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Tips on buying an RV-6 wanted

T

trevlac8918

I'm New Here
Greetings,
I'm looking for some tips on inspecting an RV6 for purchase.

Is there anything I should particularly ask an owner? (obvious questions will be inherent to buying any aircraft) I'm asking specifically to RV6's

Are there any recurring issues or issues during a build that would cause problems for the aircraft?

Is there a typical problem (area), while building, that most people have trouble with and needs re-work?

I guess any other quirks someone who has built or is building or owns, that a prospective buyer should look out for.
Any help is appreciated.
 
Look at the logbooks. Look at the compression numbers. Ask about oil burn. Any damage history. How long they have owned the plane. Any corrosion, electrical, alignment, fuel tank leakage issues. Look at the quality of rivets and how well they were banged. You can go to Van's website and check for service bulletins. This will get you started.

Your location would be helpful. There are some that specialize in pre-buys. Other owners of RV's are often happy to look things over too. You can do your own, I did. I still didn't have enough confidence to fly it home until I had a very long and detailed condition inspection for it though.
 
Be sure to check the engine mount for cracks. Look particularly behind the gear leg tubes along the bottom of the mount. Many of the older mounts crack in this area and Van's has a gusset kit to repair it.

It's not a real big deal to repair, but it does require pulling the mount away from the fuselage to fix (either with the engine attached or removed). I fixed mine with the engine still attached.
 
Welcome to VAF!

Greg, welcome aboard the good ship VAF.

Above advice is good, I would add suggest contacting the nearest
EAA chapter, and getting a technical adviser involved---or at least someone who has built an RV.
 
Check that the rudder pedals have the correct reinforcements/gussets/finger patches welded on depending on vintage/style of rudder pedals.
 
Check the empty weight. It is really easy to build a heavy one and the -6 is GW challenged. (1650 GW vs 1800 GW for the -7 & -8.)

Van's lists the empty weight of their -6 at 965 lbs (985 for the -6A), expect whatever you look at to be heavier but not 150+ heavier.
 
My first tip would be to read VAF for hours and hours, including all the discussions on Gross Weight for the RV-6, along with all the other classic RV debates.

My second tip would be to take your time. It takes time to discover much of what you don't know about this aircraft. 6 months is by no means too long to search for the right RV-6.

My third tip would be to find one or two trusted advisors who are specifically knowledgeable of RVs, and the RV-6 in particular, and talk to them a lot, Internet opinions are pretty easy to come by.

I purchased a 1115 lb RV-6 with an 1800 lb gross weight (says so right on the data plate) and it flies great. It is almost perfect for my mission. IM me if you want to chat about the experience.

None of these are actually "inspection" tips, but hopefully that isn't too much thread drift.
 
Independent Expert

Looked at two flying RV6 planes in different states. Most valuable factor was hiring an independent RV expert and CFI to accompany me on the trips, He did not get emotionally "attached" to the planes, and helped me make a great purchase. We flew on pairs of one-way tickets, either buy and fly RV home, or return on the airline. First trip, I decided not to offer a purchase price, second trip, we inspected, he flew with owner, and we took it home later that day.

Expert advice is worth every penny. I'm a happy 3rd owner for two years and 300+ hours flown.

Carl
 
Fuel tanks...... Sloshed or not sloshed. Vans recommended this procedure for a time. Read up on this site about the issues it can cause, not an added expense I wanted to incur to fix. Don't rule out one though just because of the year model. The builder may have started the kit when this was the approved technique, however, as the case in the plane I ended up buying, he did not start on the tanks till this procedure was rescinded.
 
Mile High Relic said:
My first tip would be to read VAF for hours and hours, including all the discussions on Gross Weight for the RV-6, along with all the other classic RV debates.

My second tip would be to take your time. It takes time to discover much of what you don't know about this aircraft. 6 months is by no means too long to search for the right RV-6.

My third tip would be to find one or two trusted advisors who are specifically knowledgeable of RVs, and the RV-6 in particular, and talk to them a lot, Internet opinions are pretty easy to come by.

I purchased a 1115 lb RV-6 with an 1800 lb gross weight (says so right on the data plate) and it flies great. It is almost perfect for my mission. IM me if you want to chat about the experience.

None of these are actually "inspection" tips, but hopefully that isn't too much thread drift.
Click to expand...

I too, have been around this gross weight debate for around 20 years now. Mine was set at 1850 lbs. gross, and for good reasons. There are a lot of builders who have. If the data plate is much lower than 1800 lbs, I probably wouldn't purchase it. There are of course, the no frills light weights, with sparce interiors and wooden props. But I have to have a constant speed prop. It weighs more, but performs much better, unless you need maximum race speed like Bob Axsom. He'll just have to nurse the sluggish takeoff, once he switches. My 1850 Gross weight C/S equipped plane, could beat those wooden props in climb, and cruise.......any day!

Note: In the old days, the Van's way of doing things, was light and simple. The gross weights reflected that principle. I don't care to putter around the airport in a lightweight simple aircraft. My 6A performed as an excellent cross country machine. Leather seats, two axis auto-pilot, and a constant speed prop.
 
Sluggish takeoff? Compared to what? I have a 3-blade catto and there is nothing sluggish about it's performance in any stage of flight. You will get better climb with a CS prop, but my 6 climbs great without one. I seriously doubt you'll get better cruise than the catto. The real benefit I see is for aerobatics and slowing the plane down, but there is additional maintenance, complexity and cost associated with it. I agree on the gross weight though, from what I understand the gross weight for the 7 was set based on experience flying higher gross weights on the 6.

L.Adamson said:
I too, have been around this gross weight debate for around 20 years now. Mine was set at 1850 lbs. gross, and for good reasons. There are a lot of builders who have. If the data plate is much lower than 1800 lbs, I probably wouldn't purchase it. There are of course, the no frills light weights, with sparce interiors and wooden props. But I have to have a constant speed prop. It weighs more, but performs much better, unless you need maximum race speed like Bob Axsom. He'll just have to nurse the sluggish takeoff, once he switches. My 1850 Gross weight C/S equipped plane, could beat those wooden props in climb, and cruise.......any day!

Note: In the old days, the Van's way of doing things, was light and simple. The gross weights reflected that principle. I don't care to putter around the airport in a lightweight simple aircraft. My 6A performed as an excellent cross country machine. Leather seats, two axis auto-pilot, and a constant speed prop.
Click to expand...
 
Don't bother arguing with Larry... When it comes to constant speed props and higher gross weights, his mind is firmly made up. :)

Unless you're qualified to be making the calculations yourself to confirm the full effect of the increase in gross weight, don't be assuming that just because it says on the data plate that you can carry 1800lb in your -6 that that's the end of the story. Consider carefully where that extra 200lb will go, and what effect it will have on performance.
 
What is it about the design of the 7 tha allows it to have a higher gross weight than the 6? The 2nd hand information I have is that the gear legs are the limiting factor in both, but they both have the same gear legs. I guess we're getting a little off-topic here unless the poster is deciding between a 6 and a 7.

Snowflake said:
Don't bother arguing with Larry... When it comes to constant speed props and higher gross weights, his mind is firmly made up. :)

Unless you're qualified to be making the calculations yourself to confirm the full effect of the increase in gross weight, don't be assuming that just because it says on the data plate that you can carry 1800lb in your -6 that that's the end of the story. Consider carefully where that extra 200lb will go, and what effect it will have on performance.
Click to expand...
 
bjohnson1234 said:
What is it about the design of the 7 tha allows it to have a higher gross weight than the 6?
Click to expand...
It's a different airplane. Not completely and totally different, but different enough, in the critical areas, that Van is confident marking it as 1800 gross.
 
Make sure you look behind the panel. Are the wires neatly organized with proper strain relief, etc..? Make sure you understand how the bus(es) have been configured, fused, etc... Most RVs have a single alternator so it's a fairly simple system. A read through aeroelectric is a good place to start before you look at the plane.

Watch http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=2149054014001 to learn about compression and oil consumption myths


trevlac8918 said:
Greetings,
I'm looking for some tips on inspecting an RV6 for purchase.

Is there anything I should particularly ask an owner? (obvious questions will be inherent to buying any aircraft) I'm asking specifically to RV6's

Are there any recurring issues or issues during a build that would cause problems for the aircraft?

Is there a typical problem (area), while building, that most people have trouble with and needs re-work?

I guess any other quirks someone who has built or is building or owns, that a prospective buyer should look out for.
Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
First buyer!

First do a tittle serch for leans..and be really good if you can find a quick build, no slosh at all in tanks.. ( nightmare) .. Reputable builder.. No old eci cylinders! Check serial numbers on them, good commpretion,under 1000hrs,the quick build will solve a lot of your build build problems.. And worth every penny.. All depending on how much you wanna spend also., could go on and on but tahrs a good start.. ;)
 
Read Van's Service Bulletins

I began looking at the -6's. I found that the gussets on the landing gear and gussets on both floor mounted and overhead rudder pedals were already included in the -7's.

Van's service bulletins helped me ask some of the right questions when I went shopping.
 
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