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Rv 4 and a passenger

Jetspud

Member
So I’m up to about 10 hours in my new 4. My question is how much difference is it take off and landing with someone in the back. Should I put some sand bags in the back and slowly build up the weight of just go for a passenger

Thanks

David
 
Yes, there will be a difference

Depending on PAX weight, pitch will get very light and sensitive. I limit my backseat to 200 lbs, and at that weight it makes a big difference. Take yourself a big duffle bag and fill with stuff to about 100 lbs and strap it in back seat with harness, go fly. With a PAX I take off with some down trim, as you will feel the difference immediately. Be careful landing the first time, as the flare will come quick .
 
weight and CG

Do a weight and CG determination for your aircraft. They are all different. A 200 pounder exceeds my aft CG. I limit by passenger's weight to a max of 175 lb. The pitch is very sensitive and frankly I don't like flying with a passenger.:(
Bill McLean
RV-4 slider
lower Alabama
 
And another thing..

Fuel in the -4 is forward of the CG, so if PAX is heavy, I seldom let fuel get below half tanks.
 
aft cg

David: The Bills are giving good advice, and creeping up to aft cg operations is prudent. The stick force per g at aft cg is very low. MY -4 is 34 years old, and take offs and landing at normal cg are a blast. Landings at the end of a long flight with minimal fuel, baggage and spouse are thought provoking: rest hand on knee, wheel land, and ease the tail down....a related point: my plane has shed an enormous amount of weight over the years: a heavy Delco geared starter replaced with lightweight starter; 35 pound gel cell replaced with lithium ion battery; 10-11 pounds of old avionics/instruments replaced with Skyview, etc...except a pound off the tailwheel, all of that weight came off ahead of the cg. I mention this since the empty cg may be changing over time...in my case, not favorably for hauling stuff...MTCents
 
RV4 with passengers

I clearly remember my first passenger flight in my RV4. Unless you have lots of TANDEM tailwheel time I would advise a managed increase of rear seat weight. The RV4 with a passenger is a much different airplane both in take-off and landing. Also be very cautious with any aggressive inflight maneuvering.
 
Weight

The advice so far is spot on, this is more comments about ideas to keep the CG in Van's recommended range. DONT go out of the range!

I moved my battery into the front right cheek to move the cg a little farther forward, and made the original battery location available as a forward baggage compartment. When taking a passenger that is heavy I throw my travel tool kit up there, probably weighs 10 lbs. That is also where the oxygen bottle, books, quarts of oil, anything heavy goes when flying on a trip.

Once I run out of room up there, I try to put heavy stuff that would normally be in the baggage compartment under my legs on either side of the front seat. Like water bottles and my tie down anchors that are in a nice bag.

Then for landing I always wheel land with a passenger, and I always dial in a little down trim to be sure to have pressure on the stick which gives it more feel.

Also, do not go aft of the recommended CG range! Did I say that already? It will be very exciting!
 
Yes, trying out with weights in the back before putting a heavy passenger back there is a good idea. My plane flies VERY differently with an aft CG (like with a 170lb passenger or with wife and luggage on a trip).

As Bill said, it's very important to look at your W/B and figure out what your limit for the rear is.

Beyond the light controls (which doesn't bother me *too much*), it wants to sink like a rock if you're low on speed and if you're high on speed it'll bounce (maybe a couple of times). What I do now is come in a bit faster than when I fly by myself and finely use throttle/ elevator during the flare to ease it onto the runway. This works better than just leaving the throttle at idle until touch-down.

I've lost about 50lbs of weight (mostly from the nose) since I bought the plane and when flying by myself, it feels and handles amazingly! I like the feel of mine better than any other RV I've flown. BUT usefulness has gone down b/c I can't take big passengers and when taking trips, I have to limit what my wife can bring. Once she told me, "Fine! Why don't you go by yourself in your little airplane and I'll fly there commercially." LOL.

I've recently installed a Landoll Harmonic Dampener (12.2lbs) up front which gives a good compromise between light, responsive feel when flying by myself and making it not too scary to land with big passengers or wife and luggage.
 
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