Questions about buying a flying -6 or -7
Hi everyone - long time lurker, (very) occasional poster... As you can probably tell from my login name, I've been previously leaning towards building a plane from, um, "another kit company" but have recently started considering the option of buying a flying plane instead of building. It's not that I've become disinterested in "the other" brand, but there are just so many more RV's already built that between the availability factor (and, yes, the additional range and XC performance) I've started thinking through what would be involved in buying a flying RV.
I've searched the forums (dozens of times, actually - which has been EXTREMELY helpful, as all of you already know), but I wanted to slap up a new thread with a few additional questions for which I couldn't find direct answers already posted:
1. The *vast* majority of the -6s and -7s I've seen have the engine controls (as standard) installed underneath the center of the panel. What's involved in moving those controls to the left side of the cockpit? I got my tailwheel endorsement in a Luscombe, which also required left hand stick/right hand throttle, so I think I have a fair idea of what that configuration feels like and even though it basically worked, for me it just didn't feel "right." I've read about lots of people making that transition more or less seamlessly, but even after about 12 hours in that Luscombe, I never did feel completely natural flying that way - and if I can get the controls re-oriented like this, that's definitely what I'd prefer.
As far as I can tell, it shouldn't be *enormously* difficult to move the engine controls from under the center of the panel to under the left - and I don't really need a quadrant, I just want right hand stick and left hand throttle & such - but on the other hand, how would I know? (I've never built anything more complicated than Ikea furniture!) And I know I could just fly from the right seat, but (1) I don't think I've seen a single RV panel with flight instruments on the right side, and (2) I'd just rather sit where the pilot is "supposed" to sit! ;-)
So, questions: has anyone made this change in an already-built -6 or -7? If so, are you satisfied with the outcome? Since I'm not a builder, I'd probably want to ask the builder I'd be buying from to handle this (or an A/P I guess), does that make sense? What about flaps - if they're not on the stick, how bad would it be to either reach across for them or dance my hands around to reconfig for a go-around? (Not ideal, at best, but is this a deal-breaker?) If electric, I guess I could also have the switch moved to the left side of the panel?
2. Obviously, without the repairman's certificate, I'll need an A/P to do the annual (is it still a "condition inspection" if an outside A/P does it?) I'd love to hear from anyone who is operating this way - does your A/P understand RV's? I realize flush riveted, monocoque construction with a good ol' 320 or 360 is a lot less exotic than many other types, but is it a mistake to think I could count on a typical A/P to keep an RV safe and in the air without having to bill me for hours and hours of learning curve? (Or, better yet, does anyone know of a good A/P in the DC area who's already way out on the end of that learning curve?)
3. Are there operational differences between the -6 and the -7? I'm not looking for anything particularly fancy, I guess I'd *like* a CS prop (and would prefer a tip-up to a slider), but other than wanting a taildragger with left hand engine controls, I'm ready to be flexible with just about everything else. (Except the engine, I'm not interested in auto-conversions.)
Am I overlooking anything with this approach? Are there safety issues or differences in flight characteristics between the -6 and the -7? The bad news is, I really can't spend more than $70-75K, tops, but the good news is that looks like it could cover a fairly solid -6 or a bone simple VFR -7. If you had that budget, which would you pick? Does it even matter at all? (And p.s., I'm at least three or four months away from actually buying, so while I'm not unwilling to look at any planes like this currently on the market, I'm afraid I wouldn't be bringing my checkbook just yet - just don't want to mislead anyone...)
4. Transition training is a must, obviously, and happily for me my mom lives in Vancouver, WA - which appears to be about a half-hour from Mike Seager's operation in Scappoose, OR. Van's website calls him the dean of RV transition training CFIs, so that endorsement sure looks good enough for me. Any further suggestions for making sure I'm prepared for this? I'm definitely low time (just over 100 hours total) but I started in gliders and added an SEL later, so I'd like to think that with 5/10 hours of transition training, I'd be ready enough to be safe. Yes/no?
That's about all I can think of for now (plus I REALLY need to get back to work!), but MANY thanks in advance to anyone who can supply any additional info on this!!!
Best,
Joe
Hi everyone - long time lurker, (very) occasional poster... As you can probably tell from my login name, I've been previously leaning towards building a plane from, um, "another kit company" but have recently started considering the option of buying a flying plane instead of building. It's not that I've become disinterested in "the other" brand, but there are just so many more RV's already built that between the availability factor (and, yes, the additional range and XC performance) I've started thinking through what would be involved in buying a flying RV.
I've searched the forums (dozens of times, actually - which has been EXTREMELY helpful, as all of you already know), but I wanted to slap up a new thread with a few additional questions for which I couldn't find direct answers already posted:
1. The *vast* majority of the -6s and -7s I've seen have the engine controls (as standard) installed underneath the center of the panel. What's involved in moving those controls to the left side of the cockpit? I got my tailwheel endorsement in a Luscombe, which also required left hand stick/right hand throttle, so I think I have a fair idea of what that configuration feels like and even though it basically worked, for me it just didn't feel "right." I've read about lots of people making that transition more or less seamlessly, but even after about 12 hours in that Luscombe, I never did feel completely natural flying that way - and if I can get the controls re-oriented like this, that's definitely what I'd prefer.
As far as I can tell, it shouldn't be *enormously* difficult to move the engine controls from under the center of the panel to under the left - and I don't really need a quadrant, I just want right hand stick and left hand throttle & such - but on the other hand, how would I know? (I've never built anything more complicated than Ikea furniture!) And I know I could just fly from the right seat, but (1) I don't think I've seen a single RV panel with flight instruments on the right side, and (2) I'd just rather sit where the pilot is "supposed" to sit! ;-)
So, questions: has anyone made this change in an already-built -6 or -7? If so, are you satisfied with the outcome? Since I'm not a builder, I'd probably want to ask the builder I'd be buying from to handle this (or an A/P I guess), does that make sense? What about flaps - if they're not on the stick, how bad would it be to either reach across for them or dance my hands around to reconfig for a go-around? (Not ideal, at best, but is this a deal-breaker?) If electric, I guess I could also have the switch moved to the left side of the panel?
2. Obviously, without the repairman's certificate, I'll need an A/P to do the annual (is it still a "condition inspection" if an outside A/P does it?) I'd love to hear from anyone who is operating this way - does your A/P understand RV's? I realize flush riveted, monocoque construction with a good ol' 320 or 360 is a lot less exotic than many other types, but is it a mistake to think I could count on a typical A/P to keep an RV safe and in the air without having to bill me for hours and hours of learning curve? (Or, better yet, does anyone know of a good A/P in the DC area who's already way out on the end of that learning curve?)
3. Are there operational differences between the -6 and the -7? I'm not looking for anything particularly fancy, I guess I'd *like* a CS prop (and would prefer a tip-up to a slider), but other than wanting a taildragger with left hand engine controls, I'm ready to be flexible with just about everything else. (Except the engine, I'm not interested in auto-conversions.)
Am I overlooking anything with this approach? Are there safety issues or differences in flight characteristics between the -6 and the -7? The bad news is, I really can't spend more than $70-75K, tops, but the good news is that looks like it could cover a fairly solid -6 or a bone simple VFR -7. If you had that budget, which would you pick? Does it even matter at all? (And p.s., I'm at least three or four months away from actually buying, so while I'm not unwilling to look at any planes like this currently on the market, I'm afraid I wouldn't be bringing my checkbook just yet - just don't want to mislead anyone...)
4. Transition training is a must, obviously, and happily for me my mom lives in Vancouver, WA - which appears to be about a half-hour from Mike Seager's operation in Scappoose, OR. Van's website calls him the dean of RV transition training CFIs, so that endorsement sure looks good enough for me. Any further suggestions for making sure I'm prepared for this? I'm definitely low time (just over 100 hours total) but I started in gliders and added an SEL later, so I'd like to think that with 5/10 hours of transition training, I'd be ready enough to be safe. Yes/no?
That's about all I can think of for now (plus I REALLY need to get back to work!), but MANY thanks in advance to anyone who can supply any additional info on this!!!
Best,
Joe
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