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HighSchoolBuilders

Well Known Member
Dear All,

Greetings from Hong Kong! I am building an RV7 with the local high school as an educational project, when the aircraft is finished, it's meant to do some long range flying. The project hasn't started yet, but with ER flying in mind, can someone give me some pointers on what should I consider when building so I don't need to rip the aircraft apart to accommodate the ER Mod.

Also, I heard of leading edge tank; wing tip tank and pax seat tank... any recommendation?

Thanks!
Hank
 
HighSchoolBuilders said:
Dear All,

Greetings from Hong Kong! I am building an RV7 with the local high school as an educational project, when the aircraft is finished, it's meant to do some long range flying. The project hasn't started yet, but with ER flying in mind, can someone give me some pointers on what should I consider when building so I don't need to rip the aircraft apart to accommodate the ER Mod.

Also, I heard of leading edge tank; wing tip tank and pax seat tank... any recommendation?

Thanks!
Hank
Click to expand...

Hank,
Try this link http://www.safeair1.com/HWA_Top.htm
If you use these you need to make sure your strobe power packs are located
behind the spar on the wing tip to allow the tanks to go through the proper
hole in the ribs.
Click on the RV-7 and the next page will show how Danny King in stalled his.
Good luck in your build.
 
If you need more fuel than the Safeair tanks can give you, it's possible to convert the outboard leading edges of the wings to additional fuel tanks as well. I don't know of a 7 with this conversion, but here is an 8 that was done - http://napwars.com/RV-8HTML/home.htm - and I am doing the same on my 9A - http://websites.expercraft.com/airguy/index.php?q=log_entry&log_id=31628

Some others have simply extended the standard fuel tanks further outboard rather than building separate tanks.

Extreme caution is advised when going off-plans with regard to the fuel system. PLEASE sit down and think it out very carefully before proceeding!
 
ER RV-6

I bought my RV-6 already flying and it was built many years ago. The fuel tanks were extended to the next bay, and the plane carries 58 gal of fuel, with only about .5 gal unusable.
The only real difference in fuel management is that the fuel gauging system utilizes two sets of floats. There are switches to change the quanity indicator from the otbd to the inbd floats. The builder did a good job of setting the floats, and when set to the otbd float, "empty" on the guage really is exactly half tanks. Switch to to the inbd float and the quantity indicator continues to read very accurately.
As others have stated, you should be careful when going "off plans", but I am sure that you will get some very good information from this site.
 
I've added leading edge tanks to my -7 but it's a long way from flying. I copied the technique used by a friend on his -9 (which *has* flown); the spar forms the back baffle of the tank.

It's not particularly difficult to do, but it's really time consuming compared to just building the stock tanks.

Charlie
 
rv7charlie said:
I've added leading edge tanks to my -7 but it's a long way from flying. I copied the technique used by a friend on his -9 (which *has* flown); the spar forms the back baffle of the tank.

It's not particularly difficult to do, but it's really time consuming compared to just building the stock tanks.

Charlie
Click to expand...

Now that has my interest - what did he do about the lightening holes in the outboard section of the 9 wing spar? Do you have any contact info?
 
Thanks!

Thanks Guys! I need to go a bit further than the 9 Gallons that HWA offers, I might have to think about the ferry tank or leading edge option.

Knowing that I want a fuel tank mod before I start my project, would there be any issues when I go for my inspection? I know it sounds silly, but would it good to build a stock RV first, then do the mod afterward?

Thanks!
Hank
I changed my mind from a RV7 to a RV8!
 
You wouldn't be able to do the leading edge conversion to a flying airplane without serious work and possible damage to the wing spar. If you think that is the route you want to take, I would strongly advise you do it while building.

The ferry tank can be done easily, just arrange a fuel line somewhere near the passenger seat, so the passenger seat can be removed and the ferry tank inserted and plumbed into that line.
 
Buy or build?

Thanks Airguy, had a look at your project, looking real nice!

Have anyone look at the "Flymore" tank from Australia? I am a bit concern to do anything with the fuel system outside of plan, especially if I am to design my own mod. Buying an already flown design seems like a better option for me.

As for the ferry tank, do builders usually build the line into the main tank and transfer the fuel to the main tank? Or do they build a line that leads into the main line?

Thanks!
 
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