Ed_Wischmeyer
Well Known Member
This morning, I made five no-bounce landings in the RV-8, something much harder to do in the -8 than in almost any other plane. On the last one, in a slight crosswind, I rolled each main wheel on, one at a time. But I also did a steep turn at 2.75 Gs, and my back gave a slight warning, in line with what my surgeon said. (I had spinal fusion, L1 ? L5, eleven months ago, and that surgery is highly invasive with a prolonged recovery time). Since the cause is skeletal, not physiological, there?s little hope for G tolerance improvement.
What this means is that my effective G tolerance for flying is about two Gs, plus safety margin. I still get a kick out of landing the -8 well, and there?s still room for improvement in my tailwheel skills on rollout.
I ponder what age (66) and surgery have done, inevitably and predictably, while celebrating the numerous and spectacular opportunities I?ve had in my flying career to date. The RV-9A will have amazing IFR avionics once we get the pre-existing wiring cleaned up and cleaned out, and the -9A will do things that the RV-8 won?t, but the -9A doesn?t give you the visceral satisfaction of the RV-8.
The time will come to sell the gorgeous RV-8, and it?s not here yet. But it is on the horizon.
What this means is that my effective G tolerance for flying is about two Gs, plus safety margin. I still get a kick out of landing the -8 well, and there?s still room for improvement in my tailwheel skills on rollout.
I ponder what age (66) and surgery have done, inevitably and predictably, while celebrating the numerous and spectacular opportunities I?ve had in my flying career to date. The RV-9A will have amazing IFR avionics once we get the pre-existing wiring cleaned up and cleaned out, and the -9A will do things that the RV-8 won?t, but the -9A doesn?t give you the visceral satisfaction of the RV-8.
The time will come to sell the gorgeous RV-8, and it?s not here yet. But it is on the horizon.