New guy thinking about a 8A

[Shadetree]

I have been lurking on here for some time trying to glean as much information as I can on 6's, 7's, 8's, and 9's. I know I am not geared for building one myself so I have been looking at what is available. Got in a 9 the other day and it was very tight quarters for the 2 of us.
It appears that the 8A has a little more cabin space for 2 well fed adults as compared to the side by side's. Our normal travels are 3 hours or less with an occasional 5 hour trip-sometimes over some mountains. I plan to take the wife and get her in the back seat of a 8 and have a few questions.
1) Is the back seat of the 8 harder to get into and out than the 8A?
2) Is there an issue of flying at gross weight as long as you are in the CG range?
3) Does the 360 HP 8A behave and high density altitude airports?
4) How long can the average person in the back seat stay in without a break?
5) I know each build is probably different, but what are the main airframe concerns to look for.
6) is there normally something on the back of the front seat to grab onto in order to exit the cabin?
I am not into rolls and spins-just enjoy seeing the countryside on cross countries.
These probably sound like kindergarten questions, but any help would be appreciated.

[Mike S]

Wade, welcome aboard the good ship VAF

[Shadetree]

Thank you. I'm learning a lot on here.

[wirejock]

Welcome Wade.
It sounds like you're on the right track involving the better half in the decision.
Best of luck.
I think you should go with the 7a.

[N941WR]

Originally Posted by wirejock

Welcome Wade.
...
I think you should go with the 7a.

Hahahaha...Maje it a -9 negative Alpha!

If you want a side by side, take a serious look at the -14. There is tons of room in that thing! Of course, they are a bit difficult to buy right now as there are no customer built samples flying yet.

The -7 & -9 share the same fuselage but the -14 is wider and taller.

[akarmy]

Originally Posted by Shadetree

1) Is the back seat of the 8 harder to get into and out than the 8A?
2) Is there an issue of flying at gross weight as long as you are in the CG range?
3) Does the 360 HP 8A behave and high density altitude airports?
4) How long can the average person in the back seat stay in without a break?
5) I know each build is probably different, but what are the main airframe concerns to look for.
6) is there normally something on the back of the front seat to grab onto in order to exit the cabin?

1) I would think the 8A would be a bit easier as you are not tipped back so its less of an angle to push yourself up and out of.
2) Well, at gross weight things are quite a bit more sluggish and performance will suffer, but yet you can do it. Just be aware of longer takeoff runs and slower climb outs. etc. If you are planning to regularly operate near gross weights maybe a constant speed prop would be in order to gain the climb performance.
3) RV's in general have plenty of power compared to normal GA planes and do handle the high density altitude airports well. But at gross weight and high altitude you will need to be careful with any airplane!
4) depends on the person. I would not want to be in the back seat for more than a couple of hours, but I know people that go 5+ with extended range tanks!
5) if you are buying a ready to fly plane, I would look for bone stock if at all possible. It always seems easier to support and evaluate a plane that is as close as possible to the original design without lots of custom mods.
6) No, the geometry is not right to grab that close to you. Most people I know just push up on the side rails (think parallel bars) until you get your feet out of the stirrups so to speak. Then stand up and onto the wing. Some have put grab handles on the front roll bar and have passengers use that to pull themselves up but I have not found that needed.

Good luck with your choices. Best to go find a couple of examples and see if you can try them on for size. That will answer many of your fit questions.

[AaronG]

My wife flys with me in my RV-8A. It is 180 hp with constant speed prop. The plane has lots of power, and flys just fine at Gross weight. I believe I still get 1000+ fpm climb at sea level, and climb into the oxygen levels at gross many times. She gets in and out fairly easily since the 8A is level, and with good seats have done numerous 6 hour X-countries with 1 stop. Good seats and good headphones, and the ride is comfortable in the back.

The big downside is that you can't really fly from the back for any period of time due to lack of good forward visibility.

Relative to issues, at 500 hours I have had very few, especially on the airframe. Check service bulletin compliance and verify health of engine and electonics. Also look for trailing edge control surface, and belly cracking right behind exhaust pipes.

Aaron

[Shadetree]

Thank you for the replies. That helps me a lot.

[n5lp]

I have never flown in an 8A but there is nothing the slightest bit hard about getting into and out of the back seat of an 8. Significantly easier than my own RV-6 or 6As I have flown in.

[Chkaharyer99]

Originally Posted by Shadetree

1) Is the back seat of the 8 harder to get into and out than the 8A?
2) Is there an issue of flying at gross weight as long as you are in the CG range?
3) Does the 360 HP 8A behave and high density altitude airports?
4) How long can the average person in the back seat stay in without a break?
5) I know each build is probably different, but what are the main airframe concerns to look for.
6) is there normally something on the back of the front seat to grab onto in order to exit the cabin?
These probably sound like kindergarten questions, but any help would be appreciated.

A1. Flew in back of both. They are nearly identical. Don't recall any difference between the two.
A2. I've only flown my RV8 with the seller in the back when I checked it out. We were very close to gross weight. The flying was fine, making a good landing was a challenge for me but I think that had more to do with being in a new plane at high DA and trying to do 3 point landings.
A3. Bought mine in Arizona. The DA was around 6,500'. My ground speed while landing seemed much faster up at elevation (ground rush) then it is down here near sea level. I was also trying to 3 point land back then now I almost always wheel land.
A4. I've only been back there for 30 - 40 minutes. Seemed fine to me.
A5. What Andy said. Get a lightweight plans build plane. The good ones get snatched up fast.
A6. The roll bar and side rails.

I'm a new low time pilot so please consider that when looking at my responses.

Your question are good questions. I hope it helps.