RV-14 high altitude cruising?

[deek]

I want to build the 14 to fly between homes in SoCal and NW Montana. I now fly my EZ at 15.5 to 17.5 for terrain, comfort and economy. Are RV's in general, and the 14 specifically as adept at high altitude cruising? I occasionally fly at FL210-220 for a big push, but the non-turbo O-320 is breathing hard at FL altitudes. I would hope the 14 could get to flight level altitudes if need be; am I being realistic?

thanks!

deek

[hydroguy2]

I can't answer your question...but,

You didn't happen to be be flying your EZ over Missoula today were you? We were at a lacrosse meet at the college and an EZ went overhead around 11am

[deek]

No; it's in the SoCal KPOC hangar - at least I hope it is

[Vlad]

I fly my 9 at 15.5-17.5 once in a while on long legs and my O320 is developing enough power to satisfy MY demand for terrain, comfort and incredible economy. However some RVators call me "slow".

[deek]

The 14 will be about 20 kts slower than the EZ; that's fine but I like a lot of air between me and the rocks along the route Boise > Missoula. Borah Peak must be just shy of 13,000' and there are lots of others nearly as high.

[rvmills]

Probably the best guy to answer that is Joe Blank at Vans. He's flown the proto quite a bit, including some ferries (I believe). PM him or call him at Vans...great guy!

FWIW, I've cruised my Super Six at 13.5-15.5 quite a bit. I'm heavier than a stock 6, as is the 14. Been to 17.5 a few times too, and to be honest, my plane's sweet spot seems to be more like 12.5-13.5. However, the RV-14 wing is larger than a stock 6, and mine is clipped like a Rocket, so I would think the 14 would do well at 15.5-17.5. Not sure about higher, as HP/Thrust and Weight start to become factors...as you know from experience. I would think you could get a good comfort margin for Mountain West X-C flights (I'm in Reno...I know what you mean).

Cheers,
Bob

[deek]

Thanks Bob! I'll reach out to Joe and see what he says. If I could cruise at 17.5 at high fuel load I'd be a happy camper; it's rare I go higher as the Mrs gets cold.

[JoeBlank]

Hi Deek,

The short answer... Yup it'll go there and has plenty of power to spare. Of course a lot of it depends on how it's loaded and what the empty weight is to begin with. The prototype -14 (like all of Vans protos) is on the light side with only a painted interior and basic day/night VFR panel. Most of the luxury items are not installed and left on the ground.

As a data point, I ferried the -14 to S&F with Van's guy Sterling. On the leg from Santa Fe NM to Dallas TX, we easily cruised at 15.5K (on O2) for most of it. Cooler temps, smooth ride, and good tailwinds made it an easy decision. I'm ~180 lbs and Sterling is probably 250 lbs or so. We had about 60-70 lbs of baggage and full fuel when we launched out of KSAF. The DA was 8500-9000' at SAF and the climb rates were reasonable all of the way to altitude. We could have gone up to 17.5K but wouldn't have gotten much additional tailwind advantage. Even at 15.5 the aircraft seemed to stay up on the 'step' nicely without any tail sag. Since the HS is similar to the RV-9/9A it should handle altitude much the same. IMHO the -9/10/14 are the better high altitude performers.

Anyway, give me a call at work if you want to chat about it some more...

[deek]

Thanks Joe! The 14 will be homebuit #4 for me; I've already built an award winning "pig" and have learned to add lightness I will be fanatical about weight and avoid heavy upholstery, paint and systems.

Thank you for your offer to talk; I'll call you this week.

deek