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RV8 tail on a 6?

dmat

Well Known Member
Advertiser
Hi,

looking to upgrade the tail of my 6a and wanted to see if the 8 tail is the same as the 7?

Thanks,
D
 
Although the 7 and 8 tails are different, the 8 tail is the correct counter-balanced vertical stab/rudder for the 6.
 
D,
What you want is the -8 VS and Rudder.

The HS is narrower on the -8...
The -7 tail comes with the bigger rudder now. But is the correct size HS.

I did this to my -6...and found an older -7 tail....that came with the smaller -8 rudder. I like it.
 
The ask was because I found an 8 tail for sale which I was hoping to put on the 6. I will look for a 7 tail that's done already.

Just dont have the time to build at the moment.
 
The ask was because I found an 8 tail for sale which I was hoping to put on the 6. I will look for a 7 tail that's done already.

Just dont have the time to build at the moment.

I would look for an -8 tail. That's really the one you want.
 
I have the new 7 tail on my 6A. It is huge and the little extra weight out back does not help the CG. As noted by other, the 8 vert and rudder are a good compromise for the 6. The upside of my giant tail, I can slip that thing like mad...haha
 
Avoid -7 rudder

Avoid the -7 rudder and get the -8.
The -8 rudder has more margins than the -7 zipper.
 
I did it.

It worked out fine but attaching it is a lot different than a stock tail. It hangs over the longerons and requires reworking the attach points.

Steve
 
Why bother?

Not sure why it's necessary. The 6 tail will seek a little in turbulence, true, but it's easy to damp out with your feet. The 6 rudder, even the non-counterbalanced one, is plenty for directional control. Slipping works just fine even if you don't get C-150 freight elevator rate of descent out of it. Adding weight to the tail can make CG problems worse with light props. Additional wetted area doesn't do anything good for airspeed either. I think the small tail makes a better looking airplane too.

There are plenty of mods that can be done which will improve top speed, engine cooling, etc. but I don't see obvious benefit from this one.

Ed Holyoke
 
latter series -6 (aka -6.9) here, as delivered by Van's, and built with -8 tail feathers.
Perfect behaviour, PP, counterweight, good looks, what else does one want ;)
 
Not sure why it's necessary. The 6 tail will seek a little in turbulence, true, but it's easy to damp out with your feet. The 6 rudder, even the non-counterbalanced one, is plenty for directional control. Slipping works just fine even if you don't get C-150 freight elevator rate of descent out of it. Adding weight to the tail can make CG problems worse with light props. Additional wetted area doesn't do anything good for airspeed either. I think the small tail makes a better looking airplane too.

The later -6 kits shipped with an -8 rudder because Van wasn't happy with the -6's spin characteristics.

If the designer doesn't like it, that has to count for something.

I have the original small rudder on mine. I've recovered from enough spins to know I can recover if I need to, and having established that I don't feel any need to do deliberate spins in it anymore. My approach to this would probably be different with a different rudder.

I agree the small one looks better :)


- mark
 
The later -6 kits shipped with an -8 rudder because Van wasn't happy with the -6's spin characteristics.

If the designer doesn't like it, that has to count for something.

I have the original small rudder on mine. I've recovered from enough spins to know I can recover if I need to, and having established that I don't feel any need to do deliberate spins in it anymore. My approach to this would probably be different with a different rudder.


^^^^^^^^^^

This is not correct.

The only reason the RV-6 emp. kits began to be shipped with the RV-8 vertical stab. and rudder some time in the late 1990's was for parts commonality (fewer different parts to manufacture) and because the RV-8 emp. was largely matched hole pre-punched, it added that benefit to the RV-6 kit which up until then had no pre-punched parts.
 
^^^^^^^^^^

This is not correct.

The only reason the RV-6 emp. kits began to be shipped with the RV-8 vertical stab. and rudder some time in the late 1990's was for parts commonality (fewer different parts to manufacture) and because the RV-8 emp. was largely matched hole pre-punched, it added that benefit to the RV-6 kit which up until then had no pre-punched parts.

Scott, I have a -6A completed in 2000. How does one tell which VS and rudder was used? Not that I plan to change anything, just curious.
 
Scott, I have a -6A completed in 2000. How does one tell which VS and rudder was used? Not that I plan to change anything, just curious.

If the rudder has a counter balance arm and counter weight like each of the elevators do, then it would be an RV-8 rudder.
 
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