F

fstringham7a

Well Known Member
RE: First Flight Decisions

In preparation for updating my insurance and first flight I did a search of the forums and found some great advice and information.

One thread really jumped out at me as it was one of mine

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=30503&highlight=landing+rv7a

a year plus ago when I thought my first flight was just around the corner May 2008).....YA RIGHT...Isn't it interesting how time flies by when you are enjoying yourself. But I digress.

In anticipation of the first flight I needed to change my insurance from a non motion policy to a motion policy and I made the big decision that Mel posed to me a year ago in the above mention thread....Mel thanks for the POINTED ADVICE.

"My strongest recommendation is to let some one with more RV experience do the first flight. At the VERY least, spend some time with an EAA flight advisor. You've got way too much invested to take chances on the first flight."
__________________
Mel Asberry..DAR
n168tx(at)flytx.net
A&P/EAA Tech Counselor/Flight Advisor
Specializing in Amateur-Built and Light-Sport Aircraft
Dallas area
RV-6 Flying since 1993
175hp O-320, 3-Blade Catto

The first flight will be made by a seasoned pilot with RV7A plus flying experience.

I will do all the necessary steps to prepare myself for MY first flight in the plane I built.

I have also checked out the threads on insurance and I can't believe all the variables in style, type, amount, expectations..............$$$$$$$$$$$.

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=44151&highlight=insurance

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=44190&highlight=insurance

I have a non motion policy with Skysmith that have been great to work with. I have called them and await their response so we can get this flying show in the air!!!!!!

I have really enjoyed the build but REALLY enjoyed the advice, help, and information the Vansairforce group provides......

So lets get on with and fly that plane!!!!!:D

Frank RV7A @1L8 ...RV7A... getting rady for flight ONE
 
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Frank-
If you haven't done so already, you should make up a set of test flight cards so that you are methodical in your approach to the first few flights in terms of what you are trying to accomplish with each. I know Wally Anderson and the EAA were working on a set a few years ago, but I haven't heard whether or not a final set has been published. There have been a few different versions that have popped up here on the forums from time to time.
Congrats on your airworthiness and good luck in the next few weeks!
 
Make it perfect, inspect it over and over again.

I'm anything but reckless but I was unable to get insurance on my 9A for first flight. Initially, the ins comp said get two hours of trans training which I did. Then, weeks later after waiting for the underwriter, they claimed I needed 5 hours.

Being the impatient old man that I am, I waited for a wind free day. ATC cleared the adjoining runway(s) in case I wanted to come back in a hurry, I made sure I had a good nite's sleep & lots of coffee in me, and went out and flew it.

Like all 9As that are properly built and intensively inspected, it flew perfectly but as luck would have it, the weather turned and it started to drizzle so I landed it after 15 minutes rather than add risk a wet runway.

After numerous phone calls and 5 hours MORE of flying the plane in big circles, the insurance company finally agreed to cover me and the airplane. I'm not suggesting that you follow my example, but having experts inspect the plane made me comfortable it would do what VAN designed it to do. Fortunately, one of my friends & tech counselor is THE most nit picky expert builders on the planet. Quite literally, we invited people to inspect anything and everything till it was perfect.

What a thrilling day & 15 minutes that was. When I got back to the hangar I called the wife and said: "Guess what I just did"?

Inspect it till you're certain you've done all you can do. Then check it one more time. Best of luck.
 
First Flight

Watching a first flight is good. I watched the first flight of the first F4H Phantom II (later redesignated F-4) from Lambert Field in late 50s. Even thought I was working on the F-101 Voodoo or Mercury at the time, it was memorable. After several thousand F-4s made their first flights in St. Louis they were less so.

In addition to what has already been said about the first flight of you RV-7A I add:

- Recheck your nosegear pivot breakout force compliance with the requirement as it will probably have deminished since the initial installation and the results can be severe on landing.

- Ground run the engine briefly before the first flight check for proper operation, function of controls, pressures then shut it down and thoroughly inspect for leaks especially and other discrepancies. Formally document the discrepancies and work them to documented closure before your first flight.

- Test your brakes to make sure they are both working and are connected correctly (especially important in an "A" model).

- Inspect flight controls for proper function, hardware installation, freedom of motion and full range of motion.

- Make sure the center of gravity is well within the acceptable range.

- In your perflight checks if anything doesn't seem right cancel the flight.

- The first flight needs can be satisfied by one takoff, flight around the pattern and landing followed by a removal of the cowl and wheel fairings especially and a thorough inspection. No flight test cards needed for this one but all flight squawks and post flight inspection discrepancies should be formally documented and worked to documented closure in your discrepancy reporting system.

Bob Axsom
 
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I have never built an airplane so I can't speak to the personal attachment you have with the beast, but if you plan to fly it yourself, and I can understand the strong desire to do that, then you have to come to terms with the fact that it is just a pile of recycled beer cans and you will run it through the process again without a second thought to save your skin..... If you have any of those "save the airplane" thoughts then let someone else do it. (this applies to all flights, not just the first one, but I think it is stronger on the first flight)

A local -6 builder was getting ready and I was helping him prepare to fly his airplane. We talked about all these things. He had the skill and was capable of flying it. I was not pushing him away from doing it at all, but he came to the conclusion on his own that he was not the best person to fly it. He asked me to fly it, and just as I was clearing the runway on the first flight, a fuel injector nozzle plugged and it dropped a cylinder. It was running on 3 so I continued around the pattern and landed.... It wasn't a big deal at all.

We cleaned it, looked everything else over again, and we were flying again in 30 minutes. He was really wound up before I took off, and when it was running like **** on downwind, he got really excited.... He was really happy that he asked someone else to fly it. He flew it the next morning and did great....

As many have pointed out here, the RV is a well designed airplane and with a proper inspection it should not be a big event at all, but there are still too many first flight accidents.... Why?

Many first flight problems are small ones, but people make them into big ones because they are too emotionally invested in the event to make good decisions.... The decision of who makes the first flight is a personal one, but in most cases the builder is not the best candidate to be the test pilot.

Tailwinds,
Doug Rozendaal
 
I never though of that

B25Flyer said:
I have never built an airplane so I can't speak to the personal attachment you have with the beast, but if you plan to fly it yourself, and I can understand the strong desire to do that, then you have to come to terms with the fact that it is just a pile of recycled beer cans and you will run it through the process again without a second thought to save your skin..... If you have any of those "save the airplane" thoughts then let someone else do it. (this applies to all flights, not just the first one, but I think it is stronger on the first flight)

A local -6 builder was getting ready and I was helping him prepare to fly his airplane. We talked about all these things. He had the skill and was capable of flying it. I was not pushing him away from doing it at all, but he came to the conclusion on his own that he was not the best person to fly it. He asked me to fly it, and just as I was clearing the runway on the first flight, a fuel injector nozzle plugged and it dropped a cylinder. It was running on 3 so I continued around the pattern and landed.... It wasn't a big deal at all.

We cleaned it, looked everything else over again, and we were flying again in 30 minutes. He was really wound up before I took off, and when it was running like **** on downwind, he got really excited.... He was really happy that he asked someone else to fly it. He flew it the next morning and did great....

As many have pointed out here, the RV is a well designed airplane and with a proper inspection it should not be a big event at all, but there are still too many first flight accidents.... Why?

Many first flight problems are small ones, but people make them into big ones because they are too emotionally invested in the event to make good decisions.... The decision of who makes the first flight is a personal one, but in most cases the builder is not the best candidate to be the test pilot.

Tailwinds,
Doug Rozendaal
Click to expand...

I took me 8 years to finish our RV-6A but I never thought about the plane above self preservation on my first flight. When I opened the throttle and released the brakes the plane started a a good run down 26R at Chino in California. Everything seemed normal (I had a transition session with mike Seager a few months before and I was flying our Archer to work every day). When it was running good down the runway and it felt right (probably around 60 kts) I pulled back on the stick to lift the nose off of the runway (now I lift the nosegear off of the runway as soon as it will come off). There was a magic instant when the wheels left the runway that I realized the transformation into an operational airplane. I flew straight ahead in the climb for a short time (to 100 ft AGL or so) to make sure the flight was sustainable and controllable then banked into a climbing crosswind turn to get to an altitude with options close to the runway. At pattern altitude I flew the down wind leg, lowered the flaps and turned a close in curving base to end up on short final ready to land if anything failed that still left me with control. The landing was a normal one and I taxied back to the hangar for the post flight inspection. At no time did I think about saving the plane because of all of the work and time that went into it - I wanted the plane to survive undamaged if operations were normal but not at an increased risk to my survival. Never would I have considered pulling back on the stick to prolong the flight at the cost of airspeed with a margin over stall. I recognize since reading your post that others might feel exactly the way you describe about saving their creation above all other considerations - a very bad idea.

Bob Axsom
 
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