Flying a Vans RV 7 Aircraft скачать в хорошем качестве

Flying a Vans RV 7 Aircraft

This week I had the opportunity to fly a VANs RV-7, a very fast side -by-side two-seater experimental tailwheel aircraft. With an advertised top speed of 188 Knots, depending the engine installed, and a fuel capacity of 42 gallons, the RV-7 can travel a long distance in a very short period of time. The one I flew this week has a Lycoming O-360 normally aspirated carbureted engine. We were cruising comfortably in it at 144 Knots, at 65% power, and burning 9.6 gallons an hour. At top cruise speed we were flying at 154 Knots. On this spectacular day we headed up in the direction of Auburn-Lewiston, Maine and did some engine performance data collection, and some steep turns. In addition, as part of the training we did a couple days earlier, we worked on wheeled and three-point landings. With both types of landings, the aircraft handled extremely well. The RV-7 aircraft has a max gross weight of 1800 lbs. and sits two people comfortably. I initially had some concern on fitting in the plane, as I am 6’ 4”, and a 180 lbs. However, I was able to fit in it, albeit with not a lot of extra head room. In regards to baggage space, it supports a decent amount of storage area, with a max baggage space carrying capacity of 100 lbs. The onboard Garmin avionics included a G3X Primary Flight Display and a G3X Multi-Function display, along with a GTN 750 XI, and a G5 Electronic Flight Instrument as a Backup. With its large and un-obstructing view tip-up canopy, the visibility from the cockpit was fantastic, as can be seen in these short video clips I took. Suffice it to say, I look forward to flying in this aircraft again.