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Bailing out of an RV-8 especially if you're on fire

I think one practical solution, is to make an insulating sandwich on the "exterior" of the aircraft bottom skin. What about applying 1/8" self adhesive kiln insulation strips to the bottom of the lower fuselage skin. Then cover that with thin stainless sheet to mechanically hold it and handle the heat. The stainless sheet will need to be sealed all around the edges to prevent the insulation from wicking up engine oils.

This sheet can be carried forward into the cowl to make a nice transition to smooth the airflow exiting the cowl.

My thoughts anyway.

Bevan

Mine too. Been talking about it for years. And yes, your material choices are very effective.
 
Been reading this with interest. Even though fire seems to be driving the conversation here, there are certainly other factors where one might want to part company with his beloved 8. Sadly the RV community in general seems to scoff them on the whole. I’ve been in mass formations where the only guys NOT wearing a chute, were the RV pilots around me. That is, frankly, kind of short sighted.

Collision is my personal biggest concern. Not structural failure from G loading. Not in-flight fire. But having someone bounce off my wing in a manner that renders it as useful as teets on a bull. It’s not silly to consider a parachute IF you do acro and definitely IF you do formation. People screw up. And if you do not live in a box marked “hermetically sealed”, eventually you might have the misfortune of having someone ruin your day whether or not you did everything right. I also think of our lost friend who rode his tailless RV down 6000 feet last year, with no options at all but to wait for impact. Plenty of time to bail out, but he had no means and worse, was in a tilt forward canopy.

As far as the RV-8, I think there is much ado about nothing being made over the canopy and bailing out. IF you replace the bolts with pull pins, you have a pretty good chance of jettisoning the canopy in flight. I’ve experimented with opening the canopy under various conditions and it’s possible. Add a bucket load of adrenaline to that mix and its coming off, air pressure or no. You can definitely slide it back about two to four inches with both hands at speed. So once clear of the top bow, I am pretty sure you can push it up and off.

I’d far more concerned if I had a tilt forward canopy type RV and flew it in a manner more exciting than point A to point B travel. I can’t see anyone getting out of one of those if he loses a wing or a tail. My personal belief is that I would never fly show formation in a Tilt up, but again, that’s a PERSONAL choice. Just like a parachute. For me, I knew that if I wanted to play hard in my RV, it had to be a slider or a side tilt. Others fly tight formation in a tilt forward type and apparently never give it a thought. But many are also not wearing a chute either, no matter what kind of canopy they have. They think I am crazy for buying a chute, and I think they are equally crazy for parking three feet from another aircraft at 140 knots and not having a chute strapped to their butt. Everyone has different limits on what they accept. So it all comes down to how you view risk. Need a chute for a long cross country? Probably not. But putting on one in a mass flyby just makes sense, and as an extension of that, making sure you’ve modified your canopy so you can jettison it is part of that equation. Whether it saves your life or you still ride a busted bird down is actually secondary. Giving yourself the OPTION is what counts in the end. And if you don’t believe you can save your butt in under 22 seconds, watch this. My favorite example of why a chute is just good idea if you are going to PLAY:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xctYWSuwoYA

Impact is 30 seconds into video. Bailout is 16-18 seconds later. Pilot safe on the ground 8 seconds later. If you are going to PLAY seriously, its worth paying for the things that will help you survive.
 
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Been reading this with interest. Even though fire seems to be driving the conversation here, there are certainly other factors where one might want to part company with his beloved 8. Sadly the RV community in general seems to scoff them on the whole. I?ve been in mass formations where the only guys NOT wearing a chute, were the RV pilots around me. That is, frankly, kind of short sighted.

Collision is my personal biggest concern. Not structural failure from G loading. Not in-flight fire. But having someone bounce off my wing in a manner that renders it as useful as teets on a bull. It?s not silly to consider a parachute IF you do acro and definitely IF you do formation. People screw up. And if you do not live in a box marked ?hermetically sealed?, eventually you might have the misfortune of having someone ruin your day whether or not you did everything right. I also think of our lost friend who rode his tailless RV down 6000 feet last year, with no options at all but to wait for impact. Plenty of time to bail out, but he had no means and worse, was in a tilt forward canopy.

As far as the RV-8, I think there is much ado about nothing being made over the canopy and bailing out. IF you replace the bolts with pull pins, you have a pretty good chance of jettisoning the canopy in flight. I?ve experimented with opening the canopy under various conditions and it?s possible. Add a bucket load of adrenaline to that mix and its coming off, air pressure or no. You can definitely slide it back about two to four inches with both hands at speed. So once clear of the top bow, I am pretty sure you can push it up and off.

I?d far more concerned if I had a tilt forward canopy type RV and flew it in a manner more exciting than point A to point B travel. I can?t see anyone getting out of one of those if he loses a wing or a tail. My personal belief is that I would never fly show formation in a Tilt up, but again, that?s a PERSONAL choice. Just like a parachute. For me, I knew that if I wanted to play hard in my RV, it had to be a slider or a side tilt. Others fly tight formation in a tilt forward type and apparently never give it a thought. But many are also not wearing a chute either, no matter what kind of canopy they have. They think I am crazy for buying a chute, and I think they are equally crazy for parking three feet from another aircraft at 140 knots and not having a chute strapped to their butt. Everyone has different limits on what they accept. So it all comes down to how you view risk. Need a chute for a long cross country? Probably not. But putting on one in a mass flyby just makes sense, and as an extension of that, making sure you?ve modified your canopy so you can jettison it is part of that equation. Whether it saves your life or you still ride a busted bird down is actually secondary. Giving yourself the OPTION is what counts in the end. And if you don?t believe you can save your butt in under 22 seconds, watch this. My favorite example of why a chute is just good idea if you are going to PLAY:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xctYWSuwoYA

Impact is 30 seconds into video. Bailout is 16-18 seconds later. Pilot safe on the ground 8 seconds later. If you are going to PLAY seriously, its worth paying for the things that will help you survive.

I have done just about everything that can be done with a fixed wing civilian aircraft except ag work. I will no longer even consider doing close formation flying. For those who are so enamored with formation, I would recommend that you take a close look at the fatal French Connection and Red Baron accidents. If someone offered me an appropriate airplane I would do airshows or go air racing in a heartbeat. But formation ABSOLUTELY NOT.
 
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