panhandler1956

panhandler1956

Well Known Member
Anyone have any clever ideas for removable ballast for an RV-8?

I really enjoy flying my -8, but it's a little nose heavy with just me in there. Since I do most of my acro solo I'm giving up handling qualities (IO-360A1A w/Hartzell).
My empty weight is 1144 with a CG 78.93". If I could put 25lbs in the tail (as far back as possible), my calculations put me in the center of the envelope around 83".

I would love something that could be easily removed for large rear passengers (FAA std weight passengers wouldn't be affected - just the Bubbas).

Any thoughts?
 
Concrete.

Hi Brent,

I borrowed an 80 lb. sack of quikcrete from our local building supply store and put it in a garbage bag for my friend's RV-4 flight to see what a more aft CG would make the airplane perform/ feel like

Best,
 
Ahhh, the Tungsten tailwheel...
Any chance a lead collar on the tailwheel stinger would give you enough shift?
 
Brent,
I keep a "Flyaway Kit" strapped to the aft baggage shelf.
It includes, 1/4 inch drive ratchet set, open end wrenches, Master and starter contactors, 2 quarts of oil, spare fuel cap, etc, etc,etc. Totals about 17 lbs.
That helps alot. Then I move it to the fwd baggage if I have a pax.
 
What "Mutha" said plus

you might consider a collapsible 5 gal. water jug in the rear baggage compartment. If you pick up a pax you can dump the water on the local flower bed.
 
Have discussed with others, at the build stage of an RV-8, an integral / bag type water tank in the aft fuselage area.

Probably not impossible to retrofit in a flying RV-8?
 
jthocker said:
Brent,
I keep a "Flyaway Kit" strapped to the aft baggage shelf.
It includes, 1/4 inch drive ratchet set, open end wrenches, Master and starter contactors, 2 quarts of oil, spare fuel cap, etc, etc,etc. Totals about 17 lbs.
That helps alot. Then I move it to the fwd baggage if I have a pax.
Click to expand...

This is what I do too. Also my oxy bottle is in the rear baggage compartment.
Great thing about the -8 is the ability to balance the load.
 
We once talked about a tubular holder built across a rear fuselage bay near the tail, with an easy access cover on one fuselage side. I was going to build one in and neglected to do it. The idea was to enable slipping a heavy slug in and out quickly. A steel slug 3" dia and 8" long weights about 16 lbs.
 
Lead

You might try a 25lb bag of lead shot. Small in size, but would provide the weight without moving around.
 
-8A with firewall-mounted battery. I went to the local Guns 'R Us store and bought 2 25 lb sacks of lead shot. Pricey but compact and effective.

I cannot reach aft CG limit without exceeding gross weight limits.
 
Thanks!

Thanks guys! Lots of great / interesting ideas.

I did some additional calculations regarding my 5 gal smoke oil tank (it is aft of the rear baggage compartment - you can see I was anticipating this issue when I built the airplane :) ). Currently I don't have the smoke system finished, but I can fill the tank with water and that puts me right in the middle of the CG range. I can take up to a 200lb pax with it full an still be in the envelope (at the aft end).

I'll report back on how it goes...
 
I have a smoking airplanes system in rear baggage that I made quick removable. In use I have found there is no need to remove it even with a heavy PAX if the tank is empty or thereabouts. As the smoking airplanes system uses a pump that is ok for water (I think?) I could just fill it with water for solo (as that's heavier than smoke oil) and when I take a PAX just switch the smoke pump on to loose the ballast. if the engine is running I assume there will be a fair amount of steam produced!!


Dave
 
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