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Rv-8 fastback

A

American_Pride

I'm New Here
Who has built an -8 fastback? Did you have to change anything on the empenage? Is it faster than a regular -8 or does it just look better?
 
fastback mods

American Pride, I am currently building using the Showplanes.com fastback conversion. What I had to do (according to plans) is raise the bottom rib on the VS (vs405 I think, I will verify part number if you need me to) by 5 degrees then trim off the excess in order to fit the turtle deck under the VS.
Pat
 
Faster? could be

American_Pride said:
Who has built an -8 fastback? Did you have to change anything on the empennage? Is it faster than a regular -8 or does it just look better?
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In theory it could be faster. My reference for this is "Speed with Economy" by Kent Paser. He took a stock Mustang II he built, turned into a fast plane, through countless mods (over many years), which he documented in the above book. One change was going from bubble to fast back. Granted the Mustang II's canopy is larger, but pictures in the book show how air flow separated on the back end of the original canopy. His mod did produce a speed increase. How much? Don't have handy, but you can buy the book online. Air flow separation is drag. I am sure the same thing is happening to some extent on the RV-4, RV-8 as it does on a Mustang II. For looks I like the bubble, like a P-51 or F-16, but the fastback is also cool. George
 
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Fastback speed?

A friend of mine lives on the same airport as Dave Anders, flies with him and swears that the fastback modification was one of the big secrets to the extra speed of Mr. Anders RV-4.
 
Faster yes but secret, no

arffguy said:
A friend of mine lives on the same airport as Dave Anders, flies with him and swears that the fastback modification was one of the big secrets to the extra speed of Mr. Anders RV-4.
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I was going to mention Dave Anders but strange thing is all his records are with the bubble. Dave has not set any new records as far as I know since he changed his RV-4 to a fastback. Dave is very generous with his info on his mods and data, so I am not so sure how secret it is.

In Dave's case he is pumping a lot of HP through a very clean, straight, light RV-4 with 100's of very small details. He is going so fast that changes of any kind will produce less change in speed than a stock RV.

I would love to know what kind of difference the change made. Does your friend know if Dave has an estimate of a before and after fastback mod speed change? Thanks George
 
Oops-Bad choice of words

Well, I didn't "literally" mean it was a "secret." :) And yes, he does have alot of different things on his plane that have been changed.

I will ask him your question though. Happy Holidays.
 
It is an expensive mod - and one that does look nice, but I just cant stand the tip over canopy. Maybe if a slick pop-up-then-back canopy could be developed I'd consider it.
 
I have seen exactly what you are talking about on a rocket. the f-1 canopy slides forward then the back drops down to seal. So I dont see how it could be that hard to do............(open mouth inset foot)
 
I like the F1 canopy much better than the Tip-over. But I'm gonna build a slider on my -7 too.
 
fastback order recvd

I recd my order from showplanes this week. All looks great! Well documented and high quality. FWIW cost was $2,200 before credit from vans for parts no longer needed in the fuse and finish kit aprox $1,000. for a net cost of $1,200. when its all said and done, I will actually pay less for the total QB kit by ordering other manuf parts. ie cowl,baffling. ship date for rest of kits feb.1
pat
 
Cowling and fastback Mod

I have an extended hub scimitar prop and spinner that goes perfectly with the fastback mod and showplanes.com cowl if anyone using this is interested. I sold the project, so I am looking for a home for the prop/spinner. It fits any 4cly engine of 180-220 hp, no rpm restrictions, electronic ignition no problem. Its brand new and still in factory crate. If anyone is interested please email me at


Thanks


jedimike**[email protected] (remove the ** for spam reasons)

Mike
 
The Best Fastback Advantage

Hello,

I'm a newbie here and am learning a lot, thanks all! I'm in the planning/saving (and dreaming) phase and will seriously be considering the fastback mod from Showplanes not for the increased speed, but for the relocation of the roll bar. I would prefer a slide back to a tip over with everything else being held constant, but the increased visibility has made my mind up!

Ed Gormley
NH Dreamer
 
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Rob,
You can't go wrong dealing with Tom. You will get high quality and the knowledge and experience to go with it. Tom has been playing around with airplanes his entire life and built a beutiful RV-8 fastback. He claims no performance gains, though that is hard to believe, he did it strictly because he liked the looks and has not dome any real runoff agains a comparable 8. Please get you rour orders in soon, when the days start getting longer I hope to have him spending more time on my wing than in the shop!

Now, if we can get Tom to adapt one of his nifty fuel cells to an RV....

Scott A. Jordan
 
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