouble with the landing flare and holding it back behind other traffic than any other part of flying it. The RVs I have flown are very easy to fly in general but with really low time you may get behind what's going on in a demanding situation - still if you are looking for a difficult plane to fly (not very stable) this isn't it.

Bob Axsom

Yeah, I'm a conservative too.

Hiya,

I have about 30 hours in a "4" and I'm in the process of building an "8". I have a lot of time, like 17,000 hours plus. I've owned tailwheel aircraft, Cessna 180, Pitts Special, and Citabria. I've flown Super Cubs commercially in the bush and also towed gliders with them. (Gotta love a Super Cub!) Most of my time has been in the heavy metal however and the last heavy I flew was the B767.

The "67" is a plane that doesn't want to slow down or get down, and I was quite surprised at the RV-4 (Fixed Pitch) which acted in the same way. My personal feeling is that the RV is a fair handfull if only because of it's incredibly light control feel and it's reluctance to slow down. A Super Cub is a clunker in comparison. I got checked out in the RV-4 in one and a half hours, but I was workin' Mon! I finished that session sweating! So, flying an RV is not for the faint of heart, and landing it is similar to a Pitts in my book. Just better visibility.

I think that a bit more general aviation experience would be a good thing to have before turning yourself loose with an RV. Consider that flying a Cub around the circuit will have you stirring the pot with the stick like you were cooking porridge. In the RV, on the other hand, a circuit will be flown without moving the stick much more than an inch in any direction. The Cub is also pretty docile for a taildragger and the RV can require a fair bit of Irish dancing on the rudder pedals, very similar to a Pitts. In fact, if you can get some dual on a Pitts, you will have a better idea of how an RV handles in the air and on the ground. The big difference being, when you haul the throttle back on a Pitts, it just comes straight down, whereas the RV keeps going, and going, and going!

Cheers, and good luck,
Pete

They shoot horses don't they

Sure a C-152/172/Cherokee/Super Cub is easy to fly, but almost no time pilots are put into jets in the military. Ab initio training at foreign airlines have the "student" flying a hi-perf single from the start and than into a twin turbine just a 100 or so hours later. Anything can be done.

There is no blanket answer, but flying a RV as a low time pilot is possible, but key is getting training and evaluation from experience folks.

If you have your PPL in a Cub, and get some dual in a RV you will be fine. RV's are not hard to fly. That is why they are popular, they make you look good. I went from a Cub to RV taildragger wise. The RV is just a faster Cub, but it still a slow landing plane. A RV is not a Pitts landing wise, thankfully .

As far as size you are a big boy. From the other post and what I know the RV-8 might be the best fit, but the side by side will be fine also solo. With passenger you or the passenger may not be as happy in a side by side. Van is 6' plus so all his planes have been designed to accommodate height. Width and thickness are differnet issues. I agree the RV-3/4 is not for you. I am shorter in suture than you and height/Wt. proportional, the RV-4 was good for me but still tight.

George

Sure you can
I had 130 hours of motorglider before I started my RV8 project,during construction i took my PPL-license ad had about 75 hours off cessna 150 hours
I did sit in the right seat off 2 RV6 on 20 min. flights before my test flight
The RV is easy to fly and very stable and for sunday flying with small inputs
its an absolute delight
The major difference is in the small wings,so flaring is something you have to learn(took me a long time),and the taildraggers are sensitive to crosswind,but absolute possible too learn. If you are into Aerobatics take it easy to start with,as I was getting more confident with the plane I started slowly to push the envelope had more than 50hours before attempting anything
Get i touch with some off the English RV-guys,they will help you get a ride

J?rn M?ller
RV8 206 hours

RV for a new pilot

I think an RV is a very good plane for most pilots. My RV-8 has terrific visibility and I think it is easy to fly. I have about 500 hours with more than half of those in the RV-8.

As with any tailwheel plane you need to be ready with your feet all the time on landing. Be especially careful when you are slowing down and the wind is blowing.

BTW, I am wondering where in the UK you are flying. I flew a SuperCub out of White Waltham (G-WLAC) for a few years. I also flew a Pitts S2-A (G-STUA) out of the same field. There is alot to like about aviation in the UK (but not the petrol prices).

Cheers,

bruce
N297NW

Slowing down an RV

Here's a related newbie question: several earlier posts have referenced the difficulty of getting an RV to slow down in the pattern or on the approach. I've done most of my flying so far in sailplanes, and some of those can be really hard to coax into decelerating, too, for all the same reasons: low frontal area, clean airframe, efficient airfoil, etc.

Glider pilots, therefore, use slips all the time to help slow down, lose altitude, or what's most challenging: to do both simultaneously. Even just moving the nose over five or ten degrees can make a very large difference in the overall induced drag of the airframe. Especially if you get to a point where the spoilers alone aren't giving you enought sink rate, cranking in a nice slip can be just the trick - and it's also a heck of a lot of fun!

Anyway, it seems to me that someone flying an RV should be able to use the same technique - and not necessarily a huge, fully cross-controlled slip, but just a small 5-10 degree yaw of the nose with just enough opposite aileron to keep flying straight. It seems to me that that might help get you slowed down in the pattern, but I don't fly an RV so how should I know? Anyway, I'd love to hear from those of you that do! Are RV's amenable to slips? Either to lose airspeed, altitude, or both?

P.S. I know Cessnas are placarded against slipping with the flaps down, but I believe that's because those big flaps on the high wing can leave a wind shadow over the tail feathers. Any similar airframe-related reasons not to slip an RV?

You're right about the big flaps on high wing Cessnas. I had to find out what the big deal was when I had my 170B, so I tried it at altitude. With full flaps and a full slip the tail gets blanked out. With the tail blanked out you effectively become a flying wing. At this point the flaps are now elevators and the nose tries to tuck under. Gets your attention. The later Cessnas with the small rudder don't have enough authority, so it is no longer a big concern. BTW, RVs slip beautifully with or without flaps. Getting an RV slowed down is a learned process. In the beginning it is difficult. After a little experience it just becomes natural.
Mel...DAR

Slips are no problem

Slips are no problem in my RV-6A but it is heavy and it has no float margin for a pilot that flares too high. I read of people that say they flared too high and it started sinking so they pulled way back on the stick to save it. Man if I did that I would be looking at the wheels coming up through the wings as it spatted on the runway. It flies and lands beautifully but you have to fly it all the way on - I think that would be a handful eventually for the new pilot.

Bob Axsom

I am a CFI who has given dual in a supercub. I will agree with other posts that say the RV is a great handling plane, even in a crosswind. It really is. Having said that, I think it takes much more finesse to fly an RV than it does a supercub.

In an RV, the stick motion is miniscule compared to a supercub. I like to rest my arm on my knee and apply small pressure with my fingertips. It seems that the stick motion is almost imperceptible.

Any RV will be hard to slow down compared to a Cub, but CS RV's are way easier to slow down than FP ones. Both are quite managable and great performers, the FP just takes a little more planning.

Being an instructor I think some of my past students could easily adjust to an RV, and others would take more time. All would eventually get there.

I would highly recommend buying an RV even if you needed to fly many hours with an instructor to adjust. The fact is that the RV is a very practical traveling tool and WAY MORE FUN than the vast majority of other airplanes!!!

Hire or borrow an expert RV builder to help you during the inspection. Get a good instructor with RV time to help you transition. Do not solo the bird until you are very comfortable.

Regards,
Dale

I thank you

Thank you to everyone for your helpful advice. I have bought an RV-8 (reg PH-PWA) now and it's absolutely wonderful.

p.s. In reply to an earlier post, I have flown into White Waltham, but not flown their cub before.

Great choice!

Twiddlydee said:

Thank you to everyone for your helpful advice. I have bought an RV-8 (reg PH-PWA) now and it's absolutely wonderful.

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Good job! I hope you enjoy it.