Given your druthers, a 6 or 8?

[WyoDave]

I'm in the market for a flying RV. I've never bought a plane before, so steep learning curve. Anyway, I've mostly considered 6's due to price range and it fits the mission of fun flying, cross country with passenger, and hopefully someday acro. However, I may could stretch the budget enough for an 8. Given your druthers, would you prefer a 6 with a 360/CS or an 8 with a 320/FP?
David Daniel
Pinedale, WY

[gvgoff99]

Originally Posted by WyoDave

I'm in the market for a flying RV. I've never bought a plane before, so steep learning curve. Anyway, I've mostly considered 6's due to price range and it fits the mission of fun flying, cross country with passenger, and hopefully someday acro. However, I may could stretch the budget enough for an 8. Given your druthers, would you prefer a 6 with a 360/CS or an 8 with a 320/FP?
David Daniel
Pinedale, WY

Depends on if you have a wife, plane to keep her and how much she likes to look at your profile vs the back of your head. Mine prefers my profile = RV-6 or 6A. I would like the view from an 8 as I like to look down equally on each side. When you throw in the engines you listed I would probably go for the 6 again as acro is in your future if you are even giving it a slight thought now. Just MO. Both are great planes.

[Geico266]

Go with the 6, you'll love the second seat. It's a handy place to keep to keep the beer cooler, or a wife. Seriously, a 6 is a better traveling machine, IMHO.

[steveKs.]

I had a 6 and now fly a 8. My 6 had a 320 the 8 is 200 horse CS. A huge performance difference.

I doubt anyone can answer this question for you.

I like the centerline seating and my wife likes her own space in the back.

I really like the 8 better but with only a 320 fixed, I would probably take the 6 with the CS 360.

[whifof100ll]

8's are really cool. They have lots of storage area and are fantastic XC planes. With the 8, you will sit centerlne and have the stick in your right hand. With the 6, you will have it in your left hand. Matters to some and not to others. You need to see if it matters to you before you buy!!!

In the 6, passengers will like being up front with you and will feel more a part of the flight, not that they would not have a great time in the back of an 8.

IMO, both fly great. I've heard from others that the 6 is harder to land, but that has simply not been my experience. My 6 is really easy to land. For me, I really love my 6 would prefer to have it than an 8, but there are lots of really knowlegeable guys on this forum that would feel differently.

If I were you I would fly both and pick which one gives you the bigest buzz.

You should compare airframes with similar powerplants. A 2 place RV with 180CS will blow away the one with the 160HP FP. On the other hand, a light engine and prop may give you handling charachteristics you prefer if you like a lighter more agile control feel. BTW, weight difference is affected more by prop selection than engine selection.

In the end, you will find neverending differences of opinion on all of these choices, but only one counts. Yours.

If you are looking at two flying planes that are currently available now, build quality should be a major factor in your decision. You will find huge differences. If you are new to this, you should solicit the aid of someone knowlegeable in RV's to help you in evaluation of the purchase. Typically there is a strong correlation to price and build quality. Spend what you need to get a well built airframe.

Good luck.

[WyoDave]

As you mentioned, build quality is my primary concern. I've been scratching my head over how to find someone half way across the country that I could trust and is genuinely knowledgeable of RVs. I had limited my search to 6's because I figured that was my best bet to find a well built plane in my price range. Then I see this 8 with O320/Catto in Ohio that is close to my $ range. It looks nice. But verifying quality has me concerned.
Also, I mentioned this in a previous post, but I've only got about 95 hrs with no TD. So transition training is definitely in the plans. I've sent a note to Alex D but have not heard back.
Thanks again

[DeltaRomeo]

Hi Dave.

I've solo'd and flown with passengers in both models - they both have their strong points.

Nutshell:
- 6 is harder to land consistantly (springy gear)
- 8 back seat is more roomy than you think
- travelling solo is easier for me in the 6 (can lay stuff out in pax seat)
- many more, but you see my point hopefully.

Like others said above, you gotta figure out what you want - and they are all good choices (no wrong answer in this case - both great models)

b,
d

[nucleus]

Right now the market has a pretty big price difference between a six and an eight. Percentage-wise is it much greater than say the speed differential between the two. So, I think the six is a better value than the eight in current market conditions.

Hans

[WyoDave]

Thanks for all the replies and emails. I've moved a 6 with 360/CS to the top of the list. The one that looks most promising is only a 1000 miles away in TX. Looks like a road trip is in the works. The 8 with 320/FP is now ranked 3rd on the list. I'm sure I'll be thrilled with any of them as long as they are well built. We'll see what happens...

[Ron Lee]

O360 plus CS beats the O320 FP any day. Plus I am not fond of sitting in the back.

6 versus 8 is a personal preference

Taildragger versus tricycle is a personal preference.