New guy here

[Dred Pirate Danno]

Brian, thanks for the offer to talk! That would be fantastic! No, I've seen some RV's on the ramp but have never flown in one, nor even sat in one. I'd love to pick your brain for sure. I'm recovering from hip replacement right now, but when I'm back to flying I'll give you a buzz (pm). Because of my hip issue I did not cut the airstrip this summer. Now it is way to dry to even consider it. Otherwise I would say you are welcome to drop in sometime. Maybe next spring. Or if you are flying by Columbus (6S3) let me know.

[Sam Staton]

One thing I have not seen mentioned is finding an EAA chapter. They may be few and far between in MT, but there will be some. EAA.org can help you with locating the nearest chapter to you. My chapter (1379 - Green Cove Springs, FL) is an unbelievable wealth of knowledge and willingness to help. Of course, YMMV, as any chapter is only as good as it’s members, but overall, they’re very good. Give it a try - you might be very pleased at what you find.

[MacCool]

Originally Posted by Sam Staton

One thing I have not seen mentioned is finding an EAA chapter. They may be few and far between in MT, but there will be some. EAA.org can help you with locating the nearest chapter to you. My chapter (1379 - Green Cove Springs, FL) is an unbelievable wealth of knowledge and willingness to help. Of course, YMMV, as any chapter is only as good as it’s members, but overall, they’re very good. Give it a try - you might be very pleased at what you find.

OP should check in with Headwaters EAA chapter in Three Forks, about 100 miles west of him....see if they have anything to make the drive worthwhile. Maybe they have some RV's flying with them. It's highly variable among chapters. I'm a member of two EAA chapters...no one in either club has even flown in an RV. There's some very active RV folks about 120 miles south of here...hard to get down for a meeting.

https://headwaterseaa.com/

.

[Dred Pirate Danno]

Originally Posted by Sam Staton

One thing I have not seen mentioned is finding an EAA chapter. They may be few and far between in MT, but there will be some. EAA.org can help you with locating the nearest chapter to you. My chapter (1379 - Green Cove Springs, FL) is an unbelievable wealth of knowledge and willingness to help. Of course, YMMV, as any chapter is only as good as it’s members, but overall, they’re very good. Give it a try - you might be very pleased at what you find.

Sam, thanks for the advice. I'll check it out.

[Dred Pirate Danno]

Originally Posted by Sam Staton

One thing I have not seen mentioned is finding an EAA chapter. They may be few and far between in MT, but there will be some. EAA.org can help you with locating the nearest chapter to you. My chapter (1379 - Green Cove Springs, FL) is an unbelievable wealth of knowledge and willingness to help. Of course, YMMV, as any chapter is only as good as it’s members, but overall, they’re very good. Give it a try - you might be very pleased at what you find.

Sam and Mac, I just checked EAA.org. EAA chapter 57 is in Billings. They have a hangar at Billings Logan Airport. That is the closest to me and I'm in Billings all the time. I will contact the president and ask about joining. Thanks for the advice again!

[Dred Pirate Danno]

Originally Posted by MacCool

OP should check in with Headwaters EAA chapter in Three Forks, about 100 miles west of him....see if they have anything to make the drive worthwhile. Maybe they have some RV's flying with them. It's highly variable among chapters. I'm a member of two EAA chapters...no one in either club has even flown in an RV. There's some very active RV folks about 120 miles south of here...hard to get down for a meeting.

https://headwaterseaa.com/

.

Mac, I just checked the EAA57 web page. There is someone in Columbus MT (S63) with an RV-7A. I'll see if I can contact him, buy him breakfast and look at his airplane.

[Dred Pirate Danno]

Hello all. I finally was able to see a brand new RV-7 yesterday. Thanks to Steve Noneman at Columbus Montana (6S3) for showing me around and answering my questions. I do have a few more to ask him but I'll ask here as well. What are the specific differences between an RV-6 and RV-7? I know the gross weight is increased by 200 pounds, but is the wing stronger to carry the load, landing gear stronger, etc? Both seem to be powered by similar engines, 180 hp O-360, same props etc. Enquiring mind..... thanks.

[RV8JD]

Here are some previous threads answering your questions:

https://vansairforce.net/community/s...ad.php?t=65262

https://vansairforce.net/community/s...d.php?t=148734

And specs and performance for both: RV-6/6A and RV-7/7A.

Good luck in your search!

[AeroEngineer]

Originally Posted by Dred Pirate Danno

What are the specific differences between an RV-6 and RV-7?

Like Carl wrote, there are plenty of threads that answer that question: The RV-7 has a bigger rudder, more wing area, a little more headroom (which I think comes from the seat having been lowered), stronger gear, and structural strengthening for more weight and more power.

What most of these threads miss is the fact that they are built very differently. Building an RV-6 requires first building a jig. The parts come with few or no holes; The holes are drilled by the builder. An RV-7 already comes with holes, so it's self-jigging, and all the holes are exactly where the engineers intended them, in the right place, evenly spaced, in straight lines (or not, as the case may be). In short: There is a lot of variability in RV-6 build quality, not so much in the RV-7. All RV-7s are "straight". In many ways, the RV-6 is more of a "hand-crafted" airplane while the RV-7 is closer to a standardized manufactured industrial product. (And yes, the newer RVs even more so, to the point where a homebuilt RV-12 can be registered as E-LSA with the manufacturer listed on the registration as "Van's Aircraft").

[Dred Pirate Danno]

Thanks Carl and Aero. As a matter of fact I did some Google searching and found those articles as well as some stuff on the VAF forums. Thanks for the input!