I have been following this project for a number of years – it seemed at the start the perfect combo – a light RV with the CD-155 diesel.
I checked on flight radar and the reg (ZU-IXF) shows up with a bunch of recent long range flights – 10k feet and 155kts ground speed –
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/zu-ixf#38b06ab9
https://www.kitplanes.com/the-jet-a-burning-rv-9a/
Thanks for that @aidanf123, I somehow missed that article despite being a Kitplanes subscriber.
10k feet and 155kts ground speed –
No offense, but this means next to nothing. Ground is what it is, and without knowing what settings were use… as an example I usually fly between 40 and 50%, so even my TAS (or IAS for that matter) is quite irrelevant if one doesn’t know about the settings used.
From the article: “We climb at 1400 fpm and true out at 163 knots at 10,000 feet using 7.8 gallons per hour. Pull the engine back to 75% power and we are seeing 154 knots at 6 gph”. Now we’re talking 😉
Pretty good perf, probably slightly better than with a Lycosaurus. The installation/integration was professionally done, and it shows. Not sure though that the requirement for an accredited installer will be popular with homebuilders, but the package is interesting, and the cowling aesthetics sure beat that G- reg WAM powered example 😅
You can see the flights they have done – S Africa up to Kenya and back – not exactly a quick hop to Le Touquet and back – they must have confidence in the package.
The weight is a problem – I would love the same package on a Rans S-21(ie love it once I have got my daughter through college and my wife’s honeydew list around the house done) (in experimental its GW is 1800lbs versus the 1720 for the RV9) that and the extra fuel capacity would be sweet.
But congrats to them – not an easy project – I was following along and close enough to 3 years for them to develop this.
