Can a new pilot fly an RV?

[Jello53]

Hi guys,

I've been drooling over the idea of building an RV for some time now. However, I have no piloting experience. Is it unreasonable for me to think that I can build an RV, take a flight course at the same time, and then transition to my completed RV with only 25-30 hours of total flight time experience, in a Cessna 152?

Would I be better off buildilng an RV-9 than an RV-7 since it is less responsive?

I'd like to hear your recommendations on this.

Regards,

JP

[Norman CYYJ]

You could learn to fly in your RV. There is no reason that you could not fly an RV with minimum flying experience.

[flyboy1963]

Welcome,
good question too.
I'll give you my experience for what it's worth.
I trained on Piper low-wings back in the 80's, then Cessna's later, about 35 hours in each. ( don't ask why).
When it came time to buy a plane, and get RE-trained, I went for what I was most comfortable with, and could find an instructor and insurance for.

Try flying as many aircraft as you can. I liked the Glastar, but not the visibility up and out. I tried an RV-6a, and loved the vis, but found it a little 'hot' for my conservative tastes, or comfort level.
In the -9a, I was comfortable right away, and the approach speeds reminded me of the trainers I had flown. Even now with only about 20 hours on my -9a, it's hard to make a bad landing; there's always a little bit of roll control and rudder left to straighten out or pitch up when needed.
I may get tired of it one day, and want to go looping round the sky, but for now it is a perfect fit.

best of luck with your choice!

[cropdusterengineer]

Originally Posted by Jello53

Would I be better off buildilng an RV-9 than an RV-7 since it is less responsive?


JP

Oh boy....here we go again!!!

To answer your question, I see no reason why a guy couldn't transition from a C152 to an RV fairly easily with some qualitiy instruction. Its probably a good game plan to learn the basics in someone else's (rental) airplane.....and get most of those less-than-perfect landings behind you. Go for it!

CDE

[N941WR]

Originally Posted by Norman CYYJ

You could learn to fly in your RV. There is no reason that you could not fly an RV with minimum flying experience.

However, your insurance company may not like it.

There is a guy at my airport who got his PPL and then bought an RV-7 w/o any tailwheel time.

He had to get something like 40 hours of duel in it before the insurance company would let him solo it and that was with his PPL. Insurance was over $3K, if I remember right. After the first year, his rates came down in line with the rest of us.

[alpinelakespilot2000]

Hi JP-
Yes, you could do what you suggest, but there are a couple things you would need to think about:

1. Will you be able to find a CFI willing to finish your training in YOUR experimental. (Should be, but it will limit your pool of possible CFI's somewhat).

2. I continued to "abuse" the trainers with all of my hard landings all the way through my flight training. Do you want to do so on your pride and joy?

3. Do you really know that you are going to like flying? Some people start but find out it's not as much their cup of tea as they though it was.

4. Do you know that you are really going to be able to afford flying? Taking a few lessons is very manageable financially, though even that can significantly impact the family budget. Building and owning a plane takes a LOT more $$. Definitely at least get the lessons under your belt to know whether or not it's going to be financially possible.

5. My opinion: until you have a couple hundred hours under your belt, you don't really know what you want in a plane. This is true particularly regarding C/S or fixed-pitch prop, what you want in the panel, etc. It would be a bummer to build a very expensive plane only to find out that it wasn't what you really needed, wanted, or could afford.

That said, I'd encourage you to start your flight training at your local FBO ASAP and keep thinking on the building idea.

Good luck.

[breister]

They've said it all. Before you invest $50,000-$150,000 and several years of your life, find out if you will really use it enough to matter. You can rent or buy - great deals out there on trainers. To best simulate an RV, I would recommend learning in an AA-1 (if you can find one).

Good luck!

[Mike S]

JP, welcome to the Force.

Yes, you can learn in a RV.

I have a friend who learned in a 9, that she bought flying.

If she can do it, you can too.

[Jello53]

Thank you all for your input, many valid points/questions have been brought to my attention.

For me the building part itself seems like half the fun! I've always been attracted to big DIY projects and this one just hits the spot. If I embark in this project, it will be a 2-person operation, one of my good friends has shown interest in a partnership, which would split the workload and the financial responsibility.

Lots of food for thought, that's for sure!

[Mike S]

Have you ever flown in an RV???