FWIW here's some comments from over the pond on a vacation I just completed in my RV12.
Objective - fly to Corsica and back from Scotland, maybe 3000 nm
Status - before the trip the plane had around 50 hours on it, wheel spats had been fitted, and the prop hub had just been replaced following the Sensenich recall, no autopilot.
Preparation
* the plane had a six-hour round trip to the LAA rally at Sywell the week before (this is the UK version of Oshkosh - much smaller obviously, but the first time an RV12 had been on display in Europe
* following this trip I repitched the prop to reduce the maximum speed to 120 knots! and improve the takeoff performance
* I had fabricated a box from thin plywood (I have no aluminum sheet bender) to sit in the U-shaped structure that holds the plane together. This storage module held a laptop, all my charts (15), and Jeppesen airfield plates. It also included a three-level storage module that held consumables in the bottom level, tools in the next level up, and tie-down stuff in the top level. There's also a receptacle for a one-litre drinks bottle. I put 10kg (22lbs) in this. I reckoned that this would still leave 50lbs in the baggage area behind provided I still met the gross weight and CofG limits. In the event I reduced the baggage load behind the storage module to about 40lbs to stay within the max weight with two aboard and full fuel. CofG wasn't an issue.
* I took a plastic 20 litre (5 gallon) fuel container and strainer in case I had difficulty obtaining fuel, if I went to Italy.
Outcome
My wife and I left Scotland just in time to escape the remnants of a hurricane that our American cousins had sent us, got to Corsica, and Elba, flew the Italian and French Riviera coasts, got bounced around in the Alps, and then got back to Scotland.
Statistics
We spent two weeks touring, averaging a couple of hours per day, and flying every day. In fact we flew 32 hours, all at 4700rpm giving a cruise of 100 knots and a fuel consumption of 16.3 litres (4.3 USG) - this was after deducting 10 minutes from each engine start-stop for warm-up, taxying etc.
Observations
* Either I started without my fuel cap or it got nicked at the first stopover. I bought an emergency car fuel cap for $8 which fitted - but didn't match my paint scheme ;-) It was vented, but for a "belt-and-braces" solution, I secured this with gaffer tape. Worked for two weeks. I'll order a new cap, and retain this one as a backup for future trips.
* In rain the paint started to peel off one of the prop blades. To be fair, this peeling had started before the trip. I'm still not happy with the vibration level (I can see the cowling vibrate slightly), and intend to get the prop balanced. I don't know if the peeling paint exaggerated the problem, but the vibration was present before I started the trip. I'd like feedback on anyone else who has seen paint peeling from their prop blades.
* I got very slight leaks from the front of the canopy in rain, which my wife mopped up as we went along, particularly where drops looked like they might run into the fuses. I do have sealing strip along the top of the coaming. I also had slight leakage at the rear of the canopy, nothing serious, but a consideration if you don't want baggage to get wet.
* Apart from the above, there were no squawks whatsoever.
* In turbulence the plane fishtails a little, nothing much, but I've not noticed it in previous aircraft I have flown.
* I used maybe 1/3 to 1/2 litre of oil.
* There's space immediately behind the seats for some stuff (rags etc). There's also space between the seats and the fuselage skin to accommodate a fair amount of stuff. I kept an Icom backup handheld radio, my camera, and sunglasses case on my side. All were accessible in flight.
* We flew (VFR obviously) in a variety of weather conditions ranging from calm to significant turbulence (enough to chuck stuff around the cockpit), blue sky to low cloud, sun to rain, no wind to 40+ knot winds (always headwinds), and the plane performed flawlessly. Even the passenger didn't complain - bless her.
* Takeoff and landing on grass were no problem. In one case we landed in grass thick with long weeds (12 inches). Accepted it was dry, but we had no problems taking off - a pleasant surprise given how close to the ground the spats come.
* We operated between 500 feet and 8500 feet, and temperatures ranging up to 30 degrees C (85F). At no time did the oil temperature go outside the green. The highest I saw was 111C (232F).
* Not relevant to the plane, but to my wallet. Fuel costs ranged from 1.8 euros ($9 per USG) to 3.6 euros per litre ($18 per USG). Landing/parking charges ranged from zero to more than $120 for an overnight stop.
All in all, the plane does everything I expected/wanted it to do, and on the basis of just one long trip appears to be reliable too.
Cheers...Keith
Objective - fly to Corsica and back from Scotland, maybe 3000 nm
Status - before the trip the plane had around 50 hours on it, wheel spats had been fitted, and the prop hub had just been replaced following the Sensenich recall, no autopilot.
Preparation
* the plane had a six-hour round trip to the LAA rally at Sywell the week before (this is the UK version of Oshkosh - much smaller obviously, but the first time an RV12 had been on display in Europe
* following this trip I repitched the prop to reduce the maximum speed to 120 knots! and improve the takeoff performance
* I had fabricated a box from thin plywood (I have no aluminum sheet bender) to sit in the U-shaped structure that holds the plane together. This storage module held a laptop, all my charts (15), and Jeppesen airfield plates. It also included a three-level storage module that held consumables in the bottom level, tools in the next level up, and tie-down stuff in the top level. There's also a receptacle for a one-litre drinks bottle. I put 10kg (22lbs) in this. I reckoned that this would still leave 50lbs in the baggage area behind provided I still met the gross weight and CofG limits. In the event I reduced the baggage load behind the storage module to about 40lbs to stay within the max weight with two aboard and full fuel. CofG wasn't an issue.
* I took a plastic 20 litre (5 gallon) fuel container and strainer in case I had difficulty obtaining fuel, if I went to Italy.
Outcome
My wife and I left Scotland just in time to escape the remnants of a hurricane that our American cousins had sent us, got to Corsica, and Elba, flew the Italian and French Riviera coasts, got bounced around in the Alps, and then got back to Scotland.
Statistics
We spent two weeks touring, averaging a couple of hours per day, and flying every day. In fact we flew 32 hours, all at 4700rpm giving a cruise of 100 knots and a fuel consumption of 16.3 litres (4.3 USG) - this was after deducting 10 minutes from each engine start-stop for warm-up, taxying etc.
Observations
* Either I started without my fuel cap or it got nicked at the first stopover. I bought an emergency car fuel cap for $8 which fitted - but didn't match my paint scheme ;-) It was vented, but for a "belt-and-braces" solution, I secured this with gaffer tape. Worked for two weeks. I'll order a new cap, and retain this one as a backup for future trips.
* In rain the paint started to peel off one of the prop blades. To be fair, this peeling had started before the trip. I'm still not happy with the vibration level (I can see the cowling vibrate slightly), and intend to get the prop balanced. I don't know if the peeling paint exaggerated the problem, but the vibration was present before I started the trip. I'd like feedback on anyone else who has seen paint peeling from their prop blades.
* I got very slight leaks from the front of the canopy in rain, which my wife mopped up as we went along, particularly where drops looked like they might run into the fuses. I do have sealing strip along the top of the coaming. I also had slight leakage at the rear of the canopy, nothing serious, but a consideration if you don't want baggage to get wet.
* Apart from the above, there were no squawks whatsoever.
* In turbulence the plane fishtails a little, nothing much, but I've not noticed it in previous aircraft I have flown.
* I used maybe 1/3 to 1/2 litre of oil.
* There's space immediately behind the seats for some stuff (rags etc). There's also space between the seats and the fuselage skin to accommodate a fair amount of stuff. I kept an Icom backup handheld radio, my camera, and sunglasses case on my side. All were accessible in flight.
* We flew (VFR obviously) in a variety of weather conditions ranging from calm to significant turbulence (enough to chuck stuff around the cockpit), blue sky to low cloud, sun to rain, no wind to 40+ knot winds (always headwinds), and the plane performed flawlessly. Even the passenger didn't complain - bless her.
* Takeoff and landing on grass were no problem. In one case we landed in grass thick with long weeds (12 inches). Accepted it was dry, but we had no problems taking off - a pleasant surprise given how close to the ground the spats come.
* We operated between 500 feet and 8500 feet, and temperatures ranging up to 30 degrees C (85F). At no time did the oil temperature go outside the green. The highest I saw was 111C (232F).
* Not relevant to the plane, but to my wallet. Fuel costs ranged from 1.8 euros ($9 per USG) to 3.6 euros per litre ($18 per USG). Landing/parking charges ranged from zero to more than $120 for an overnight stop.
All in all, the plane does everything I expected/wanted it to do, and on the basis of just one long trip appears to be reliable too.
Cheers...Keith
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