Aviation MegaThread!!!!

Whadga, stick the camera on the wing?

The jelly effect is caused by vibration, one way to get rid of it would be to decrease the iris and extend the exposure (other than just isolating it from vibration).

Nice airport, weird rwy config.

Van's RV-8a that I finished 12/08.

This was a 5 minute mounting job. I attached the helmet mount to the left wingtip such that it was angled down about 10°. I definitely need to firm this up, but wanted to play with the new toy and I new this would work since I'm not he first RV guy to do it.

One of my favorite planes.

Very nice! Have any pics, or build thread on it anywhere on the interwebs?

We're proud owners of an RV-8,











































































Assembly manual...

hey, gotta start somewhere, right?

Any photos of your 8?

My build video is in this very thread. Here: http://advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11809365&postcount=462

Build website is here: http://websites.expercraft.com/geprevo/

Here's some neat F-35 footage:


http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Ki86x1WKPmE&feature=colike

I should not have Googled the RV planes, now I want one!

It is probably a good thing I do not have the time to build one, or the money to buy one already assembled. That looks like a hoot of a plane! And estimated 23 MPG at 55% cruise? That is crazy (in an awesome way)!

They are amazing aircraft!

In my 8, at my usual economy cruise (I run lean of peak), I do 172 kts (198mph) at 7.8 gph which is 25.5 mpg! If the weather is good, I can beat the airlines to any place west of the Mississippi. All without being strip searched. I can even do a few rolls on the way there.

Recheck my post...
I could post a pic of it, I reckon...

A doctor I know has his own plane, an older Piper I think. Anyway, he lives here in East Texas, but he has one kid in Colorado (and a second house there), one kid in Montana, and one kid in Iowa. He bought a plane last year because he said he could use it and get there faster than the airlines, whenever he wanted, and and not for that much more money, plus, way more fun than the airlines. I think he averages about 20 MPG in his plane, so aside from more maintenance and airport fees it wasn't that much more expensive than driving his truck.

Granted, with his job and no other bills he can afford the upkeep that comes with plane ownership. Kinda like a boat in my opinion, except much more useful

One day I would love to get into flying. Always been a dream of mine. Finances and family have held me back thus far, but one day...

I'm curious, what is the idea/advantage to adding a second engine to the plane of that size in the first place? Was it increased load? Or maybe range?

Because he could?

Bored?

One of a kind for sure.

Yes and hopefully yes... Practicality, eh, not so much...

I would be interested to know what it is exactly. From what I remember, 10-15mpg was the magical number for most single engine piston planes regardless of engine size and retractable/fixed gear. It all seemed to work out the same. This doesn't however apply to homebuilt/kit airplanes. Bigger engine meant faster speed, but higher consumption. Smaller engine meant slower speed and lower consumption. Consider that 100LL (avgas or airplane gas) is a little over $6.00 a gallon the car gas cost vs airplane gas cost is clearly sided to the car. Of course when it comes to time saved, and enjoyment the airplane wins.

I think for some, it the matter of being able to cover longer distances quicker.
You can fly from here to Oshkosh, in a j-3 sipping gas, but it'll take forever to get there.
Take a bonanza on the same trip, sure your gph is much higher, but you're in the air a fraction of the time.
Depending on how high the fuel burn, it's a wash, based on time...

Not to mention in small aircraft, wind direction and speed plays almost as big of a part in fuel consumption.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OmMhcvew0V8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Mooney 201's would get the equivalent of 20 mpg. About the best you'd do with a production general aviation aircraft. A homebuilt or kit plane, like a RV6 or maybe a GlasAir, could maybe, or probably, beat that. A Bonanza A36, an aircraft you and a few others would feel comfortable for long stretches, would be getting about 11-12 mpg. The engine lasts 1600 hours, and a new engine would set you back $30,000+. Overhaul maybe 2/3 that cost. So, at the minimum you're paying $88 an hour for fuel, and around $12 for the engine per hour..then there's the prop and the, and the.....AOPA is always making general aviation out to be the every man's pursuit. Not really.

That's a good breakdown.

I can't imagine what it'd cost to fly an old warbird!

I think an AT-6 uses 50-60 gals per hour but any of the L birds are cheap to fly. L-14 uses about 4.5 to 5 gal per hour.