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RV-14 C.G. / weight & balance sample

Updates

Anyone with one of the newer -14's flying care to share your w&b? This thread is getting stale with no new info.
 
To the moderators,

As I am going to be doing a W&B shortly I took some interest in this thread. Early in the thread there was an error in a post that limited the aircraft potential. Even though the error was found later on in the thread, I believe that errors of this type should be removed for safety reasons and also some readers may be inclined to stop reading the rest of the thread at that point and discount the RV14 as not meeting advertised specifications.
We should all be very careful about posting any specific weight and balance numbers that are significantly different then the factory numbers. Typically big differences are measurement or scale errors.
 
Here is mine for N626KM, a 14A.

Note: No paint, wheel pants or fairings at this point plus I added a second battery, alternator and the accessories for them. Otherwise she is stock with a pretty full panel.


Empty Weight/CG....Weight (lb.).......Arm (in.)...Moment (in. lb.)

..Right Wheel..........439.............97.5.......42,803
..Left Wheel...........445.............97.5.......43,365
..Nose Wheel...........378.............40.0.......15,120

Empty Weight..........1262.......................101,288
Empty CG...............................80.3
 
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Fully painted, dual screen G3X IFR avionics and composite propeller and spinner. (sorry about the formatting, it looks fine until I post it)


Empty Weight / CG Wt (lb) Arm (in) Moment (in.lb)

Left wheel 453 97.5 44167.5
Right wheel 451 97.5 43972.5
Nose wheel 356 40.2 14311.2

Aircraft empty weight 1260 102451.2
Empty CG 81.31
 
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RV-14, Fully painted, dual screen Dynon HDX IFR avionics. Hartzell composite prop with required polished spinner. Dual B&C Alternator and dual EarthX 680 batteries. Full Classic Aero leather interior. Beringer wheels/brakes. Pitch, Roll and Yaw servos.


Empty Weight / CG Wt (lb) Arm (in) Moment (in.lb)

Left wheel 610.0 71.7 43737
Right wheel 610.0 71.7 43737
Tail wheel 77.5 255.5 19801.25

Aircraft empty weight 1297.5 107275.25
Empty CG 82.68
 
I'm looking for the taildragger CG envelope. Doesn't appear to be on the Mother Ship's site anymore.
 
Weighed N14VB today with interior, all pants and permanent accessories (such as mounting brackets for oxygen tank), 8qts oil. (Empty fuel). Fully primed inside structure, no exterior paint yet. Extensive options such as standby alternator and remote oil filter. Also Skytec "NL" starter which is heavier than standard starter. I'm thinking all the FWF options are helping with the more forward CG.

Total weight is 1285.4 lbs, CG is 80.55 (R Main 451.5, L Main 453.5, Nose 380.4)

A bit porky but happy with the CG....
 
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14A wt and balance

Hi all
I weighed 557GB yesterday
Left 423
right 434
nose 389
total 1246


moment 79.6

The nose seems heavier than any other posted here and I can't figure out why.
I have standard 390, 2 blade hartzell, standard battery, 2nd alternator, g3x IFR panel with 650, full carpet. No fairings or paint.
Weighed it 3 times with similar results. Doesn't seem to pass the smell test.
I'm thinking about finding another set of scales to verify. Or does it really matter in the long run since I'm gonna redo when its got paint etc.
I appreciate your comments in advance
Greg Beckner
N557GB
Waiting on the danged FAA
 
It's important the fuselage is level with the proper longeron line of rivets, it took me a while to confirm which line is the correct line to level. I was able to reach level by letting all of the air out of the front tire which lowered it just to the right height.
 
W and b

Hi Chris
Yes, I put the digital level along the canopy longeron. With tires inflated I got 2.7 degrees nose up and just level with the nose wheel completely deflated.
Thanks
Greg
 
Hi Chris
Yes, I put the digital level along the canopy longeron. With tires inflated I got 2.7 degrees nose up and just level with the nose wheel completely deflated.
Thanks
Greg

I rolled my 14-A slightly out of the hanger, using the apron slope to get it exactly level. However, that will put more weight on the nosewheel . . .

BTW, my nosewheel was 388.5 with the wheel pant and gear leg fairing.
 
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No question our air is very nearly a liquid. But I thought letting the air out of the nose wheel would lightened it up. 😉
I was using car digital scales and I noticed that the total weight noted on screen was not the same as if you added the 3 numbers. About 12 pounds heavier on average so maybe the scales are wonky. My sense is that with a proven aircraft built to standard spec the precise numbers are not that important. Probable heresy for which I expect to be flamed. Ignoring PC is one reason I love experimental aviation more every day.
Cheers
Greg
140366
N557GB
 
Just weighted my -14 and I thought I would share since there is not many taildraggers wt/bal listed here. The mains weighted in at 600 and 601 and the tail 54 lbs. Totaling 1255 with a cg of 79.6 in. This is unpainted but fully primed. Io390 with Hartzell BA prop, earthx batt, berringer wheels, half raven system, dual g3x, gtn 650, classic aero seats and side panels.
 
I also have an flying unpainted 14 with Skyvision on both sides and all the goodies including an Avidyne 540 but to plans in most other respects and weigh L 573, R 579, T 57 = 1,209. CG 79.2. Seats are in but no other interior as yet. Once painted, I will provide the final numbers.

One more data point.
 
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RV-14 W&B

One more data point:

1) EFII ignition and FI
2) Whirlwind C/S Composite 3 blade prop
3) Dual alternators
4) Dual Earth X batteries
5) Garmin full IFR with dual AHRS
6) Skytek NL starter
7) PH Aviation flap motor
8) Full custom leather interior (Yes probably heavier than most)

N: 373
LW: 462
RW: 467
TW: 1302

CG fine min to max weight in utility classification
 
Paint weight?

Has anyone weighed their RV-14(A) before and after paint, preferably on the same set of scales, to determine how much weight the paint added?
 
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My RV-14A went from 1267 to 1292 following addition of paint and Classic Aero side panels. Painted by GLO and weighed on the same scales. I did not weigh the side panels separately - sorta wish I had.
 
14 W&B

Weighed my 14A today.

Right main: 440
Left Main: 436
Nosewheel: 411
Total: 1,287

Empty C.G. 80.0

Should I be concerned not having the empty CG within the range of Van's design limits of 82.08 - 88.24? The Aft, Fwd, and first flight CG's are all within limits.

Not sure why the hefty nose? 390,Hartzell, B&C backup alt and oil filter adapter, PC680, Skytec, Berringer, full Garmin, Classic seats & carpet, unpainted...

I did get a nose arm of 42.31 inches where others got around 40. (datum 72 in. fwd of leading edge).

Will recheck the arm lengths tomorrow.
 
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14 final weight

My final weight is 1295 all in - interior, paint etc. Nothing left to add. Started at 1209 with a minimal interior and without paint.

Left 608, right 615, tailwheel 72 with CG 80.61

I don’t have a use case that goes over the weight or outside the CG envelope.

This is a nice, usable airplane.
 
My $0.02

RV-14A

Full Lemke interior (lambskin seats, front/read carpet, side panels), Interior paint, all fiberglass painted

Empty weight......1,255
CG.....................80.03


Nose..........388.8
Right..........437.1
Left............429.2
 
RV-14A with IO360 parallel valve and fixed pitch prop.

RW: 452 97.5 44070
LW: 451 97.5 43973
NW: 295 42.5 12538

Total 1195 100581

84.16
 
RV-14A with IO360 parallel valve and fixed pitch prop.

RW: 452 97.5 44070
LW: 451 97.5 43973
NW: 295 42.5 12538

Total 1195 100581

84.16


You might want to look at various loading situations (two people/ 100 lbs baggage etc). That light prop gives you a pretty far aft c.g., might want to see how usable that will be.
 
You might want to look at various loading situations (two people/ 100 lbs baggage etc). That light prop gives you a pretty far aft c.g., might want to see how usable that will be.
Thanks Rob. It appears that with two fat guys like myself and low fuel we haven't any baggage capacity. Working on a solution this weekend.
 
Solved the problem with a balancer and weight bolted to the sump. We get basically 50-80 lbs baggage depending on the weight of pilot/co-pilot.
 

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My 14A W & B numbers

This is my first post so I hope I get it right!

Nose was 363
L main 415
Rt main 416

The surprise for me was the mains center point was at 95.375 which is a couple inches forward of the Van's prototype sample numbers. The nose was at 40.06. I did get another builder to check my datum points and I re-measured my aircraft and another build in progress just in case.

My plane is not painted yet, YIO-390EXP-239, Hartzell 74" blended, 7 qts(full), zero fuel, two pilot seats, no wheel pants or gear fairings, one AFS 10"Skyview, Dynon radio and ADS-B, AP system, IFD 410. No changes to the build from Vans SB design.

Paint and finish the interior then repeat the weight.

Hope this helps!

Dennis
 
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