R

Randy

Well Known Member
Converting from nose wheel to tail wheel

Van's converted their 7 to a 7A. I would like to hear from anyone that has converted a 7 or 6 nose dragger to a tail dragger. How difficult is it to get the tail spring support weldment secured down in between the bulkheads in the tail section? Does the weldment need to be modified? The rest looks like just a matter of a different motor mount, allow for the legs to penetrate the cowling, reroute the brake lines, etc etc. Any tips tricks or advice on this is appreciated.

Randy C.
 
ND to TD

What is the current state of the aircraft? If it is already flying, I'd say it will be pretty hard. The major change will be the landing gear towers.

The plans that I received had both 8 and 8a versions, so you should be able to check those pages that have both to see the differences.
 
The other issue is the tail. The F811B bars that hold the aft bit of the horizontal stabilizer have to remain full size, whereas the plans say that can be tapered in the 8A (see dwg 27/27A). If they have been tapered, you might be screwed. Of course, even getting in that part of the fuselage to drill the bolt holes for the tailwheel bracket might be a real trick anyway.

Cheers
 
Converting from nosewheel to tailwheel?

Is it possible to convert an "A" model RV to conventional gear?...relatively easily.

Glenn
 
glenn654 said:
Is it possible to convert an "A" model RV to conventional gear?...relatively easily.
Glenn
Click to expand...

Hi Glenn.

Yes (somewhat). It requires a new motor mount, cowling and two new bulkheads in the tail. Maybe a little more, but it has been done.

b,
dr
 
uh huh huh

it has been done. as a matter of fact the vans rv7 demo was converted. but i wouldnt say its "relatively easy" by any means.
 
cytoxin said:
it has been done. as a matter of fact the vans rv7 demo was converted. but i wouldnt say its "relatively easy" by any means.
Click to expand...

And of course; now that it's a "7A", it sure looks
of more stature,....... while on the ground! :D

L.Adamson
 
Cam converted his -9A to a -9. Do a search, there are a bunch of threads on the subject.
 
glenn654 said:
Is it possible to convert an "A" model RV to conventional gear?...relatively easily.

Glenn
Click to expand...

Takes about 30 minutes in Paint.:D
RV10TW.jpg
 
cytoxin said:
but i wouldnt say its "relatively easy" by any means.
Click to expand...


Actually if you built the plane, it's very easy and much cheaper than you would think. If you didn't build it, someone that has built an RV could walk you through it without much trouble. Not sure about the 8 though.

Cam
 
Thanks Guys for info. I've been considering a -7 for traveling and have seen a lot of "A" models for sale though I prefer the standard gear and hoped it would be as easy to convert as mounting a pair of gear legs to the motor mount and a tailwheel. Should have figured I was too optimistic.

Glenn
 
glenn654 said:
Thanks Guys for info. I've been considering a -7 for traveling and have seen a lot of "A" models for sale though I prefer the standard gear and hoped it would be as easy to convert as mounting a pair of gear legs to the motor mount and a tailwheel. Should have figured I was too optimistic.

Glenn
Click to expand...

I wouldn't purchase a plane with the idea of converting it. Look at the RV6 instead of the RV7. A bit cheaper than the 7 and many more available for sale.
 
7A to 7

Glenn

I just completed my conversion of my 7A to a 7. It was not difficult and could be done in maybe 80 hrs. hardest part was reworking the cowl my engine sat about 5/8" forward of what it was originally so I had to do some addtional fiberglass work.
 
Dad bought a started 9A kit and converted to a 9. Not difficult at all while project is in process. A lot of it was just switching the finish kit to the -9 version.

For a currently flying airplane, it's a little more involved because there will be more to undo / redo. You'll need to pull the tail feathers off to install the aft fuselage TW spring bulkheads. Pull engine for new TW motor mount. Remove Tri-gear mains weldments on the spar. Patch the holes in the fuselage where the mains came out. Re-work the cowling to fit with the new mount. repaint all the new cuts and patchwork. Build new fiberglass farings for the new LG. New whelepants, I guess. That's it - simple:D

Probably not a Saturday afternoon project, but certainly do-able. Probably easier to buy one that already had what you wanted.

Converting early in the build process saves a lot of patch, rebuild and repaint work.
 
Converting from nose wheel to tailwheel

I am planning to convert my 9A to a 9. Has anyone done this? If so, what kind of issues did you run into. It appears to be fairly straight forward.

Joe Ramotowski
 
Converted

I converted my 7A to a 7, same fuse as the 9. It wasn't that hard at all. New engine mount and add the tail wheel. The most time consuming part was the new engine mount moved the engine forward by an inch so I had a little bit of fiberglass work and a repaint on the cowl. Still had it done in a little over 2 weeks. Feel free to give me a call if you want. 815-210-5840
 
Need RV9 motor mount and landing gear

Thanks for the replies. I ordered the new Dyna 1 motor mount and gear from Vans today. They told me it would be 4 to 6 weeks to ship. That blows Oshkosh.

Does anybody out there have a new RV9 motor mount and gear legs that they won't need for a couple of months? I have one on order and will be glad to do whatever it takes to work out a trade. If anyone is interested please email your phone # to me at [email protected] and I will call you.

I flew my plane to Oshkosh last year as a 9A. Hoping to make a return trip this year as a tail dragger.

Joe Ramotowski
N358JR 250 hrs as a 9A
 
9A to 9

I converted a 9A project to a 9 at about the quickbuild stage. The fuselage was at the stage to receive the tailwheel parts and had not committed for the finishing kit mount at that time . I do have a set of 9A main gear leg assemblies and 9A main gear if anybody is going the reverse route. Vans has a special package for making the 9 conversion. You will find that the 9 gear leg sets are much taller than the 9A main gear. I originally thought they were the same. The conversion was straight forward. I sealed the holes in the fuselage which had already been cut for the 9A mains . The 9 is a bit more difficult to see out of on taxi than a 7 but the 9 is a well portiioned good looking RV .
 
roee said:
Really? Why? I'm just curious. I had always thought that the 7 and 9 had identical fuselage and landing gear. No?
Click to expand...
Main gear is much taller in the -9. Since the stall speed is so much slower for the -9, the legs have to be taller to allow it to be in a 3-pt attitude, and near stall speed, at landing.
 
Need Help! on 9

OK, I received my tailwheel stuff today to convert my 9A to a 9. Vans sent me a kit called 9 FUSE UNIQUE. It contains some parts that don't exist in my plans. I'm wondering if Vans has modified the original TW plans.

If one of the 9 builders could tell me where these parts go I would appreciate it.
F7114 L
F7114 R
F782 L
F782 R

Thanks,

Joe Ramotowski
 
Fxxxx L and R

I don't recall the numbers of the parts but there are some reinforcing parts for the tailwheel bulkhead. seem as though there are some triangle pieces to reinforce the tail wheel mount. The were however shown on the 9 DWGS.
 
alpinelakespilot2000 said:
Main gear is much taller in the -9. Since the stall speed is so much slower for the -9, the legs have to be taller to allow it to be in a 3-pt attitude, and near stall speed, at landing.
Click to expand...

I agree...

N941WR said:
Joe,

Dump the Van's tail wheel bracket and put one on from Doug Bell.

Here's the link: http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=5361

And here's a picture of mine getting fitted:
Click to expand...

And if you use a different tail wheel assembly that is taller than the standard, you reduce the three point ground attitude angle of attack, and as a result effect the performance capability of the airplane.
 
rvbuilder2002 said:
And if you use a different tail wheel assembly that is taller than the standard, you reduce the three point ground attitude angle of attack, and as a result effect the performance capability of the airplane.
Click to expand...
Scott, you are correct. I have never flown mine with the stock tailwheel bracket, only the Bell unit in the picture. It doesn't seem to impact my landings but then again, nothing can really help them. ;)

Seriously, I think I recall seeing a picture of this bracket compaired to the stock one and there was about 1/2" different in height.
 
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