First Flight: Eddie Avila’s RV-9 | St. Johns, Arizona. RV-9 #90448

[DeltaRomeo]

Eddie Avila's RV-9 - Van's Aircraft Total Performance RV Kit Planes

Eddie Avila’s RV-9 flew for the first time. Here’s more: I might hold the record for longest build, lasting around 26 years. Life got in the way many times but I persevered. My sweet 9 took to the air and flies beautifully. The wing is amazing and plenty rudder, low time tailwheel pilot and it...

www.vansaircraft.com

 

[RyanWhite]

Congrats!!!

 

[eavila1]

Congrats!!!

Thank Ryan and thanks for posting Doug. Vans has my first takeoff and landing on their social media going. I'd post here but couldn't figure out how to get the MP4 to work.

Fun airplane and flies great. The pilot is definitely the limiting factor. Looking forward to traveling all over the place and using to see family.

 

[MikeinPhoenix]

Thank Ryan and thanks for posting Doug. Vans has my first takeoff and landing on their social media going. I'd post here but couldn't figure out how to get the MP4 to work.

Fun airplane and flies great. The pilot is definitely the limiting factor. Looking forward to traveling all over the place and using to see family.

Congrats Eddie. Always nice to add another RV-9 to the Arizona inventory!

 

[Kiwifly]

Congratulations! the 9 is a great choice.

 

[dgarrelt63303]

Congratulations on getting another RV-9 in the air. Enjoy the Flight Tests, and getting the feel of a great design.

Makes me feel a little better about my 16 year build

 

[Dugaru]

Congratulations!! The -9 looks sooooo good as a taildragger. The proportions are just perfect.

We’re 26+ years on our Zenith 801 project. The journey IS the destination.

 

[eavila1]

Thank you all. Early morning flight today. Pic is on climb out. EAA Card #4 pitot static test done today. No leg fairings or pants yet and all I can say is wow, this is going to be a fun and good traveling bird. 4 landings....3 pretty good and 1 bouncer shoved throttle back in to go around for one more. Experimenting with pattern speeds. 70knts feels good, 60 not bad but a little more sink. 60 for sure over numbers then stick back and keep it...back a little more and keep it (no fishing for runway - Seager spanked me on that). Lands really slow.

 

[Dugaru]

1 bouncer shoved throttle back in to go around for one more.

This is the way. Some planes have ejection seats to get you out of trouble, the 9 has the throttle.

 

[DennisRhodes]

Congratulations on completing and flying the 9. The 9 is also my favorite. Mine is fixed pitch 0320 160HP . The hardest thing to get right is to get it to slow down enough to land, once you get that figured out it will land itself. I have been operating off a 2000 ft turf with a house at the end since its first flight in 2008 . You will have a lot of fun with that 9 . There's just not that many of them out there.

 

[eavila1]

Congratulations on completing and flying the 9. The 9 is also my favorite. Mine is fixed pitch 0320 160HP . The hardest thing to get right is to get it to slow down enough to land, once you get that figured out it will land itself. I have been operating off a 2000 ft turf with a house at the end since its first flight in 2008 . You will have a lot of fun with that 9 . There's just not that many of them out there.

Thx Dennis. You got that right about slowing down, mine is FP as well with IO360 GA Sensenich prop. Love this wing. I read an article the other day about Jon Roncz and how he would give fun nicknames to many of his airfoil designs.....many for Burt Rutan in the Mojave desert.

Now I need to paint it. had all intentions of having it painted before Airworthiness but surprise surprise that didn't happen. Now its going to be torture to force myself down time to paint. But I have it all ready to go scheme and everything. Fly through summer and paint early Fall

 

[eavila1]

Congratulations! the 9 is a great choice.

love your paint scheme kiwifly. Sharp and unique

 

[Dugaru]

But I have it all ready to go scheme and everything.

Let’s see the scheme!

 

[eavila1]

Let’s see the scheme!

its top secret Doug. Only when I roll it out of the hangar. It's like dating again in my early 50's ......mystery is a good thing Plus it might change after I spray the colors and see them together

 

[DennisRhodes]

Thx Dennis. You got that right about slowing down, mine is FP as well with IO360 GA Sensenich prop. Love this wing. I read an article the other day about Jon Roncz and how he would give fun nicknames to many of his airfoil designs.....many for Burt Rutan in the Mojave desert.

Now I need to paint it. had all intentions of having it painted before Airworthiness but surprise surprise that didn't happen. Now its going to be torture to force myself down time to paint. But I have it all ready to go scheme and everything. Fly through summer and paint early Fall

My earlier build was a Long EZ in 1980, and at that time Jon Roncz was the source for much of the airfoil wing choice on the Long or at least the canard mod that most builders went with. The rain resistant canard was a product of Roncz. I had already built and flew my Long EZ at the time and just adopted a " stay out of the rain " philosophy. My canard usually had a slight pitched down in the rain or about 30 seconds before getting into rain.

But the Long EZ was no match for what the RV9 could do on turf fields and general utility travels. Was impossible to open a sectional in the pilots seat of a Long EZ!!!-