Faith

pierre smith · #1 09-14-2006, 05:56 AM

What drives an intelligent man to devote years of his life to the construction of an RV 6A when he has never even had a ride in one? Faith-must be. This past weekend I had the privilege of transitioning a great guy who also happens to be on the team with Boeing in St. Louis as an Aerospace engineer on the F-15 build, among others.

That he chose an RV is a testament to the product and after his first hour, knew that his decision was indeed a wise one. Congratulations to Philip. (The tall guy).

frankh · #2 09-14-2006, 08:41 AM

When i took my transition training I realised that the 7a is an absolute pussy cat to land...Quite a bit easier than my Zenair Zodiac with half the power and pretty much half the perrformance...This thing is amazing...cut the power and wake me up after landing.

In case your wondering...My Wife took the $85,000 dollar ride at Vans, even though she does not have a student pilots certificate....."Hey Gus, its not me you have to convince pal, now do you want to sell me a kit or not?".....

Frank

Bob Axsom · #3 09-14-2006, 09:31 AM

RVs are pretty easy to have faith in but it still causes my faith to be shaken when I see Boeing given credit for any F- product from St. Louis. Stop rolling J. S.

Bob Axsom

Rick6a · #4 09-14-2006, 10:03 AM

Quote:

What drives an intelligent man to devote years of his life to the construction of an RV 6A when he has never even had a ride in one? Faith-must be.

Quote:

When i took my transition training I realised that the 7a is an absolute pussy cat to land...Quite a bit easier than my Zenair Zodiac with half the power and pretty much half the perrformance...This thing is amazing...cut the power and wake me up after landing.

Count me among those faith-based builders. My first RV ride was mere months before my RV flew. One thing we can be sure of.....Van has never been one to be accused of exaggerating his performance claims. With RV's, it is FAITH. With other designs, a measure of wishful thinking and marketing goals can drive the claims of the designer. A rather odd thing has happened to me of late. After nearly 1000 hours in my C-150, when I do force myself to get around to flying it now, I find it more difficult to handle than my RV. I have to *think* about flying it. The RV is actually much easier to fly. Landings are almost always a squeaker. I'm showing my age now.......so intuitive is the RV's almost effortless handling qualities compared to the 150 that I equate its feel to the difference in handling qualities inherent in manual steering and brakes installed in yesterdays automobiles to the power steering and brakes commonly found in todays cars.

Jekyll · #5 09-14-2006, 01:10 PM

I hadn't even touched an RV when I bought the plan book. I bought a 7A kit before I even saw a 7. I was building for 2 years before actually sitting in an RV, much less a 7. Got my first ride 2 months ago (2.5 years into my project) and yes, it was in a 7. Got transition training last weekend from Mike Seager so my RV time has started. The only issue was that it was in a 10 (220RV, the 210 hp version) - now I have an occassional thought of selling the 7A and starting a 10! I'll finish the 7A but I may start a 10 after I'm flying.

Reputation can be a wonderful thing.

Jekyll

svanarts · #6 09-14-2006, 01:17 PM

I was half-way through the build of my RV-4 before I got a ride in an RV-4. I didn't get to ride in one again until my first flight. The only other RV I rode in was Mike Seager's RV-6. Great airplanes ain't they?

ChiefPilot · #7 09-14-2006, 02:43 PM

I've been working on mine since 2001 (about 800 hours total thus far) and I've never been in one either. Faith - yup - that about sums it up :-).

pierre smith · #8 09-14-2006, 03:04 PM

Hi Brad and others,
Have you checked for EAA chapters in Mn? I went to EAA.org and found 27 chapters in Mn. with contact names and phone numbers. Surely there is someone with an RV of any kind with two seats fairly near you......?

ChiefPilot · #9 09-14-2006, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pierre smith

Hi Brad and others,
Have you checked for EAA chapters in Mn? I went to EAA.org and found 27 chapters in Mn. with contact names and phone numbers. Surely there is someone with an RV of any kind with two seats fairly near you......?

Yup - in fact I was vice president of one of the chapters (1229 at South St. Paul) for a year or two prior to starting my project but haven't had an opportunity yet. I'd love to go for a ride in one, but I know I'll get a ride in the course of transition training so I'm just biding my time for now

.

cytoxin · #10 09-14-2006, 07:17 PM

i always wanted o fly since i was a kid,born on an airforce base in abq. NM. my dad gave me and f-111 model and would take me to shaw to watch them(JETS) take off and land. i remeber being a kid in school and the teacher having to pause for the jets as they passed over the school.

they were so loud

had always wanted to build a kit plane since i found out you could in 89.in my A&P classes. then forgot abput it for a while . my brother started one then talked me into it. i was already building the wings before my first ride and hadnt even begun flt training.but riding with james clark was awesome and generous. (thanks patty

)cant wait to fly my own. looks like it will be the next rv for me as rides seem hard to come by in my area.