Fuselage Dimensions

I want to do most of the fuselage building in my basement workshop and only have a 36 inch door for access. Does anyone know the height of the fuselage. I'm hoping I can turn it on its side to get it out when built.

Thanks
Jim Wright RV-9A wings 90919 Arkansas

bigger door

without the canopy, roll bar and rear canopy skin installed it ...."might".......go through the door sideways. It won't go through assembled. Someone who has the measurements will probably answer you sooner, but when I stop by the hanger this afternoon, I will measure mine. I think you are going to need a bigger door. jack

Thank you. Let me know what you find out.
Jim Wright

The height of my -7A fuselage (essentially the same as the -9A) is 36-3/8" at the F-706 bulkhead, essentially the tallest point right now. I don't have the top skin installed yet, which might add 1/2". You could leave that off until after you move it. Also, tip-up vs. slider will make a difference. I don't have the tip-up roll bar installed yet, but that might be a little taller.

Dave

Sounds like I'm going to have to knock out some blocks and install a bigger door. I really like my basement work shop as it is above ground where my shop is. It has windows and is nice and cool in the summer. I just hate to start breaking out those concrete blocks.

Thanks
Jim

Make the door bigger!

If your choice is taking it somewhere away from your home vs. tearing out blocks...tear out the blocks and widen the door. Your spouse and neighbors will think you are nuts, but do it. They alreay think you are nuts anyway. My build time went WAY down when I moved my plane. It's great to keep it just steps away. (I still plan to measure the overall height/width this afternoon and post the results). I can't over emphasize the convenience of keeping it at home.

While everyone is at it, what are the general dimensions of the 9A fuselage without firewall forward. I am trying to keep my project going on my side of the garage for as long as possible...I can't believe I promised my wife I could do this in my half!!!

Your half of the garage...

Will,

With the airplane up on the gear, you need 92 inches for sure! Round that off to eight feet of width. You can step over the main landing gear going forward and aft. Be careful when you step over the wheel assembly as there are some edges there that can do nasty things to shins and ankles. I use a chair as a step stool next to the fuselage for getting in and out of it the cabin area. Another builder used a two-foot step ladder for his entry and exit of the cabin before he went to the airport to put the wings on his airplane.

As for length of the airplane: I hope you have 25 feet from the garage door to the back of your work space. You can see what I have done in my one-car garage on my web site at http://www.n2prise.org/rv9a003.htm with the update of October 26, 2004 talking about the available space in the garage.

I am currently up to page 116 on the finishing section and just about ready to take the project to the airport since I have done just about all I can do in the garage without having the wings and tail feathers on the airplane.

Jim,

Unless you are planning to put in a garage door, don't bother unless you want French doors with an opening eight feet wide and seven feet high.

Jerry K. Thorne
East Ridge, TN
RV-9A N2PZ

You may not have to put in a larger door

I too am building in my basement, only my single door is only 32? wide. Since my house is on a hill the wall where the door is 1/2 brick and 1/2 stick construction. (The first four feet is cinder block & brick and the top four feet is 2x4 construction.) The cost of adding a double door is around $2,400, including the brickwork. That has me doing the drywall and moving the electrical, which is no big deal since I did the dry wall work and wired my basement shop in the first place.

There is another option for me and it might be the same for you. The wall where the door resides is not considered load bearing so I can always wait until the -9 is ready to move and take out the upper (wood) part of the wall, lift the fuselage over the bricks and out then put the wall back together. You might be this lucky if the wall with the door in it runs parallel to the floor joists above.

Wills_9A said:

While everyone is at it, what are the general dimensions of the 9A fuselage without firewall forward. I am trying to keep my project going on my side of the garage for as long as possible...I can't believe I promised my wife I could do this in my half!!!

Click to expand...

I'm not at home right now, but the fuse itself fits fine in one garage bay. The most space-consuming part so far was when I had the aft fuselage, center section, side skins, and firewall all laying around for prep before going together for the last time. That took up 2 garage bays plus some.

Dimensions at last

Jim: Sorry for the delay in getting the dimensions for you. I went flying yesterday and when I put it back in the hanger, I totally forgot to measure it. So here you go:

fuselage height with canopy 43 1/4"
fuselage width: 46 1/2" (don't forget the bottom skin overlaps for wing attach)
fuselage length without firewall forward or rudder: 14' 6"
fuselage length with firewall forward and no spinner or rudder: 17' 6"
fuselage length with firewall forward with spinner no rudder: 19' 8"
fuselage length with firewall forward, spinner and rudder: 20' 11"

The above dimensions do not include steps or gear legs. Figure almost 8' with gear legs attached. Steps add about 6" on each side.

Your overall length may vary depending on your engine and prop. I have an 0-320 D1A and sensenich fixed pitch. Let me know if you have any other questions. Jack