Aside from this year’s high-profile Battle of Britain anniversary commemorations, the 2010 airshow season was notable for the number of new aerobatic acts that joined the circuit. The Pitts Pair and the Gee Wizz Pitts Duo brought the classic US biplane design back into sharp focus, while the excellent Redhawks Fournier RF-4D duo reignited memories of the Unipart/Skyhawks team of the 1980s. The RV-8tors, though, brought something a little different to the table – their fast and aggressive manoeuvring and precise formation work proving that light, homebuilt aircraft could comfortably sit alongside more obviously-aerobatic types within the airshow arena and, in some respects, outperform them.
GAR was privileged to have the opportunity to speak to the formation’s No.2 – Andy Hill – on the team’s origins, the season just gone and the benefits of the RV-8 as a display aircraft.
The RV-8tors seeds were sown two years ago when Andy met Alister Kay at a fly-in held at Compton Abbas. The two men already had something in common – they both owned and operated a Vans RV-8 – but they soon discovered they had similar intentions too. Determined to create a new and different airshow act, Alister and Andy flew a number of formation flights together and the required Display Authorisation was granted in late 2008 – Alister already being fully authorised to fly formation aerobatics.
It took some months before the framework of a routine fully structured around the RV-8’s strengths was worked-out and perfected, but that doesn’t mean by any stretch that the team are now resting on their laurels. I recently interviewed aerobatic legend Brian Lecomber, and he explained to me how formation display teams don’t simply explode - they evolve. This is an idea Andy strongly supports and it’s a theme especially relevant to the RV-8tors - a team able to change elements of their routine to suit the airshow venue in question.
“The display can be tailored to a particular venue, and often is”, he states, citing examples of how this approach was put in practice during the 2010 season. At Eastbourne’s Airbourne event, the RV-8tors added a final, banked slow-speed run in order to take advantage of the 50 metre line – the one closest to the crowd. Eastbourne offers a very long display line to fill and, to their credit, the RV-8tors worked it extremely capably and didn’t look lost at all. Filton, one month later, was an unconventional venue, with one area that couldn’t be over-flown and variance in the turning areas at either end of the display line, Andy tells me. This required modifications to the shape of the routine, in order to comply with the demands of the showground’s layout. Ultimately, the team’s flexibility and adaptability mean that, without safety being sacrificed, each show gets the best possible display.
In recent years, Alister’s storming routines in the Old Flying Machine Company’s P-51D Ferocious Frankie and Spitfire Mk IX MH434 have seen him gain a reputation as a thoroughly exciting display pilot. With in excess of 9,000 hours logged in small aircraft, his experience is vast and the same goes for Andy, too. Andy’s flying career began in the RAF, where he progressed from the Bulldog to the Jet Provost and then on to the Harrier GR.5 and GR.7. Nowadays, he is a part-time Airbus Captain for a major UK airline, but he also flies with Ultimate High, competes in aerobatic competitions, carries out Jet Provost instruction sorties, test-flies new-build RV- series aircraft and instructs at the North Weald RV and Yak Formation Schools.
With that much expertise on hand, there’s an automatic expectancy for the display to be, at least, pretty good. But beyond that, Andy explains, Alister’s involvement with the OFMC– as described in GAR’s coverage of this year’s Goodwood Revival - ultimately stipulates that the team operate with a high degree of professionalism. This is so as to reflect back positively on the Duxford-based warbird operator, and perpetuate the excellence of the Hanna display-flying legacy. Andy points out that the team’s practice sessions greatly exceed statutory CAA requirements, and that the aircraft are frequently airborne every single day.
The RV-8tors first display was not at an airshow, but a wider, transport-themed event – the West Midlands Festival of Wings, Wheels, Speed and Steam at Shrugborough Hall and this, Andy tells me, went well. During the flights back to the pair’s respective airfields, the RV-8’s speed came into its own, allowing both pilots to be back home for lunch! Likewise the display at Culdrose, one month later, took place in the early afternoon and, one-and-a-half hours later, Alister and Andy had completed the return flight and were able to sit down for a replenishing cup of tea! This prompts the question, what does Andy think of the RV-8 as a display aircraft?
“For the type, the aircraft is quick in that it will repeatedly loop from 200 knots”, he says, adding: “...and it’s small, which probably makes it look quicker”. He describes it as probably the best of the RVs, blending rapid pace with high manoeuvrability, although it’s “not exceptionally aerobatic, which limits what we can do solo”. It’s a very precise aeroplane without being over-sensitive, it’s easy to fly and it has few vices, but it’s the twin domains of high speed with low drag and power-to-weight in which the RV-8 truly excels.
Andy advises me that Alister considers the aircraft’s speed range better than that of the Extra 300 and while it’s nowhere near as aerobatically-charged, this gives it certain advantages. The differences between the two types came to light during an RV-8/Extra 300 formation flight. Loops were flown during the sortie and it was apparent that the Extra was dragging, requiring the RV to throttle well back when the speed exceeded 150 knots.
A typical RV-8tors routine convincingly showcases the type’s aerial prowess, with streams of long, spearing vertical figures and very few gaps in between. The aircraft can preserve energy and, theoretically, says Andy, it could loop and re-loop along the crowdline indefinitely. The displays present much more than just loops but, the point is, they’re non-stop, they’re full-on and they’re highly entertaining.
The display itself is primarily choreographed by Alister, but with a large input from Andy whose contributions to the mix include the smoke system. Since Airbourne, the team has been using an upgraded two-injector unit, designed by Andy, which lays out thick and long-lasting smoke trails in the team’s wake. Complementing the fast pace of the routine, this smoke gives the display yet more impact.
For the future, the team intends to carry on developing the RV-8’s potential as a display aircraft and is set to carry out many more displays in 2011. Clearly, this is an airshow act well worth keeping an eye on and one that, personally, I’m very much looking forward to seeing again next year.
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