G

g zero

Well Known Member
Built my tail and waiting for my fus kit (6 more weeks) planing all the things I want and ordering upgrades (Grove Airfoil Gear ) (Bell tail fork).Today at the airport (KOMN) a looked at a Rocket fresh out of the paint shop and started thinking a widsreen (canopy)with that front long profile realy looks FAST.I don't have a 8 to look at but what would prevent / be in the way of a longer windscreen (bagage door?)

Any Input?
 
I swear someone makes a more streamlined looking windscreen for the 8, but they don't have a website. I had their phone # but I lost it or left it at the place I yoosta work or something. Maybe someone could chime in. You might want to ask in the gen. discussion to get more eyes.

You are looking for something like this right?:

 
Last edited:
I put a different windscreen on my 8. Wanted something with more slope to it, a bit longer and sleeker look. Basically, it goes as far forward as possible without overlapping the baggage door. This windscreen notably has a compound curved shape to it (not a flat-wrap piece). I think it does add a nice look to the RV8:

windscreenfairing06.jpg


It fit up nicely!

Made by Todds Canopies
 
Last edited:
Multiple champion RV8 builder Lyle Hefel has installed/fabricated a number of racier front windscreens (not to mention TONS of other small and large tweaks). He doesn't have a website and he doesn't sell parts, but if you can see some of his planes they are gorgeous. Nicer windscreen, little bit different main canopy, slights raised/fastback turtledecks, etc.. On top of that he's one heck of a nice guy.

Cheers,
Stein
 
The windscreens on Lyle's 8's come from Airplane Plastics in Ohio (the Van's OEM supplier). The don't have a website, but you can Google them and get the contact information. Very nice folks to deal with. I bought one and should be installing it by this summer. Personally, I like the look of the flat wrap, as it mimics the profile of a P-51, and not being a blown part is thicker and thus hopefully stronger. No knock on Bill's item from Todd's - it looks great too. We're all lucky to have such great choices!
 
The windsreen I saw (and liked) was a "Flat Wrap" . I was going to use a Todds Canopy ,guees I'll take some photos and see what he can do.
Aprox how many inches from the baggage door to the base of the stock windscreen fairing is available to incorporate a longer windscreen?( I'll have a box of fuselage soon,then it will be time for other questions)
 
I Like it

I have always had a concern about a bird strike at 200 MPH . Don't know if the angle of this application would help deflect a direct hit or not but it might .
 
Do it yourself......

...is fairly easy with a "flat-wrap" since we made landing light lenses for Brian's -4. I cut a piece of wood on my bandsaw to the same shape as the leading edge profile and sanded it smooth. Brian the placed the lens on the mold in his home oven at 350* and it draped over the mold. Optics appear good too.

Find a Pizza place if your oven isn't large enough:)

Regards,
 
The forward edge of the windscreen can go forward a reasonable distance without modification to the baggage door. For the flat wrap windscreen, call Airplane Plastics; they'll know what you need. Mine was shipped out promptly and looks great. Not affiliated with them, just a satisfied customer.
 
Interesting example

briand said:
I swear someone makes a more streamlined looking windscreen for the 8, but they don't have a website. I had their phone # but I lost it or left it at the place I yoosta work or something. Maybe someone could chime in. You might want to ask in the gen. discussion to get more eyes.

You are looking for something like this right?:

Click to expand...

The plane in the photograph is Tom Martin's EVO Rocket. He is extremely serious about speed. Below is a more recent photograph of Tom's airplane at Mitchell, South Dakota before the start of the 2008 AirVenture Cup Race to Oshkosh. You do not have to look too closely to start seeing the differences.

IMG_2120.jpg


His speed was 266.54 mph.

Bob Axsom
 
Changes to Tom's Evo

With just a quick look here is what I see:
1. Different prop: 2 vs. 3 blades
2. Shaved the wing tips
3. Shaved the tips on the HS, elevators, VS, & rudder
4. Added fairing to the tailwheel
5. Different/better/taped empennage fairing
6. Taped over holes for attaching control surfaces
7. Modified air intake
8. I'm guessing here, fairings over flap brackets?

What did I miss? It is kind of hard to tell from those pictures.
 
Last edited:
Two Other Observations

As a side note, I also see the 'rocket steering link' in the back (vs. "springs") and the 'slim' wheel pants (vs. 'bulbous' Vans' pants)! Wonder what under the hood in terms of 'flow control'.
 
Besides the visual items, Tom has done a lot of changes with the exit air from the bottom of the cowl to try and reduce the cooling drag. Very interesting stuff to see the impacts to temp and speed with these changes. It's not intuitive at all.
 
rvn817j said:
As a side note, I also see the 'rocket steering link' in the back (vs. "springs") and the 'slim' wheel pants (vs. 'bulbous' Vans' pants)! Wonder what under the hood in terms of 'flow control'.
Click to expand...

I saw that too but it was on the plane in the first picture.

Also, it looks like the flap bracket fairings are on in the 1st picture, on 2nd inspection.
 
Last edited:
Thank you for the nice comments, it is nice to be noticed! The plane has been in my shop all winter for more modifications. I have flown the aircraft for three years and over that time I have made numerous modifications in a quest for more speed. Two years ago I reached a wall and it did not matter what I did, I could not get any improvements. I changed props from a three blade MT to the new blended airfoil two blade Hartzell and picked up an immediate 5 knots. Please note that this is at full power and that at normal 55% cruise settings the two props are very close in speed. The good news is that the new Hartzell is just as smooth as the MT. Hard to believe but true, the company did a very good job with this new propeller.
Previously I had a round inlet on the standard F1 airbox. It worked well but it was a bit ?draggy? in appearance. Also I did not care for the outlet cooling air shape so I cut the entire bottom from the cowling and started from scratch. Up front I have one of Rod Bower?s air boxes installed. It will be very interesting to see how my MP compares with my normal chase plane. At the aft end of the cowling I squared off the opening into a rectangular shape. This will hopefully allow a better flow of air between the outlet and the upper gear leg farings. The shape of the outlet also allowed me to incorporate a cowl flap. I have experimented with cowl flaps before and the results have been mixed. By that I mean that I was able to better control engine temperatures, particularly in the colder months, but speed gains were not evident. Hopefully this current version will provide some additional speed. I have spent a lot of time on the cowling over the past years and I have been able to make great changes to cooling efficiency but speed gains have been elusive. My conclusions from these experiments are that the stock F1 cowling is very good if the basic inlet and plenum conditions are met. That was another factor in my attempt to change the shape of the bottom cowling. I did keep the piece that I removed and it could be put back if this trial shows a decrease in performance.
The biggest change made to the aircraft this winter is a new panel. Previously it was a VFR only machine, like the owner! The panel has now been upgraded to IFR status with the addition of a GNC430, an audio panel and a new Advanced Flight system EFFIS. Stein Air and Kitchener Aero were very helpful in equipment selection and installation advice. The pilot has still not upgraded but I have added 10 hours more instrument time and a bunch of study time. I am finding the training very interesting but there is much more to it then I first thought there would be. The new panel is definitely an easier upgrade then the one to the pilot!
A downside to the extra equipment is weight and I have added almost 17 pounds to the airplane. The good news is that the pilot has lost almost half of that during the installation process!
 
Tom - Nice Paint Job & Tail Wheel Fairing

My bird is molting toward your color scheme (note the tail wheel fairing & color). Now I just need that sloped wind screen, fastback and more horsies under the hood!

15s80sk.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.