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RV-10 Good for beginner?

S

sn-rv10

I'm New Here
Hello everyone, my first post (hopefully of many). I am just starting to get my private's license, after many years of dreaming. My question is: I will only have ~100 hours on a cessna 182 when I complete my license in a year. If I start a quickbuild now, and finish it in a year (or so ;-), will it be a good match for me and my low flying hours? I plan on taking some of the RV10 specific flying courses, which should help. I know it is a "depends on the type of pilot you are" question, but was wondering if the handling of the RV10 was more suited for more experienced pilots. Thanks for any feedback!

Stephen
 
RV's are very nice handling airplanes. Any airplane can be learned. I would actually think that the RV-10 would be fine for you. Just for your own personal development as a pilot I would advise you get as many hours as you can in airplanes with inferior handling qualities to the RV. It helps to learn how to fly in an under-powered pig I think. This will help you really learn to fly well and it will make the RV that much more enjoyable when you do transition to it.
 
RV-10 for lower TT pilot?

I am fortunate enough to live in an aviation community, grass strip, where we have everything from C150's to Glasairs, re wing loading, forgiveness factors, etc., of a given airplane. Get to watch these folks take off (roll length) and land (length, gyrations), and hear feedback about various airplanes' handling, etc.. I've only flown the RV-10 once, my neighbor's, but I would say it handles similar to a light Beech Bonanza, with the Beech having a slightly higher wing loading. If you feel comfortable in a C182, you should be able to handle an RV-10, in similar flight conditions, i.e. Day, Night, VMC, IMC, as applicable. Might want to consider some time in any low wing, high performance airplane, prior to the RV-10, or just take an RV-10 transition course. One of the most important concepts, IMHO, as you go to any higher performance (engine AND wing) airplane, or helicopter for that matter (have done those also), is to be able to maintain the numbers consistently, i.e airspeed, altitude, vertical speed, in all phases of flight.

I've been involved in aviation since 1979, courtesy of USN/USMC, ARNG, night freight, major US airline, EAA, etc., have 10,000+ hrs TT in airplanes and helicopters, so hope some lower time pilots will chime in as I may be a little too simplistic here?

Link McGarity
RV6/N42GF/bought flying
RV10/N41GF (rsvd)/#40622 building
FD38, Wellington, FL
 
Yes

Mornin' all,
Link's absolutely on the money. I've trained a bunch of guys in my 6A and none of them have had any problems landing and flying the airplane. The bigger learning curve is the speed of these airplanes and the need to ratchet your finesse up a couple of notches to manage speed reduction in the pattern, etc. because they are slippery and don't really want to slow down very easily.

Friends of mine who have flown the 10 were equally impressed and saw no bad flying characteristics and love the roomy cabin as well. Transition training will be all you need.......that and a good attitude.

Regards,
Pierre
 
Thanks Scott, Link and Pierre. This is a great forum, didn't expect a reply so soon (let alone 3 of them!).

So they are speedy, act like a Beech Bonanza, and I should get transitional training and continuously test myself with a more complicated plane. And of course have a good attitude ;-) All great advice, and I appreciate it.

Stephen Noftall (pre-RV10 builder)
 
RV-10 is the one!

I will say that the RV10 with proper training will not give you any problems. I gave a one hour Demo/Training ride to a very low time Private pilot and we both agree that it was not going to be an issue. I have found that the low time pilots are the ones that don't have much of a problem adjusting to these RV's. I think is because they don't have many different habits from flying other high performance airplanes.
Get the proper training with someone and you should be fine.

Alex
 
Who better to say than Alex!!!

It hasn't scared me, I'm working on finishing parts now and plan to get enough transition training to make me comfortable. I'm pushin 100 hours right now and I expect at least 7-10 in transistion training. As a 172 only pilot the hardest thing I found during my demo flight was to keep my feet off the rudder so much, not much rudder needed to stay coordinated and it covers distance very fast. Holding altitude in the turn was "different" but not difficult after a few pointers. I look forward to mastering the -10.
 
I just got a full check out in the 10 with Mike Seager. VERY, VERY, VERY easy to fly. If you can fly a 182, you WON'T have any trouble gettng through a checkout in the 10. I have a grunge of time in T-34's and I thought the charachteristics were similar. The T-34 is what many military pilots started on.

Did I mention the 10 is easy to fly?

Jekyll
 
I got my high performance sign off in an RV-10 about a month ago (130 hr pilot). IO-540, Hartzell prop. I had never logged time in an aircraft with c/s prop. I feel it is much easier to land than my Tri Pacer. It is absolutely an incredible plane to fly.

Go For It!!!!!!!!!!
 
Training and judgement.

It is high performance and begs for the long cross country. Planes that fly fas and far can cover a lot of ground and also a lot of weather conditions. Fast long country takes more planning. I suggest if you plan on travel you work towards your IFR rating. With that said, there is no reason with some tranning you can't obtain proficiency in a RV-10.
 
Last edited:
Never flown a 10

but I have 12 hours now on my new 7a. I would have to say its about the easiest airplane to land I have ever flown (I got 500+ hours TT). The only note of caution I would echo is you really need to keep yer eyes peeled...Other airplanes just appear out of nowhere ay 200+mph!!

What does your insurance company say in terms of $$$$$?

Frank
 
Great trainer!!!

Come on Link, you can tell the world that I gave you your first RV 10 ride! Link did a great job, all I said was the speeds to fly and to watch out for the rapid loss of elev. authority in the flare. He did a great 727 style landing.
Jim's son Brent, will be soon taking his first (almost first) lessons in the 10, and I couldn't be happier or more confident in him and the plane! As a matter fact, Brent did his first TO last week in N331JH, and his biggest comment was the almost total lack of necessity of rudder during his 120 mph/1000+ FPM climb out.
Worried about a CS prop? heck, just set it for 2550 and treat it like a FP. You will still climb at over 1200 fpm and have a great trainer. Hurry up and get that kit ordered everybody!!!!!!!!!!!
Glen
 
sn-rv10 said:
Hello everyone, my first post (hopefully of many). I am just starting to get my private's license, after many years of dreaming. My question is: I will only have ~100 hours on a cessna 182 when I complete my license in a year.
Click to expand...
Stephen, I am also a low-time student pilot, and I, too, am building an RV-10. I took a demo ride with Mike Seagar in the RV-10 prototype at Oshkosh a couple of months ago, and although Mike handled the takeoff and landing, I flew the plane through most of the demo, including ascent, decent, turns, and stalls. I was amazed at how smooth the plane flew and how easy it was to control. If you haven't flown in an RV-10 yet, you should try to schedule a demo ride.
 
I've flown Alex's RV-10 and agree... (pic)

Hi, Stephen. Welcome to the forums.

I suspect you will not have any issues. I had zero tailwheel time when I took my first transition training flight - after ten hours I was tailwheel certified and ready for my RV. I had less than 175hrs total time then.

In May of 2006 I flew Alex's RV-10 from the front seat. While it didn't respond like my RV-6 (it isn't supposed to), it was a cream puff and fun. It flew much like the 182s that I flew before RVs came onto my radar screen, only easier, with better vis and in more comfort.

Here's a photo Alex took :
alexbr4.jpg


Welcome again!

Best,
Doug









​


RV-10 Trainer said:
I will say that the RV10 with proper training will not give you any problems. I gave a one hour Demo/Training ride to a very low time Private pilot and we both agree that it was not going to be an issue. I have found that the low time pilots are the ones that don't have much of a problem adjusting to these RV's. I think is because they don't have many different habits from flying other high performance airplanes.
Get the proper training with someone and you should be fine.

Alex
Click to expand...
 
RV-10

Lot's of great inputs on the topic of RV-10 handiling for lower-time pilots. My experience and observation has been that all of Van's airplanes are wonderful in almost all flight regimes, and with the proper training and attitude the RV-10 is not going to be any different. As I have mentioned before, I haven't discovered any adverse characteristics of the RV-10 in the 330+ hours I have flown it. Having owned both a C-182 and a V-tail Bonanza, the other observations are also very correct. The RV-10 will almost always make you look good as a pilot. Passengers will love the ride and visibility, and your landings will almost always be greasers.
That being said, I think where the challenge will be for lower-time pilots is the overall operational capabilities that they can now be exposed to. Four seats as an example, which means briefings, ensuring seat belts, paying attention to a sick passenger, and delegating when necessary so you can fly the airplane, like putting the intercom on isolate if needed. Lots more responsibility here. And 4 seats means paying attention to loading. Are you prepared to tell someone that they have to leave some of thier stuff at home, or get them to tell you their weight for REAL. By the way, my trick is to give them the max weight I can allow, and just politely ask if they fit into that number. :)
The RV-10 can take 4 people a long ways in comfort very fast, which also means the chance to cross fronts or hit unexpected weather. The RV-10's seem to be better equipped than most of the other RV's, but just because the airplane is equipped doesn't mean the pilot is capable. We all owe it to each other to be careful so we don't drive up the insurance costs.
As an Instructor myself, it is my opinion that I would find it much more fun, and much easier for the student, to train in an RV-10 vs. any other complex airplane available today. Again, it's not the airplane but how it's operated that will be the main theme.

Vic Syracuse
 
vic syracuse said:
As an Instructor myself, it is my opinion that I would find it much more fun, and much easier for the student, to train in an RV-10 vs. any other complex airplane available today.
Click to expand...
Man, wouldn't that be nice. I'd love nothing better than to be finishing up my training in an RV-10! :D
 
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