"Skyking" wrote in message ...
"EDR" wrote in message
.. .
In article , Skyking
wrote:

I have a friend in Kingman,AZ who needs some help with
landing his RV-8. Is there anyone near Kingman who could help?
The person would need access to a dual control RV-8 as
the time is not flown off of his airplane yet.

You do not need another RV-8. A Citabria will do with a competent
instructor.

I don't believe that a Citabria flies anything like a RV-8.

I've got over 5000 hours in Stearmans and I wouldn't
check someone out in a Citabria and tell them that they
could fly a Stearman.

Thanks for your input anyway.

Skyking


But 5,000 hours of Stearman time would make the transition into a
Citabria or even an RV-8 relatively easy from a
take-off/landing/ground handling standpoint, which is really the more
difficult part of flight operations.

The differences between managing a horizontally-opposed Lycoming
versus a radial engine Contintental notwithstanding, if the Citabria
check out involved many hours flying it from the back seat in order to
develop the peripheral sense needed in something like a Stearman, the
recommendation may not be that unreasonable as part of the overall
check out strategy (probably cheaper, too).

As for transitioning from a Citabria, Cub, or other similar
taildragger (even a Pitts, but that's really overkill in terms of
control sensitivity/performance), the transition into an RV-4, -6, or
-8 form those types will not be difficult provided an understanding of
the performance differences -- higher speeds and more abrupt stall
buffeting in the RV's for example -- are explained and understood.
From a tailwheel standpoint close to the ground, the Citabria is a
more challenging airplane than the RV-8.

The best thing your friend could do if he/she really wants time in an
RV-8 or similar RV product is to contact the kit manufacturer
directly, or talk with the local EAA Chapter. Several qualified RV
instructors can be had for check outs, even test flying newly-built
airplanes. They might have to be brought in from somewhere else,
though, but the cost to do this is cheap if it results in a thoroughly
tested airplane and a thoroughly checked-out owner/pilot who will then
be comfortable and competent in the airplane over the long haul.

Hope this helps,

Rich
http://www.richstowell.com