aerobatics?

[burgundyja]

What aerobatics could i do if i do not install aerobatic oil fuel and prop on my 8a? i am looking for a list to see how much fun i will be missing if i build it cheaper. what props is everyone using on the io-390?

[n468ac]

Anything except extended inverted flight.

[lightning]

so no flop tubes either?


you'll still have guaranteed fun!! just no -G..

any positive G maneuver, i remember threads about guys who do quick -g maneuvers... and they "said" their engine never sputtered or appeared to have any damage from lack of oil.......... not a risk i'd wanna take

[Jamie]

I do not have flop tubes or inverted oil. Believe me, if you want to just go out and enjoy the airplane with light acro there is no reason to put all that other stuff in. I went and did inverted stuff with my hangar partner in his Extra 300 and I really don't enjoy the negative G stuff.

Remember that a flop tube is just one more moving part on the airplane and makes the tanks harder to build (you have to put the anti-hangups in there).

If you go with fixed pickups I would recommend getting the pre-built pickups from Van's. They are very nice with screens on the ends.

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by lightning

so no flop tubes either?


you'll still have guaranteed fun!! just no upside down..

I think you mean no sustained inverted flight. I get mine upside down at least once on every single flight....my engine has never missed a beat.

[Kahuna]

Its not the sustained or extended inverted or right side up.
Its the G.
An engine can be fuel and oil starved right side up, and can have plenty of oil and fuel inverted with fixed pickups and sump.
Its the G.

[lightning]

fixed... *no -G*

[Low Pass]

Originally Posted by n468ac

Anything except extended inverted flight.

I know what you're saying, but just to be clear, you can fly inverted 6-8 seconds and not see negative. One of my favorites is just pulling up to about 60, 70-degrees above horizon, rolling inverted and arcing over the top until about 60, 70-degs down then rolling upright. You can fly inverted quite a while like this and not go negative.

Inverted lazy 8's, cuban 8's, reverse cubans, loops, 4 pt roll, aileron roll, stall turns/hammerhead turns, spins, (mild, slow) snaps, etc. There are a lot of nice, mild acro maneuvers that can be done without seeing negative g's.

Anyone can fly acro in a negative g capable plane. It takes skill (and a little creativity) to smoothly fly the maneuvers while avoiding negative.

[danielhv]

how much cost is involved in properly equiping a plane with the needed flop tubes, inverted oil, etc? This is something I will definately want, just curious on cost difference... Also, I just ordered my wing kit... but do not recal seeing anything about fuel pickups... is this something you decide later and buy extra? rather it be stock from vans or aftermarket?

[Fly4Funn]

I just finished putting my oil system on so here are some pretty solid figures. The flop tube is 38.00 from Vans and can be bought from the online catalog.

RV-4/6/6A/7/7A/8/8A Wing tank flop tube
Part Number = IF-4/6
Price = $38.00

The inverted oils system is pricey. I looked at both the Christen and the Raven system. For the Christen system, look to spend around $2500.00 if you buy their hose kit. 814.00 for the system, 408.00 for the sump fittings, and 1118.00 for their hose kit. The Raven system which is what I went with is 565.00 for the kit, 295.00 for the sump kit with the special 45 degree fitting to work with the sump I had because the straight fitting put the hose directly into the motor mount. If you plan to use a vacuum pump, they make an adapter so you can take the oil off between the Vac pump and the case. That adapter is 185.00. I'm not using Vac so I bought the flat adapter for 63.00. Raven doesn't offer a hose kit so I went to Aircraft spruce and looked up the christen kit. They list all the parts that are in that 1118.00 kit so I had the right numbers. Ordered everything I needed from Summit Racing for a little less than 300.00. The only thing summit does not have is the MIL-H-6000 hose and the AN842-12D hose elbows so I picked them up from Spruce.

Lessons learned:

1: It's a plumbers nightmare
2: Use the small tank
3: Take your time and place everything right the first time.
4: Do not buy the Raven system from Spruce. They had my order so messed up it wasn't funny. I talked to Rob at Raven, super nice by the way, and he told me he has trouble with the way spruce puts part numbers on things. They sent me the tank and no valve because even though it is a kit, they separate it. Then they couldn't find the valve so they had to order one from guess where........Rob at Raven. He just shipped it direct to me even though Spruce said it couldn't be done that way.

Hope this helps a little. Pictures of my installation are on my website.

Raven Oil System Pictures