[dbuds2]

Since starting my RV8, I've learned that I really love building planes and solving those never ending daily puzzles. I'm hoping to retire in about 2 years, my current job as engineering lead on rockets and ramjets, is actually very interesting, but the big company bureaucracy is making me crazier.

I wish I thought of EFIS/PFD's, but electronics isn't my strength. So, to the RV builder world, do you think you'd like to have someone build your fuel tanks, or just what is so painful that you'd pay someone to do for you?

Maybe I should just design/kit a high wing single and twin, aluminum, pre-formed, pre-drilled, slow or quick build airplane.

Please don't misunderstand, I'm just trying to figure out how to earn a few bucks while involved in airplanes. (I know what you're thinking, start with a lot of bucks, ha).

 

[Vlad]

snip



Maybe I should just design/kit a high wing single and twin, aluminum, pre-formed, pre-drilled, slow or quick build airplane.

...

Bud,
Maybe you should design a set of different wings for RV7,8 with longerons matching center section and rear spar. Plug in and go type. I already know two customers who are interested in Rocket-style wings

 

[delusional]

I would like a metal engine cowl

..just what is so painful that you'd pay someone to do for you? ...

Especially one that could be easily opened for a real pre-flight inspection. Sort of like the cowl on a Cherokee, except, you know, more RV-ish. maybe you could collaborate with Sam James, get those guys to provide nose bowls for the front part and then design and build the rest from alclad. If you were real careful, I bet you could make them lighter than the glass ones, and possibly even less expensive if you could ramp up the volume. Wait, wait, better yet -- make a pre-punched _kit_ and builders can do their own rivetting and final fitting/trimming. If there is one thing I'm getting good at, it's drilling out rivets...

I'd pay, and I bet you'd find not a few others like me. Nothing against composite aircraft, but hey, I chose to build a metal airplane; why should I be stuck with fiberglass for the curvy parts?

And how about some of those winglets like on all the big guys now? I bet the speed freaks among us would pay to pick up a few knots and/or better fuel economy to save the planet! And if you can design good metal ones...

 

[jcaplins]

how 'bout a high wing twin engine RV-7/8 or 12'ish thing. Kinda like an Aircam but with an enclosed cockpit.

 

[bkthomps]

And how about some of those winglets like on all the big guys now? I bet the speed freaks among us would pay to pick up a few knots and/or better fuel economy to save the planet! And if you can design good metal ones...

our wings are not used at speeds where winglets would be beneficial

 

[craigvince]

our wings are not used at speeds where winglets would be beneficial

I'd beg to differ in opinion. Winglets as part of the wing design are not dictated by speed, but yet a combination of many factors. Our Skylark LSA, for example, has winglets that are critical to the design and performance, and it tops out at 120 kts. I'm pretty sure most RVs are lots faster than that.

 

[David Shelton]

Winglets

Winglets can indeed help at RV speeds. Since they help with induced drag, they work best at low speeds. In fact, they first became common in the sailplane world.

Unfortunately, it's very difficult to design a winglet that actually helps and all too easy to make one that hurts. If the size, aspect ratio, cant, twist or airfoils are off... it will do more bad than good.

 

[Dave Cole]

Winglets and low aspect ratio wings...

Winglets would be most certailnly be of no value on our low aspect ratio RV wings.

True, winglets have been shown to improve performance on sailplanes, but only if designed and mounted optimally, which is a less than trivial exercise. I have a set of very well desinged aftermarket winglets on my Discus sailplane, and I like the improved handling that they provide, but the performance improvement, generally claimed to be about 1%, is hard to measure.

This is on an aircraft with an aspect ratio of 21.5 that has a tapered planform and a narrow cord length at the tip. The winglet has a cord of about 60% of the tip cord, with a high aspect ratio tapered planform similar to the wing This results in a very small increase in wetted area and parasitic drag. The gain in performance comes from the winglets interaction with the wingtip vortex, which is small and stable.

Now, imagine a typical rectangular planform RV with an aspect ratio of 5, and a tip cord of about 5 feet. The wingtip vortex produced at high angles of attack is huge by comparison, and does not shed off of that broad wing tip in an orderly fashion. It would be practically impossible to design a winglet that could harness the energy from that large and unruly vortex. In fact, you will most likely increase drag significantly, particually at cruise speeds.

That's why, if you look at aircraft that are designed with winglets, you will always see a high aspect ratio tapered planform wing.

 

[FresnoR]

Here are few ideas from what I have seen around here:

-Premade Riblets or Trim Tabs for the empennage kits
-Pre-Made Fuel tanks
-RV-10 Nosegear mount for RV-6,7, or 9
-Instructional Video for beginners specifying the exact steps for the more difficult areas of the empennage
-Anyway to eliminate the builder fiberglass work
-Folding/removable wing mod
-mod to allow canopy to be fully open in flight


I'll prob add more as I think of them.

 

[JonJay]

How do you make a small fortune in aviation.....?

....Start with a large one!