Need some advice on how to access the empennage. Not sure how to contort myself and provide adequate support to carry my weight so I can repair the static lines.
During annual last week noticed the static lines are discolored, brittle and cracked in numerous places from the static ports forward into the baggage area. Line is 1/4" ID and the ports are the 3 rivet style. Was planning to replace with 1/4" ID polyethylene or polypropylene tubing. Any advice for this RV newbie would be appreciated.
I have access to a urethane 1/4 od line that i have used for pitot and static on a non rv plane. The id is smaller than polyethlene but should still work on the rivet static line. If you need some give me a call at 303-772-2202 and i will send you some.
I like to throw a slab of foam from an old mattress or inflatable mattress down there before crawling in, then some thin planks on top. Just recently had to do that to tighten some nuts on the canopy rail. As Ted said, with a level fuselage it is much easier.
Thin planks over the bulkheads and then go to Goodwill and buy old sofa cushions (they always have a bin of these mixed with various pillows). I paid $1 each.
Thanks guys for the great advice. I'm so happy to be flying an RV, the community here is fantastic!
I did verify that the tubing is 1/4" ID from the static port into the cabin where it then reduces down by the throttles. Looks like the original builder may have used vinyl tubing, which when combined with Florida heat may have caused the line to yellow and become brittle.
Here's an example showing the work platforms I made for my RV-3B fuselage. These work really well, although I did have to carve out space for some systems added later.
A simple board is fine, too, if you can get it in and later remove it.
RV8 tail access - broken static line
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