Any pilots or Mechanics in North Georgia with RV experience

[flyguy74]

Hey fellow pilots! I'm new to the Vans world, I don't own an RV but am going to be in the market for my first airplane and I have many questions to be answered. The main one I have is are there any mechanics in Georgia that can do annuals on an RV6 or RV7?

Maybe I should also ask if an RV would be a good first plane for a new pilot with 130+ hours? I know that a Cessna is always a safe bet but I would really like to have an RV6A or 7A. Are they a stable aircraft? I got into flying with the ultimate goal of having fun and to get into aerobatic flying, eventually. Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[Sid Lambert]

There are a few good RV A&P's in the North GA area. I would cross that bridge when I got to it.

I had 160 hours when I started flying the -4. A 130 is not too far off. If your goal is only to learn aerobatics consider a dedicated aerobat. RV's seem to do most things well but can scare you and possible damage the aircraft if you do them wrong.

 

[edweeks]

An RV for a low-time pilot?

?Would an RV be a good first plane for new pilot with 130+ hours??

I?ll tell you my story. I had about 200 hours, accumulated 20 years earlier. Thinking about getting back into flying, I took a couple of refresher lessons in a C-172. I rediscovered the joy of flying but I also noticed something else. At my little airport, the folks who seemed to fly a lot, both for the pure joy of it and for going places, had one thing in common: they flew RV?s.

Smart people told me that the most practical airplane for me was a C-182 and I looked at a couple. The nicest one I looked at, in fact, was being sold by a pilot who was finishing up building an RV7. I found the 182s, in a word, boring.

After getting a little bit of stick time, I decided to buy an flying RV7-A. I?m a cautious guy. I took 10 hours of dual in my plane before I carried passengers and a bit later took about 4 hours of aerobatic training, even though I don?t expect to do a lot of aerobatic flying. I wanted to thoroughly understand the behavior of the airplane. I now have about 250 hours in my RV and it is a constant source of joy ? fun to fly around the patch, fun and practical for the shorter ?food flights,? and practical for longer cross country flights.

My only caution is to get the training you need. The RV is an ?honest? airplane. It won?t fool or surprise you. It does what you ask of it. I have heard others (mostly people without RV experience) describe the airplane as ?twitchy.? A more accurate term is ?sensitive??it won?t do something unexpected or not commanded, but it will respond easily to your control inputs. Also, appreciate that, compared to a C-172 and similar aircraft, things happen a little faster, especially in the pattern. You will want to maintain your currency so that you do not fall behind the airplane. Finally, if you acquire a fixed-pitch aircraft, recognize that you need to anticipate the need to reduce your airspeed in advance. RVs are fairly slick and, without a constant speed prop to help out, they take a little time and attention to slow down.

So, my advice is to get a little stick time in an RV. If it puts a grin on your face and if your are willing to put in a little extra training, go for it. In my limited experience, there are a lot of 172s and PA-28s, etc. gathering dust in hangars while the RV?s are out doing what they were designed to do.

Sorry for the long reply.

Ed

 

[flyguy74]

Thanks for the replies. No need to be sorry Ed! That was a great response. I totally agree that the 182's (and 172's) are boring!! And yes, I have heard other non-RV pilots tell me the RV's were great a airplane but they were too fast(for a low time pilot) and they were squirrelly. I wanted to ask around and hear it from the guys that are out there flying (and enjoying) their RV's.

To me, RV's are just beautiful aircraft...and for the price they seem to be unbeatable!

Another question, how tough is the transition from a C172 to an RV-6A/7A?? I flew in a Cap 10 when I had only 30 hours or so and I really enjoyed the "stick" control. Mind you, I was not PIC and he only let me take the controls in the air but it was a great experience.

 

[edweeks]

transition from 172 to RV

This may be counter intuitive but the transition might have been easier for me because I had so little recent 172 experience. I wasn't transitioning from flying a slower, comfortable, and, well, sluggish airplane to something that was faster and more nimble. The only thing I really had to concentrate on at first was keeping the nose wheel off the ground (the nose wheel in -A type RVs is really only for taxiing).

I suspect that there might be some "unlearning" (or maybe "recalibrating" is the word) as well as learning in making the transition from being current in a 172 to an RV. The good news is, it is all fun. Another good thing is, as the earlier poster commented, if you shop wisely you get much more value for your money when you buy an RV compared to a 172/182/PA-28, etc.

Ed

 

[pierre smith]

Hi Jody....

...My -6A is for sale but I've trained almost a hundred RV'ers who had from 70 to 700 hours. The sensitivity and lightning quick response is what surprises most of them initially. It doesn't take long to realize that in all but the -10, you only need to gently squeeze the stick to get immediate response.

I encourage them to "caress" the controls as you would your lover, for the best response

The best,

 

[JDRhodes]

We're just west of Cartersville. We have 2 RV's (-7 and a -9) on a private strip in Taylorsville. Come on over on any nice weekend and check them out. There are several -4s and -8s nearby as well (Sid posted above). You should be able to sample almost the full Vans lineup.

I'll think you'll like what you see.

Jeff