May 24, 2021     RV-14A       Category: Research

The RV-14A is the perfect fit for my wife and I as we enter the retirement phase of our lives. I am a retired airline pilot with general aviation roots and my wife is an avid private pilot with a few hundred hours. Our mission is basically traveling around the country on leisurely trips with minimum use of the IFR environment. Although we have owned And operated 7 different tail draggers in our lifetime without a single issue, we decided on the nose wheel version for peace of mind. The cool look of a tail dragger is hard to overcome but the advantages in my opinion are minute. I stuck with the standard LYC IO390 and the standard 74” Hartzell 2 bladed prop. I installed dual E-Mags instead of regular Slick mags. For me, the added cost of other engine upgrades and/or changing to a 3 bladed prop were way out of line for the improvements they supposedly give. I can't argue about the good looks of the upgrades, but when the cowling is on and prop is turning, the added looks disappear. I am building it to fly, not to show. We definitely went overboard on avionics considering our mission. We have dual G3X's, a back up G5, remote Garmin com and transponder, G430W, 2 axis auto-pilot plus a yaw dampener and finally a GDL 52R Sirius XM receiver. The electrical system consists of a VPX pro, a back up alternator and an IBBS system (battery back-up). I wanted a custom center console and glove box/arm rest for cruising comfort which took considerable time to design and build. I used Scheme designers to help with the paint design and bought their masks. A good friend and neighbor did and excellent job of painting the aircraft which consists of “ pearl” added to the final clear coat application.