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Radial powered RV-8R flies!

flyboykelly

flyboykelly

Well Known Member
I am happy to announce that the RV-8R has flown for the first time! She was test flown by my father, Mike Kelly at 8:00 am EST. test conditions 45 F, clear skies, calm winds. Chase plane was a 160 Hp RV-9.

She flew straight and true, and did two circuits over the airport to a landing. Engine and oil temps remained low. The propeller from GT performed flawlessly and cycled to maintain 3300 engine rpm. Top speed achieved was 130 knots. At one point the chase plane said he was at full throttle and couldn't catch up. These are all very preliminary numbers and will be verified with more test flying. But for now I can say that 10 years of painstaking effort have come to fruition.
Time to un cowl and inspect. A huge thanks to everyone who made today possible!

Video is posted below.

http://youtu.be/1JdpyV60IlQ
 
No excitement, just the trill of success. Boring, just the way you planned it! Well done sir!
 
It not only sounds fantastic but you have done a great job with the cowling to fuselage alignment. It looks like you have a raised turtle deck and I think that this is the nicest looking RV8 that I have seen. Congrats!
 
Love that radial engine, looks very good. Great job of getting everything to work on a RV... Very cool...
 
Wow, thanks for sharing

That thing is totally bad! Mini-hellcat for sure. Congratulations on the first flight.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Super job gents...now get busy building a trophy room to display your upcoming well deserved awards!
 
My Impressions of the RV-8R

Today I flew my son's RV-8R on it's first flight.
I had some concerns about the engine power available
but the test flight was a surprise, the performance was
far above my expectations. It is a nicer handling airplane
than my IO-360 RV-8, I was dubious but I am now impressed.
Mike Kelly
 
Congratulations!!

Mike, congrats on the first flight, and seeing as your post count is now 1---------------

Welcome to VAF:D:D
 
When is the retrofit kit coming out? :) I bet there are lot of folks who would love to have an alternative engine option like this.

Congrats on the fortitude to bring this to flight.
 
The RV9 must have....

Top speed achieved was 130 knots. At one point the chase plane said he was at full throttle and couldn't catch up.

.....Been running a restrictor plate!;)
 
Loved both videos, and already commented on facebook... but had to check on this thread too. Loved the Deborah Mars photos... thanks for sharing.
 
What an awesome achievement. Congratulations! I hope I get to see and hear it in person someday.
 
BJohnson said:
Where's the tail hook?
Click to expand...

flyboykelly said:
Take a close look at the tail wheel spring :)
Click to expand...

I like it!

C6Zm2SB.jpg


What an exceptional airplane. My sincere congratulations.

I look forward to hearing how further flight tests go. (Let's be honest: I can't be the only one wondering "How fast?"...)

And I bet you could make some money if you were to manufacture and sell the engine mount, cowling, new fuselage parts, and whatever else would be needed for a kit.
 
AirShowFan said:
I like it!

C6Zm2SB.jpg


What an exceptional airplane. My sincere congratulations.

I look forward to hearing how further flight tests go. (Let's be honest: I can't be the only one wondering "How fast?"...)

And I bet you could make some money if you were to manufacture and sell the engine mount, cowling, new fuselage parts, and whatever else would be needed for a kit.
Click to expand...

Speed numbers are very preliminary, but we did hit 150 mph on the first flight. That was partial power and without pulling the prop back. My initial design goal was 140 mph cruise. It looks like I may see 160 mph cruise when done refining. Time will tell :)
 
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