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Advice for flying/maintaining an RV-9A

Shadowist

I'm New Here
Hey everyone!

After years and years of hard work, I’m finally in a position to acquire my own plane, an absolute dream of mine. I’ve chatted with a variety of folks and it looks like the RV-9A would fit my mission the best. I haven’t flown in one, but I did get some time in an RV-7 back in 2014 and absolutely loved it. An experience I think about all the time.

For the type of flying: Mainly x-country flights within a day’s worth of flying from Phoenix, AZ. Reaching cool places, slowing way down to soak in the sights. Maybe once a year or two, take on a multi-day trip to visit family on the East Coast or trek up to Oshkosh. Flights all in VMC, but would like to use this aircraft for my IFR ticket. Only light cloud busting, nothing extreme is planned.

Building would be tons of fun, but also realized that I simply don’t have the time when what I really want is to fly and maintain an already airworthy plane. I wouldn’t shy away from panel upgrades though! I love doing electrical work :D

If anyone has some time, I’d love to see if anyone would want to answer some questions:

1. Is there anything you wish someone told you before you flew/maintained a 9A?
2. Any must-have modifications I should look out for?
3. What is your most favorite experience with the 9A?
4. Least favorite experience?
5. Any parting advice for a potential future owner?

I imagine the 9A isn’t that much different from the 7 from what I’ve been reading. If anyone has a 9A in the Phoenix area and wouldn’t mind chatting about your setup, definitely let me know! I’m up in the Cave Creek area, so basically down the street from Deer Valley.

Edit: Forgot to mention I’m a low time PPL (<100hr). I keep my vehicles forever, so I’m going into this expecting this will be THE aircraft I grow into and keep for a looooong time.
 
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You are me, two years ago. I was looking for either a -7A or a -9A and the -9A manifested itself first. After 50 years of flying certified airplane, this has been a revelation to me, and my only regret is that I didn't consider Experimental Aviation much, much sooner. I would have been really happy with the -7A, but I have no real interest in aerobatics (-9/9A is not aerobatic) so I really didn't care one vs the other.

Like you, I had no interest in building an airplane - for 40 years my entire professional life has revolved around difficult problem-solving and I didn't particularly want to carry that that far over into my non-professional life. As it is, I do some of the maintenance but mostly turn that stuff over to my A&P. I have spent a fair amount of time and money upgrading my panel, which I did myself (with help). That's been both painful and gratifying. My involvement in maintenance has been spotty and is mostly limited to removing floors/panels/fairings for condition inspection by my A&P. Maybe I'll do more after I retire in a few months.

I found this plane and was flying it home from St. Louis about 4 weeks after beginning my search. It wasn't cheap, but it was and is much more airplane than certified for a lot less money in both the acquisition and the maintenance. That's not to say that it's cheap (it isn't), but it is a LOT cheaper, a lot newer, and a lot better equipped than any certified airplane I know of. It is an absolute blast to fly.

Absolutely no regrets. My advice....do it. Your experience will be augmented by finding a guru to assist you. I was fortunate to find a friend who was just that. He has saved me tons of money and kept me from making mistakes. He helped me find the plane, evaluate it, negotiate the sale and did my transition training. In the process he made me a better pilot.

Call or email anytime. I'm way across the country from you, but I'll help any way I can.
 
No
No
Flying it !
Not Flying it
Nothing
Enjoy the journey…..eyes glued to the FS ads !

non 9A driver ��
 
I recommend you train on how to manage the red mixture knob. Do so until you get repeatable LOP cruise data as this will be the foundation for cross country flight planning.

Carl
 
Building would be tons of fun, but also realized that I simply don’t have the time

It sure „would be tons of fun“… maybe, but for many it ain’t. There are builders, and there are flyers. Builders and flyers, not that many… But the flying sure is fun, for all :D
As for the -7 vs -9A, well, one is a sports airplane whilst the other one‘s a cruiser…
Your choice really…
 
Owning an RV-9A

If you’d like to send me a pm with your contact info, I’d be happy to connect with you. I am based at DVT and purchased a RV-9A about 8 years ago. I’ve put 900 hours on the plane and it’s been an absolute joy to own and fly. No regrets!
 
I just crossed a thousand hours on the 9A I built and haven't looked back once yet.
 
I have written a bunch about flying and maintaining my RV-9A in my blog (link in my signature).
 
If You Plan is to Eventually Pursue an Instrument Rating…

The 9/9A is a great choice. With a wingspan longer than the 6 or 7 series, it has a much slower roll rate, which translates into more stability. The 6 and 7 guys will tell you that the stability difference can be made up with an autopilot (I have one too), but there’s something very comforting knowing that you really don’t need it. A precision approach with just feet on the pedals and working only the throttle, is doable in a 9 -not so much in the others.
If you want to really know what a 9A is capable of, where you an go and what you can do, use the search function on this site and type in “VLAD”. No further explanation is necessary.
Terry, CFI
RV9A N323TP
 
Regarding maintenance...bear in mind that you can do whatever component of work on your E-AB airplane that you are comfortable with, with the exception of annual Condition Inspection, and limited by your common-sense belief in your mechanical skills. Many people, myself included, save money by doing the work themselves, either assisted by an actual A&P/IA, or having them review the work afterward. For my Condition Inspection a year ago, I did the work removing the interior, floor, bulkhead, as well as cowl, wheel pants, fairings, and inspection panels. That CI cost me $750, which was way below what I had budgeted. (that didn't include the actual cost of the boost pump that was leaking and had to be replaced). At my current CI that he's doing, it will be more because I didn't have time to open all the panels and fairings, and I'll have him install an oil cooler shutter and replace my fuel flow sensor (red cube). I could do those installs myself, if I wanted, but my personal policy is that I don't do any repairs or work forward of the firewall.
 
Oh the thread closed. Reopening so I can reply.

Many thanks to everyone who reached out! It’s quite comforting to know that I’m in good company :D I obviously expected bias posting here, but it feels good that folks reached out in such a short period of time. Says a lot about the community here!

While I don’t have time to dedicate to building, I do 100% intend to do as much maintenance myself! Not only to be cost effective, but also because I do love working on vehicles. There’s something relaxing about taking apart a vehicle and putting it back together (after MANY learning experiences along the way, hah!). I wasn’t sure of the scope of what I can do with an EAB, but that’s amazing to know I can almost do everything myself. Will definitely need to find a mechanic to supervise the first few times, then maybe just review my work later.

Just a few years ago, I didn’t think I would have the means to go into ownership for the rest of my career. I’m still in shock that I managed to knock down wall after wall (finances, insurance, loan pre-approval). I’ll definitely go through each resource everyone’s suggested and try to learn everything I can!

@Mike: I’ll definitely reach out! Didn’t expect to find someone with one right down the street from me which is awesome :)

@Mac: I really appreciate the offer! Once I think of some more questions, I might send a few your way.
 
The 7 and the 9 have the same fuselage, so if you fit in the 7 and liked it, you should be good in the 9.

If you're going to do much of the maintenance, i would suggest you start learning sooner than later about maintaining one of these planes. Vic Syracuse has a couple of books that are worth having (as well as a YouTube channel), and there are plenty of resources out there that can be invaluable. Mike Busch is another excellent resource, and has several webinars that are good to watch as well. Of course, their information will make more sense if you've been able to poke around in RV's.

If you can get involved with others who have RV's (e.g. an EAA Chapter), that's a good way to get your hands dirty. Maybe you can help someone do a condition inspection, as there are a buttload of screws that need to be removed to gain access to everything. That would be a start to familiarizing yourself with what's involved. Most people will welcome the help, just as long as that person will listen to instructions and isn't a bull in a china shop.

If you enjoy doing the work yourself, then maintaining your own plane is rewarding. Just make sure you're educating yourself along the way.
 
Great plane

Hi. Agree with all of the above. I bought a 2003 rv-9a four years ago and have since put 700 hours on it. It is a joy. I had an rv-12 too for two years, and it was also great, but a little slow on long X-country. It also suffered a little above 12,000 feet (500 fpm climb, which in the RV world is poor). I now am building an RV-9, but building is a lot of work. Usually 2 to 4 years if you build most days of the week, but often 5-8 years or more if you are juggling family, life and work.

If you search Vlad’s posts over the years you will get an idea about how much fun you can have in the RV-9. Good luck.
 
It's been a couple weeks, so I figured I would follow up with something to close with.

I've been having tons of fun going through all the resources and suggestions everyone's posted. I've been blasting through Mike Busch's and Vic Syracuse's books as well and learned way more than I ever expected when I obtained my license. Especially regarding the power plant up front.

I guess the summarization is that I'm undeterred from ownership! In fact, I'm all the more excited to hopefully find my own RV-7A/9A/12 to fly for years to come. Even though I have gone through Vic's pre-buy book, it's still daunting to even make the first call. I suppose I'll keep on reading, watching the market, and meet up with a few of you to get my thoughts in order :)

Thanks a ton everyone!

Edit: After talking to some folks, the ELSA -12 was mentioned and brought back into play. Very economical (long and short flights), own condition inspections (which really interests me), lower acquisition and continuous cost (lower loan, insurance, fuel bill, etc), and specifically for me...I absolutely don't mind flying at a leisurely pace. It's not so much the destination, but the journey that's important to me. Naturally there's the possibility of me outgrowing it...but I've also been happy with my leisurely motorcycles the past 12 years hah. Maybe when the time comes, I'll start a 9A build or equivalent if I go that route.

So, shooting for the 9A, but keeping an eye out for a well kept 12.
 
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Flying RV9

Hi,
I live in the Netherlands and bought a RV9a from a guy in Belgium 9 years ago.
No regrets. Absolutely nice and easy to fly airplane. Constant speed prop. Electronic ignition ( lightspeed absolute quality) and injected 160 hp engine. Inclusive autopilot truetrack.
Mogas use and cheap costs.
I can recommend this choice!
Regards
MH from Seppe Netherlads
 
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