How long did it take you to fly Phase 1 testing?

[Gary 40274]

IMHO after being a repeat offender, if you are worried about the time line, you probably will not make it. Your gut feeling in this case is probably the safest judge of where you are at in terms of completion.

Remember safety first OSH later.

Gary Specketer
40274 Flying

[N941WR]

I got very lucky, the weather was great and even though I lost one week while one piece of equipment was sent back to the manufacture for repairs I managed to get all 40 hours completed in a month.

First flight was August 5th and on September 3rd, hour 40.6 was logged and my wife was given her first ride.

That was a LOT of work and it wore me out. Here are the entries from my log book:

Date_____Lnds___Hrs
8/5/2007___3_____2.0
8/11/2007__4_____2.1
8/12/2007__4_____4.1
8/18/2007__6_____4.2
8/19/2007__3_____2.7
8/24/2008__2_____0.5
8/25/2007__7_____5.7
8/26/2007_11_____4.4
9/1/2007__25_____4.4
9/2/2007___7_____6.1
9/3/2007___8_____4.4

Totals:____58____40.6

[tommylewis]

Bonnie and I completed our phase 1 test flying in 18 days by both of us flying. I did the first flight on April 11, 2007 and on April 29 we flew together to the Dairy Queen at Graham, TX.

[guccidude1]

15 days for 40 hours here in Reno-by-sea. My butt was dragging. Dan

[Ironflight]

I almost hate to say this at the risk of offending anyone, but remember that Phase 1 is a TESTING period - it is not just about putting hours on the airplane. I will be the first to admit that Flight Testing an RV is NOT "Experimental" flight test so much as it is "Production" flight test - but because no two aricraft (or their systems) are ever alike, there is a lot of work to do, and a lot of things to figure out. Experienced pilots and builders will have a lot better feel for how quickly they can progress through this phase - those that haven't done it before should think very carefully before trying to hurry it up. Setting an arbitrary deadline and then just boring holes in the sky to make it can set you up for surprises in both the aircraft systems and how the avionics work. The FISK arrival is no place for surprises.....

Again, no offense meant to anyone that has done this fast - just want to put in a plug for those with less experience not to rush things. Good post-flight inspections can take time, as does data reduction and just plane figuring out why the heck the autopilot or EFIS just did something you weren't expecting.

(My Phase one took about 2.5 months by the way - and then "phase 1.5", when I really learned how the EFIS worked, took another fifty hours and several months)

Paul

[dmaib]

I had the luxury of being retired and temporarily living in a motel while my wife was in FL bossing the remodeling contractor around. So, my plan called for a two hour morning flight and a two hour afternoon flight. I got lucky with a string of decent Minnesota weather from Thanksgiving until mid December. With no distractions, I managed to reach 40 hours in 18 days. I agree with Paul, that "Phase 1.5" will stretch out for a while while I learn more about the EFIS. Flying in the daytime, and data reduction/study in the evenings worked for me.
Now I am anxious to get it back from the paint shop and start traveling!

[AX-O]

All,
Thanks for the information. I was thinking 6 weeks may be doable if not major problems were found.

Originally Posted by Gary 40274

Remember safety first OSH later.

Gary Specketer
40274 Flying

Gary,
I am a flight test engineer and comepletely understand the safety first and fun later.

Originally Posted by guccidude1

15 days for 40 hours here in Reno-by-sea. My butt was dragging. Dan

That is crazy I have never heard of that. The most we have done at work has been 40 hrs in a month.

[videobobk]

I agree with Paul. Also, put Oshkosh out of your mind as much as you can--the goal is having a bug-free airplane, not making a trip. Two years ago I was in your shoes. I first flew on Feb 27th and finished Phase One on June 6th. Phase 1 1/2 was getting some cross country time on the plane, and on me. I did make the Big Show. I had two problems, both related. A blocked fuel vent line created enough vacuum in the tank to actually create a fuel leak. The fixes only took 2-3 days. Good luck on your testing!

Bob Kelly

[plehrke]

Originally Posted by AX-O

Gary,
I am a flight test engineer . . . . . . . . .

If you are an engineer then you should double your time estimate. As a flight test engineer maybe you ought to triple your estimate.

I have a flight data recorder in my plane so was very efficient at collecting data and plotting off line from the downloaded files. As mentioned previously, there is a lot of work. Also, you need good smooth air to get good data. Weather can effect you time to complete as well as any mechanical issues you need to correct.

[n2prise]

The first flight was on June 9, 2005 and the Hobb's clicked over 40 hours on July 1, 2005 for a total of 23 days. The airplane went into the paint shop on July 5th and I got it out on July 23, 2005. My first flight to OSH was on Sunday, July 24, 2005.