[HFS]

Any "Rocketeers" out there who have tested their airplane to Max Weight/97.4" CG position (most aft allowed)?

Thank you ...

HFS

 

[andoman]

I'm surprised that no one has chimed in. I have not been able to test my Rocket to aft CG because I can't get there. If I recall correctly, with 100 lbs baggage and a 200 lb. rear pax I'm still a tad from full aft. Pitch and roll harmony is ideal with a 160 lb pax and abut 60 lbs baggage.
Taking a stab at your question: I bet it flies just like a -4 at full aft CG. Somewhat touchy in pitch and perhaps a handful. I've flown my -4 at full aft and I don't find it disconcerting. There are others that would certainly disagree.

 

[SMO]

Just looking at some older posts and I see this one, so will chime in. I have an F1 EVO. Here is what I wrote in a summary of the lateral stability testing I did:

With a forward CG the airplane exhibits positive longitudinal stability. As loading moves aft the longitudinal stability decreases. It goes negative somewhere between 92.5” (still positive) and 93.7” (negative). At ~96” the airplane became more difficult to control, with gusts creating large divergences from straight and level. This instability increased with speed. Testing further aft of 96” was abandoned and 96” will be the aft limit for this aircraft. However the autopilot did not have any problem controlling the airplane in this flight regime.

 

[fixnflyguy]

My -4 experience..I have Rocket time, but never in AFT CG, however, in my -4 I have hauled a 225 PAX , smoke oil tank in the baggage compartment and half full fuel..any RV4 driver can vouch that's pretty AFT loading. The pitch sensitivity is something to watch, and requires a light hand. When landing, if trimmed to zero stick pressure, a go around will result in high pitching up, so I trim nose down a bit and hold some back pressure..just a personal preference based on experimenting .

 

[Saber25]

While flying Harold Steiner's son in law in Steiner's RV4 back in 1985, I was made into a believer in limiting aft seat pax weight. While displaying the fine control response of the -4, I pulled into a 3g turn and nearly had the tail swap ends with me. It required wings level while applying forcefully stick full forward to arrest the negative "phugoid" for the lack of a better description. This single event was seared into my brain and my predilection for aggressive maneuvers was hence forth muted with rear seat pax. It turns out while my passenger was lean and mean and a fellow Guard member, he admitted to weighing 185#.

Since then, I have limited the aft seat to 130# or less which comfortably fits the profile for most female passengers I've carried.