M

mansboat

Member
I'm buying Scott's RV-9A next week and I'm starting to look for extended fuel options.
Anyone used the "Turtle-Pac"? It looks like a decent solution, but I'm trying to figure out where to put it without trashing my baggage weight limit.

Any other solutions for the 9A?
 
I have a -9A in my shop that has tip tanks similar to the old Jon Johanson tanks. They hold about 8 gallons each and were built by Charles Wilhite. Workmanship is great. No comment about time and trouble getting them done.
 
Is it necessary??- just curious.

At cruise speeds of 185 mph- you can go a long way in 4 hours. I can only stand sitting still for about 3 max anyways.

Where would you go that you needed more than 4 hours flying with reserves and about 725 miles XC distance?
 
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Not necessary, but desirable

One of our frequent trips is KTOA in Torrance CA to KAPA in Centennial CO. It's much more convenient to do that flight non-stop, but it's close to 5 hours no-wind.
 
Bermuda

jcmcdowell said:
At cruise speeds of 185 mph- you can go a long way in 4 hours. I can only stand sitting still for about 3 max anyways.

Where would you go that you needed more than 4 hours flying with reserves and about 725 miles XC distance?
Click to expand...

......to Bermuda....800 miles. Four hours in an RV, plus 1 hour reserve. Check out Safeair1.com for extended range tanks that fit in the rib holes just ahead of the spar.....really neat and light installation.

Pierre
 
Longer ranges...

I completely agree that the airplanes need longer range than 36 gal will give. I swear that 80% of the time there is a headwind component, so getting 185 mph ground speed is against the odds. I flew my Long-EZ for 22 yrs and frequently made 4-5+ hr flights and still had over an hr of reserve on board. For my RV-9A I've designed 2 fiberglass tanks that tuck in behind the seats, putting the moment arm between pilot and baggage station, that way baggage weight-arm is not used up with fuel. These tanks will bring total fuel capacity to 52 gal, giving the airplane a true cross country capability.
 
Having bigger tanks in the 9's would certainly be nice, but if you are willing to go high you can get the burns down so low that you can make that trip with standard tanks. At least you can in one direction. Before going any further I haven't planned this out, but I did enter the direct route with the airports that you listed into AOPA's flight planner and here is what it came up with. Again, direct which may or may not be possible but that would take more serious research. With the parameters for my 9A programmed into the planner the trip would take 4 hours and 34 minutes if I departed now and the total fuel burn would be 29 gallons. This is to cover a direct of 734 miles. To accomplish this at 13,500' with burns of 6 gallons per hour will leave over an hour reserve. Can this be done both directions on this trip? Okay you got me there and you'll most likely be stopping for fuel. However, if this is you measuring stick for a cross country airplane you will only really need an additional 6 gallons or so. If you choose to fly lower the burns will hurt you though and you'll pay with a stop.

Congradulations on your new airplane! Welcome to the good times.

Best,
 
pierre smith said:
......to Bermuda....800 miles. Four hours in an RV, plus 1 hour reserve. Check out Safeair1.com for extended range tanks that fit in the rib holes just ahead of the spar.....really neat and light installation.

Pierre
Click to expand...

Yup- no avgas stops enroute there. (ya mon)
 
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Captain Avgas said:
Somewhere remote that doesn't sell Avgas.
Click to expand...

Or shorter to trips to a field with very high avgas prices, allowing you to fly roundtrip without buying fuel.
 
Long Amortization...

to save a $1 a gallon- could take awhile to equalize the downtime, labor, and cost of equipment.

I'm certainly not advocating against the extended tanks- frankly it would be very cool to figure out how to install temporary tanks when you want them and be able to remove the bladders when not needed (the added weight).

When I bought th RV7, I had grandiose plans of a zillion changes and 'tweaks'. I went through the whole plane and that took several weeks, and now I'm careful on my new 'projects' that they don't put the plane out of commission for too long.

It takes some work just to remove the seat pans and they are installed with screws. It would be quite an endeavor to remove a skin or tips and replumb the tanks.

I was advised to go through the plane and make myself comfortable with the construction and knowledgeable where things lived, fix what needed to be fixed- then fly the plane for awhile. After putting in some time, you're priorities might change.

I'm glad I did- I wouldn't be able to determine if the flight characteristics were due to my changes or the builders! :)

I'm just figuring out how to land the airplane as it is...I think I need to fix the pilot first.
 
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