Bill Freeman wrote:

I'd like a bit of info from some of the RV fliers out there  What is the

behavior of the RV at a 1G stall and

how different is the accelerated stall?  How critical is a centered ball
to the respose at stall?  How much does builder variation seem to
affect the stall speed and response?
.   BIG SNIP

We need to learn from this loss of life, maybe somebody will do

SOMETHING

differently and will avoid this same problem.

Bill Freeman

Hi Bill,

    Can't speak for all RVs, but can tell you about my RV-6A stall
characteristics.  My aircraft stalls at 1650 lbs Gross weight in 1G
unaccelerated level flight at 58MPH IAS (3 mph indicator error so actual
stall speed is closer to 55 MPH).

   In my bird, there is just a very, very slight vibration in the stick
approx 2 MPH before stall break. Not anything that would get your attention
unless you are looking for it.  Others have reported more of an indication.
When it stalls, the nose drops approx 10-15degrees down, no or very little
tendency to roll off on a wing if recover is immediate.  If held the left
wing will tend to drop.  Rudder (or aileron - I know - not suppose to use
aileron, but with the freise type aileron there is very little adverse yaw
effect that got earlier aircraft into spins trying to use ailerons to keep a
wing up) very effective in holding up wing.  Recovery immediate upon release
of back pressure.  I estimate a stall and recovery can be made in 100-150ft
without a problem.  Of course - that is when you are expecting it and
prepared.

   With power on stall the nose gets pretty high and there is a strong
tendency to roll off on the right wing (could be P factor or torque
induced).  Gets somewhat more exciting - have not tried many of these.

   Have not tried accelerated stall in a turn as I am very leery of having
this bird flip over on its back.  I think that a 4 G turn and a stall would
flip the aircraft upside down in a flash (just my opinion - have not and
don't intend to try it).  Spins are to be avoided.

   Do not rely on any overt physical warning from the RV about an impending
stall.  It is not a vicious stall by any means, but in many RVs there is
very little indication like a burble, shaking of the stick,etc as there are
with other types of aircraft.

   I do not know of anyone who has put stall strips.  Since the wing is
rectangular (not tapered), the stall strips (which are generally to induce
the inner wing to stall first) are just not needed.  Perhaps they would
cause more of a burble, but don't really know.

  I have often considered an AOA (Angle of attack) indicator as a useful
thing to have.  But, I rely on keeping airspeed up and appropriate for the
maneuver being attempted.  You know -1 knot for each kid and 2 for the old
lady.

Best Regards

Ed Anderson

I have not flown  an RV much. Some. But I did notice a marked difference
between an RV and a 182. Duh! The 182 controls are normally heavy
and get heavier with speed. In engineering terms stick force
per G gets higher as speed increases. As you slow towards stall
however the force greatly lessens. This is a warning to me long before
the buffet or the stall warning horn going off.

I think this feature would be hard to implement in such a light
aircraft as an RV. The only thing I can come up with that might
possibly work is an anti servo tab on the elevator. This gives more
force feedback.

Paul Lamar

In my RV-3 the stick does get very loose down in the low speed range. Of course
after cruising along between 160 and 200 mph, even 100 mph feels like your'e close
to a stall until you do really slow flight at 50 - 60 mph. I do have a slight
buffet just prior to stall.

Finn

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