If you google Van's Experimental RV-9A N105GS nothing comes up and that needs to change.
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| N105GS - Van's RV-9A |
Last fall I completed phase one testing of N105GS built by Gary Brealey of Belfast, Maine. During construction he developed some medical issues that prevented him from flying. I heard about this from a fellow EAA member and offered to help. I had the 500+ hours but needed 10 in this specific plane in order test... Become a test pilot.
Two EAA members helped me get those hours and the RV-9A testing began shortly after.
Initially I thought I was committing to a 25 hour test schedule. Matter of fact, my wife is positive that 25 hours was the number being discussed at our meeting with Gary but upon completing the initial 25 hours it became 40 hours. Although a normal RV-9A with a Lycoming engine and a Sensenich propeller only needs 25 hours of testing unbeknownst to me the engine was rebuilt by "bubba" in a garage which necessitated a full 40 hour testing period of which much was spent high and within gliding distance of a runway. In one nearly three hour flight I managed to land at five different airports.
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| Testing N105GS to 14,000 feet |
N105GS isn't a perfect plane and there are things that need to be addressed with the autopilot, radios, etc... But for the most part it flies absolutely great and Gary did a super job building his dream.
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| Gary really enjoying a ride in the plane he built. Note the RV Grin! |
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| Visiting my nephew Gavin 300 miles away. |
There is no doubt that a person with solid engineering skills or just able to follow instructions, who has the time and patience can build their own plane. Besides the cost savings of being able to create a high performance aircraft for about $100,000 you will be doing something that few people would ever even consider doing. I don't know about you but the idea of doing this is pretty crazy and yet there are over 10,000 Van's aircraft kits now flying.
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| Testing done and plane delivered. Reward? Can of tomatoes... |
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| It's not done till the paperwork is done... |
