8 with Catto

For you 8 owners with a Catto prop, did you need to adjust weight distribution for CG especially with a passenger in the rear seat? If so, what did you do?

I have a parallel 0-360 with 3 blade Catto I also have a Odyssey battery on the firewall. Solo I'm at perfect CG right in the middle of the range and it's a joy to fly. For passengers. I have about 25lbs of tools and stuff in a bag in the front baggage compartment. I limit my rear seat to 250lbs and ideall less than that. With a heavy passenger I am at the rear limit of CG and find some control reversal in the flare as you slow down. I only wheel land in that condition and keep the speed up. I also fly with AOA which accommodates for the weight differences.

Thank You. That was helpful. I’m sure you get to a point where you start guessing weight and filling the front baggage compartment. I have an odyssey in my 7A so I know that light weight even makes more sense that I won’t be tail-heavy with just me.

I had an o-320 with a Catto on my 8. I had a 40lb sand bag that I would put in my front baggage compartment if I had a rider. I also have an AOA system that I live by. Just putting the final touches on my IO-360 with a CS prop so no more sand up front.

AOA has been mentioned a couple of times. Does the 8 tend to sink the tail to a dangerous level with a pax and lighter-than-normal nose weight?

No. As the CG moves aft, the RV-8 starts to lose longitudinal stability as you slow to flare. This is not an issue if you are expecting it. However, if you are expecting normal tactile feedback as you enter the flare you will most likely be surprised by the total lack of pressure/feedback and over-control. RVs are very responsive and under normal circumstances have very light controls. Over-controlling in the flare, with an aft CG, can result in a tail-first porpoising type of landing (which is not a good thing). Like akarmy, if I have a heavy pax in the -8, I’ll wheel land with a tad more power.

I have a catto 3-blade with a O-360A in my 8A. Empty CG at 79.9 inches. Just right for solo aerobatics.

Like the posters above I need to put ballast in the front baggage to get a heavier passenger. I'm not small myself (235 lbs or so). With no ballast I hit the aft limit with 165 lbs in the rear seat and no fuel. With 50 lbs up front I can get up to a 206 lb passenger. If the tanks are full I can go higher, tested up to 244 lbs.

As others have said, pitch is much more sensitive at the rear CG positions. Not hard to fly, but noticeable.

Weight and baggage

I got 2, 25# bags of lead shot. (It was funny to watch the UPS driver grab those ...)
I initially got them for the forward compartment so I could fly heavy passengers, but sorta by accident, I threw them in the back, on both sides of the rear seat when solo, and discovered a more stable ride in cruise. A lot less tail-wagging in bumps.

So you put the bags of shot next to the rear seat win solo and up in the baggage compartment when you were carrying a passenger?

ExtraKatana said:

So you put the bags of shot next to the rear seat win solo and up in the baggage compartment when you were carrying a passenger?

Click to expand...

In the front bag compartment only if the pax is "heavy-weight".
Can't have more than 1/2 tanks of fuel.