What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

RV 4 Check Out

GHARBEN

Active Member
I have purchased an RV 4 from the estate of a Dear Friend. N12HR is a beautiful plane with a O-320 Lycoming. Since there are no controls in the rear seat, I hope to check myself out on the plane.
I am current in a PA 12. I have several hundred hours on tail draggers. Definately not an expert.
I am currently giving the plane a condition check. Although cranked regular, N12HR has not flown in a year.
RV 4 accidents appear to happen on landing and with carb ice. I am not sure if N12HR has carb heat. I will look tomorrow.
Need advice!
Thanks
GHARBEN
N12HR
RV 4
 
Look for a short piece of scat hose on the front of the airbox on your carb. The. Scat connects to a metal half open aluminum tube clamped on to one of your exhaust pipes. It doesn?t do much for heating the intake air, although I haven?t ever heard of carburetor icing being a problem on an RV4 - or any RV for that matter. Congratulations on your new RV4. You?ll love the way it flies. Look for light responsive controls.
 
Please don’t check yourself out in the 4 without RV experience. I’m proficient in my 7 but wouldn’t fly my friends Pa12 without him, I felt marginal with him on our first hour and would want another hour or two to take it solo.

Sure it’s possible, but acceleration, control forces and bounce forgiveness are nowhere near the same as a PA12. You will not waste your time getting a proper hour or two of transition training.
 
Last edited:
Please don?t check yourself out in the 4 without RV experience. I?m proficient in my 7 but wouldn?t fly my friends Pa12 without him, I felt marginal with him on our first hour and would want another hour or two to take it solo.

Sure it?s possible, but acceleration, control forces and bounce forgiveness are nowhere near the same as a PA12. You will not waste your time getting a proper hour or two of transition training.

I would like to second the above. I have 8000 hours, and still I?m glad that I took the time to get an RV specific check out.
 
I have purchased an RV 4 from the estate of a Dear Friend. N12HR is a beautiful plane with a O-320 Lycoming. Since there are no controls in the rear seat, I hope to check myself out on the plane.
I am current in a PA 12. I have several hundred hours on tail draggers. Definately not an expert.
I am currently giving the plane a condition check. Although cranked regular, N12HR has not flown in a year.
RV 4 accidents appear to happen on landing and with carb ice. I am not sure if N12HR has carb heat. I will look tomorrow.
Need advice!
Thanks
GHARBEN
N12HR
RV 4

I?ll beat Mike, and say ?welcome?.
Since the plane has not flown in a year, it is most likely overdue for its annual ?condition inspection? (name for an annual inspection of an EAB airplane). I presume that is not what you meant by ?condition check?. You?ll need to get an A&P (but not necessarily -IA) for that.
 
What I did..

I was in a similar situation as yourself, as I built my -4 and was flying a Taylorcraft BC12 at the time. I had 350 hrs. of T/W time in the T-craft, and had no worries whatsoever with T/W familiarization. I had taken an hour of dual with Mike Seager (Vans guru) several years before, but needed a bit more before taking the new RV-4 up, so I summonsed a friend with an RV-6 (he was also a CFI) to give me some transition training, in which I flew from the right seat to have the stick/throttle in same hands as the -4 would be. An hour of flight work and a half dozen landings was well worth it. The first flight in my -4 was comfortable, and I could focus on the details rather than learning the flight characteristics. The RV's take a minute or two to get used to the light controls, and the wide speed range, especially slowing it down for the first couple times, and experiencing the sink rate when it gets real slow. Just reach out and find someone with a -6,7,9 T/W or A and get some familiarization at a minimum...you will be glad you did ! Enjoy the -4, its a BLAST!
 
I have purchased an RV 4 from the estate of a Dear Friend. N12HR is a beautiful plane with a O-320 Lycoming. Since there are no controls in the rear seat, I hope to check myself out on the plane.
I am current in a PA 12. I have several hundred hours on tail draggers. Definately not an expert.
I am currently giving the plane a condition check. Although cranked regular, N12HR has not flown in a year.
RV 4 accidents appear to happen on landing and with carb ice. I am not sure if N12HR has carb heat. I will look tomorrow.
Need advice!
Thanks
GHARBEN
N12HR
RV 4

What did your insurance company have to say? I suspect they may require some RV time.
 
When I bought my first RV3 back in 1999, I flew it without a specific RV checkout. I was 30 years old and almost certainly young and foolish.

I was very current having completed my Commercial, Multi, CFI, MEI, and CFII within the preceding 6 months. My tailwheel time consisted of about 140 hours in a 7AC Champ within the preceding 12 months. Other than that, I had a smattering of other tailwheel time amounting to around 25 hours.

I stacked the deck in my favor in that I arranged to have the seller fly the plane to my home airport. I also sat in the airplane for hours before my first flight making sure I knew where everything was. I read everything I could read concerning the handling characteristics of RV aircraft.

Ultimately, my first flights were successful and probably some of the best landings I ever made! Fear and an absence of insurance will bring about some pretty intense concentration in a 30 year old!

Again... would I do it again? All things being equal, probably not. Even now with 400-ish hours in various RVs and 15k+ total time, I still think I could learn a thing or two by spending a few hours with the likes of Bruce Bohannon and/or Mike Sieger. I'm sure there are nuances I've yet to discover.

When I purchased my most recent RV-3 from Chuck about 14 months ago, I flew it without a specific checkout. I had 150 hours of RV time and was currently flying (a bunch) my Midget Mustang which is a bit more difficult to fly than an RV-3. Even so, the initial flight in my current RV-3 had my full attention. I have to admit I was a bit nervous. Flying the 575nm trip home in an unknown airplane (as fantastic as it is!) was not enjoyable--it was a task to be accomplished. Again, I offer this as a data point because especially for this most recent "first flight" I was as current as a person could be (airlines, little planes, instructing, flying a ridiculously sensitive plane--the Midget Mustang) and was still nervous and uneasy.
 
Last edited:
I have purchased an RV 4 from the estate of a Dear Friend. N12HR is a beautiful plane with a O-320 Lycoming. Since there are no controls in the rear seat, I hope to check myself out on the plane.
I am current in a PA 12. I have several hundred hours on tail draggers. Definately not an expert.
I am currently giving the plane a condition check. Although cranked regular, N12HR has not flown in a year.
RV 4 accidents appear to happen on landing and with carb ice. I am not sure if N12HR has carb heat. I will look tomorrow.
Need advice!
Thanks
GHARBEN
N12HR
RV 4

As a minimum, find an RV 6 with a similar engine / prop with an owner that is happy to have you in the right seat. (As in Post #6 from fixnflyguy)
If you have the time and money for a trip to Texas, Bruce Bohannon will get you sorted and ready. One of the best TW instructors available. Check the post from Louise Hose and others about Bruce. http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=176512
 
All sounds like good advice -) most pilots know whether they are confident or not.
The Vans machines are pussy cats really.
Oddly enough I'd never flown a Vans machine but when I was looking to buy one my very first 'test flight' was in a 270HP Rocket (with the owner in the back seat), I was hooked right there and then :)
I test flew a 4 (to cramped for me) an 8 and a 7 all conventional U/C of course, loved them all!
Ended up buying an 8, had a 100 hrs on a 7ECA prior to the 8 and have never looked back-)
 
Gharben re checking yourself out, first check your insurance requirements.
If you're current in that PA12 and half a decent pilot you'll be fine. I checked myself out in different aircraft including a -4 and -6. As Capt mentions, RVs are pussy cats, nevertheless never loose respect.

Checking myself out usually comprises following steps:
- be sure the aircraft is technically sound
- a study of the flight characteristics using the AFM, vids if available, or a read of a flight test of the model
- a study of abnormals/emergency procedures acc the AFM
- write down a flight profile such as run-up, take-off, heading out to practice area, slow flight manoeuvring, stalls IAS (multiply 1.3 to get your Vapp), etc
- CG calculation to warrant stability
- performance calculations if required by the field or weather of the day
- don't rush any of the following points
- choosing a day and time with favourable conditions
- choose the most suitable field
- thorough preflight check
- refill the tanks equally with the amount required for the flight (eventual T&Gs) and reserve
- work with the checklists (at least for that first flight...)
- increase power smoothly
- RV-4 specifics: the view outside is very good, use it to judge and correct any unwanted deviation, look at the end of the runway on take-off and landing. Stick forces are light in pitch and roll. If you enter any kind of PIO, let the stick go and work with 2 fingers only
- landing, give yourself time, manage your speed (don't, even on a long runway, come in too fast. On the -4 a final speed of 60 max 65kts will do fine)
- depending on how the whole flight went, I like to nail 5 to 10 landings on the first session, using different techniques such as 3 pointers or wheelers, partial or zero flap, etc
- walking away from the hangar, never forget to turn around and give her one good :)
 
Gharben re checking yourself out, first check your insurance requirements.
If you're current in that PA12 and half a decent pilot you'll be fine. I checked myself out in different aircraft including a -4 and -6. As Capt mentions, RVs are pussy cats, nevertheless never loose respect.

Checking myself out usually comprises following steps:
- be sure the aircraft is technically sound
- a study of the flight characteristics using the AFM, vids if available, or a read of a flight test of the model
- a study of abnormals/emergency procedures acc the AFM
- write down a flight profile such as run-up, take-off, heading out to practice area, slow flight manoeuvring, stalls IAS (multiply 1.3 to get your Vapp), etc
- CG calculation to warrant stability
- performance calculations if required by the field or weather of the day
- don't rush any of the following points
- choosing a day and time with favourable conditions
- choose the most suitable field
- thorough preflight check
- refill the tanks equally with the amount required for the flight (eventual T&Gs) and reserve
- work with the checklists (at least for that first flight...)
- increase power smoothly
- RV-4 specifics: the view outside is very good, use it to judge and correct any unwanted deviation, look at the end of the runway on take-off and landing. Stick forces are light in pitch and roll. If you enter any kind of PIO, let the stick go and work with 2 fingers only
- landing, give yourself time, manage your speed (don't, even on a long runway, come in too fast. On the -4 a final speed of 60 max 65kts will do fine)
- depending on how the whole flight went, I like to nail 5 to 10 landings on the first session, using different techniques such as 3 pointers or wheelers, partial or zero flap, etc
- walking away from the hangar, never forget to turn around and give her one good :)



Excellent advice, for any A/C actually -)
Above all enjoy the ride, Vans A/C are hard to put away and close the hangar doors, that part doesn't feel natural, the rest does -)
 
Back
Top