We simply have been too busy flying :-) Something like 8 hrs in the last week… With all the planning beforehand and data evaluation afterwards, this amounts to quite a bit of work (although i hate the word “work”… it’s more like “fun”, but leaving little time for other stuff like screening and cutting videos)…

The RV-7A flies great and is everything we hoped for (and more…)

The feeling is beyond description and so worth every minute it took to get there!
Both flights went perfect, with the landings being nice and maingear first but flying can still be improved by a little earlier rotation and more flare at touchdown.

First flight was flown by Bernie, followed by cowl removal / inspection and a second flight with building partner Alex as “flight test engineer” ;-)

The only squawks were a seeping oil cooler fitting (which didn’t show up during various ground runs and only lost a few drops of oil overall) and an aileron trim that went to max right once, which we suspect could be related to control stick wiring.

check back for an update in the following days. will post pictures and videos as soon as they’re gathered and ready.

rgds from RV-grinning
Alex & Bernie

UPDATE: Here’s a teaser image with the famous RV-grin immediately after the first flight with Bernie and Alex cheering. Bear with us for just a little longer until we get all the great pictures and videos collected and processed.

Picture by RV-10 builder Michael Wellenzohn

Also, the permit to fly is still pending :-( although it should be a mere formality, holiday season also appears to affect public offices…

We’re happy that we passed with very few and small writeups only and no showstoppers :-)
Brother P-Touch calling for some more labels *G*

Now, as there’s no such thing as a “Pink Slip” as in the U.S. (which lets you fly right away), we have to wait until we receive the provisional permit to fly. Let’s see how long that takes.

As a rough idea, the first flight could happen as soon as this weekend or as late as beginning of August. All depends on when the final papers arrive and both Lex and I are/will be on vacation as well. Preparation of the EAS internal paperwork was trickier than expected and provided us with a nice delay, so that we start conflicting with vacation :-( Then again, i can imagine worse kinds of conflicts ;-)

Mr. Husy wrapping up the inspection with some more Paperwork

First flight is not far out! We just passed the EAS (Experimental Aviation Switzerland) internal inspection last Friday with very few (mostly paperwork) details to clean up, so the FOCA final inspection won’t be far along.

Everything slipped a bit due to a great vacation in Florida and the Carribean ;-) But we should be able to fly before Oshkosh time is coming around.

Keep checking back.

This HB-YMT Mass and Balance.xls lets you play with some figures. It also checks the limit nosegear load as per Van’s and the Aerobatic limits. Feel free to reuse, many thanks to Carl Morgan (RV-7A, new zealand) for the excellent template!