Lighter they are...
Hi,
I am thinking of building an RV6 and am wanting to keep it as light and simple as possible. 180hp 3blade performancepropeller wood prop. I don't even want a carb heat so I was thinking IO, but I've heard you can get away with no carb heat on a carb'd Lycoming, is that true? Would it be possible to get one to come in at 973lbs?
What would the recipe be to do that? Tip up, no vacuum pump, etc?
Thanks.
Hi Brandon,
This is my 27th year in the RV world having built a 925lb RV4, 1190lb HR2 and my current 975lb RVX (RV6 Hybrid) I have been blessed with 3000+ RV flying hours and several lessons learned. From my first 2 airplanes and having inspected and flown 200 or so other RV's my conclusion?
The lighter they are, the better and more fun they are to fly, trust me!
How do I keep them light? First, no frills keeps them simple, light and affordable. I don't care what they say about gross weight and empty weight performance. I've flown every model of the RV and the F16 and guess what, the lighter A model F16's fly better than any of the more powerful, heavier new models. Same holds true for any airplane, even RV's.
Techniques: 0-320 vs 0-360, I like the 0-320 as it's slightly lighter and can be rebuilt with 9,0:1 compression, has a shorter stroke and is a bit smoother. My RVX has an 0-360J (previous 0-320) the lightest 0-360 made.
Constant speed vs FP: Having owned both the FP for lower HP RV's is perfect. Simple, light and low cost. In fact it's 67 lbs lighter and around $5K cheaper depending on model. I like Craig Catto's composite props.
Starter/Alt: A true light nut would fore-go both items and hand prop but I used the lightest Sky-Tech available and a B&C SD8 mounted on the Vacuum pump pad. The Skydynamix Magnesium flywheel also saves 6lbs:
http://www.skydynamics.com/sdflywheel.htm
Panel: KISS principle: My personal opinion is Autopilots are for airliners, Sport planes are for fun. Therefore, I didn't have one in any of my airplanes and never missed it. (I've flown alot of autopilots BTW) Instruments? I used a MGL Enigma and TruTrak ADI on the RVX with all LED lighting. 5.1A draw total.
Paint: One coat exterior with Vinyl trim, interior primer, no panels, trim or added weight. I do use Cool Max firewall protection.
RVX weight? 975 empty. Cost with used engine and Internet purchased avionics? Under $30K (2005 dollars)
How does it fly?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um3MZwrqPhQ
V/R
Smokey
Questions?