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KRviator

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  • Aircraft
    RV-9A, Piper Aztec
  • Location
    Cab of a freight train
  • Country
    Australia

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  1. TL;DR = 2016 AUSTRALIAN RV-9A, $185,000AUD, 220TTAE OX-340/FP, SkyView EFIS - or for the longer version, read on... Okay gang, because I am an idiot and didn't listen to the KRviatrix when she said "Build a -10" I have a 4-member family with a 2-seat RV, so I'm regretfully putting my 2016 -9A on the market after finally securing a suitable 4-seat 'family' plane. My -9A was built from a complete QB kit over 4 years, 9 months and 19 days her first flight was the 26th March 2016 under RAAus administration but with the added weight of heavier seat cushions, GNSS, transponder, 2 autopilot servos and the second screen I've since installed, I re-registered it VH to allow a more reasonable payload, but if that's not your cup of tea, it can go back to RAAus, even without Group G. The engine is (was) a factory-new ECI OX-340S-B4J4N4, the suffixes denoting low-compression pistons (7.2:1), electronic ignition & 14mm (automotive) plug bosses in the heads, with ~220TTSN. This is essentially a stroked O-320, nominally giving 185HP, but derated to 165HP to allow Mogas (And keep Van happy). If you are happy to run Avgas, you could swap to standard pistons and pick up an instant 20HP. The rest of the equipment installed is as follows: * 2 x PMag series 114 Electronic Ignition systems, firing BR8ESSP automotive plugs * Sensenich 2G0M7/C72RG composite, ground-adjustable prop. * B&C 410H alternator mounted on the vacuum pad * Vertical Power VP-X Sport electrical management system, tied to the Dynon Skyview * 2 x Dynon 10" SkyView Classic EFIS displays * Dynon EMS module, with full engine monitoring & datalogging * Dynon 2-axis autopilot with Pitch & Roll servos * Dynon SV-XPDR-261 ADS-B-capable transponder * Dynon GPS-2020 ADS-B compliant position source * Dynon ARINC module to allow the KLN-90B to talk to the EFIS * 2 x Dynon Wi-Fi adapters, to allow you to wirelessly transfer your OzRunways (or AvPlan) plan to the EFIS * KLN-90B TSO'd GNSS unit to push the 'positive fix' time out from 30 mins visually to 2 hours if necessary, connected through the ARINC interface to the EFIS. This also allows KLN waypoints to be graphically displayed on the Skyview moving map, gives GPSS roll-steering and HSI auto-scaling along with automatic course updates. * Xcom VHF radio, with the Aux input connected to the Dynon audio output for audible alerts or messages * Rotec TBI 48/4-5 throttle body * Carling Contura-V backlit switches * Infinity stick grips with CWS/AP Disc, pitch & roll trim, PTT, flaps and engine starter functions. * Seat cushions are from a Suzuki Swift Sport- don't laugh, they fit beautifully, are comfy and look great! * Bogert Aviation tow bar * A full set of Bruce's Custom Covers is also included for the fuselage, prop, tail and wings - which also have hail-resistant padding in them if you can't get a hangar straight away (worth $3,000USD last I checked!) * She is polished, with red & yellow vinyl stripes that can be removed if my chosen livery isn't to your taste. Everything, with the exception of the XCom VHF, KLN-90B and seat cushions was factory-new, and has ~220 hours. Also included is a pair of Bison Mountain RV flight bags, in grey leather. One is my everyday flight bag, the other is completely unused. She is almost a completely stock RV-9A however, there are a few little changes I made, these being: * She's set up to fly PIC from the RHS * The EMS can monitor L+R ignition switch state. * The EMS can monitor if the EI's are electrically powered, either with ships power, or internally * The VHF antenna is mounted on the aft deck, not underneath. The Bruce's fuselage cover was custom-made to accommodate this position. * The Dynon system has a custom user database of every certified airport & ALA in Australia, developed by me prior to the OzRunways/Dynon collaboration, so if you don't have a Dynon aerodata subscription, you can still use the internal database. Performance is almost exactly what Van's indicates. I typically cruise at 2,400RPM and ~140KTAS at 8,500 burning 25-and-a-smidgen LPH. Climb rate at light weights & cool days is around 1,800FPM with takeoff & landing distances in the 300m range. A few landing examples can be seen in my Youtube video HERE Apart from a short period after moving to the airport (maybe 4 months?) when she was outside with the covers on, she's been hangared throughout her life, initially at Cessnock & Somersby and now Scone. Now, Given this is an aeroplane that, for all intents and purposes, a bloke built in his back shed, there are a few cosmetic blemishes I want to make clear from the outset. * The underside of the right elevator has a convex dent where I rivetted the last one in the row and it wasn't on the bucking bar. Unless you get on your hands and knees and look up you'd never see it. * The skin over the baggage compartment has a couple of small, similar bumps where I messed up, and decided to keep them rather than de-rivet & replace the entire skin. * The upper left wing skin has a half-dozen tiny concave dents in a row - caused by me bumping the Cyclo polisher of all things! * The canopy has a small piece missing on the aft LHS where it cracked and broke off. I don't know if one of the kids dropped it closed and broke it, or it cracked at altitude and disappeared into the ether, but nonetheless it is missing a 2"x2" piece at the LHS rear, bottom corner. * Part of the lower gear intersection fairing broke off during the initial testing (2nd flight as I recall). It's on the trailing edge on the inboard side, and not visible unless you actively look, so I have not replaced it. Fiberglass work....yuck... * My paint skills are certainly no match for a concours body shop, however, it's 'adequate' if not 'good' but there are several pinholes in the wheel pants and a couple of small spots on the lower cowl where it bubbled slightly. * The KLN-90B database is very out-of-date, but let's face it, airport's don't move...She's not approved for IFR so the lack of up-to-date waypoints isn't critical for the GNSS. Finally, something I am picky about in various ads, the W&B. Initially, she weighed 445Kg (981Lbs) empty, giving a 155Kg payload under RAAus, however, with the extra's now installed and operating under CASA, the current BEW is: 1042.2Lbs / 472.7Kg , and the CG position is 77.65". MTOW is set at 816Kg / 1,800Lbs, allowing a full-fuel cabin load of 248Kg. I replaced the original Lithium battery with a SLA and lost about 10Kg. Why did I do that? I didn't want to wait for a back-ordered lithium. The SLA was in stock, that's all... To replace her today would cost north of $260,000AUD, and that's not even considering the year-long lead time for a QB kit, so I'm thinking $185,000 AUD is a fair asking price at this time. The build log is available on VAF HERE and there's a selection of photos available on my Flickr gallery HERE. The logs will be available electronically, shortly.
  2. Not me...I admire their role in WW2 and the historical value of preserving aviation's heritage, but I have zero interest in a flight in one. Or a Mustang. Now an F4 or T38? That's another story...
  3. It must have been significantly below full power. Most RV's leap off the ground to the extent there's a specific caution in the build manual about doing high-speed taxi runs before your first flight because they can easily and inadvertently become first flights due to pilots thinking 'it's not a full-power run, she'll be right'. and before you know it, you're accelerating through 50KIAS and capable of flight. 160HP is the lowest recommended for the -8 (because any less won't achieve the RV Grin) but it will fly with 120 and probably get even airborne and achieve a positive climb rate with just 80HP, they're not an overly heavy aircraft, even at gross. I had a partial power loss on takeoff in the -9 a few years ago, got to about 30' when she started carrying on and pig-rootin' around. I still had enough runway (1100m long) to react, decide whether to continue or abort, and land straight ahead. 250-300m is my heavy-weight takeoff roll in the -9 in no wind - and she only has 165HP. That -8, with 200HP, yet alone the claimed max of 250, should be going like a raped ape on a normal takeoff. I'd have to feel the difference between "normal" and "What's goin' on here?" should have been evident enough, early enough, to give it away, even at Heck Field. Whatever the failure was, I hope other Subawoo fliers can learn from it and maybe put mitigation measures in place. 3 in a year isn't great odds...
  4. Or a pilot who has actually read The Mothership's newsletter and understands the Vne limitations of the RV series...which is based on the flutter margin, in turn which is primarily concerned with TAS not IAS and so is dynamic based on environmental conditions. 250HP in any of the single-digit RV's is not smart. Turbo'ing to 250 is even worse. Doable, certainly, but not smart.
  5. I had it in my mind this aircraft was recently acquired by the owner and I think I'm right. It was listed for sale at an insane (by RV standards) price by LAS last year and went for just $95K.
  6. Agreed. There's 1,600 -8's flying around the world. Even mine was the 1020th RV-9 completed - the entire RV lineup are very capable and time-proven and up until recently, affordable designs, with very few faults. That Glassair at Wedderburn last year also had a Subaru conversion fitted. That's three EJ conversion's crashes with 4 fatalities (and very close to a 5th...) in the space of 12 months or so, from a comparatively small population of Experimental's in Australia. No sir, Rotax or Lycoming for me. Or Continental if I'm flying something that came out of Wichita.
  7. I have the standard 3 x sliding leaves on my hangar at the moment and it's 'okay', but I wouldn't do it again. Ground movement and the PO dragging something across the bottom rails means the lower pins stick in certain spots and you need to get the ride-on to unstick it if you misjudge the momentum needed to get it past that spot. Depending on the construction of your hangar, I'd probably stump up the coin for one of those hydraulic tilt-a-doors from HPDoors or similar. There was a recent thread, I think on MooneySpace, that discussed them with quite positive reviews. I dunno what the cost would be to have it done or shipped down here, but I suspect it would be a lot. But the convenience would outweigh it PDQ I'd suspect. The other option would be to DIY it...
  8. We've got a boat listed for sale on FB Marketplace and have been in negotiations with some bloke from Sydney. He paid, initially, a $200, then another $500 deposit to hold the boat pending him picking it up. The $$ cleared into our account, and are still there and we agreed on a date & time - to the point I knocked back a pair of overtime shifts from work that cost me around $2K. He didn't show. Not happy, but okay, everyone deserves a second chance. We negotiated another time. No show again. Finally a third and even though I followed up the night before to make sure he's coming, there's been no response - nor has he even read that message apparently. After the third no-show, I sent him the following message: I don't get it - we still have his $700 quid, it hasn't been reclaimed, nor have we had a visit from the Fuzz alleging any wrong-doing by us in keeping his dough. The only thing the KRviatrix and I can come up with - and this is stretching things a bit based on some Reddit research - is he would have pulled out and requested his deposit back. We would have sent his deposit back from our legitimate bank account, and following that, his bank would have reclaimed the original funds he paid claiming he was the victim of a scam. So he gets his (original) money back, and we have doubled it by giving him his deposit back from our legit funds. IF he's fair dinkum - and not dead - I don't get it. There's not a lot of people that can afford to simply lose $700 a few weeks before Christmas - certainly not if they are married - my missus would be screaming blue murder if the roles were reversed. I'm still fairly sure there's something sketchy going on - but for the life of me, I can't see what, or how they're now going to pull it off.
  9. Got a reference for that? Never heard of this 'law' before - and I've been in aviation in some capacity or another for a quarter century...
  10. What is standard now was 'state of the art' 50,60 years ago. What is 'state of the art' now will become the norm in time. I'm putting about to order a full EFI kit to replace the mechanical fuel injection because it offers several benefits over and above the existing system. Just because something has been around for yonks doesn't mean we should stick with it.
  11. Two of these little buzzers should do the trick. Wire one of each in parallel with the quarter-panel-mounted indicator. If you leave the left side one on the left side of your glovebox or that general area, you'll even have a '3D' indication as to what blinker you have selected.
  12. That's an important point people need to consider if making the switch. In the RV with the lithium, I'd put full flap out, trim full nose up, and she'd mosey down final almost spot on 65KIAS. Now, with the SLA, I need to hold a smidgen of backstick even with full nose up trim dialed in. Battery changes can have a significant effect on your W&B
  13. That's the first instance I've read or seen about a LiFePo4 battery having an issue. I used a Shorai successfully for several years in the RV and only replaced it with a SLA after not being able to get a lithium in Aus at the time - and am installing a pair of EarthX 1600's to replace the original (single) Concorde in the new project. Did the fire actually start within the battery? I ask as it the damage looks confined to only one end and it doesn't appear to have bulged outwards or anything suggesting it might have been a victim, not the cause of, the fire.
  14. I gave up Kitplanes several years ago when they were charging outrageous pricing for "international" digital-only subscriptions. I do miss the Jim Weir articles though, but a goodly percentage of items covered in Kitplanes can now be found on FB or the various forums.
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