On 9/7/7 Ross (Scorch) Burgess and I flew over to Hicks (T67) from NW Regional (52F) at the invitation of Jay Pratt of RV Central (www.RVCentral.us) to take his recently-out-of-Phase-1 RV-8 up for a flight. He?s been asking us for weeks <g>. Both Ross and I have RV-8 time, me in Danny King?s ?Beautiful Doll? and Ross in the -8 owned by Bob Stack and Bill Goekin.
After a cockpit checkout from Jay, Ross took the plane up for about 15 minutes. After he landed I took it up for about the same.
Some impressions compared to my -6 ?Flash?:
Video clip of our flights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcnGW7kuLjk
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vansairforce.net%2Fimages%2FJayRV-8%2Fthumb.jpg&hash=67ffd69b7c1dba737b3a198d6fe3e2c3)
In the clip note the rate of roll ? 90* left/right is magnificent.
Jay?s RV-8 is a honest, very forgiving RV that is a joy to fly. About ten minutes into the flight, after a few flap up / flap down stalls, I put the camera up on the dash and got a horrible pic of me. That pocket camera is hard to use on the dash pointed backwards while you?re scanning for traffic, and the picture doesn?t take instantaneously, so you don?t know when to smile. That?s why I look like a dork. Yeah, that?s the reason?
Thank you again, Jay. You can fly Flash anytime you need.
As always, Scorch, Jay, Danny (and all) are invited to jump in with comments.
b,
dr
Pictures:
Ross
Ross
Dorky picture of me...
The cockpit.
Note: A larger version of the cockpit picture can be viewed HERE.
After a cockpit checkout from Jay, Ross took the plane up for about 15 minutes. After he landed I took it up for about the same.
Some impressions compared to my -6 ?Flash?:
- The RV-8 rolls better than the (or at least my) RV-6. The first thing I wanted to do after taking off was get it upside down ? this plane doesn?t feel ?right? level. The response to roll input is magical.
- The field of view is really, really sweet. Being able to look over the right side (compared to my -6) is appreciated. Looking over the left side, however, the RV-12 still wins in the field of view category. Thanks again, Gus, for that -12 demo flight!!!
- In pitch, it?s heavy. This is due to two things, I?m told: nobody in the back (obviously) and Jay is using a lightweight battery. It wasn?t uncomfortably heavy, simply heavier than what I?m accustomed to in my -6. It took more stick force to pull positive G than it did to roll.
- The throttle response throughout its range was perfect. Jay has this airplane set up absolutely perfect (180 C/S carb). I found myself resting the left side of my hand on the Dayton Murdock throttle quad and bumping the power up with the palm of my hand. Ross and I talked after our flights and both said we did the same thing.
- The stick was a lot more complex than mine (one button: PTT). Most of the pre-flight briefing was on the operation of the stick. There were buttons for starting the aircraft (arm switch on side panel), booster pump (same), trim coolly hat, flaps, PTT, autopilot disconnect, etc.
- (on the ground) The tailwheel sensitivity was greater than my -6. Not uncomfortable, but more sensitive. Field of view while taxiing was really quite good.
Video clip of our flights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcnGW7kuLjk
![](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vansairforce.net%2Fimages%2FJayRV-8%2Fthumb.jpg&hash=67ffd69b7c1dba737b3a198d6fe3e2c3)
In the clip note the rate of roll ? 90* left/right is magnificent.
Jay?s RV-8 is a honest, very forgiving RV that is a joy to fly. About ten minutes into the flight, after a few flap up / flap down stalls, I put the camera up on the dash and got a horrible pic of me. That pocket camera is hard to use on the dash pointed backwards while you?re scanning for traffic, and the picture doesn?t take instantaneously, so you don?t know when to smile. That?s why I look like a dork. Yeah, that?s the reason?
Thank you again, Jay. You can fly Flash anytime you need.
As always, Scorch, Jay, Danny (and all) are invited to jump in with comments.
b,
dr
Pictures:
![IMG_0997.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vansairforce.net%2Fimages%2FJayRV-8%2FIMG_0997.jpg&hash=039cb0cf5198e8d8a549404dc4217c47)
Ross
![IMG_0998.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vansairforce.net%2Fimages%2FJayRV-8%2FIMG_0998.jpg&hash=33765bbbff5dde4fd7f48990d4e63162)
Ross
![IMG_1004.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vansairforce.net%2Fimages%2FJayRV-8%2FIMG_1004.jpg&hash=7907ad5b36a30ef4ca49f698b33ce133)
Dorky picture of me...
![IMG_1006.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vansairforce.net%2Fimages%2FJayRV-8%2FIMG_1006.jpg&hash=b35e4691ac13d37bcfce7dddf320c54e)
The cockpit.
Note: A larger version of the cockpit picture can be viewed HERE.
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