Transition Training... CHECK!

[captain_john]

Well, I am writing this from Florida and plan on being back home this Thursday. I just completed 5 hours of transition training with Jan Bussell in Okeechobee, Florida. He is a VERY GOOD instructor and a helluva guy!

Yah, I know... my plane is far from finished, but Bill H's RV-6 that lives in my hangar is almost done! So don't bust my chops! This is the right time for the training!

Anyways, Jan ran me though the paces while I was down here. Honestly, I am pretty sure that I could sit in one of these ships and pilot it safely but Jan made the whole event worthwhile showing me some things that would have probably took me much longer to learn on my own. THAT is what transition training is all about!

He brought me through all phases of flight and explained why the plane does the things it does and how it can be different that the Citabria or a Chief.

So... all you guys flying your RV's tell me about this:

I try to NEVER put power back in after starting my initial reduction on downwind. Maybe you do too?

Jan has you do a reduction to idle on downwind (in order to get into the flap operating range), trim the plane and put in half flaps then increase to 1,100 or 1,200 rpm for the rest of the circuit.

What do you guys think about that?

I didn't challenge him on it. It is his plane and I will fly it his way.

Is that the ONLY way to reasonably get the plane into flap operating speed?

Do you have a better way?

How do you do it?

CJ

[cjensen]

I can't offer an opinion on flying RV's...yet, but I TRY to do what you do John... Depends on the airplane...

Glad you had a great time, and thanks for the report on Jan! May I ask what the cost was?

[Spike]

I have a fair amount of time in my friend's 8A including pattern work and landings (a tough nut from the backseat of an 8 I must say). That is not how I/we do it. We make an initial power reduction at pattern entry, maybe a bit before , that represents power required for level flight or let down (dependent on situation) with the flaps down. Then we hold altitude and let it bleed off.

I can see where his methodology would allow you to delay power retardation. I'd rather plan for the entry a bit farther out.

Spike

[Brantel]

Jan is great!! I did 10 hours with him about a year and a half ago.

He sometimes comes in to KMOR with one of his planes. He has a house here in Dandridge TN.

Great guy and great instructor!

[painless]

CJ, right or wrong this is what I do.

I try to rein her in further out from the pattern that I would normally in any other airplane. 2-3 miles out I am reduced in power in the 1900-2100 RPM range. By the time I enter the downwind, I am usually at just under 110 mph. At the departure end of the runway I reduce to 1400 rpm and deploy my first 10 degrees of flaps. Just past midfield I deploy flaps to 20 degrees, rpm stays the same. Turning downwind to base I go to full flaps. If I nail my entry to downwind at the proper pattern altitude and leave rpm at 1400 I usually can sit back and watch the approach unfold until I am ready to round out and flair. Makes EVERY landing of mine PERFECT! Yeah... Right! The majority of the time at least. Well, lets just say I can usually use the airplane again!

I find that if I mess with the rpm by increasing it in the pattern, I end up too high on final.

[captain_john]

Sooooo, here I sit in Fort Lauderdale awaiting my flight home.

Chad, The price was not bad I thought. It was $145 per hour wet with instructor. At that rate, and given how busy he is I am sure it augments his fixed income very nicely! Not a bad side gig for him, I would say! He is quite a nice guy as well. Even if I didn't learn a THING (which wasn't the case) it still would be fun to do for the heluvit!

Spike, landing a taildragger from the back is quite a feat! I practice landing from the back seat of the Citabria with Machineman in the front for weight and balance and safety purposes and it really hones my skills!



Besides, I can't reach the starter button from the back either!



Brantel, Yes, he does have a pace in Tenn as well as the one in Fla. He goes back and forth a fair amount he tells me. I am willing to bet that he uses the tailwheel plane instead of the nosedragger to commute with as it has a 180 in it.

Jeff, I like the strategy you use (and the one Spike's buddy with the -8A uses) about reducing power on the cruise decent. I have seen Wicked Stick do it too and I will likely employ it as well.

Thinking about the way Jan shows, I really don't see anything "wrong" with it. I t has been drummed into my head since the beginning that engines typically quit (if they are gonna) during a power reduction. If they do so, reinstating power is normally unsuccessful. If that is the case and power is lost during this reduction, the airport is certainly within gliding distance even for the Coke machine that the RV is. A standard power off landing could be made quite easily

I got a couple more hours of flying time in yesterday in Turbo Eddie's RV-6A. We went all over Hell's half acre and he has a really good grip on the way that plane performs! He does the steady power reduction thing as well.

ALSO, I would like to add that he uses that taxi gear on the front of his -6A exactly as it should be used... for taxiing! When he places his wheels on the ground, they always touch on the mains first and the nose comes down oh so gently and at very low speeds. Kudos to Turbo Eddie for excellent nosedragger manners! Truly remarkable!

Turbo also knows more people in the Stuart, Florida area than you can shake a stick at! You couldn't throw a dead cat without hitting somebody that TE knows! He is like the freakin governor down there!

Well, gotta get on the plane to Boston now.

Talk at ya later!

CJ

[cjensen]

Chad, The price was not bad I thought. It was $145 per hour wet with instructor. At that rate, and given how busy he is I am sure it augments his fixed income very nicely! Not a bad side gig for him, I would say! He is quite a nice guy as well. Even if I didn't learn a THING (which wasn't the case) it still would be fun to do for the heluvit!

Awesome...that's not bad at all for the caliber of training he provides!

Turbo also knows more people in the Stuart, Florida area than you can shake a stick at! You couldn't throw a dead cat without hitting somebody that TE knows! He is like the freakin governor down there!

Hehe...wonder if he knows any of my relatives! I used to live in Stuart (as a kid), and still have a bunch of family there...

[captain_john]

Chadley,

Stuart is a great place! As I had told you before, I have been visiting there for almost as long as you have been alive! I bet that he does know your relatives, especially if they are in aviation! He is a great guy!

Let me know when you plan on visiting down there. I will try to swing down for a visit. I would enjoy seeing my family down there again soon anyway!

CJ

[lancef53]

I have done some training with a couple of different instructors, and each one was different. The time I spent with the young, aviation school heavy iron wannabe pilots used the pull back and leave it. I really don't like that, it works great if you land at the same airport all the time, but not as much if you move around. It also puts you at a disadvantage if you need to land somewhere where the runway isn't a mile long. I like to use power as required to keep my airspeed and the runway sight picture correct. Every landing is different, thats where the fun comes in!!

CJensen, where are you gonna do your transition training? I talked to a guy in Iowa last week that has a RV6 that he trains with. He was $150 wet, about the same the guy in Florida.

[cjensen]

Really!? Rob (rob) did his training with a guy in IA in a 6, but we heard he was out of it now...who is the guy you talked to? Would be a lot easier than FL...

[lancef53]

His name is Jim Delveau, and it was Ankeny, IA

jdelveau at g mail dot com

I also heard that doug wieler in Hudson, WI did training, and maybe had access to a 6 or 7. I have not talked to him, but got his name from Tom Berge in Minneapolis, www.rvtransition.com

[cjensen]

That name sounds familiar! Rob???

I hadn't heard that Doug had use of a 6 or 7...will have to check in to that as well.

[lancef53]

Like I said, I have not spoken to Doug, that is what Tom Berge mentioned.

I can't wait to be to the point of needing the training!!

[painless]

Chad:

Check this guy out: http://www.rvtransition.com/

He is associated with the Minnesota wing of Vans Airforce.

[lancef53]

Painless, Tom only does tricycle training. I checked with him about a week ago.

[painless]

There is another guy with the Minnesota wing named Tom Irlbeck. He is ex-military and flies an -8.

Here is the flight training page from the Minnesota Wing's website:

http://www.mnwing.org/page8/page8.html

[lancef53]

Thanks for the tip, Jeff. I saw that guy at a fly in in Alexandria, MN last summer. I remember the plane.

Does he have controls in the 8 for training? That would be perfect!!

[painless]

Not sure. I had contacted him a few years ago to give me training in my 6A and the plan at that time was to use my plane. He seemed unfazed about taking pax during phase I. His opinion was that he would be "essential crew".

I ended up using a guy that was referred to me, who did it as a favor. Not for hire.

[Cherokee Driver]

Tom does have controls in his 8. I flew with him when I was "dreaming" about building. I looked him up when I decided I needed to fly one before I committed to the build. He let me fly it from the rear. I do not know what his feelings are on doing transition training, back vs front, insurance, etc.

In any event he is a tremendous guy and certainly a good source for information.

CD

[cjensen]

I scheduled August 6-8 with Jan down in Florida this past weekend!! Guess that means I'm shooting for a first flight sometime toward the end of August!