Max Weight Pax RV-8

[Champ]

Saw the tread on the max passenger weight in a 4 after my flight today with a 245lb passenger in the back. I?m 155 lb and we had approximately 10 gal of fuel per side. CofG was 85.3 with a gross of 1685. I?ve been mostly solo so far except for a 160 lb er in the back on occasion.

What a difference with the 245 lb er! I?m still analyzing the flight in my head but big things were - With pitch trim set neutral we left the ground way to soon and when flaring I didn?t have enough nose down trim to plant it in a wheel landing and I probably neglected to push the stick forward at touch down. I pretty much ended up doing a very bouncy full stall landing. All my landings so far have been wheel.

Anyway just wondered what your max passenger weight is in a RV8?
and
I?ll re read the ?landing an RV8 thread? but would appreciate any tips for flying big rear seaters.

[flyinga]

I try to limit back seat to 200#. I have taken a 240# person but I moved all my loose stuff (tools, spare oil, etc.) to the front baggage compartment. As you noticed, very pitch sensitive.

[Robert Anglin]

I hate to say it this way, but each 8 is different in that there are so many different engines, props, placement of battery's and so on, that. You need to get a good dry weight for your aircraft and work the full range of weights that you have for that aircraft alone. Start with a base-line empty weight and work out from there with the stations as they are on your aircraft. Don't take anything for granted. Check and double check your stations and weight figures, tell you get a good index of what you can carry, where and how much at that station. There are a few "App's" that can help speed this up for you, but you need a good current weight and balance sheet to start with. The eight is a great aircraft, if you respect it by carefully loading it each trip, but it also is sensitive to weight distribution and will feel different with different load values.
Hope this helps, Yours, R.E.A. III # 80888

[Capt]

I'm 100 kg and mostly fly solo ( like it that way) but have had a mate in the back seat of my 8 who is 120 kg's and all I did was move all my junk I carry with ,e to the front locker and modified my flying to suit. A good pilot learns to adapt👍

[Berchmans]

I have flown a 280 LB Pax and I could loose a few pounds Myself. Was within CG at take off and landing, here are my numbers. Plane handled as expected, but I am used to flying "heavy" aircraft as that is what we do in Alaska. Little extra speed and landing was no issue. Weights similar to what I did in test program.

Here are my numbers. No aerobatics!

RV-8 N113DU WEIGHT AND BALANCE

EMPTY CG Aircraft Basic Data
WEIGHT ARM MOMENT
RIGHT MAIN 527 68 35,836
LEFT MAIN 528 68 35,904
TAIL WHEEL 68 240 16,320
AIRFRAME TOTAL 1123 88,060
EMPTY CG 78.41

LOADED CG
WEIGHT ARM MOMENT FUEL (gallons)
FWD. BAGGAGE 0 58.51 0 Take off
FUEL 130 80 10,400 20
PILOT 230 91.79 21,112
CO-PILOT 280 119.12 33,354 Landing
AFT. BAGGAGE (floor) 0 138 0 10
AFT. BAGGAGE (shelf) 0 152.91 0
TOTAL 1763.00 152,925
LOADED Take off 86.74
LANDING 86.76 147,325

FWD AFT MAX. WEIGHT
CG LIMITS NORMAL 78.7 86.82 1800
CG LIMITS AEROBATIC 78.7 85.3 1600