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Van's Announces Approval of Lycoming IO-390A for RV-7 and RV-8

greghughespdx

Well Known Member
Advertiser
Van's Aircraft announced today that we have reviewed, approved and are now selling Lycoming IO-390A (210HP) engines for RV-7/7A and RV-8/8A aircraft. Support for installation is limited since we do not have a FWF kit specific to this engine. Many community members have used this engine on their 7's and 8's already.

All the details: https://www.vansaircraft.com/2020/05/vans-approves-use-of-io-390a-on-rv-7-and-rv-8-aircraft/

Added: This means RV-7/7A and RV-8/8A builders can now order an IO-390A from Van's and take advantage of the OEM discount opportunity as well as the prop/engine-bundle deal. Engines are available only to RV builders with a Van’s customer number (aircraft serial number) and must be installed on the corresponding airplane. Builders must have purchased, or have already on order, all kits through the Finishing Kit for that aircraft serial number, and one engine per aircraft serial number may be purchased. Sometimes people ask if they purchased an engine from another source and want to get a new engine to install on their existing airplane, can they do that? As long as an engine has not been purchased for that airplane, then yes - the offer is still open, and you do not have to be the original builder/owner to take advantage of the OEM pricing program. As long as your airplane has not had a new engine purchase associated with it, it's eligible. Hope that helps answer some questions!
 
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Any chance the church will welcome back to the flock those of us who have strayed into the similarly wicked ways of a 360 on the 9?
 
Well Greg, if there is no hope for you, then I definitely KNOW where I stand....

Enjoying life, just sipping the heavy stuff.:D
 
Any chance the church will welcome back to the flock those of us who have strayed into the similarly wicked ways of a 360 on the 9?

Scott has numerous posts about the subject of the 360 in the -9(A) airframe.

My short takeaway from all that he has written has to do with the -9(A) airframe was engineered around Standard / Utility category and as such does not have the extra margin that the other acrobatic aircraft have. Going from memory, Utility is 4.4 G and Acrobatic is 6.0 G. In other words, the Acrobatic airframe is ~36% stronger than the Utility category airframe.
 
Tom and I look forward to working with builders who are installing this engine on their aircraft.

In addition to the custom hoses we build, we intend to develop a full set of drop in firewall forward fuel and oil hose packages for the IO390 installations in a variety of different configurations for the RV7/8 as we have done with the IO390 on the RV14(A).

If anyone has this engine ordered and would like to work on hose routings, please send me an email and we can get the conversation started. We already have most of the data required to make this setup work from a hose standpoint. We will make small refinements as engines start being installed and we work through the beta test process.

Happy Building!
Steve
 
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I guess for some it's never fast enough in their RV! A stock 360 is plenty for most of the Vans range. Remember you get nothing for nothing! I saw an RV8 (proper version) sometime ago for sale (some may remember) dark blue it had a Conty in it O470 if I recall, never could work out why one needed to go that fast with the associated costs?
 
Things I've learned about going fast and the need for all the thrust you can trust:

1. Speed is life.

2. While in the air, if you have time to think about: girlfriend, golf, food, or whiskey, something bad is about to happen.

3. If you are lost, go faster; you won’t be lost as long.
 
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Things I've learned about going fast and the need for all the thrust you can trust:

1. Speed is life.

2. While in the air, if you have time to think about: girlfriend, golf, food, or whiskey, something bad is about to happen.

3. If you are lost, go faster; you won?t be lost as long.

Grinning :D
 
Things I've learned about going fast and the need for all the thrust you can trust:
1. Speed is life.
2. While in the air, if you have time to think about: girlfriend, golf, food, or whiskey, something bad is about to happen.
3. If you are lost, go faster; you won?t be lost as long.

On the other side of the coin: "If you are lost, go faster, get loster!"

Sorry, I couldn't resist.
 
Captain to passengers

I've got good news and some bad news.

The bad news is that I don't have a clue where we are.

The good news is that we're making great time.
 
I can't help being amused, as I recall being advised, right here on VAF, that a 390 was not a good choice for an RV-8.

In some ways the 390A is not a good choice. It is heavy, pushing the CG forward and making stick force high in pitch when solo. Like the angle valve 360, it is a very tight fit in the -8 cowl. The front governor is not optimum, compromising the left intake and often causing a sealing problem.

That said, power adds climb rate, and displacement brings power without high stress. It's like the Chevy SS cars of the 60's...a big block in a basic car.

Wish Monty Barrett was still here to see this.
 
I can't help being amused, as I recall being advised, right here on VAF, that a 390 was not a good choice for an RV-8.

In some ways the 390A is not a good choice. It is heavy, pushing the CG forward and making stick force high in pitch when solo. Like the angle valve 360, it is a very tight fit in the -8 cowl. The front governor is not optimum, compromising the left intake and often causing a sealing problem.

That said, power adds climb rate, and displacement brings power without high stress. It's like the Chevy SS cars of the 60's...a big block in a basic car.

Wish Monty Barrett was still here to see this.

There's no replacement for displacement!
 
They will ok that in your 9 before they ok the 540 some have stuffed in a -6.

Well realistically, if I did anything else to increase the power in the airplane I only have 15-20 knots to gain before I'm up against Vne in cruise and it would be in the low flight levels, which would require an oxygen mask, which I have come to find out I hate wearing. I'm plenty happy with 155-160 knots in the 14k-17k range on the IO360 using a cannula instead of a mask.

I will almost certainly build another fire breathing monster, but the 9A airframe really is tapped out with an IO360 and constant-speed prop.
 
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Well realistically, if I did anything else to increase the power in the airplane I only have 15-20 knots to gain before I'm up against Vne in cruise and it would be in the low flight levels, which would require an oxygen mask, which I have come to find out I hate wearing. I'm plenty happy with 155-160 knots in the 14k-17k range on the IO360 using a cannula instead of a mask.

I will almost certainly build another fire breathing monster, but the 9A airframe really is tapped out with an IO360 and constant-speed prop.


That makes sense.
 
Why use an IO390 in your RV7 or RV8...

Because you want to go UP :)

ORCA Flight!

RV-7 390 by Thunderbolt
RV-8 390 by Lycon
850-1504-1.jpg

Photo by Terry Green
 
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Now that the 390 is approved for the additional airframes, is vans allowing us to purchase the 390 through them with the OEM discount on an RV7?
 
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Now that the 390 is approved for the additional airframes, is vans allowing us to purchase the 390 through them with the OEM discount on an RV7?

Yes, exactly. The OEM purchase program through Van's is now an option for the IO-390A on RV-7 and RV-8.
 
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ok, dare to ask... what about the -6?

PS
Actually a 6.9, pre-punched wings, RV-8 tail, etc...
 
Wasn't the RV-8 already approved for the 220 HP Frankly six cylinder?

Van's did equip a prototype / engineering RV-8 with a 6 cyl Franklin as an engineering / research effort but a FWF kit was never offered for it. 200 HP has always been the official limit for kit built RV-8's.

It has been 20+ years since then so I could be wrong but from what I remembering the performance increase did not match up to what adding an additional 20-25 HP would have provided (I.E., the HP rating was a bit optimistic)
 
Thanks Scott!

Claudio Tonnini built an -8 with that engine from a Van's kit, just before the engines became unavailable. Bummer because it is a really nice engine, different, but nice!
 
Engine Mount / Cowl?

Will this fit into the Finishing kit of the IO360? or will there be engine mount and cowling and other things different that I can't think of?
 
changes will be required

Will this fit into the Finishing kit of the IO360? or will there be engine mount and cowling and other things different that I can't think of?
There will be lots of things that are different. Not sure about fitting inside the cowl, but brackets, cables, FW penetrations, hoses, etc will almost all be different. I got a Mattituck TMX IO-360 instead of the Lycoming that Van's sells, and I was surprised at how many opportunities I encountered to not use the component in the FWF kit. :)
 
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