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Bikeyears

I'm New Here
Folks, new to this forum and apologize in advance for a question probably already addressed many times. What are the thoughts regarding the small rear seat rudder pedals. Good thing/bad thing. Are they awkward or in the way of passengers...or hazards to flight by uninitiated?

Thanks....Paul
 
My opinion

I'm fine with them. They aren't overly usable, because of the wide front seat cushion, but they do allow some control at very little cost to space.

Not good enough for instruction, but maybe good enough for transitioning an existing and decent tailwheel guy into an -8.

Would I do it again? yes.

Would I leave them off if I had some really cool other mod that would make them impractical? yes.

My humble opinion.
 
I have the in my -8. I've flown another's -8 from the back seat and they work well and improve control. If you plan to have a person in back who can be PIC, I'd recommend including the rudder pedals. I don't know that I'd want to land as a back seat pilot but for enroute, they improve the PIC control.
 
Back rudder pedals for RV8 - Pic?

Thanks for the responses regarding back rudder pedals. Could someone take or have a pic of these...or direct me to a pic online? Thanks.
 
Here's a shot of mine during construction. It's just sitting there, i.e. not screwed into place. The rear passenger footwell installs to the (photo) right of the pedal.. The support bracket is not quite lined up with the holes in the spar joiner so it sits a little further aft... Not flying yet so I can't comment on the utility...

 
A data point of one...

I have them and have flow with many pilots in the back seat. They are never used. The back seater can't see the slip indicator. Since this is almost a "feet on the floor" airplane it is (mine anyway) way under the seat of the pants threshold (read butt sensitivity) of most people. I think I'll remove mine at the next condition inspection.
 
Additional consideration: To my knowledge, all the threads here about formation clinics specifically call out the need for dual controls, including rudder pedals.
 
I tried mine from the back seat and found them to be almost unusable. As it turned out my buddy in the front had his feet resting on the front pedals. After he moved his feet I found they were moderately effective but nowhere near as responsive as the front ones are. My thoughts are that your feet are not in a natural position when using them, but they are better than nothing.
I'll probably remove them just in case a passenger happens to step on one at a bad time.
 
I installed the rear seat rudder pedal kit but I "unscrewed" the rods from the rod ends and removed them for normal operation. I can re-install them easily in about 10 minutes if I have a back-seater that could use them. So far (18 months and 220 hours) I haven't re-installed them.
 
rear seat rudder pedals

Have flown several friends' RV-8's from the rear seat. For semi-serious acro or for TO and Ldg practice they are indispensable. They were not comfortable for lateral control during roll-out after landing, at least for me. YMMV!
 
Agree with all of the above. They are a good emergency control, but very uncomfortable. I have landed the airplane to a complete stop with them, but it's no fun. They don't get in the way during normal ops, but they do provide some extra system friction. I just removed mine tonight.
 
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