Flight test area - Page 3

BlackRV7 · #21 08-15-2007, 09:12 AM

I think we are both kinda preaching to the choir here Dan. While, yes I realize the importance of expanding the airplane envelope, and will take the test period seriously, there are aspects of the test period that do lend themselves to aircraft familiarization in addition to airplane testing. Do a little testing, do a little expanded familiarization. Yes, it is a crawl, walk, run scenario. If I get limited to 25nm, I got ONE freaking other airport to land at, I at least want the options to fly and tweak, to check the squawks but be able to sneak out a little more when I deem it safe and practical. Land somewhere else and shoot the breeze with other pilots within a 50nm mile range, then take off and do more testing per the plan. I know I would be more apt to go fly if mother would just cut the apron strings a little bit. I will take the testing period seriously and document the entire procedure so yes, we are talking the same language. Man, how much is this paperwork going to weigh before I get it inspected

dan · #22 08-15-2007, 10:34 AM

Pretend you're a test pilot. On a MISSION, do test pilots fly somewhere and shoot the breeze with other pilots?

I'll say this and then I'll be done preaching. During Phase One:

- Force yourself to FOCUS.
- Don't trust that airplane or any of the systems.
- Do your "tweaking" at your home base (barring emergency landings elsewhere).
- Stay close to your home base.
- Get the job done.

After Phase One, you have an INFINITE area and the ultimate of freedoms. If you DO YOUR JOB during Phase One then you will have a wonderful experience thereafter. If you skimp on ANYTHING during Phase One, then once you leave the "nest" you are taking a risk. With family in the other seat(s).

It's about ATTITUDE. Not a shoot-the-breeze attitude. Sorry, I'm probably alienating myself here, but my feeling is -- until that airplane has proven itself and you've gone through all of your test cards and checked all the boxes, it's not time to play yet. There will be LOTS of time to play AFTERWARD.

az_gila · #23 08-15-2007, 10:35 AM

A local RV-9A got an area that was over 200 miles radius (but clear of PHX Class B)... he even flew to Las Cruces to check out cross-country cruise conditions in his phase 1 area...

Note that a 25nm radius would only give him 3 public airports in range, with one being in a Class C. A 50 nm radius would give him about 8...

I guess living in the desert does have some advantages....

gil in Tucson

TSwezey · #24 08-15-2007, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamie

Hmm...I got the 25nm radius plus one airport that's about 30nm out. There are about 6 or 7 airports in my test area though so I'm learning them well. I requested 40nm. I went with the reasonable approach and should have just thrown a red herring out there to see what would happen. DAR said it's not his fault though, the FSDO wouldn't go any larger than that. Got a 40 hour flyoff too. My autopilot's getting a good workout making all those turns!

It's kind of like a NASCAR race...go fast, turn left!

kentb · #25 08-15-2007, 01:26 PM

But almost all of my testing could have been done easily in a 25 mile radius.
In fact most of my testing flights were only about 1 hour long and then I would return to the airport and check the data collected. The first couple of flights were longer, being that I was breaking in the engine, but I still didn't need to get far from home for that.

If you want to collect good flight performance data, remember you will need to fly a triangle or box. Fly straight, when stable take measurements, turn to new heading and do it again. Even at 200 mph you are not going to leave the 50 mile circle.

Kent

TSwezey · #26 08-15-2007, 03:22 PM

Where or who has a good flight test plan? Hopefully I will be starting mine shortly and I was looking for a good plan.

John C · #27 08-15-2007, 03:39 PM

Dana, I hope you get a big area and I know you will use it wisely. In some of the later cards, it would be nice to fly 15 minutes west to clear skys to do high altitude work, or fly 15 minutes north to get away from turebulence induced by the hills, or find a runway where the sudden crosswinds crop up at home. And when you finish a card and need a little break, you can land out in friendly territory to visit, have a cool drink, walk around, talk to the buds. Review the next card, then off you go. No reason to fly back to your place. I feel guilty. I enjoyed my space to the fullest. Hope I was safe. Regards, John.

BlackRV7 · #28 08-16-2007, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John C

Dana, I hope you get a big area and I know you will use it wisely. In some of the later cards, it would be nice to fly 15 minutes west to clear skys to do high altitude work, or fly 15 minutes north to get away from turebulence induced by the hills, or find a runway where the sudden crosswinds crop up at home. And when you finish a card and need a little break, you can land out in friendly territory to visit, have a cool drink, walk around, talk to the buds. Review the next card, then off you go. No reason to fly back to your place. I feel guilty. I enjoyed my space to the fullest. Hope I was safe. Regards, John.

I appreciate all the comments and all have valuable information. My "problem" is my home airport is bounded on the east by the army depot where they store nerve gas, they have problems with you flying over there, to the northeast is the city of Richmond, to the north is Lexington, about 15 miles to the south I start getting into some mountains. If I get 25, I can only "go west young man" to that previously mentioned ONE airport. I have seen, by all the posts, there seems to be tremendous variations in time spent aloft, ie., Dan has posted on his website he did 5+ one day (and probably more days as he burnt off his 25.2 hours in not time) and a limit to one hour by others. In addition, and I think this is a big one, different parts of the country. What works for some don't work well for others, simply due to the lay of the land. Safe and practical, as I said before.

Ironflight · #29 08-16-2007, 06:17 AM

Late to the discussion here Dana, but I think one of the interesting things to take away is that the more detailed your test program (the one that you show your DAR), the more likely you are to get what you want. In other words, the process that you have gone through in justifying a specific area ("I need this area to conduct this particular test program, and this is why...") is more likely to get exactly what you want, because it shows why you want what you want. If you just say "I want a big area because RV's are fast, and I want to visit other airports because I'm going to be bored" (No one would write that, I know....it's just an example...!), you're not likely to get much sympathy. If you show that you want to conduct a long saw-tooth climb on flight number XX and that doing it in a straight line will give better data, but it needs so many miles....it shows that you have a plan and have done your homework. Due diligence gets a lot of points in my book!

Of course, once you have your area, you can fly the test program however you want!

Paul