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Prop ground clearance for RV3

FireMedic_2009

Well Known Member
What should the prop ground clearance be for an RV3? I have a 68 inch prop. The clearance is 7-3/4” in level flight.

Also to minimize a prop strike from a hard landing how would I stiffen the gear legs?

Thanks
 
I fly a 72" prop on my RV-3B. 14" clearance with tail down.

Even though I do "wheel landings" they are more like tail nearly down.

If you fly it onto the runway then wheel landings shouldn't be hard. Hard landings are more common with tail down, dropping when stalled too far above runway.

Finn
 
I was a little surprised how thin the wall of the landing gear was on the early -6 mount. I understand the -7 mounts are beefed up a little though I am not sure where. I had planned earlier to make my 3rd trip to Johnson Creek on the Memorial Day weekend with a niece who just got her private license and bought a -9a. We decided at the last minute to postpone that trip due to some enroute weather. So glad this didn’t happen out there or somewhere in between. (Assuming it was already cracked.). Also that the gear did not collapse on landing. Fortunately the air was calm and the landing was a greaser, which does not always happen for me. The older I get the more I believe in guardian angels.
 
I’m sure the relevance of post #3 has to do with this thread

There was another thread started about the same time as this one talking about a broken RV-6 engine mount. He just clicked on the wrong thread from the new post listings.

Back on topic: on the short leg RV-4s the maximum recommended prop diameter is 70”. I’m not sure how much difference there is between those legs and the -3, but it could give you a point of reference.
 
Daren, looking at your other thread about landing the RV-3 it seems you've solved it and probably won't have a problem with a 72" prop, although 70" would be safer and certainly 68" is fine.

Finn
 
Maybe somebody can check me on this but I seem to recall that aircraft certification requires 9" of prop clearance on the ground for a TW airplane and 7" for a nosedragger. Seems like a good baseline if you're concerned about clearance.
 
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