Sweepstakes: Seal of approval

When Levy, an international airline pilot, came to the U.S. East Coast recently, I wanted to get his thoughts on an unrelated subject: the just-completed AOPA 2020 Sweepstakes RV–10. I wanted to find out what this veteran pilot—who has flown scores of aircraft types ranging from Eastern Bloc aerobats to wide-body airliners—thought of this refurbished Van’s RV–10.

Flight conditions were less than ideal. A cold front had blown through overnight, and a cold, blustery northwest wind would make the air choppy at low altitude. But Levy was game, so we strapped in and launched into the rough but clear morning air.

I’m fascinated by the various methods veteran pilots use when evaluating new-to-them airplanes, and Levy wasted no time. His feet were active on the rudder pedals during the takeoff roll, and he noted the airplane’s “spry” initial acceleration and climb rate.

The air was smooth above 6,000 feet, and Levy rocked the airplane left and right using full aileron deflection. “I see very little adverse yaw,” he said. “It rolls very smoothly without almost any rudder input at all. The rate of roll is spectacularly good for a little four-seat cruiser.”

Levy eased into a pair of Lazy 8s with pitch and bank angles approaching 30 and 60 degrees, respectively. “The airplane is incredibly well designed,” he said. “Amazing that an airplane with this power and speed range requires so little rudder.”

Slow flight was next, and Levy intentionally stalled the airplane at a variety of flap settings and bank angles. “That’s the very definition of docile,” he said.

Levy’s airline career includes mostly Boeing jets including 777s and 747s. He’s long been active in sport flying and he performed throughout Europe on a formation aerobatic team flying Russian-built Yak 50s. He owns a North American T–6 Texan and flies iconic World War II fighters including a Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, and P–47 Thunderbolt for a British aviation museum.

After a pair of landings with a swirling wind gusting more than 20 knots, he taxied to the AOPA ramp and shut down. “It’s clearly got that RV DNA in it,” he said, noting the strong family resemblance in Van’s Aircraft construction and flight characteristics.

Levy described the day’s flight conditions as “appalling” because of the turbulence and a surface temperature that never got above freezing. But he gushed about the quality of the aircraft’s craftsmanship, including the carbon-fiber instrument panel from Aerosport, the three-screen Advanced Flight System/Avidyne avionics, and the leather SF Sport Aviation interior.

As a U.K. citizen, Levy isn’t eligible to win the AOPA Sweepstakes late this year. Whoever does win, Levy said, will get a capable, versatile, fun aircraft. “It’s an absolutely superb airplane,” he said.

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