Vans Aircraft RV-10 first flight. #VANSAIRCRAFT #RV10
On January 10th 2021, after 3050 build hours it was finally time for the first flight. It was also time for a haircut, but I opted to go flying. All in all a great flight with a plane that flew stable, straight, and fast. A couple of points: I had the audio recorder plugged into the co-pilots jacks, and the audio panel was accidentally in isolate mode. There was a little confusion with the traffic tower on my intentions, but I opted to leave the pattern on the base leg of a pattern instead of the crosswind so I could stay closer to the safety of open fields. When I did my first level off to cruise I watched the oil door bow to the point it unlatched itself and opened. I made the decision to continue the flight test. The CHTs definitely came up when the door opened, but stabilized well below 400. I cut out the 1 hour of footage of running engine break-in race tracks at 75% power as well as a couple of speed reductions with 50% flaps to 65 knots.