highflight42x
Well Known Member
Think about building costs:
You'll need an 0-360 + CS to get all the performance out of an -8. An RV3 will fly fabulously on a O-320 + FP, at probably half the cost.
200lb pilot + parachute + gas = you're probably overgross in a -3 for aerobatics.
Oh my gosh, working on an RV3 engine in the accessory case area means scraped, twisted bloody knuckles! There is very little room back there. Want a spin-on oil filter and a CS prop on a -3? Shoehorn 'em in there! (why oh why didn't Van design the tail a little longer on the -3 and put the engine out a little further??)
You'll climb out at 2500fpm in your -3 with an 0-320 and Catto FP. And you'll burn 6gph for a local hop, 7gph for an XC cruise at 160kts.
Think about maintenance. For a thousand operating hours you gotta:
- change oil & filter 2-3 times a year
- clean, gap, ohm-check the plugs every 30 hours or so
- borescope the cylinders
- replace brake pads (6 times), o-rings, disks
- replace tires, tubes (four sets of tires)
- pack wheel bearings (six times)
- do annuals
- re-torque the FP prop
- fix leaking pushrod seals
- fix leaking valve covers
- fix leaking carb accel pump
- fix/replace voltage regulator
- replace battery (three times)
- replace altimeter (twice)
- replace the starter
- replace the alternator belt (twice)
- replace all oil and gas hoses (twice)
- repair oil temp sender (twice)
- replace oil temp vernatherm
- clean oil pressure relief valve
- yank the mags every 500 hrs
- test mag timing and cylinder compression every year
- clean gas filter, air filter
- check/ream valve guides every 400 hours (Lyc SB 388)
- check engine and accessory AD's
- fix cracks in heat muffs
- fix cracks/leaks in cooling baffles
- replace worn scat tubing
- replace worn brake lines
- install the latest (prop, EFIS, LED lights, lightweight starter, GPS gadget, etc)
- fix fuel tank leak(s)
- replace o-rings on (fuel caps, primer pumps, fuel valves, master cylinders, etc)
- replace radio
- mode-C transponder check every two years
- have I forgotten anything??
Now, do you really want to also have to maintain an ELT, an autopilot, a CS prop, an IFR panel, two acro parachutes, two radio headsets and an ICS? (and thank heaven RV's aren't retractable!)
We all have to install ADS-B soon. Does a -3 have enough panel space for an EFIS, XM weather and ADS-B-in?
Think about that biannual flight review: If you own a -3, you'll have to rent a 172 every two years (with an -8, the CFI will pay you to go up ... or so I've heard)
Think about operating costs: How much does a hanger cost? You can shoe-horn a -3 into a hanger with someone else easier because it's smaller. Full hull insurance on an -8 is what, $1500, $2000/yr? (liability-only for a -3 is $250/yr).
Think about gas. 100LL is going away. What will be around for those 180+hp high-compression IO-360's four years from now? (use no-ethanol mogas for your RV3 0-320 with 7:1 pistons, yep)
Think about passengers. Do you want to expose friends & family to the hazards of your high-performance RV? (400+ accidents and 200+ fatalities over the years - yeah, go add up the NTSB reports on RV accidents). Lots of folks maintain their airplanes to near perfection and fly passengers safely. Can you? Or would your wife/gf/best pal be just as happy sitting next to you in a benign rented 172?
Finally, I built my -3 over a seven year period when I was also doing my flight training. The -3 fits my mission perfectly, but I just got lucky on that. After a thousand hours, I've probably put in as much time maintaining the plane as I spent building it! Ah, to be an RV aviator!
- Steven
(1000+ RV3 hours ... another one day before yesterday!)
You'll need an 0-360 + CS to get all the performance out of an -8. An RV3 will fly fabulously on a O-320 + FP, at probably half the cost.
200lb pilot + parachute + gas = you're probably overgross in a -3 for aerobatics.
Oh my gosh, working on an RV3 engine in the accessory case area means scraped, twisted bloody knuckles! There is very little room back there. Want a spin-on oil filter and a CS prop on a -3? Shoehorn 'em in there! (why oh why didn't Van design the tail a little longer on the -3 and put the engine out a little further??)
You'll climb out at 2500fpm in your -3 with an 0-320 and Catto FP. And you'll burn 6gph for a local hop, 7gph for an XC cruise at 160kts.
Think about maintenance. For a thousand operating hours you gotta:
- change oil & filter 2-3 times a year
- clean, gap, ohm-check the plugs every 30 hours or so
- borescope the cylinders
- replace brake pads (6 times), o-rings, disks
- replace tires, tubes (four sets of tires)
- pack wheel bearings (six times)
- do annuals
- re-torque the FP prop
- fix leaking pushrod seals
- fix leaking valve covers
- fix leaking carb accel pump
- fix/replace voltage regulator
- replace battery (three times)
- replace altimeter (twice)
- replace the starter
- replace the alternator belt (twice)
- replace all oil and gas hoses (twice)
- repair oil temp sender (twice)
- replace oil temp vernatherm
- clean oil pressure relief valve
- yank the mags every 500 hrs
- test mag timing and cylinder compression every year
- clean gas filter, air filter
- check/ream valve guides every 400 hours (Lyc SB 388)
- check engine and accessory AD's
- fix cracks in heat muffs
- fix cracks/leaks in cooling baffles
- replace worn scat tubing
- replace worn brake lines
- install the latest (prop, EFIS, LED lights, lightweight starter, GPS gadget, etc)
- fix fuel tank leak(s)
- replace o-rings on (fuel caps, primer pumps, fuel valves, master cylinders, etc)
- replace radio
- mode-C transponder check every two years
- have I forgotten anything??
Now, do you really want to also have to maintain an ELT, an autopilot, a CS prop, an IFR panel, two acro parachutes, two radio headsets and an ICS? (and thank heaven RV's aren't retractable!)
We all have to install ADS-B soon. Does a -3 have enough panel space for an EFIS, XM weather and ADS-B-in?
Think about that biannual flight review: If you own a -3, you'll have to rent a 172 every two years (with an -8, the CFI will pay you to go up ... or so I've heard)
Think about operating costs: How much does a hanger cost? You can shoe-horn a -3 into a hanger with someone else easier because it's smaller. Full hull insurance on an -8 is what, $1500, $2000/yr? (liability-only for a -3 is $250/yr).
Think about gas. 100LL is going away. What will be around for those 180+hp high-compression IO-360's four years from now? (use no-ethanol mogas for your RV3 0-320 with 7:1 pistons, yep)
Think about passengers. Do you want to expose friends & family to the hazards of your high-performance RV? (400+ accidents and 200+ fatalities over the years - yeah, go add up the NTSB reports on RV accidents). Lots of folks maintain their airplanes to near perfection and fly passengers safely. Can you? Or would your wife/gf/best pal be just as happy sitting next to you in a benign rented 172?
Finally, I built my -3 over a seven year period when I was also doing my flight training. The -3 fits my mission perfectly, but I just got lucky on that. After a thousand hours, I've probably put in as much time maintaining the plane as I spent building it! Ah, to be an RV aviator!
- Steven
(1000+ RV3 hours ... another one day before yesterday!)