Being new to aerobatics I want to make sure what I do is safe. I can think of 3 things that are important to keeping Aeros safe, and in my limited experience I have learnt most of these 3 from pilots far more experienced than myself 1. My personal limits, including metal, physical, comfort and my attitude. 2. My planes limits. What my RV can do, what I need to look out for, and how I can improve my RV. 3. My experience. Learning from others and practicing maneuvers after good instruction.
I have only had my Aerobatic licence for 4 months and up until 5 weeks ago was only believing I could do Primary this year.
Since then I have flown with 8 different very experienced pilots, finding every opportunity to learn, I found I could go further. None of the eight I flew with had every flown in RV's and were impressed with handling and performance. I found myself short of answers with some of their questions regarding limits for my plane. They gave me so much more confidence, however I also found myself unsure about many things that would help me progress and enjoy my plane more.
Once I started practicing competition aerobatics, my first issue was oil usage. I was throwing out almost a quart of oil every 30min flight. A half Raven sump was fitted with a 1 Quart Accusump. Problem pretty much solved, with the next issue being how to stop brake fluid from leaking out over the fairings. Any ideas?
I received a lot of good advice from the forum that I discussed further with other pilots and engineers here, some specific to RV's, and some to Aero's. I intend to enjoy aerobatics in my RV7 for many years, and have great interest in learning from the many RV pilots that do aerobatics in their RV's. It is for now my machine of choice.
Safe Oil pressure: Agreed doesn't matter whether doing aero's or level flight. However I have never experienced oil pressure fluctuations in level flight, and knew this is a determining factor in operating my engine safely while under negative G's. So being new to the sport, had to ask the question. Interesting however after 5 sec without Flop tubes my engine was still running normally with negative G's.
I learnt some loose pressure in hammerheads and the prop would speed up. Just love these comments and learn so much.
New to the game, and I hadn't thought enough about how my non aerobatical prop would react when I lost oil pressure.
I am keen to enjoy my RV as much as possible safely using the knowledge of others as guidance, so put the questions out there. What have others learnt that they might share?
Thanks for the link
http://www.aerobaticsforum.com is a great site.
By the way, it was never my intention to enjoy compertition aerobatics. I much prefer taking passages for rides and being really gentle on them. What I am hooked on, is flying my plane well. Which competition aerobatics gives me the best chance to do.