Most Worthwhile Big and Small Kit Improvements?

[iaw4]

Having read the forums, I came across some recommendations that would take perhaps just a little effort, cost a little more. There are part enhancements, such as using Lord engine mounts, or better screws that won't strip so easily. A little bigger are system enhancements that may or may not fit everyone, like the antisplat (that seems to have become a common choice), wiring hubs (Vertical Power VP200 system and FastStack or Approach Systems Stack), and extra avionics (AoA, CO2). Even bigger are swapouts, like Titan engines or Catto props, or entirely new systems, like a BRS parachute.

What improvements would you recommend? What is popular, proven, and makes sense?

[Ed_Wischmeyer]

I'm not familiar with the current kit status, or accessories, so here are some *opinions*, based on what I like and don't like about my RV-9A that I bought already flying. Some of these are undoubtedly already available and I don't know about them;
* Should be able to put air in the tires without removing wheel pants;
* Should be able to change oil filter without making a mess;
* Add baggage door for the two seat side by side planes. Us old farts get real tired of reaching into the baggage area. Relatively cheap and easy to add;
* Cowling can be a real pain to remove and replace, depending on how well it was built and the gap between cowl and spinner. I've currently got a relatively huge gap because my constant speed prop has a spacer, the that makes the cowl so much easier to remove and replace. Would be nice to work on accessories and spark plugs without having to remove the cowling -- think Bonanza;
* Ability to add wires out to wings and tail after construction. Ask me how I know;
* Ability to access connectors on back of radio stack without having to disassemble everything. Ask me how I know;
* Ability to change the battery without removing the entire cowling;
* Shelf over baggage compartment (I added this and it is so useful!!);
* For sliders, grab handles on the roll bar (have it on mine, love it);
* Higher flap speeds;
* Variable trim speed based on airspeed (have it and love it);
* Control lock for elevator and aileron, already have a simple rudder lock. I've not seen an aftermarket one that I like well enough to buy. (See previous post about a twin Cessna whose rudder was seriously damaged by a jet doing a runup);
* Ability to push the plane uphill with a castoring nosewheel. Laws of physics won't allow this, really, and a steerable nosewheel might not be feasible;
* Like the sealed bearing nosewheel;
* Not necessarily a fan of airframe chutes. They're good if you can't glide down for a forced landing, but won't save you from low altitude loss of control. Reinforced landing gear is required to prevent spinal injury when you hit the ground but won't help if you come down over water. After three spinal surgeries, there's a good chance that if I came down in a plane with a chute, I wouldn't walk again.

When it comes to avionics, here's where we put the fun in dysfunctional. I've done both computer user interfaces and cockpit design professionally, so my standards are different from many others'. And if you're trained, you can go into any cockpit, including airliners, and find many, many violations of good practice. Here's my wall of shame:
* AOA -- having done an absolute ton of research on AOA indicators and loss of control accidents for the EAA Founder's Innovation Prize, AOA is the emperor's new clothes of flight guidance. I strongly recommend AOA as a progressive, aural stall warning (traditional), but not as a voice callout. As for a visual aid, if you're too busy to watch airspeed, why would you suddenly be able to watch AOA? Then there's the AOA lead/lag characteristics (due to aerodynamics, not system design) that are essentially unknown in the industry (gave two forums on that at Oshkosh last summer), and my accident research clearly indicates that many "stall/spins" were in fact not that, but the accident investigators didn't know what else to call them. Not to mention how noisy AOA can be in turbulence or that you can't choose a new target AOA for reported winds, etc. etc. I have videos of AOA noise when landing in 9G14, and it's not pretty. Flame away, I've done the research;
* Basic human factors -- so many vendors have engine displays with the background markings that are huge, bright red, bright yellow and bright green ALL THE TIME, a visual cacophony that hides those tiny little sliders. Dumb;
* Tiny little tach and MP readouts without usable tick marks so the needle is only there for show;
* Instruments that could give immediate response but are instead filtered to mimic the limitations of old mechanical instruments;
* Vertical tape instruments are all the rage for airspeed, altitude and vertical speed, and those are less readable than round dials when the pilot has no a priori knowledge of what the gauge is going to say, or if the reading is changing rapidly. Worse, the digital readout is on top of the tape so you can't see your target reading because it disappears behind the digital readout. Unlike the first systems on the big jets 50 years ago, there's now room on the displays to move the digital readout off the tape;
* Unmarked hot spots -- some systems have lots of hot spots on the touch screen that are unmarked (outlining is the standard indicator), lots that are marked, and lots that are outlined that are not hot spots. Dumb!
* ADS-B traffic backgrounds -- I can see traffic on the map display, but targets can be hard to read against the background. But if I go to the traffic display, there's absolutely no background, like runway centerlines. Only when fully zoomed in does the airport appear, and that zoomed in scale isn't useful;
* Lots of other human factors stuff;
* Step by step manuals: don't teach underlying design principals of the system, way too wordy, and only teach rote learning;
* Indices (search functions) for manuals presented in .pdf. Almost useless;
* Voice warnings -- way overused. Way back when, I wrote the first document at Boeing integrating voice callouts into the quiet, dark cockpit concept.

Problems with user interfaces: everybody has an opinion; pilots seem to adapt to just about everything and then loudly defend their purchase decision; bad user interfaces don't have obvious and immediate symptoms but can still bite you when you least expect it. Then again, cold solder joints, loose jam nuts, missing cotter pins and inadequate edge distances on rivets can be trouble free until they're not...

[DavidHarris]

Here are some mods I made. I'm still wrapping up my build, so I can't speak from experience how well these work.

* C-601-1 SC-15 UV-resistant plexiglass canopy (special order for Vans)
* Step Kit (Vans lists as optional, but it doesn't seem optional unless you want to carry a stool around, and much easier to put in at the beginning than to have to rip up the floor like I did)
* PMAG electronic ignition
* Catto composite 3-blade prop (looks great, but it is so light I may have to put a weighted crush plate on to bring my CG forward)
* Classic Aero Design interior with heated seats
* Aerosun Vx landing light, Pulsar NS90 wingtip/strobe light, Suntail tail light
* Electric trim (important to allow an autopilot to auto trim)
* Full Dynon + Avidyne + backup G5 glass panel with AFS QuickPanel (way better and more reasonably priced than anything I've flown in a certified plane)
* Heated Pitot/AOA probe
* Aithre Shield CO monitor
* Mountain High O2D2 oxygen system
* H3R A344T Halon fire extinguisher
* Aerosport Products Vents
* Smoke System Helper smoke oil
* Generous set of USB chargers on panel and near flap motor (for iPad, phone, passenger enjoyment)
* Flap position sensor
* SteinAir defrost fans
* AntiSplat Almost RV-14 seat back modification
* AntiSplat Nose Job II and Lip Skid front gear improvements
* Aerosport Products cowl pin covers
* Cessna oil door latch (from Aircraft Spruce)

Wait as long as possible to rivet on the floors, top skins, and interior baggage panels. Test all the systems before closing easy access. Test the fuel gauge before closing the fuel tank.

Think early about what parts of the interior you plan to paint, and do this painting while access is easy.

Here are others I strongly considered making or may make later or wish I made

* Firewall insulation
* Constant speed prop
* SuperTracks slider extension for easier access to baggage area.
* AntiSplat wheel modifications to avoid shimmy.
* Andair fuel selector
* More time planning the systems and routing before putting skins on, so that I could have drilled the wiring channels on the bench rather than in an assembled aircraft. Vans doesn't provide nearly enough. Make sure you run the conduit to the wing tips, 3/8" grommets for Pitot and AOA, autopilot, and stall warning in the wings. SteinAir has an antenna location planning guide that I wished I'd found earlier. Many more channels are needed to get the antennas and wiring bundles through the bulkheads.

David

[David Paule]

K.I.S.S.

Also -

Keep it light!

Sure, if you have the money you can tart your plane up. No problem there. Better not to, though, at least until you've got some serious time on it.

In my opinion.

Dave

[chaskuss]

Ed,
Wow! That's a great collection of excellent insights.
Charlie

[airguy]

Handles on the rollbar for entry/exit.
Use the aluminum eyeball airvents, the plastic ones are junk.
Braided high pressure hoses for the brake system rather than the plastic.
Sunshade.
Defrost hole in the top of the avionics stack to move hot air away from them and up to the windshield.
Revise the step design/fab to eliminate the weld cracking.

[jcarne]

Originally Posted by DavidHarris

* C-601-1 SC-15 UV-resistant plexiglass canopy (special order for Vans)

Worth noting at least for me that the price increase by going with this canopy was just enough to torque me off! I felt that $300 increase was a bit steep.

Originally Posted by airguy

Handles on the rollbar for entry/exit.

What did you use for the handles airguy?

Revise the step design/fab to eliminate the weld cracking.

I think Van's does this already now.

I installed
-step kit
-electric aileron and elevator trim.
-access panel in baggage floor
-firewall insullation with titanium covering see here
-dual brakes
-braided brake lines
-braided fuel lines
-blended tips

Just to name most, I didn't want to get too carried away with complexity and time. Like Dave said, K.I.S.S.

[BobTurner]

+1 on Ed?s post: if you have electric trim, airspeed dependent trim speed is a big plus.
(2) If you have a -10, get the aftermarket door handle mechanism, the one with the cam that grabs the door sill, and also gives a bit more throw on the pins. Vans add-on safety latch is, perhaps, their worst offering.

[kevinsrv7.com]

Originally Posted by David Paule

K.I.S.S.

Also -

Keep it light!

Sure, if you have the money you can tart your plane up. No problem there. Better not to, though, at least until you've got some serious time on it.

In my opinion.

Dave

Dave nailed it. Also how about a mod that is even lighter, works better and takes less time to fabricate than what's shown in the plans. Move your throttle cables to the panel.

[N941WR]

Keep it light is key to a nice flying plane.

For a nosewheel, I would relace the Van's bearing.

Upgrades well worth the money and ones I would do again:
Andair fuel valve
Center throttle quadrant
Braded steel brake lines
Parking brake
Five points harness
Modular instrument panel
Doug Bell tailwheel fork and DJM lightweight tailwheel

Other thoughts:
Correctly designed instrument panels!!! (Putting the fuel pump switch next to the avionics master is almost criminal.)
Split top cowl so you can actually inspect the engine prior to flight, similar to a Cherokee.