How did you prepare for your first flight?

[N941WR]

I?m still a year or two away from my first flight and it dawned on me that I haven?t flown anything since before starting on my -9. Four years w/o flying anything is a long time.

Last night I rented a Decathlon and flew for 1.5 hours. (6 landings, pwr on/pwr off stalls, slips, steep turns, etc. Next flight we will play with loops, rolls, and spins.) One more flight and the CFI said he would have no problem signing my BFR. After that I expect to fly an hour or two a month until the -9 is completed and then take some transition training before my first flight. Note, I did not say the airplane?s first flight as I?m not ready to make the first flight pilot decision yet.

What did the rest of you do to prepare for your first flight? (I do plan on using our chapter?s EAA Flight Advisor just as I?ve been using the Tech Inspectors.)

[Build9A]

I would continue as planned. Then get the transition training closer to the time of your 1st flight. It might be hard to find a 9 taildragger for transition training, but an RV6 or 7 will give you the practice you need to be comfortable flying the 9. I had 600 flight hours before building. I didn't fly that much during the three years that I was building; 32 hrs in building year 1, 12 hours in year 2 and 9 hours in year 3. Transition training for me was 7 hours in an RV6A two months before my first flight in my 9A. Just plan your first flight well and use your pre-flight check list "as if your life depends on it". Lots of adrenaline can cause you to forget stupid things. Don't ask how I know. My 1st was un-eventful. Jack

[cobra]

Is it a dumb idea to consider learning to fly in a 9A?

My practical side suggests that the 9's would be an excellent training platform and the rental rates are "very affordable" compared the the flight school rates.

[Don]

Bill,

If you could get out to Missouri to fly with Bob Lynch I'd recommend that highly. He can train in either a 6 or a 6A and I took a couple of hours of training in his taildragger even though I'm building the 9A. He taught me the attitude for landing both the conventional and tricycle gear versions and I found it helpful. I'm planning to take more transition training as I get nearer to finishing.

Should you find anything close to you, e-mail me, I'm up in Virginia and travel to and through NC regularly.

[N941WR]

Don & Jack,

Thanks for the comments. The good thing about the Decathlon is the speeds are the same as the -9, it has an electric fuel pump, and spring landing gear so it is "close" to what I think I will experiance in the -9. Again, I'm still a good way off from flying my -9.

Unlike the -9, the Decathlon is draggy and slows down quickly. It likes to slip, something I never hear RV pilots talk about but I suspect they are good slippers.

(How draggy? Last night the control tower asked us to turn base immediately and land in front of an incoming Saab SF340. We were at 1000' AGL, on right downwind and not quite to the end of a 5,300' runway when we turned right and slipped it all the way down to the runway. I found myself 10' off the runway going 80 mph so another slip brought our speed down, kicked it straight, touched down just past the 1/2 way mark and made the next turn off. I'm thinking I like the Decathlon.)

Don, I'll keep you in mind as I get ready for the transition training and let you know.

[Mel]

Bill,
Have no fear; RVs are great "slippers" with or without flaps.
Mel...DAR

[Build9A]

Originally Posted by cobra

Is it a dumb idea to consider learning to fly in a 9A?

My practical side suggests that the 9's would be an excellent training platform and the rental rates are "very affordable" compared the the flight school rates.

If you can find a CFI with an RV9A for training purposes, I would think it would be a good idea. Most of the CFI RVs are used for transition training and doubt they would let you use them for all the required solo time. They are a little more complex than the typical high wing trainer, but not significant, IMHO. My guess is that you will have to use a combination of airplanes if you want some of your training in an RV. Unless of course you build it yourself. Jack

[alpinelakespilot2000]

Originally Posted by cobra

Is it a dumb idea to consider learning to fly in a 9A?

My practical side suggests that the 9's would be an excellent training platform and the rental rates are "very affordable" compared the the flight school rates.

Van's sells the 9A as a good training platform on their website--and for the most part I would agreee. At the same time, I'm not sure I entirely agree, in part because the 9 flys too well. For example, the very benign nature of stalls and the relative lack of need for rudder in the 9 can probably lead to some poor technique that if ever tried in another aircraft could lead to much different results. To elaborate on my too examples above: in most training aircraft a stall will lead to some wing drop which, in most cases, should be handled with rudder first, NOT aileron. That can be a hard lesson to learn even in a C150/152. It would be a really hard lesson to learn in a 9 that (a) does not demonstrate much wing drop and (b) has very effective ailerons even in the stall. The second example is that many of the RVs (including the 9) can be flown almost with your feet on the floor and very little attention to rudder (except in some very dangerous situations--like the cross-control turn to final that can lead to the stall-spin scenario). Training without need to pay attention to rudder is probably not a good thing.

That said, if you have an instructor who will find ways to make sure you learn these and other important lessons, the 9 would be a great (and probably cost-effective) way to train. One last comment--it will be a good plane to learn to fly in IF you can find a CFI willing to do primary training in a plane that you built. I'm sure you'd be able to find one--it just depends on where and how wide of a selection you have in choosing one.

Good luck.
Steve

[alpinelakespilot2000]

I think a couple of us just hijacked Bill's thread, the answer to which is of interest to me as well. So...

What does Bill (and the rest of us builders) need to do to prepare for 1st flight?

[johnp]

check out the eaa "flight adviser" program.

john