-8 Fuselage drain holes

Tailwheel Fuselage drain holes

I've searched here and google....no luck. Spefically the size of the holes.

1) Are drain holes necessary on TW aircraft?
2) Which bulkheads did you put them in front of?
3) What size holes did you drill?
4) Did you put one in the lower rudder cap?

Thanks,

There is a gap about the diameter of the #30 drill bit between the tabs at each fuselage frame from the elevator crank to the land gear attach frame. On my RV8, I drilled a #30 hole into this slot and I hope the condensation will find its way to progressively drain from these holes.

PhatRV said:

There is a gap about the diameter of the #30 drill bit between the tabs at each fuselage frame from the elevator crank to the land gear attach frame. On my RV8, I drilled a #30 hole into this slot and I hope the condensation will find its way to progressively drain from these holes.

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Thank you, #30 it is.

Foghorn said:

Thank you, #30 it is.

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Obviously you want as small a hole as you can get by with. But remember, it doesn't take much trash to stop up a 1/8" hole. If you do use a 1/8" hole, inspect and clean it out regularly.

Before you toss out the next can from the kitchen, drill a #30 hole and try it. I bet that you'll be happier with a 3/16 hole.

After I bought a C180, I needed to scrub the interior and tailcone. I spent the weekend in there and had a hose running into the tailcone. The drain holes had mostly gotten clogged over the years but they drained decently after I cleaned them out, one by one, while kneeling in the puddles.

Cessna had, back in 1955 when my C180 was built, a very nice little snap-in fairing for the drain holes. Haven't ever found it in the parts manual and don't know what its part number would be. Sure would like to have some for my RV-3B.

Dave