J

jcknox

Member
Wings and empennage

If I'm looking to piece together a -8A kit what if any wings and empennage from the other models are common with it?
Jeff
 
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Don't do it!

No, you should only put the wings in the middle of the plane and the tail at the back of the plane! ;)
 
RV7 shares the same HS, elevators, wings, and possibly VS.

Be aware the rear spar trim detail is different on the -8 wings than -7. I think the -7 is shorter, but not sure. If that hasn't been trimmed yet, it won't matter.

Edit: Jamie is right, the HS won't work due to the narrower fuselage on the -8.
 
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jcknox said:
If I'm looking to piece together a -8A kit what if any wings and empennage from the other models are common with it?
Jeff
Click to expand...

Basically the answer is no. The only thing that comes close is the 8 and 7 used to use the same rudder. Van's issued a service bulletin for a larger rudder on the -7. Many people pulled the old rudders off so you may be able to find those.

The -7 and -8 wings are almost identical. The -8 wings have a NACA duct on one of the bottom wing skins for rear seat fresh air and they have a longer rear spar attach point than the -7s. So theoretically it would be feasible to put an -8 wing on a -7 fuselage by trimming the rear spar, but not the other way around without serious modification. This is also assuming that the main spar would fit too. Visually they are identical, but the spars are jigged and drilled as a pair with the center section so it wouldn't be an ideal situation.

You would probably do just as well to try to find some abandoned 8/8A projects laying around. The wings and empennage are identical for the -8 and -8A so it matters not what the original builder was trying to turn them into. The fuselage is a different story, however if you find an unstarted or barely started -8 fuselage you could easily swap the parts to get your -8a.

Best of luck and get busy! :cool:
 
Thanks for the replies...an ad by someone with -7 wings for sale intimated they were interchangeable. I knew where to go for the straight scoop.
Jeff
 
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