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Why has the RV been such a success?

What rough % of RV owners do their own maintenance, and I mean themselves?

In the US it’s probably about 90%, if you allow that they consult with other RV owners, other airport bums and rocket scientists in doing so, all unpaid.

Last Edited by Silvaire at 19 Nov 15:32

For about £150k you can end up with a mean machine, kitted out with all the goodies, which is brand new.
Still you can buy a 10 yo. Cirrus for less then that now, but after a lot of back and forth we still reckon the RV10 is probably the way to go.

So @AlanB I ask where your operating cost savings would come from.

An IO540 will burn say 10-12 GPH. Let’s face it, you aren’t going to fly slower, are you? So fuel savings won’t be significant. You will get A to B in less time at 170kt than at 140kt but you will just do more flying (which is a good outcome of course)

You will be able to do all your own maintenance – except (on a G-reg) you need the annual LAA inspection and flight test. That is a saving of several k over a certified IFR aircraft. But you are really achieving it via the application of your time (and maybe giving your mates a bit of cash) rather than paying a company.

Can the G3X fly GPS approaches? I mean GPS/LNAV or +V or LPV? Last time we talked about that here, there wasn’t a single non-certified GPS which did that. The reason is not known but is/was presumably to do with the fact that Jeppesen “own” all the approach databases.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

The G3X and G3X Touch are PFD/MFDs. They have VFR GPS built in but you need an additional IFR certified GPS (GTN650 or whatever) to be able to fly GPS approaches with a G3X. Then you can fly LPV and so on.

Peter wrote:

An IO540 will burn say 10-12 GPH. Let’s face it, you aren’t going to fly slower, are you?

Peter, my RV 8 flying friend often flies at 50-55% power and IIRC whistles along at 140 kts in doing so. Other than under 6 gph fuel consumption, the reason is that the engine is very smooth and quiet at low power, while the plane still whistles along pretty quickly. Its really a neat feeling.

Last Edited by Silvaire at 20 Nov 16:49

Peter wrote:

I was just wondering about this when somebody mentioned the RV on another thread…

What rough % of RV owners do their own maintenance, and I mean themselves?

We do our own and it works really well. We are a group of 5, but one is currently sailing across the Atlantic, which left 4 of us to do the work. One is an engineer who has done it several times before so we follow his lead, he also has every conceivable required tool……and a few more besides. Started at 9.30 on Friday and were ready for inspection by about 3pm, having removed panels, changed oil, done compression tests, done lubeing etc etc.

Similar timescale for putting it back together. Inspector charged £150, so effectively cost of annual was £150 plus a few consumeables.

This is an example of a syndicate working in perfect harmony ;-)

Oxford and Bidford

As well we do all the maitenance even repairs ourselves and use colleague inspector for every third year CAA inspection. Only the hub was done by friend mechanic after backplate attachment repair. The Superior engine IOF 360 has been without problems but as said the Aerosance injectors are clocking but cleanable.

Matti
EFHV

The RV is the best selling kit maker. They are all metal, riveted and every aspect familiar to guys that like to homebuild. The SLSA RV-12 will not sell well against the Flight Design CTLSi for example because it is slower, cannot use the 912iS engine, has 6 inches less width in the cockpit, is a hot bubble canopy low wing, and has a 500nm range.

The experimental Garmin G3x and Dynon Skyview with built-in or added GPS/WAAS modules can be used in IFR for RNAV GPS/LPV approaches. The Flight Design C4 has a Garmin G3x panel, but also has the GTN 750. It will be part 23 certified along with the EASA cert.

http://www.youtube.com/v/Z_CdF6WMn3I < coupled GPS approach using G3x

In that video, the GNS430 is being used to load the approach, not the G3X. So the setup is still using a certified GPS to fly RNAV approaches, not an experimental/uncertified GPS.

Just yesterday my wife and I pulled the trigger on building an RV-14. The empennage kit will be in the post from Oregon in the next few days.

For us, the decision fundamentally came down to fun, mission and cost in that order: We fly for fun, not as serious transport (although some of the places we can visit as a result we wouldn’t sensibly reach by other modes of transportation, but travel is also fun at the end of the day); over the last 4 years of flying the TB-10 we’ve found that our mission is a mix of local flights and longer trips up to about 650nm and we almost never fly with more than two people (this year that has happened twice in >110 flights); yes we can save some money, but that money will likely just be spent in flying more.

I’ve also decided that there is little point in building a plane if you’re not going to enjoy the building process. To me that’s not the first, second or third reason; it’s a necessary precondition. I both enjoy tinkering with things, so I think we’re going to enjoy this.

EGEO
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