Summer 2025 Update: Flying since December 2024!

The RV-7 passed the initial airworthiness inspection in December of 2024 with the first flight happening soon after. I did the phase 1 flight testing using EAA’s task based flight testing guide. 

The first flight went very well with no problems. The aircraft flew straight and true hands off. 

Chilly conditions but the Reif sump heater did a great job. 

When I did the initial oil change I went ahead and added a blast tube for cooling the alternator after reading about failures of the plane power alternator. -vans airforce thread: https://vansairforce.net/threads/cooling-solution-for-plane-power-alternator.231891/#post-1822386

The sky designs aero 5.0 carbon wheel fairings are nice but still quite a bit of work to install.

First overnight trip to Chattanooga:

I’m very happy with the Monkworkz 30 amp vacuum pad generator. It’s a very nice unit and makes usable power at 1000 rpm. 

I also installed a new alternator cooling adapter printed from a higher temp material. Great product. 

Fall 2024 Update:

 Since the last update I have gotten a lot of small final detail items done. The RV-7 is now ready for its first flight! 

The weight and balance measurements are done and now I’m in the process of scheduling the airworthiness inspection and making sure that the aircraft, engine and propellor logbooks are up to date and correct.

The only parts I’m working on are the wheel pants but I don’t need or want them for the first flight because more drag is better for breaking in the engine.

I have run the engine several times and adjusted the idle speed and mixture. I also did a short taxi test,  adahrs vibration test, magnetometer interference test and initial magnetometer calibration. All results were positive so I’m looking forward to getting the inspection done.

Database updates in progress on G3X:

Fuel tank quantity sensor calibration:

Weighing in progress:

A lot of back and forth to find the best way to level the fuselage using the lift table:

The scales from EAA chapter 1016 worked great. I’m happy with the 1177 lb weight considering that the BRS parachute system is around 39lbs and that I have a backup alternator and a nice interior. (These scales are designed for cars and the unused sensor had a 1 lb indication on it which I deducted from the total!)

The electronic level made it easy:

Marking points for the datum:

Avionics ground power plug in place. (This makes it easy to update and configure everything with the cowl on.)

Engine sump heater plug and cowl flap installed:

The hinged lower cowl holder is a huge help for working solo with the lower cowl. 

Cowl heat plug and cowl flap. Also cowling heat insulation seems to be working well.

The Classic Aero Designs interior adds a little weight but it looks great. Not bad to install. 

BRS parachute rocket is hooked up and armed. 

More interior work:

Right wing tip installed:

Magnetometer in right wing tip. (This location passed the Garmin interference test with no problems.)

Left wingtip installed and lights working great. 

Terminals for the Archer nav antenna in the left wingtip. 

Working on the gear leg fairings:

Nav / Strobe light connector:

Wingtips primed and ready to be installed. 

Wing root seal fitted on both sides.

Working on wingtips: