Jeff Vaughan

Jeff Vaughan

Well Known Member
My seven year quick build RV7A project took to the air on Thursday piloted by my hired gun test pilot Noel Simmons of Blue Sky Aviation. http://www.blueskyaviation.net/. I found Noel here on this site. It was fantastic to see my creation take flight on a perfect cloudless, windless fall day.

The first flight was .3 hrs. Noel reported that all went as planned and the plane flew like an RV should. There is a very slight left heavy wing. We de-cowled and found that the alternator pulley was rubbing on the lower cowl. A quick trip to the avaition deptatment at our local automotive store for a shorter belt solved this issue. A second flight of 50 min. was flown. De-cowled and found a slight fuel leak. Fitting tightend and we called it a day.

Boy was I spent after all the excitement and I did not even fly. It was an emotional time for me. I was very nervous watching the first flight even though I knew I had done a very good job on the aircraft.
 
My first Flight N561EV

Friday was my turn. I logged two hour long flights. It flew just as I had learned RVs fly during my transition training with Pierre Smith last week. Transition training is highly recommended. I was a 560 hour C-172 pilot. RVs fly very different than C-172s. What a great feeling to fly the plane you built.

I am so looking forward to breaking the engine in and becomming one with my 7A.

My wife requested a test pilot early on in the project. I am very glad I used Noel Simmons from Blue Sky Aviation. He did a very thourough inspection and found a few squawks that my DAR and I missed. He even found my center punch I had been looking for for two years!! Noel gave me alot of information regarding on going maintenance as well as tips for my phase one flying. Should you be thinking about a test pilot I highly recommend Noel.

Lets hope this Mid-Atlantic storm passes quickly so I can get back to flying off my 40 hours.
 
Wow, congratulations Jeff.

Where was the center punch hiding? I've wondered if anyone has ever found clecos (installed or otherwise) in a flying RV.
 
first flight!

Hey, that's great news jeff!!

Seven years...what a great hobby! It's about the journey as well as the ultimate outcome:)
And we won't even talk about the learning curve. Congatulations jeff! Really, you deserve it!
Exciting times!
 
Jeff Vaughan said:
Boy was I spent after all the excitement and I did not even fly. It was an emotional time for me. I was very nervous watching the first flight even though I knew I had done a very good job on the aircraft.
Click to expand...

A very compelling reason to hire someone to do the first flight. Their mind is 100% on flying the airplane. Zero thoughts of "the last 7 years". You are a wise builder.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Congrats.
 
Jeff Vaughan said:
The first flight was .3 hrs. Noel reported that all went as planned and the plane flew like an RV should. There is a very slight left heavy wing.
Click to expand...

Getting back to the heavy wing threads..... :)

My 6A had a heavy right wing. It has the aileron mounted trim tab with a servo. They use to do it this way. With the tab fully up, it would just barely keep the plane level, and still required just a bit of stick deflection. However, with or without trim, the stick pressure required was very light.

When the plane was in level flight, I always noticed that the ailerons, flaps, and wing tips were in perfect trail. Yet, if I let go of the stick, the left aileron would go slightly down, while of course, the right moves slightly up.

I installed the wheel pants, and nothing changed. I even thought about taping on a temporary wedge under the left aileron. When looking at the wedge idea, I noticed that the folded trailing edge of the left aileron had a slightly larger radius than the right aileron, even though the skin surfaces were flat. We're talking perhaps 1/16" or less.

And as I've read before, you squeeze the opposite aileron of the heavy wing. So that's exactly what I did. I ran the hand seamers about one half the length of the aileron (the one with the larger radius) for a test trial. It worked perfect! Now I can just "blip" the aileron roll button on my joystick, and the plane easily banks in either direction. The fix only takes less than a minute!

What I think is important here.............is looking at what the ailerons do when stick pressure is removed. And then seeing what the plane is doing when the ailerons are in perfect trail, as well as being mounted correctly on the wing. In my case, the difference in trailing edge radius, obviously was making the ailerons "fly" a bit different.

Note: the folded aileron edges are different than 9's and ( I believe) 10's.

L.Adamson --- RV6A
 
Jeff Vaughan said:
My wife requested a test pilot early on in the project.
Click to expand...

My wife figured; that if I had already spent 12 years building the plane; that I should test fly it, even if it took a bit more of transition time. I had been flying 9A's off and on for the past four years, which is at least closer to the 6A than 172's... :)

I did need to get back into the swing of conversing with ATC in Class B airspace as well as flying the plane; as I got a bit lacking in the last few years. Ended up cramming a lot more time in the 9A, and did my BFR in it as well. It all went good at a towered airport.

I knew that the 6A would be a little "twitchier" on the controls than the 9A, but I had flown years of R/C with short 2" control sticks, as well as an aerobatic course in a Pitt's S2B back in the 90's. Besides, I had a little over two hours in 6A's too, and about the same in a Marchetti SF260.

The night before the "test flight", I did have "butterfly's". Even my blood pressure was "up" early that morning.

Yet, after one high speed taxi, just to make sure the airplane tracked properly down the runway; I was relaxed, taxied back around and took off. I believe at that point, that my concentraton was totally on the airplane. The "butterfly's" were gone too.

IMO (at least for me), the 6A is no harder to fly than the 9A. It's more manuverable and you can feel it; however, I have yet to over control. It's landing speeds are also about 10 mph higher than the 9. I use kias and the 9 used mph, so the numbers are about the same. Since I haven't looked at "7" specs, I suppose they're more in line with the six than the nine???

I must admit, that I got very close to having a test pilot, since several friends have high R/V time; and I really wanted to see it fly! But they need to be listed on the insurance policy too. Never the less, either way, the plane gets flown; and seeing your creation fly...............is good for about two solid weeks of the RV grin!:D

L.Adamson --- RV6A / 0360/CS prop
 
Congratulations Jeff.....

It's quite an accomplishment to be able to stay focused over a seven year period. Enjoy your phase one testing and if you have an opportunity to stop by Deck (9D4) in Myerstown, we can compare the flight handling characteristics of our 7As

Gary Slatt
N438GS RV-7A 103Hrs
Deck (9D4), Myerstown, PA
 
You must log in or register to reply here.