7/4/2008
In the last couple of weeks I have been working on Sportsman category maneuvers. I have done about 20 spins so far practicing recovery on heading and pointed straight down. The on heading part is easy (I consider plus or minus 20 degrees OK at this stage) but straight down is a little uncomfortable. On recovery it feels like the plane is pitched down about 70 degrees. This requires a quick jab on the stick to go completely vertical. I need to ask one of the folks in the IAC chapter I joined what the judges look for in the transition from spin to vertical.
My RV8 seems to be a lot more docile in a spin that a Super Decathlon or a Cessna (the other aircraft I can compare to). It might be a perception thing since I have been doing a lot of rolls recently and visibility is much better in an RV8.
I have tried one so-called snap roll. I say so-called because I did it at 60 kts. I think the RV8 builder manual recommends a minimum speed in MPH that works out to about 70 kts. At 60 it didn't seem much different than a normal spin . My plane stalls clean at about 55 kts.
One small piece of excitement was when I didn't lean enough when doing first 1 turn spin in my RV8. I was at 9000 feet and when I recovered the engine just wind milled after I opened the throttle up all the way. I knew what the problem was almost immediately, leaned and the engine went to full power.
I have found spinning to the right is a little more difficult because the plane seems to try to recover at about the 1/2 turn point. This is even with full rudder, neutral ailerons and full aft stick. At the 1/2 turn point there is a hesitation and then the spin continues making it hard to judge stopping it on heading.
I went up yesterday and did about 8 hammerheads. Again, these seem really docile compared to doing them in a Super Decathlon. Pitch up vertically, let the airspeed bleed down to about 30, full left rudder, stick to the front right and the plane pivots over nice and slow on its left wing. A little bit of opposite rudder when it is pointed down to stop the yaw, center the controls, let the speed build up a little and recover. What a blast! The first few turned out better than the last ones because for some reason I couldn't find true vertical.
Besides the hammerheads I did a few spins, loops, rolls and Cuban eights. I need to put come tape on the canopy as a reference for vertical and 45 degrees. I am really enjoying my RV8.
Below is the rear stick cover which I finally finished. It still needs some rubber material to close the boot around the stick. The other picture is of some Fourth of July fireworks in our neighborhood. The neighborhood committee and some of the residents fired off at least a couple of megatons worth over the lake.
The countdown to Oshkosh has begun. 23 days and a wake up.