Here are some shots taken by Goleith while I was buzzing him today...

First one is on takeoff...

Some close-in buzz shots...

Watch out for that plane!!!

A slow overhead pass...

And one last low-level pass...

Time to land...

On this last shot, Joe (Goleith) claims that he caught the plane a split second before the wheels touched the ground. I'll let you decide for yourselves...

Nice pictures and Wounderfull plane there Doc!

I think that landing picture is true to it's name, ether way, it looks good!

Thomas

i like your color scheme, a little bit like mine on my attitude,

Thanks, guys. The little RV-4 has really grown on me lately. She's not as precise an aerobat as the CAP, but will do just about every trick in the book (loops, rolls, snaps, spins, lomcevaks, hammerheads, cubans of all sorts, etc.) with ease and grace. The only thing I can't get her to do is knife-edge. She severely pulls to the gear and drops the nose even with the rudder at max deflection.

When you slow her down, she just floats around like a little bumblebee. Yesterday I was flying low passes for Joe to take the pics, and for the first time ever I heard Joe say "That's too low, fly a bit higher so I can take better pics..."

The RV-4 has quickly become my new favorite for flying in a small field (for large fields, nothing beats my SA CAP 40e).

Doc

Hiya Doc:

What is your power setup in the RV?

Mine has lots of control coupling so yes knife edge needs plenty of up elevator and a touch of opposite aileron to compensate for the top rudder. But it does hold the knife edge fine.

It was not possible to hold knife edge at ~21 oz with a Mega 16/15/6 and KAN 8 X 1050. But with KAN 8 X 650 it dropped significant weight and holds knife edge just fine (with lots of compensation).

I just switched it to a Razor / Etech 3s1p 1200 combination. Wowie. Much less top rudder needed and it can easily hold knife edge with much less than full rudder.

My CG is about 3/16 in front of the front edge of the spar.

Agreed that it is a great plane. Yep, not a precision aerobat, but extremely capable of all sorts of flashy maneuvers.

CP

Man those are some great pics.. your cameraman rocks!

Originally Posted by Goleith

Man those are some great pics.. your cameraman rocks!

Yup, he's OK, but he prefers to fly his little, green monster than shoot pictures of my yellow wonder! LoL!

Originally Posted by ctparent

Hiya Doc:

What is your power setup in the RV?

Mine has lots of control coupling so yes knife edge needs plenty of up elevator and a touch of opposite aileron to compensate for the top rudder. But it does hold the knife edge fine.

Mine runs on a Himax 2015/4100 in a GWS C-gearbox (5.33:1), 9x7x3 prop, and a 3S Etec 1200 pack. Goes straight up, but it's not an unlimited vertical. The reason why I'm sticking with the small prop is that the current draw is low, so even at full throttle, which I rarely use, I'm not overamping the Etecs. I've flown it with a 3S TP2100s but it feels (and is) heavier - it won't flatten the spin for example. I've done a bit of knife-edging, but more like a knife-edge circle. You are right, there is a lot of coupling, but even compensating with elevator for the pull to the rudder and with the aileron for the roll, it still wants to go around in a circle. My CG is pretty much on the spar, or a hair ahead of it. My CAP, on the other hand, also tends to pull to the gear, but a lot less compared to the RV-4, and has no coupling, so knife-edges are fairly easy. I guess the little RV-4 is more challenging to fly than the CAP.
Doc

Similar setup really to mine, which is now Razor 300, GWS D drive, APC TE 10 X 5, and 3s1p 1200 etec.

I started at an AUW of ~21 oz. with the Mega/KAN 1050, then flew at 19 oz. with Mega/KAN 650, now I must be in at 16.X oz. with the Razor/Etec. Flies great on all three setups, but is really a different plane at the 16.X weight.

I am pulling 8.4 to 8.6 Amps WOT static. Like you , I am getting plenty of vertical, but not unlimited. Still more than enough pull for even the biggest maneuvers.

I have tried a pile of props, and the 10 X 5 TE is best. The APC SF props draw alot of current and really do not offer any overall benefit. They do slow the downlines a bit better, but only slightly, and at higher speed they seem to blow alot of air around without any real thrust improvement. I suppose for a generally slower flight envelope they are pretty good.

I had the CG back at the spar back last March (2003) but found that everthing handles better with the CG a bit forward of there. Very little pitch damping in the plane, so lots of extreme stuff is possible.

Anyway, nice pics and glad the ship flies so well for you.

CP