Finally…after fifteen years, the Mighty RV is officially an airworthy airplane!
Big thanks to DAR and RV mentor Jon Ross for flying up from Long Island to do the inspection. Rest assured, we applied rigorous social distancing protocols!
Here’s a closeup picture to prove that it’s really me…
One of the last significant tasks before inspection is weighing the airplane to determine its Basic Empty Weight (BEW) and Center of Gravity (CG). An accurate BEW and CG are critical to keeping the airplane within its weight and CG limits. Fortunately, EAA Chapter 106 has a great set of ramps and digital scales that are available to members for airplane weighing…very cool!
I prepped the airplane by emptying the fuel tanks and topping oil up to 8 quarts, then set up the ramps and scales.
The airplane must be in level flight attitude, so Ellen and I rolled the airplane onto the ramps and leveled it by adjusting tire pressure in the main wheels and adding shims under the tailwheel scale.
The weighing process was simple. Roll the airplane on the scales, roll it off, record weight and repeat to confirm the numbers. Easy-peasy!
While the airplane was level we also measured main wheel and tailwheel distances from the wing leading edge, which is 70 inches behind the W&B datum defined by Van’s. With that number and our measurement, we were able to compute the arms for each wheel and so compute the empty center of gravity.
The results –
All in all, I’m pretty happy with the result. I had hoped for basic empty weight to be closer to 1100 lbs, but we made conscious decisions to add things like a constant-speed propeller, nicer seats and carpet that add weight but improve the airplane for travel.
Next step…DAR inspection!
I’m following the EAA Flight Test Manual and Test Cards and the last test required before first flight is taxi and brake burn-in. Landing gear and tailwheel setup on the RV-7 are straightforward so I didn’t anticipate any steering problems on the ground, but like any aircraft test it’s the things you don’t expect that can really bite you. And since brake burn-in requires 25-30 knots groundspeed, I planned to verify steering in a large, open ramp area before heading out to the runway for higher-speed stuff.
Fortunately, the RV-7 is very well-mannered on the ground and I had no problems with brakes or steering as I taxied to the ramp. A quick check on Comm 1 and 2 was also successful, and engine EGTs/CHTs were stable and within expected ranges.
Here’s a nice video courtesy of Ellen…
The only problem I encountered was minor landing gear shimmy – if you look closely in the video below, you’ll see the main gear tires oscillating just a bit. This is common to RVs and most builders correct it by adjusting tire pressure, adding wood stiffeners to the gear legs, or both.
Big props to Ellen…she was my ground crew and called on the radio to ask if I felt vibration, which I did, but wasn’t sure what it was.
After finishing taxi tests and brake burn-in, I finished the G3x full-power vibration survey and magnetometer calibration. It’s good to have the avionics completely done!
Thanks to Burt Wadas for being my official ground-test photographer!
The last major task on my to-do list was balancing the elevators. Van’s instructions aren’t super clear on whether to do this before paint, but a call to Sterling at Van’s confirmed that the elevators must be balanced before first flight. Works for me.
I decided to put together a simple rig for balancing – two pieces of aluminum box extrusion trimmed and drilled at one end to accommodate elevator hinge bearings and bolts to hold them in place, both clamped to an aluminum work support. Here’s a pic –
The left elevator needed some weight and I had to remove some from the right elevator.
With balancing complete the elevators went back on the airplane and the airframe exterior is DONE!
I started back to work this week for The Man…a different Man, and this one pays better!
It’s been awhile since the engine has been turned over and since the first start is approaching, it’s time to pre-oil the engine. Superior’s manual says that you can do that by either applying oil at 35 PSI into one of the lubrication galley ports on the front of the engine, or by cranking it with the starter until the oil pressure sensor shows 20 PSI. I chose to do the latter as it’s less mess and is also a good test of the G3x. I loosened slightly the oil pressure line AN fitting at the sensor end so air could escape. Made a little mess when the pressure came up, but was easily cleaned.
A video is worth a thousand words and there’s not much else to say anyway.
Big thanks for Mike Henning and Bob DiMeo for their help!
I’m not good at forecasting completion dates for the Mighty RV, but I took a chance on being done this Summer/early Fall and booked transition training with Mike Seager this week in Vernonia, Oregon in the factory RV-7 trainer, N477RV.
Vernonia Municipal (05S) is beautiful and quiet grass strip with only a few hangars.
I put off my airline and lodging reservations as long as I could – probably a little too long. It’s not particularly easy to find a place to stay in Vernonia, but my wife came across a really great place on Airbnb that’s only a mile or two from the airport…
Tamara and her family are great hosts, and their guest suite is spacious, quiet and comfortable. I highly recommend you check it out if you’re traveling to Vernonia for training with Mike!
The first flight on 26 June was a short intro flight from Vernonia to Scappoose (KSPB)…
Turns out that my first landing in Scappoose was one of only a few really good landings I made that week!
The second flight on 26 June consisted of air work – steep turns, slow flight, power off/on stalls – and several touch-and-gos at Scappoose. N477RV had only recently been updated with an Advanced Flight Systems glass cockpit including ADS-B Out and In.
The RV-7 is easy to fly, but there’s definitely a learning curve when transitioning from a slower, less-responsive airplane. Control forces are significantly lighter, and gentle nudges on the stick quickly replace larger movements used on garden-variety Pipers and Cessnas. The RV is less speed-stable than I expected – a known characteristic – so Mike teaches trimming for pitch attitude rather than speed and that seems to work well. Stall characteristics are fairly benign, with a slightly sharper break but fast recovery with pitch reduction and/or power addition. Rapid application of power at low airspeeds can produce pronounced torque roll which was an eye-opener at first, but I quickly became used to it. Power-off descent rates are relatively high, in the vicinity of 800 feet per minute in this airplane equipped with a constant-speed prop.
I’m a relatively low-time taildragger pilot, but I found the RV-7 easier to land than the Citabria I’ve been flying. The RV’s large rudder requires less movement to keep the airplane pointed in the right direction, and its wide-stance landing gear and low wing make crosswind landings less challenging than the Citabria.
After ten stop-and-gos at SPB, I was pretty much cooked for the morning of the 27th. Fortunately, Mike had me scheduled for flights right after breakfast and lunch each day, so I had a lot of time in the afternoon to relax.
Weather on the afternoon of 27 June was challenging…there were showers and thunderstorms moving through the area so we took some detours to stay legal as we worked our way back to Vernonia.
Blah
Lots more touch-and gos on the morning of 28 June. At this point I thought I was improving nicely, but the afternoon was to prove me wrong…
We headed over to Astoria (KAST) for some crosswind landings on the last flight of my transition training. I can’t say that these were the best landings I ever made, but Mike patiently worked me through my mistakes.
My RV grin is in full force. Mike is a wonderful instructor – patient and easy to work with while training to high standards. I’m certain that I’m not the best student that Mike has ever had, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the worst and I definitely felt very comfortable flying the RV-7. I couldn’t wait to get back and finish up the Mighty RV!