2010.05.03 - RV-8 Test Flight - Part I - Takeoff

After 23 months and 2400 hours of building, RV-8 N998RV took to the air for the very first time on May 3 2010. As one would hope with any test flight, it was uneventful and a pleasure to fly. This Part I of my RV-8 Test Flight documents the startup, taxi out, take off, and the first circuit around the airport.

The trip to Oregon the week before to fly with Mike Seager was the best money I spent on the project. During the video, listen for the tower calling out "Eight Romeo Victor" which is the call sign for my aircraft - N998RV. The audio mix is from the cockpit including the music, tower, and my various comments during the flight.

As of November 20 2010, I have about 124 hours total time on the RV-8. It just gets more and more fun to fly! The Lycoming IO-390 and Constant Speed Prop are a sweet combination on the RV-8! The triple Grand Rapids HX EFIS installation along with the Vertical Power VP-200 electrical system and TruTrak two-axis Autopilot have also performed flawlessly. I highly recommend these fine products. Finally, if you've been debating on whether to install an entertainment system in your project, don't hesitate! The PS Engineering 3000 Stereo intercom, Kenwood DNX8150, and the Bose X headsets are an incredibly sweet combination that make those long cross countries just fly by! Passengers love having the secondary LCD screen in the pilot's headrest and high-fidelity entertainment as well. The Kenwood's Garmin GPS Map display is also a big hit with the passengers as they can follow along in standard "car-style" navigation context.

Be sure to check out Part II of this video which documents slow flight testing and landing configuration testing, a couple more circuits around the airport, landing, taxi back, and returning to the hangar.

This Video is in full 1080p HDTV, so be sure to select a viewing resolution that works with your computer and is higher than the standard 360p default. At least the 760p mode, for example. And don't forget to try full-screen mode for the most impact.

Enjoy,

Matt Dralle
RV-8 #82880 N998RV
http://www.mattsrv8.com - Matt's RV-8 Construction Log
   / mattsrv8   - Matt's RV-8 HDTV YouTube Channel
Status: 124+ Hours TTSN - The Fun Never Stops...