RV-9A C/G

I have been building with the intent of keep the nose gear weight dow. I am using a O320E3D with a wood prop. I had another builder tell me today that the 9A has a problem of being tail heavy which doesn't seem exactly right to me. What have you experienced with your project as far as being nose heavy or tail heavy goes?

Pete

I have a O-320-E2A with a Catto 3 blade wood prop. The weight and balance turned out fine. As long as I'm under weight limits, I can't load it out of CG, except for the case of full tanks, no bags, 60 pound pilot. That's not very likely.
My weight and balance is on my google docs page. It shouldn't take too long to find.

I have a 9A with an E3D and an Ed Sterba wood prop and have absolutely no CG problems. I've loaded it every way but loose and it is always in inside the acceptable range.

PeteP said:

I have been building with the intent of keep the nose gear weight dow. I am using a O320E3D with a wood prop. I had another builder tell me today that the 9A has a problem of being tail heavy which doesn't seem exactly right to me. What have you experienced with your project as far as being nose heavy or tail heavy goes?

Pete

Click to expand...

With an O320 and wood prop you should be fine unless you REALLY load up your instrument panel with heavies. Where the 9A starts to get into issues is when builders put an O360 up front, and maybe a constant speed prop. Both add weight forward of the CG and will require some care. I'm putting both on mine and moving some of the avionics/accessories aft of the firewall, all stuff that has to live in the plane somewhere but we can choose where. My EFIS ADAHRS units are in the tail cone; the battery is on the aft side of the baggage firewall; my ELT/transponder/backup ADAHRS is just aft of the elevator servo - this balances the extra weight up front with the IO360 and CS prop I'm planning to run.

You should not have to do any of these things with an O320 and wood prop. The main thing you can do to help yourself is to treat the nosegear like the kickstand on a bicycle - don't use it until your moving so slowly that you no longer have a choice. Keep the nose in the air (or as light as you can get it with elevator) as much as possible. Get used to taxiing with the stick full back.

My -9A CG is full fore when empty. In any circumstance CG can go more aft than the aft limit, of course unless overloading the baggage area.

My -9A has an O-320D1A with a C/S Hartzell, 60 amp. alternator and full instruments.

I would like to move some 7 kg. back: i.e. moving battery from firewall to the rear of the baggage area. That would be enough. Airplane flies OK, but it tends to lower the nose gear soon after landing.

I believe that if you propeller weights less than 15 kg. you will be extra-OK and have a well balanced airplane.

If you will go with an extra light panel and engine accessories and very heavy internal package (seats) maybe you can have aft issues in particular conditions (minimal fuel, heavy pilot and passenger, full baggage) but almost no fore issues.

I have a 1071 Lb 9a with IO 320, Sensnich Prop, Fairly light panel and there is absolutely no way to load aft CG if you stay within 1750 gross wt and 100lbs or less in baggage compartment. Someone gave you bad info.