Test pilot or Not

[Mel]

And as a friend of mine said, "Hey, this way I get 2 first flights. One for the airplane, and one for me!"

[szicree]

Originally Posted by dan

There's nothing wrong with handing the keys over to somebody who has "been there done that,"

Keys?!! I don't need no steeenkin' keys!

[steve_adams]

It's a personnal decision obviously, but it has to be a rational decision. Don't base it on the somewhat idealistic notion that the builder has to make that first flight or the whole building experience will somehow be forever tarnished. When I finished my plane I had only about 70hrs total PIC time. It was a no brainer when an experienced test pilot with over 1000 hours in my type aircraft, who had literally flown 100's of first flights, was available to do my first flight. Believe me, the first flight of your creation is a thrill regardless of who is at the controls, and your first flight in it will be just as memorable as if it were the aircrafts first flight. The plane now has 550 hours on the tach, I have 549.5 at the controls; that .5 hrs seems pretty insignificant now.

[JonJay]

Originally Posted by jsharkey

I would like to make the first flight in the plane that I built but plan on building my tail dragger experience in a local Cub or Champ and then taking as many hours of transition training in an RV6 or 7 as needed. Without being too crass it seems to me that using a test pilot would be a bit like taking a stand-in on honeymoon - however safety first!

On a related subject the field (1B8) where I will finish assembly is 2,200' long. I know of one other RV6 that was built and flown there several years ago very successfully. Does anyone have advice on test flying from a shortish grass strip?

Our field is 2,000'. At least 8 Rv's have had their first flights off of that field. However, all have had their first, second, third.....landings at a 5,500' field about 10 miles away. After take off, we would circle the field until up at about 5,000' agl, do your air work, and head off to the other field for landing practice. Made coming back into our shorter field much more comfortable. So, hopefully you have a longer field close by to take advantage of.
I agree that there are more risks on a shorter field as you have very few options if something goes wrong on take off.
I noticed a couple posts saying that if you are nervous, dont take the first flight. I would tell you, if you aren't nervous, something is wrong. I was nervous as ****. Still one of the greatest experiences of my life and I could not imagine watching someone take that 1st flight other than me.

[Bob Brown]

I was already current in the 182, but the insurance company asked for 10 hours of transition training, which I did with Mike Seager over four days. After my last flight with Mike, I sincerely asked his opinion on my flying abilities in order to do the first flight. I told him if he had the least bit of hesitancy with my plane handling and thought processes ordecision making to tell me and I'd find someone else to do the flight. He told me to fly it, that I'd be fine. I felt good about my ability to handle the plane. I went home and drove all around the airport that afternoon, planning where I'd put down in an emergency on takeoff from Rwy32. The next morning, my advisor walked me through things to pay attention to and I started up. As I taxied out to accomplish the final runup and checkouts, Bill Wallace was on the radio asking all the right questions and helping me to stay focused on the right things. Everything went off well, capped by a perfect landing. In this case, the extensive planning added to my comfort level and I felt confident of my ability to deal with an emergency. Get a flight advisor to help you ask the right questions.

[jsharkey]

Originally Posted by JonJay

Our field is 2,000'. At least 8 Rv's have had their first flights off of that field. However, all have had their first, second, third.....landings at a 5,500' field about 10 miles away. After take off, we would circle the field until up at about 5,000' agl, do your air work, and head off to the other field for landing practice. Made coming back into our shorter field much more comfortable. So, hopefully you have a longer field close by to take advantage of.
I agree that there are more risks on a shorter field as you have very few options if something goes wrong on take off.
I noticed a couple posts saying that if you are nervous, dont take the first flight. I would tell you, if you aren't nervous, something is wrong. I was nervous as ****. Still one of the greatest experiences of my life and I could not imagine watching someone take that 1st flight other than me.

THanks for the advice - DDH is about 15 miles away with 3700 feet of hard top. Could be a good place to practice. Would need two ground crews though.

[DanH]

I've gone both ways. Had my A&P make the first flight in my very first project (a restoration) because I wasn't tailwheel competent. 350 hours later I made my own first flight with a new tailwheel scratchbuilt. The next one I had a friend fly because he had a lot more experience in that particular make and model...so why not? He was there, he was willing, and it just made sense.

Point is, I don't think there is a hard and fast rule other than let the best available guy do the job. Same holds true for another builder's airplane. I'm scheduled to make the first flight of a friend's new project soon. I'm confident that I can fly the airplane just fine and I'm really quite excited about the opportunity. However, if somebody else comes along (1)willing, (2) trusted by the owner, and (3)with significant time in type, he would be welcome to it. No problem here.

My first RV flight was solo in a new bird with 1 hour on the hobbs. No transition, just current in lots of other stuff. I don't think it was any different compared to the true "first" flight, which the owner wanted to do himself. Good pilot, current, no issue there. What he didn't want to do was the test airwork; a stall series, rolls, whatever. It made him nervous, so he didn't think he would do a good job of it....a reasoned self analysis.

Speaking of good self-analysis, here's what I think to be a valid measure. Consider the worst common case; can you deadstick the airplane? I think a lot of first flights get done by guys who have never deadsticked anything, much less the new-to-them bird they're flying. It's a competence issue with the potential to be very serious in test flight.

[JonJay]

Originally Posted by jsharkey

THanks for the advice - DDH is about 15 miles away with 3700 feet of hard top. Could be a good place to practice. Would need two ground crews though.

Map out your emergency fields along your route. Adjust your altitude to allow for more than a safe glide should something happen enroute. Not sure why you need a ground crew, just a good chase plane.

[bsacks05]

I did my own first flight. At the time I had about 150hrs TT in anything, a new tailwheel endorsement, and about 5 hours in an RV6. However, I knew my plane better than anyone, the systems are simple, the design is proven, and I had about a mile of runway with nice open fields at each end.
By the time I was lined up for the first takeoff, I felt as though it were just another airplane and the outcome of the flight was never in question.
I am not a risk taker and if something doesn't feel right, I don't do it.
This just felt right.