Once again, your publish timing is impeccable. I just got back from five days of RV-8 transition training with Bruce Bohannon in Texas, covering much of the topics you discuss. By Bruce's decree, I am now a qualified RV-8 pilot. Experienced or proficient? No way. But I have learned how to speak RV-8, however haltingly. Practice will expand my vocabulary, but based on Bruce's experience I shouldn't expect fluency much before 100 hours. I could spend hours discussing my training with Bruce; so many important topics that should be addressed. Controlling RV speed is so important for managing the aircraft in so many different operating parameters. Bruce didn't hesitate to strongly correct any behaviors I displayed that could lead to trouble. But overall, I was very encouraged by his assessment of my current skill level. Next comes the hours and hours of practice to hone those skills into indispensible tools that will keep me in touch with exactly what the aircraft requires in all scenarios.
“Strongly correct” 😂. Did my RV-8 transition training with Bruce in 2017. A very valuable and memorable experience. Every time I land I can still hear him saying “Keep it straight!!”. The guy’s a true legend.
@@REDMAN298 Shock cooling is indeed a real thing. My flight school teaches students how to avoid it even on sim engine outs, so that may be more common than thought and why the record is not as bad as predicted.
Eight years?!! Holy MACKEREL Chops! Well done man! Thanks for building the RV for me. I’m responsibly living my aviation life vicariously through your exploits. Thank you good sir. 👍
I find the best way to slow down after a long descent is to add a few degrees extra nose up as you level out - not enough to climb, just enough to let the speed bleed off. This is what I was taught when I got transition training for my RV9A. Now that I'm working on my IFR rating, I find adding a little extra back pressure in descent on approach with a bit of help from power, prop and flaps works also. I can be doing 95KT at GS intercept and bring it down to 75 (my final approach speed to decision height) in plenty of time. If it's coupled I just use a lower power setting starting the descent and feed it back in when I intercept my target speed. I slow to ~58-60KT crossing the numbers if I'm landing, but the 9 lands slower than the other models with its 44KT stall speed. You might find the 14 lands nicer in the 62-65KT range (1.3xVso is 61KT). I haven't flown the 14, but the RVs do have really good low speed handling to go with the very high cruise/stall ratio. My landings got a lot better when I slowed them down from 65-70.
Hello Mr. Flight Chops! Nice video, love your stuff. I didn't realize we were so close. I have a Cessna 180 and an unmarked farm strip in the "thumb" of Michigan, just a few miles west of KBAX. Keep up the great work neighbor.
Hi Steve. U got there 'cause you're a authentic, clean honest "guy". Hard working and dedicated to your projects. That always pay. You're in cruise mode now. Keep it rolling (flying). Happy landings from Portugal.
@@FlightChops Well, keep it going. U do it well. Life's made of steps, one after the other. And u have a nice family behind to support u (along with those who follow your work). Happy landings.
Yeah. Cloudahoy is a super cool way to critically review all aspects of a flight from the route to the landings. I dump my InReach tracks into it all the time; probably should use the Foreflight track to get attitude information.
I really appreciate you noticing this - I work really hard to be authentic, and only work with sponsors that I like and use - and honestly I'm proud to be associated with the specific companies you see in the videos. It is really cool that they understand what I'm trying to do with the story telling, and there are no impositions to force certain amounts of "plugs" into every video or something; Thus, I'm able to weight the product or service features of various sponsors accordingly when there's an appropriate episode to do so organically. So again, thanks for the feedback on this.
I agree. I’ve quit following some other aviation channels because they turned into infomercials..... basically using aviation as clickbait to watch a plug. Thank you.
That's how I spent my summer... right down to the camper behind the hangar :) going from my old "Buck Fifty" to the RV6, the second thing you notice is the speed that things happen at... wow I'm already at 5500'.... wow I'm already half way to my destination... wow I'm way faster than all the other traffic in the circuit! but I'm getting the hang of when and where to begin to slow down... and how long I can keep the speed up! My happy speed is also 75 on final, and I must confess, I thought it was pretty cool seeing you hop down the runway... makes me feel a little better knowing I'm not the only one bouncing from time to time. :) BTW the first thing you notice.... Wow this thing is RESPONSIVE! (at first we say "twitchy" but that evolves into responsive pretty quickly) Cant wait to see it in person... I'm sure our paths will cross at some point. I put a little over 1800 miles on my RV in the last couple weeks. Dryden to Steinbach, to Brandon, to Gimli and back to Dryden just for a ride one day! the RV grin is real
I’ve been watching your channel since 2016 and it’s awesome to see how far you’ve come. You’ve even answered some of my comments when I had just gotten out of the army and was very frustrated about things. You are a great guy Steve and the community you have attracted is also fantastic
Thanks FlightChops. I began in a Pipe Cub, I used to (semi-brag) say that if needed I could land it on the rooftop of a K-mart, it has such a stall speed. The Cessna-150 was a little quicker. But I can appreciate your feeling on this aircraft in regards to landing speed. Thank you so much for putting me back into the cockpit, albeit for a little while. I miss it.
I appreciate the irony of starting a UA-cam channel creating videos from the cameras you rigged to give you debriefing data so you could improve. Now you have a video story about high tech, highly accurate, personal, and useful onboard debriefing tools. Well done Steve! Please like, comment and subscribe everyone….Steve is ahead of his time!
Excellent point Paul - this really is the core idea of what I started with manual debriefs in older rental planes, being taken to the next level with modern tech in a new aircraft!
Nice video, FC! Once I installed a constant speed prop on my RV-7A, I was amazed at how much aerodynamic braking it could provide. In fact, I'm still getting used to it. Another characteristic of the RV-7, and probably of the RV-14 as well, is how quickly the sink rate increases at low speed. I try for 70-75 kts on short final, and avoid getting below 65 kts.
I've been using cloud ahoy since I've started learning to fly. I use it in the simulator as well as import every training flight I go on. My instructor did not even know it was a tool.
Congrats Man , your plane looks awesome. since the day you visited Google and got a ride in the 7 I knew you were an RV guy. I own an RV6A and love flying it, and yes it took me about 10 hours flying to get a grips on staying with the aircraft, slowing down for the landing was the thing for me too. but you'll get there, no worries. enjoy ...
Right on! Yes - it was not lost on me when editing the episodes featuring me flying this thing solo... that it's been an awesome ride since those early days when I got that first flight Jeff's RV-7 at Google :)
It's been a wonderful journey, and it's been fantastic to watch you progress and learn. I aim to learn to fly as soon as I can afford too. Keep on doing what you do!
I hadn't really considered the fact that my plane (Beechcraft Musketeer) being kinda slow for its class could be an advantage. Slowing the plane down hasn't been an issue. Definitely need to keep that in mind should I upgrade to something slipperier in the future.
Always nice talk to your airplane on the radio!!! Keep up the awesome videos! (from your friendly Class B radar controller on the American side of the river 😃
I totally understand it :) For the last seven years I flew a ‘64 Champ with a cruise speed of about 65-70kts. Last year I finished my RV-8 and now I cruise at 155kts 😃 Also the climb performance is about 7-8times higher than the Champ 😄
From what I can tell from my wife’s cousin’s RV8-A, they are perfectly happy little planes even with a moderate power output, but are baby fighters when you opt for a bit more horsepower. Van’s is to be commended, maybe even revered for such an amazing range of aircraft. (You’re welcome, Mr V… and if you happen to have any extra ones kicking around, I’d like one with some tasteful blue striping…😇).
Hey Steve I learned to make a right 270 to downwind at uncontrolled airports, fly 500 above tpa and descend in your right 270 to tpa, this is to prevent collisions.
Okay, I have not used cloud ahoy in years I had no idea that I had all that stuff in it. It looks like it has grown substantially. I'm going to go check it out!
Once your engine is fully broken in, you could consider adding overhead breaks into your toolkit. I think you also fly Harvard's so I'm assuming you're spun up on it. For readers who aren't, with a relatively fast aerobatic aircraft like that, you'd come down the runway at pattern altitude at a fast-cruise speed and then apply 1% of your airspeed in G's. On an RV, a 1.5G pull into the downwind would bleed off your airspeed, and plop you abeam the numbers below your flap speed. You finish your configuration changes, landing checklist and ideally continue the turn via a 180 degree descending turn onto final.
@flightchops…I fly a 14A and find that 15mp and 23 rpm work for long descents and keep working the throttle back to keep 15mp to the pattern the the airplane slow at those settings then abeam the numbers idle, feed prop in as the plane decelerates flaps as required…works great for me, reach out if you have any more questions
Immediately before going full fine on the prop, I reduce MP to about 12”. Then push the prop lever full fwd. This results in a full fine prop speed of about 2350 rpm which establishes a nice pattern descent rate, and tweak it from there as req’d. I aim to roll out on final at 400 ft AGL. For normal landings I typically chop power 100 yds or so before the threshold.
Nice job! When I'm tying to slow down in the Decathlon, piling on the G turning midfield to the downwind is my trick but it's also draggy. RV-14 is like a light fighter.
The Bellanca Decathalon is an easy and forgiving aircraft to fly and either wheel land or 3 point land. The RV-14 is a lot smaller and less forgiving. You really have to stay focused and be quick on the rudder pedal or you will ground loop it or worse.
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing, I've always enjoyed the channel. I am little over halfway through phase 1 on a 7A (also with a 390) so the content is very timely for me right now, and very interesting. They really are awesome planes- had a bit of time in the factory 14A with Mike Seager- really love that airframe too.
I have no money to afford this hobby but I am not letting that stop me from learning. I live right next to an air park and I see all kinds of Bi planes and experimental things taking off. I got the bug at the air shows some years back. I love your plane. You make a valid point about it being a little challenging to land. Some planes just seem to live with very little speed and float. I think your bird just loves to go fast 💨.
About not being able to see over the nose in three-point attitude, do you have room between the top of your head(set) and the canopy to sit higher? Might be worth adding some cushion under your seat to close up any gap you have... No reason to make things harder on yourself than necessary.
Yeah - in this case, it is what it is. Dave's head is basically touching the canopy and he can't se much more than I can. It's cool - we fly warbirds here so it is kind of fun that the experience is very similar, minus the significant difference in eye to ground height (the Harvard feeling like you're 10 feet above the ground, and the RV-14 feeling like your butt is sitting on the runway when the wheels touch :)
If you want to come down and can't throttle back much, you need to waste energy. One way is to raise your drag. You have the highest drag when you fly with the highest comfortable angle of attach (adding flaps adds even more drag). Therefore don't dive down when you come in fast or high, pull up and increase drag. You will sink faster. It's counter intuitive. Well described in flying books, e.g. Stick and Rudder.
Cool thanks yeah - the issue with trying to make that transition in this plane is that we're going ~180 knots, and need to slow to like 65 to be on the back side of the power curve. Doing so with out pulling the power back would result in a climb for most of the transition. And then the problem becomes that if we did get there with ~70% power in, we'd be cooling the oil due to the lack of cooling airflow. It's a tough balance to do all this with in the engine break-in parameters. I look forward to being into normal ops :)
Awsome airplane! I love the avionics layout and the RV 14 is my dream airplane as well. Have you thought about installing window tinting on yourbest customized overhead canopy? One of the guys at my airport install overhead tint on his RV. It helps to reduce cockpit heating (we in the south worry over cockpit heating) and looks great to boot!
This is a good question - I'll forward it to CloudAhoy - but one cool aspect is that they record the current METAR and have it right there at the top of the score, so that you can refer to it when debriefing. And with the Garmin data as the source, I'd be curious to know if the delta between ground speed / track and IAS / heading can be compared to get an idea of what the actual winds were doing.
Checking the distances to both sides of the runway before roundout is a great idea! I think, I will try that too from now on. Once I misjudged that and ended up landing VERY far on the left of the centreline and was quite surprised 😂
That's the beauty of these kits, there is A LOT of room for customization. There's an other episode that gets into the specifics of that modification... We were the prototype for the RV-14, and it is now available as an aftermarket kit that is nearly plug and play (the control cables still need to be one off / specific to each build).
@@FlightChops Awesome. If you can provide info on where to get one that would be great. thanks again she’s a beauty. Heading to Sun N Fun and hope to see you there.
Holy crap...CloudAhoy could get addicting. Quantifiable numbers on flight characteristics? That's the holy grail. Next up you'll have a ranking per aircraft type per airport and the pilot!
Small thing on the landing. Maybe turn off the Flight Director (FD) for landing visually. Too much information on the AI that could get you confused in certain situations. Love the content Steve!
Cool yeah - I should have disabled the FD way before pattern entry - I had set "direct to" on the GPS from some random spot when I was planning my return timing and didn't actually care about flying the track.
Hi Steve, I'm not sure if it would help, but possibly change your prop type? When I flew rc planes we would go to a two blade with a larger diameter and different pitch. Pulling back the throttle was like having a speed brake for short fields. Good luck. Take care, Be safe.
Awesome thanks - we're actually really happy with the prop - as seen in the video we're dialling in the energy management - it just takes some precise control to do it well due to how slippery the airframe is.
@@richarddarlington1139 Good answer. My closest friend had a bad cross wind landing in his first two hours of training and he gave it away. Now 30 years after l can't get him in a plane. He will never know the thrill of aerobatics, l invite him every week but no way. Their must be a lot of people that want to fly but never take the first step to getting their licence.
@@Jim.Thunda Most people are not prepared to make the personal and financial commitments required to become a pilot. For me, aviation is not simply a hobby, it is my chosen lifestyle. Aviation is not for dabblers. It's a lifetime of learning. By the way, In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a licensed pilot, I am an aeromodeller. Just so you know. Beware the dreaded downwind turn!
Some great debriefing in there, wish I had a good enough GPS/AHRS source for CloudAhoy. One thing that I could add is something I took from airline training into my GA flying which is to avoid having guidance up if I'm not following it, specifically the Flight Director when equipped. Thinking is if I only have the flight director up when I'm actually following it closely I won't get used to the picture of the attitude pointer being away from the v-bar, so if it does happen in IMC after looking away and dropping or something it's much more obvious.
No doubt the data from the Garmin panel is the best you can get in terms of resolution and depth, but it is true that any GPS track log file from nearly any device will give you something to work with in CloudAhoy.
I'm a new CFI. Getting ready to start adding flying content to my own UA-cam channel now that I'm in a financial position to do so. It's all your fault. Thanks man.
I think I missed hearing exactly how you slowed it down. Did you use the constant speed prop in flat mode, balance the speed really carefully against the angle of attack, and use full flaps?
Yes you've got it pretty much correct. I tried to talk through what Dave (and the I) was doing... Were you watching with a big monitor? The power settings and speeds should be visible if so, although it is hard to see the actual throttle though, due to where it is placed.
@@FlightChops I was indeed watching on a tiny cell phone screen. Either way being more verbose/explicit about what is happening would have helped in this case, it would be a better teaching moment and help fill the gap between being there in person and watching as an audience. The analysis software gave various scores, but you could have gone into a little more detail on what all factors were at play. I've watched almost all your videos, this is one of the only [constructive] criticisms I would make. Thanks.
The feedback is legit. But do me a favor and rewatch on a big monitor - I edited this one in 4K so that lots of details could be seen. Regardless, I could have done a better job more explicitly calling out some of the nuances.
@@FlightChops I did my homework. It is better on a 65 inch 4K TV. I could pause it and see the detailed scoring parameters for the landings. BTW if I could beat Dave at anything I'd brag about it too!
Haha - yeah. :) The main thing that I counted on the visuals to explain which I didn’t cover via the voice over, was the power settings. The % power is shown both in the panel footage from the chesty cam, and also the CloudAhoy data synthetic vision overlay, albeit not super clearly in either place as it is a small detail.
Hello Steve Thorne and good afternoon from Tampa FL. How are you? I first noticed your channel when you did your series on the De Haviland Beaver and that is my all time favorite "bush plane". I guess that I really took notice of those during a visit to Vancouver BC just a few years ago. With a visit to the harbor I was utterly amazed at all the Beaver float planes which I learned were basically amphibious/aerial taxi's. That prompted a bit of research where I learned about the amazing durability of these sturdy aircraft. Well that visit to your channel and I was hooked. I've followed somewhat the story of the RV-14 and can only imagine what a 'skyrocket' that already fast airplane would be with retractable gear. OMG. The design of the airplane is intriguing to say the least. What kind of range at economical cruise settings are you getting with that uprated engine? What's your climb rate? Speaking of climb rate Steve you might try getting type rated for the Grumman F8F Bearcat. That thing is a propellor driven rocketship. The specks on that are unbelievable for the technology it represents. As I near my 70th in a few months I must confess that I do envy you in a good way and that I can vicariously live out that unrequited dream of being a pilot through you my friend. Well sir I'm going to finish watching your video here on the RV-14 which I paused to say howdy and chat. Stay safe man and enjoy flying. All the best to you and your loved ones. Blue skies and tailwinds. PS Are you familiar with the poem High Flight? It's a beautiful poem on the joy of flying. Written by a WWII RAF Spitfire pilot. I'm out.
@@FlightChops Thank you for getting back to me. Hey man if we can get together at Sun n Fun it would be my pleasure to treat for some drinks and eats there in the Lakeland area if your schedule permits. It would be a privilege to meet you and chat for a bit. Take my friend and be safe.
Looks great! The only actually fast plane I've flown is the Debonair, and that one is quite easy to slow down. On the other hand, the Diamond Katana isn't that fast, but man it's hard to slow that thing down :D
Curious to know if you guys discussed pulling the wheel pants for the break in period and first flight to help slow down the plane and allow for more power at a slower speed.
It's actually the same tracklog data being scored a week later with the updated / improved back end coding stuff applied. But let me tell you - some of the early landings where I wasn't filming unfortunately) were not nearly as good - so yeah - I'm getting there as far as :)
On your approach it looked like you weren't using the magenta command bars of the flight director. Whenever you're not flying to what the flight director is set to, you should dismiss it to avoid being distracted by it. It's a good habit to get into, especially for instrument flying.
You are correct - I had it set “direct to” from some random spot out in the county so I could estimate my arrival - once I got to with in a few miles of pattern entry, I was ignoring it, and should have disabled the FD. Still learning my glass SOPs
@@gmcjetpilot I used it to decide when to head back from doing autopilot squares in the county ~20 miles away... "direct to" also told me my ETE. I wanted to time to flight to be 1.4 or more to finish out the 25 hours, this was a precise way to plan my return timing; but yes, once enroute to head back I didn't beed the FD and should have disabled it as I was flying against it for the pattern. But regardless, why would I not use a tool like this because 100 years ago, we couldn't?
@@gmcjetpilot you're talking to a CFII who gives the same speech every day! Nice to hear some people still care. The kids just want the fastest, easiest way and don't want to put in the uncomfortable situations required to grow their skills.
Just a curious maintenance question. How many hours are on the engine now and if you know, at what number of hours will this particular engine require an overhaul or major maintenance? Just wondering how durable this engine is.
My first week solo in the Mooney had 3-4 embarrassing go arounds from not getting slowed down with straight in approaches at controlled airports… so much easier with a standard pattern.
I think to consider something like that is a major deal. On top of the engineering to make the system work, they’d be facing some serious loads and would have all sorts of structural implications. Bottom line, as illustrated in the video, the airplane is manageable, it just requires precise energy management.
I'm gonna assume you haven't been following this story or watched much of this video. We're breaking in an IO 390 Thunderbolt engine, so no, we're not pulling the throttle back very much until pattern entry, and even then avoiding pulling to idle until short final and round out. And if you fly something like a Mooney, you can only pull back a couple inches of manifold pressure at a time to avoid shock cooling. It's really about good energy management, and simply "pulling the throttle back" is not a good practice.
One thing I told my son when he started training to the magical 1500 hours was "the hours count the same if you are going 150 or 80. Unless you have to get some where(or break in an engine) no need to burn 10 gph when you can burn 6gph. Whether you are renting or you own it, why go fast and burn more gas when you are only building time? Why were you going 165 when flying off the hours?
The issue is that for engine break-in, we need to be at 75% or greater power, which in level flight = 165+ IAS. We actually held off on putting on the wheel pants initially so we'd have more drag and would fly slower, but ultimately needed to confirm the aircraft was in trim, which required all airframe components be installed, and then it went faster with the wheel pants on.
Initial transport Canada certification was VFR only, Aerobatics prohibited. I just didn't have time to get more than that done to make it to Osh. As of now though, the IFR certification paperwork is filed, and we've got the flight authority for the required aerobatic demo and sign off when weather and schedules allow :)
@@FlightChops Thanks...I did not know that some sort of test/demo was required. I've ordered an RV14A and should be getting the first package in the spring :)
@@FlightChops Hi, I'm in Nanaimo and will do a SB all except for the Wings which I will do QB. I love that instrument panel on your RV14....I haven't a clue how to get that all done. I guess I'll be relying heavily on Stein Air when that time does come.
Why could there not be a longer tail wheel gear (perhaps foldable in flight) to keep the plane more level during taxi and landing giving better line of sight?
A few others have asked this, and here’s what I wrote: I think to consider something like that is a major deal. On top of the engineering to make the system work, they’d be facing some serious loads and would have all sorts of structural implications. Bottom line, as illustrated in the video, the airplane is manageable, it just requires precise energy management.
Well, first of all... He's not Mike Patey :P But in all seriousness, the "nose cam" application is only really for taxi, I don't think any pilot would want to try to land with a monoscopic low res outputting to a small screen on the panel somewhere - landing, especially tail wheel, requires a ton of 3D visual information, and even if limited to a pie slice to the side, it is still orders of magnitude better than what you'd get from a single camera set up.
I’m 6’5 and 220. Fine for width but my head is at the canopy. Lots of length available for legs as well, it’s the torso length that is the problem for me.
Man I’ve been considering building a 14 but now wondering if that’s a bad idea. I’m a student now flying a da20 and figured by build time I’d be able to handle a 14 but if it’s tricky for you a much more experienced pilot that’s giving me pause.
I’d put it in a similar spot to flying something like a Mooney (in terms of complexity and speed) but not having the gear and speed brakes as tools to slow down. But if you get some extra training mean time, you can do it… I love this airplane - I’ve got over 100 hours flying it now. All that said, if you don’t get a pile of tail wheel time, you’re going to want the A model.
Yes we do. That’s the beeping you hear during landing and it is visually displayed on the G3X. We have not installed the external AOA indicator thing above the glare-shield yet.
Some one else asked this, and here’s what I wrote :) I think to consider something like that is a major deal. On top of the engineering to make the system work, they’d be facing some serious loads and would have all sorts of structural implications. Bottom line, as illustrated in the video, the airplane is manageable, it just requires precise energy management.
Once again, your publish timing is impeccable. I just got back from five days of RV-8 transition training with Bruce Bohannon in Texas, covering much of the topics you discuss. By Bruce's decree, I am now a qualified RV-8 pilot. Experienced or proficient? No way. But I have learned how to speak RV-8, however haltingly. Practice will expand my vocabulary, but based on Bruce's experience I shouldn't expect fluency much before 100 hours. I could spend hours discussing my training with Bruce; so many important topics that should be addressed. Controlling RV speed is so important for managing the aircraft in so many different operating parameters. Bruce didn't hesitate to strongly correct any behaviors I displayed that could lead to trouble. But overall, I was very encouraged by his assessment of my current skill level. Next comes the hours and hours of practice to hone those skills into indispensible tools that will keep me in touch with exactly what the aircraft requires in all scenarios.
So glad to hear that RV-8 training went well!
“Strongly correct” 😂. Did my RV-8 transition training with Bruce in 2017. A very valuable and memorable experience. Every time I land I can still hear him saying “Keep it straight!!”. The guy’s a true legend.
1:42 don't forget about shock cooling, you don't always want to pull the power back aggressively, especially on cold days
If shock cooling is a factor then flight school airplanes would be eating cylinders. They don`t have any worse record than the rest.
@@REDMAN298 Shock cooling is indeed a real thing. My flight school teaches students how to avoid it even on sim engine outs, so that may be more common than thought and why the record is not as bad as predicted.
Eight years?!! Holy MACKEREL Chops! Well done man! Thanks for building the RV for me. I’m responsibly living my aviation life vicariously through your exploits. Thank you good sir. 👍
Haha - thanks for being a part of the community Michael!
Awesome content Steve! Looks like lovely little aircraft.
Thanks Petter - It sure is!
One year ago we started our channel, maybe in seven years we’ll have a plane of our own too! Love your stuff!
Keep after it :)
@@FlightChops we sure will, thanks for all the inspiration!
I find the best way to slow down after a long descent is to add a few degrees extra nose up as you level out - not enough to climb, just enough to let the speed bleed off. This is what I was taught when I got transition training for my RV9A. Now that I'm working on my IFR rating, I find adding a little extra back pressure in descent on approach with a bit of help from power, prop and flaps works also. I can be doing 95KT at GS intercept and bring it down to 75 (my final approach speed to decision height) in plenty of time. If it's coupled I just use a lower power setting starting the descent and feed it back in when I intercept my target speed. I slow to ~58-60KT crossing the numbers if I'm landing, but the 9 lands slower than the other models with its 44KT stall speed. You might find the 14 lands nicer in the 62-65KT range (1.3xVso is 61KT). I haven't flown the 14, but the RVs do have really good low speed handling to go with the very high cruise/stall ratio. My landings got a lot better when I slowed them down from 65-70.
Hello Mr. Flight Chops! Nice video, love your stuff. I didn't realize we were so close. I have a Cessna 180 and an unmarked farm strip in the "thumb" of Michigan, just a few miles west of KBAX. Keep up the great work neighbor.
Hi Steve. U got there 'cause you're a authentic, clean honest "guy". Hard working and dedicated to your projects. That always pay. You're in cruise mode now. Keep it rolling (flying).
Happy landings from Portugal.
Thanks 👍 - Greatly appreciate the feedback.
(I wish it was "cruise mode" - but it is definitely still a grind to keep on hustling :)
@@FlightChops
Well, keep it going. U do it well. Life's made of steps, one after the other.
And u have a nice family behind to support u (along with those who follow your work). Happy landings.
"Eat, Sleep, and FLY!" Good stuff! Jb.
Interesting scoring system
Thanks Juan.
Yeah. Cloudahoy is a super cool way to critically review all aspects of a flight from the route to the landings. I dump my InReach tracks into it all the time; probably should use the Foreflight track to get attitude information.
The fact you “advertise” your sponsors the way you do, it’s genius.
I really appreciate you noticing this - I work really hard to be authentic, and only work with sponsors that I like and use - and honestly I'm proud to be associated with the specific companies you see in the videos.
It is really cool that they understand what I'm trying to do with the story telling, and there are no impositions to force certain amounts of "plugs" into every video or something; Thus, I'm able to weight the product or service features of various sponsors accordingly when there's an appropriate episode to do so organically.
So again, thanks for the feedback on this.
@@FlightChops nice to see integrity, stay true.
I agree. I’ve quit following some other aviation channels because they turned into infomercials..... basically using aviation as clickbait to watch a plug. Thank you.
@@FlightChops you are a lot smarter than you look 😁
That's how I spent my summer... right down to the camper behind the hangar :) going from my old "Buck Fifty" to the RV6, the second thing you notice is the speed that things happen at... wow I'm already at 5500'.... wow I'm already half way to my destination... wow I'm way faster than all the other traffic in the circuit! but I'm getting the hang of when and where to begin to slow down... and how long I can keep the speed up!
My happy speed is also 75 on final, and I must confess, I thought it was pretty cool seeing you hop down the runway... makes me feel a little better knowing I'm not the only one bouncing from time to time. :)
BTW the first thing you notice.... Wow this thing is RESPONSIVE! (at first we say "twitchy" but that evolves into responsive pretty quickly)
Cant wait to see it in person... I'm sure our paths will cross at some point. I put a little over 1800 miles on my RV in the last couple weeks. Dryden to Steinbach, to Brandon, to Gimli and back to Dryden just for a ride one day!
the RV grin is real
I’ve been watching your channel since 2016 and it’s awesome to see how far you’ve come. You’ve even answered some of my comments when I had just gotten out of the army and was very frustrated about things. You are a great guy Steve and the community you have attracted is also fantastic
So glad you're doing well Alan! Let's get ready to crush 2023 together!
Thanks FlightChops. I began in a Pipe Cub, I used to (semi-brag) say that if needed I could land it on the rooftop of a K-mart, it has such a stall speed. The Cessna-150 was a little quicker. But I can appreciate your feeling on this aircraft in regards to landing speed. Thank you so much for putting me back into the cockpit, albeit for a little while. I miss it.
Happy to share - glad you enjoyed it!
I appreciate the irony of starting a UA-cam channel creating videos from the cameras you rigged to give you debriefing data so you could improve. Now you have a video story about high tech, highly accurate, personal, and useful onboard debriefing tools. Well done Steve! Please like, comment and subscribe everyone….Steve is ahead of his time!
Excellent point Paul - this really is the core idea of what I started with manual debriefs in older rental planes, being taken to the next level with modern tech in a new aircraft!
Thanks for sharing Steve.
My pleasure!!
Nice video, FC! Once I installed a constant speed prop on my RV-7A, I was amazed at how much aerodynamic braking it could provide. In fact, I'm still getting used to it. Another characteristic of the RV-7, and probably of the RV-14 as well, is how quickly the sink rate increases at low speed. I try for 70-75 kts on short final, and avoid getting below 65 kts.
I've been using cloud ahoy since I've started learning to fly. I use it in the simulator as well as import every training flight I go on. My instructor did not even know it was a tool.
Thanks for bringing us along to watch your skills and your hair grow.
Glad you're enjoying the process - Thanks for watching!
Congrats Man , your plane looks awesome. since the day you visited Google and got a ride in the 7 I knew you were an RV guy. I own an RV6A and love flying it, and yes it took me about 10 hours flying to get a grips on staying with the aircraft, slowing down for the landing was the thing for me too. but you'll get there, no worries. enjoy ...
Right on! Yes - it was not lost on me when editing the episodes featuring me flying this thing solo... that it's been an awesome ride since those early days when I got that first flight Jeff's RV-7 at Google :)
Outstanding video sir. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it
When are you flying up to Edenvale (CNV8) to visit the hangar and look at C-FMVU?
Just promise any one of your dishes you have on your other channel and you’ll have more visitors than you can handle😀
It's been a wonderful journey, and it's been fantastic to watch you progress and learn. I aim to learn to fly as soon as I can afford too. Keep on doing what you do!
Thanks for riding along for the journey!
Find a university that has a aviation program and you can use federal financial aid. Makes a world of difference
You always have great content!
I hadn't really considered the fact that my plane (Beechcraft Musketeer) being kinda slow for its class could be an advantage. Slowing the plane down hasn't been an issue. Definitely need to keep that in mind should I upgrade to something slipperier in the future.
Always nice talk to your airplane on the radio!!! Keep up the awesome videos! (from your friendly Class B radar controller on the American side of the river 😃
Right on! Thanks for doing what you do in the ATC world - and thanks for watching :)
Great video and great accomplishment. It is a pleasure to have been following you since the beginning. Safe travels
Thanks for sticking around Mike!
That panel is beautiful!
Thanks! I'm stoked with how it came together!
Glad to be one of your long time supporters on patreon!
Thanks so much for being there Jesse! You guys truly are the main support pilar of the whole thing!
I totally understand it :) For the last seven years I flew a ‘64 Champ with a cruise speed of about 65-70kts. Last year I finished my RV-8 and now I cruise at 155kts 😃 Also the climb performance is about 7-8times higher than the Champ 😄
From what I can tell from my wife’s cousin’s RV8-A, they are perfectly happy little planes even with a moderate power output, but are baby fighters when you opt for a bit more horsepower. Van’s is to be commended, maybe even revered for such an amazing range of aircraft. (You’re welcome, Mr V… and if you happen to have any extra ones kicking around, I’d like one with some tasteful blue striping…😇).
Hey Steve I learned to make a right 270 to downwind at uncontrolled airports, fly 500 above tpa and descend in your right 270 to tpa, this is to prevent collisions.
Excellent!
Bring that thing into reeces corners! Just east of Sarnia, charted as unmaintained but is kept up quite nicely.
That's Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome seeing these videos knowing that I saw you doing all the test flights around Windsor such a beautiful airplane in person
Good times! Windsor represented! :)
I love the views of Windsor and my neighborhood. Shout out to Walker Homesites ball park on left base!
Okay, I have not used cloud ahoy in years I had no idea that I had all that stuff in it. It looks like it has grown substantially. I'm going to go check it out!
Cool yeah - I've enjoyed watching they grow and evolve as the technology has become better.
Hello from Minnesota!! Great job!!
Awesome! Thank you!
Once your engine is fully broken in, you could consider adding overhead breaks into your toolkit. I think you also fly Harvard's so I'm assuming you're spun up on it.
For readers who aren't, with a relatively fast aerobatic aircraft like that, you'd come down the runway at pattern altitude at a fast-cruise speed and then apply 1% of your airspeed in G's. On an RV, a 1.5G pull into the downwind would bleed off your airspeed, and plop you abeam the numbers below your flap speed. You finish your configuration changes, landing checklist and ideally continue the turn via a 180 degree descending turn onto final.
@flightchops…I fly a 14A and find that 15mp and 23 rpm work for long descents and keep working the throttle back to keep 15mp to the pattern the the airplane slow at those settings then abeam the numbers idle, feed prop in as the plane decelerates flaps as required…works great for me, reach out if you have any more questions
Thanks for the insights - always appreciate input like this.
@@FlightChops note: 2300 seems low when you can go to 2500 and get more drag…2300 will slow the rate and allow the engine to keep steadier temps
Immediately before going full fine on the prop, I reduce MP to about 12”. Then push the prop lever full fwd. This results in a full fine prop speed of about 2350 rpm which establishes a nice pattern descent rate, and tweak it from there as req’d. I aim to roll out on final at 400 ft AGL. For normal landings I typically chop power 100 yds or so before the threshold.
That was awesome Steve!! Great product! 8) --gary
Amazing as always Steve!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Nice job! When I'm tying to slow down in the Decathlon, piling on the G turning midfield to the downwind is my trick but it's also draggy. RV-14 is like a light fighter.
The Bellanca Decathalon is an easy and forgiving aircraft to fly and either wheel land or 3 point land. The RV-14 is a lot smaller and less forgiving. You really have to stay focused and be quick on the rudder pedal or you will ground loop it or worse.
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing, I've always enjoyed the channel. I am little over halfway through phase 1 on a 7A (also with a 390) so the content is very timely for me right now, and very interesting. They really are awesome planes- had a bit of time in the factory 14A with Mike Seager- really love that airframe too.
That’s gonna be a heck of a machine! Looking forward to hearing the performance you get!
I have no money to afford this hobby but I am not letting that stop me from learning. I live right next to an air park and I see all kinds of Bi planes and experimental things taking off. I got the bug at the air shows some years back. I love your plane. You make a valid point about it being a little challenging to land. Some planes just seem to live with very little speed and float. I think your bird just loves to go fast 💨.
You did such a beautiful job on that airplane! Love it!
Congrats you are doing swell. B E A utifull plane. Very well done.
Thank you very much!
Congrats!!
Thanks!
Awesome Steve ! One day I'll fly with you !
About not being able to see over the nose in three-point attitude, do you have room between the top of your head(set) and the canopy to sit higher? Might be worth adding some cushion under your seat to close up any gap you have... No reason to make things harder on yourself than necessary.
Yeah - in this case, it is what it is. Dave's head is basically touching the canopy and he can't se much more than I can. It's cool - we fly warbirds here so it is kind of fun that the experience is very similar, minus the significant difference in eye to ground height (the Harvard feeling like you're 10 feet above the ground, and the RV-14 feeling like your butt is sitting on the runway when the wheels touch :)
If you want to come down and can't throttle back much, you need to waste energy. One way is to raise your drag. You have the highest drag when you fly with the highest comfortable angle of attach (adding flaps adds even more drag). Therefore don't dive down when you come in fast or high, pull up and increase drag. You will sink faster. It's counter intuitive. Well described in flying books, e.g. Stick and Rudder.
Cool thanks yeah - the issue with trying to make that transition in this plane is that we're going ~180 knots, and need to slow to like 65 to be on the back side of the power curve. Doing so with out pulling the power back would result in a climb for most of the transition. And then the problem becomes that if we did get there with ~70% power in, we'd be cooling the oil due to the lack of cooling airflow. It's a tough balance to do all this with in the engine break-in parameters. I look forward to being into normal ops :)
Just finished getting rental checkout in a Circus sr22, yes things happen fast compared to a 172.
yup :)
Awsome airplane! I love the avionics layout and the RV 14 is my dream airplane as well. Have you thought about installing window tinting on yourbest customized overhead canopy? One of the guys at my airport install overhead tint on his RV. It helps to reduce cockpit heating (we in the south worry over cockpit heating) and looks great to boot!
How does the scoring system account for wind gusts and the like? Benign air would give much better scores than a blustery day.
This is a good question - I'll forward it to CloudAhoy - but one cool aspect is that they record the current METAR and have it right there at the top of the score, so that you can refer to it when debriefing. And with the Garmin data as the source, I'd be curious to know if the delta between ground speed / track and IAS / heading can be compared to get an idea of what the actual winds were doing.
You're in Windsor now? Or is this just where you have the RV?
I'm there a fair bit to fly the museum fleet, and yeah, that is also where the RV-14 is based.
@@FlightChops now that things are opening up, we will need to get the crew over from MI. Bunch of tail dragger misfits :)
Checking the distances to both sides of the runway before roundout is a great idea! I think, I will try that too from now on. Once I misjudged that and ended up landing VERY far on the left of the centreline and was quite surprised 😂
Awesome video!
Question. I want to build one , so i guess there is an option to put throttle panel in middle? I Love that idea.
That's the beauty of these kits, there is A LOT of room for customization. There's an other episode that gets into the specifics of that modification... We were the prototype for the RV-14, and it is now available as an aftermarket kit that is nearly plug and play (the control cables still need to be one off / specific to each build).
@@FlightChops Awesome. If you can provide info on where to get one that would be great. thanks again she’s a beauty. Heading to Sun N Fun and hope to see you there.
For me, this airplane won't be truly completed until it's painted!
Interesting series, here. Looking forward!
Haha - thanks yeah - aiming to have it painted before Osh '22 :)
It looks great as is Steve, I wouldn't change a thing.
Holy crap...CloudAhoy could get addicting. Quantifiable numbers on flight characteristics? That's the holy grail. Next up you'll have a ranking per aircraft type per airport and the pilot!
Small thing on the landing. Maybe turn off the Flight Director (FD) for landing visually. Too much information on the AI that could get you confused in certain situations. Love the content Steve!
Cool yeah - I should have disabled the FD way before pattern entry - I had set "direct to" on the GPS from some random spot when I was planning my return timing and didn't actually care about flying the track.
Hi Steve,
I'm not sure if it would help, but possibly change your prop type? When I flew rc planes we would go to a two blade with a larger diameter and different pitch. Pulling back the throttle was like having a speed brake for short fields.
Good luck.
Take care,
Be safe.
Awesome thanks - we're actually really happy with the prop - as seen in the video we're dialling in the energy management - it just takes some precise control to do it well due to how slippery the airframe is.
lookin good
*fast planes* it's all about staying ahead of the aircraft
[this must have been really fun]
True enough.
Although, this is true for all airplanes, fast or slow.
Happy landings!
@@richarddarlington1139
Good answer.
My closest friend had a bad cross wind landing in his first two hours of training and he gave it away.
Now 30 years after l can't get him in a plane.
He will never know the thrill of aerobatics, l invite him every week but no way.
Their must be a lot of people that want to fly but never take the first step to getting their licence.
@@Jim.Thunda
Most people are not prepared to make the personal and financial commitments required to become a pilot.
For me, aviation is not simply a hobby, it is my chosen lifestyle.
Aviation is not for dabblers. It's a lifetime of learning.
By the way, In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a licensed pilot, I am an aeromodeller.
Just so you know.
Beware the dreaded downwind turn!
Some great debriefing in there, wish I had a good enough GPS/AHRS source for CloudAhoy. One thing that I could add is something I took from airline training into my GA flying which is to avoid having guidance up if I'm not following it, specifically the Flight Director when equipped. Thinking is if I only have the flight director up when I'm actually following it closely I won't get used to the picture of the attitude pointer being away from the v-bar, so if it does happen in IMC after looking away and dropping or something it's much more obvious.
You can pull the info from a Ipad/Stratux type combo, or even your phone in your pocket.
No doubt the data from the Garmin panel is the best you can get in terms of resolution and depth, but it is true that any GPS track log file from nearly any device will give you something to work with in CloudAhoy.
I'm a new CFI. Getting ready to start adding flying content to my own UA-cam channel now that I'm in a financial position to do so. It's all your fault. Thanks man.
Nice!
I think I missed hearing exactly how you slowed it down. Did you use the constant speed prop in flat mode, balance the speed really carefully against the angle of attack, and use full flaps?
Yes you've got it pretty much correct. I tried to talk through what Dave (and the I) was doing... Were you watching with a big monitor? The power settings and speeds should be visible if so, although it is hard to see the actual throttle though, due to where it is placed.
@@FlightChops I was indeed watching on a tiny cell phone screen. Either way being more verbose/explicit about what is happening would have helped in this case, it would be a better teaching moment and help fill the gap between being there in person and watching as an audience. The analysis software gave various scores, but you could have gone into a little more detail on what all factors were at play. I've watched almost all your videos, this is one of the only [constructive] criticisms I would make. Thanks.
The feedback is legit. But do me a favor and rewatch on a big monitor - I edited this one in 4K so that lots of details could be seen. Regardless, I could have done a better job more explicitly calling out some of the nuances.
@@FlightChops I did my homework. It is better on a 65 inch 4K TV. I could pause it and see the detailed scoring parameters for the landings. BTW if I could beat Dave at anything I'd brag about it too!
Haha - yeah. :)
The main thing that I counted on the visuals to explain which I didn’t cover via the voice over, was the power settings. The % power is shown both in the panel footage from the chesty cam, and also the CloudAhoy data synthetic vision overlay, albeit not super clearly in either place as it is a small detail.
*"Please sir, can I have some more?"*
Hello Steve Thorne and good afternoon from Tampa FL. How are you? I first noticed your channel when you did your series on the De Haviland Beaver and that is my all time favorite "bush plane". I guess that I really took notice of those during a visit to Vancouver BC just a few years ago. With a visit to the harbor I was utterly amazed at all the Beaver float planes which I learned were basically amphibious/aerial taxi's. That prompted a bit of research where I learned about the amazing durability of these sturdy aircraft. Well that visit to your channel and I was hooked. I've followed somewhat the story of the RV-14 and can only imagine what a 'skyrocket' that already fast airplane would be with retractable gear. OMG. The design of the airplane is intriguing to say the least. What kind of range at economical cruise settings are you getting with that uprated engine? What's your climb rate? Speaking of climb rate Steve you might try getting type rated for the Grumman F8F Bearcat. That thing is a propellor driven rocketship. The specks on that are unbelievable for the technology it represents. As I near my 70th in a few months I must confess that I do envy you in a good way and that I can vicariously live out that unrequited dream of being a pilot through you my friend. Well sir I'm going to finish watching your video here on the RV-14 which I paused to say howdy and chat. Stay safe man and enjoy flying. All the best to you and your loved ones. Blue skies and tailwinds. PS Are you familiar with the poem High Flight? It's a beautiful poem on the joy of flying. Written by a WWII RAF Spitfire pilot. I'm out.
Awesome thanks! And yes, that poem is timeless.
@@FlightChops Thank you for getting back to me. Hey man if we can get together at Sun n Fun it would be my pleasure to treat for some drinks and eats there in the Lakeland area if your schedule permits. It would be a privilege to meet you and chat for a bit. Take my friend and be safe.
Let’s plan on it. I intend to be there with the aircraft this year.
PS. I’m anxious to see that silver skyrocket. Take care.
Maybe I missed it - how DO you slow the RV-14 down?
Looks like this plane touches down about 25 MPH faster than a Super Cub.
So, short answer, you don't!
Looks great! The only actually fast plane I've flown is the Debonair, and that one is quite easy to slow down. On the other hand, the Diamond Katana isn't that fast, but man it's hard to slow that thing down :D
What is the T-Handle above the G5 for?
Canopy jettison. We need to witness wire it and will probably add some red barber pole stripes.
@@FlightChops OK, thanks
Amazing background music choice, and great video i feel like im learning and this isnt even a "teaching" video. N360PZ has subscribed.
Welcome and Thanks for the sub! :)
I have a CS prop in my RV6. It transforms the airplane! Save your money and get one.
Cheers.
Curious to know if you guys discussed pulling the wheel pants for the break in period and first flight to help slow down the plane and allow for more power at a slower speed.
First few flights definitely were without wheel pants. But then we wanted them on the get an idea of handling and trim
Improving score shows how much you're becoming one with the aircraft.
It's actually the same tracklog data being scored a week later with the updated / improved back end coding stuff applied.
But let me tell you - some of the early landings where I wasn't filming unfortunately) were not nearly as good - so yeah - I'm getting there as far as :)
On your approach it looked like you weren't using the magenta command bars of the flight director. Whenever you're not flying to what the flight director is set to, you should dismiss it to avoid being distracted by it. It's a good habit to get into, especially for instrument flying.
You are correct - I had it set “direct to” from some random spot out in the county so I could estimate my arrival - once I got to with in a few miles of pattern entry, I was ignoring it, and should have disabled the FD. Still learning my glass SOPs
@@gmcjetpilot I used it to decide when to head back from doing autopilot squares in the county ~20 miles away... "direct to" also told me my ETE. I wanted to time to flight to be 1.4 or more to finish out the 25 hours, this was a precise way to plan my return timing; but yes, once enroute to head back I didn't beed the FD and should have disabled it as I was flying against it for the pattern.
But regardless, why would I not use a tool like this because 100 years ago, we couldn't?
@@FlightChops So the equivalent MPH is what? I expected to learn that early in the vid. Slightly frustrating.
i agree. anything you dont need, remove from the PFD. too much to look at as is.
@@gmcjetpilot you're talking to a CFII who gives the same speech every day! Nice to hear some people still care. The kids just want the fastest, easiest way and don't want to put in the uncomfortable situations required to grow their skills.
I’ve never met a nap I didn’t like. N.E.OH Bob
Just a curious maintenance question. How many hours are on the engine now and if you know, at what number of hours will this particular engine require an overhaul or major maintenance? Just wondering how durable this engine is.
TBO is 2000 hours and I’m at about 350 now - so far it is solid!
RV4 or rocket if you want to experience slippery conditions, nothing beats centreline seating
For sure. I guess there is actually a plane model called a "Rocket"...
I forgot about that when I titled this one. :)
@@FlightChops
Old pilots only have one regret.
We didn't get enough hours in the front seat with the throttle at the Max.
Bugger !
You need to get a tail wheel like Scrappy has, then you could see the runway! LOL
Haha - yeah - but isn't there like 50 lbs worth of equipment associated with that set up to actuate it?
My first week solo in the Mooney had 3-4 embarrassing go arounds from not getting slowed down with straight in approaches at controlled airports… so much easier with a standard pattern.
Yup - can relate :)
How much is a pair of those pop-up scissor air brakes? Maybe overkill for this plane, but might be an interesting future project... 😉.
I think to consider something like that is a major deal. On top of the engineering to make the system work, they’d be facing some serious loads and would have all sorts of structural implications. Bottom line, as illustrated in the video, the airplane is manageable, it just requires precise energy management.
Pulling the throttle back has always worked for me.
I'm gonna assume you haven't been following this story or watched much of this video. We're breaking in an IO 390 Thunderbolt engine, so no, we're not pulling the throttle back very much until pattern entry, and even then avoiding pulling to idle until short final and round out. And if you fly something like a Mooney, you can only pull back a couple inches of manifold pressure at a time to avoid shock cooling. It's really about good energy management, and simply "pulling the throttle back" is not a good practice.
One thing I told my son when he started training to the magical 1500 hours was "the hours count the same if you are going 150 or 80. Unless you have to get some where(or break in an engine) no need to burn 10 gph when you can burn 6gph. Whether you are renting or you own it, why go fast and burn more gas when you are only building time? Why were you going 165 when flying off the hours?
The issue is that for engine break-in, we need to be at 75% or greater power, which in level flight = 165+ IAS.
We actually held off on putting on the wheel pants initially so we'd have more drag and would fly slower, but ultimately needed to confirm the aircraft was in trim, which required all airframe components be installed, and then it went faster with the wheel pants on.
Can't help but notice the "Aerobatic Maneuvers Prohibited" placard....why? Loops and rolls are fine... with a +6 and -4 g rating?
Initial transport Canada certification was VFR only, Aerobatics prohibited. I just didn't have time to get more than that done to make it to Osh. As of now though, the IFR certification paperwork is filed, and we've got the flight authority for the required aerobatic demo and sign off when weather and schedules allow :)
@@FlightChops Thanks...I did not know that some sort of test/demo was required. I've ordered an RV14A and should be getting the first package in the spring :)
Awesome! Where are you building?
@@FlightChops Hi, I'm in Nanaimo and will do a SB all except for the Wings which I will do QB. I love that instrument panel on your RV14....I haven't a clue how to get that all done. I guess I'll be relying heavily on Stein Air when that time does come.
Why could there not be a longer tail wheel gear (perhaps foldable in flight) to keep the plane more level during taxi and landing giving better line of sight?
I'm a big fan of speed brakes, and given that this is experimental, it would be interesting to add.
A few others have asked this, and here’s what I wrote:
I think to consider something like that is a major deal. On top of the engineering to make the system work, they’d be facing some serious loads and would have all sorts of structural implications. Bottom line, as illustrated in the video, the airplane is manageable, it just requires precise energy management.
Why doesn't he rig a nose camera up to one of the Garmin displays (thinking, If Mike Patey can do it)?
Well, first of all... He's not Mike Patey :P
But in all seriousness, the "nose cam" application is only really for taxi, I don't think any pilot would want to try to land with a monoscopic low res outputting to a small screen on the panel somewhere - landing, especially tail wheel, requires a ton of 3D visual information, and even if limited to a pie slice to the side, it is still orders of magnitude better than what you'd get from a single camera set up.
To slow down a rocket you have to do a burn, a areobrake, or the best option, a lithobrake
How would you feel someone like me 6,6 250 lb would fit in this aircraft, I fit good in cessna 172, how is the leg and width room?
I’m 6’5 and 220. Fine for width but my head is at the canopy. Lots of length available for legs as well, it’s the torso length that is the problem for me.
Just occurred to me you can't shave those chops now even if you wanted to. Though suppose the single entendre still works.
Yeah… it’s a bit of a curse for a guy with a weak chin 😬
I heard someone say that taking off is optional; landing is not.
This is true :)
How true...
Man I’ve been considering building a 14 but now wondering if that’s a bad idea. I’m a student now flying a da20 and figured by build time I’d be able to handle a 14 but if it’s tricky for you a much more experienced pilot that’s giving me pause.
I’d put it in a similar spot to flying something like a Mooney (in terms of complexity and speed) but not having the gear and speed brakes as tools to slow down. But if you get some extra training mean time, you can do it… I love this airplane - I’ve got over 100 hours flying it now.
All that said, if you don’t get a pile of tail wheel time, you’re going to want the A model.
All that cool stuff and you don't have an AoA?
Yes we do. That’s the beeping you hear during landing and it is visually displayed on the G3X. We have not installed the external AOA indicator thing above the glare-shield yet.
Fit some spoilers/brakes.
Some one else asked this, and here’s what I wrote :)
I think to consider something like that is a major deal. On top of the engineering to make the system work, they’d be facing some serious loads and would have all sorts of structural implications. Bottom line, as illustrated in the video, the airplane is manageable, it just requires precise energy management.
Slowing down a slick airplane? Put G on it. Enter the overhead at cruise power, pull power, bank, pull, you're at flap speed on rollout to downwind.
One thing i have noticed is that the stick is just a little high maybe lower it a little
How tall are you? I'm 6'6'" 290#, do you think I could fit in that plane?