J

Jonboy0086

Member
Hi have an RV4 and am thinking of buying rudder pedals for the rear seat. Any of yall done that? Does it take away from the leg room for the guy in back? that was the one thing I am worried about.

thanks
Jon
 
I bought a set of the fold down pedals. They do a good job and are out of the way when you don't need them. Great when you have passengers who you don't want to have access to the rudder :)
 
I took them out of mine 12 years ago, then had to reinstall them when I sold it. After 5min of flying I remembered why I removed them…The backseater loses a couple of inches of precious leg room; depending on your girth, they can rub on your shorts; and lastly, they were a bear to reinstall. It even amounts to a loss of more legroom for uninitiated pax as when you tell them what they're for, they're afraid to touch them and so keep their feet well clear. Unless you plan to do tailwheel checkouts (and why would you do that in your precious baby??) then I wouldn't bother. As long as you have a stick back there the pax should be happy. As you know, there is very little adverse yaw with average control movements...

Just my 2 cents,

Mike
 
I can't speak to the folding variety (which sound like a much better setup), but my RV-4 had the Van's rear seat rudder kit (pushrods) installed when I bought it, and I wasn't a fan of them. I removed them after a month or two of ownership. In addition to adding resistance to the rudder system and having the rear pedals move next to your hips, I think they present a safety problem. Just ask the RV-8 driver in California who had an experienced instructor in the rear helping him transition in his new-to-him airplane. I'm not sure if pilot froze on the controls or they were just fighting over them (same thing, basically), but the end result was a pushrod that bent and jammed, resulting in a ground loop with substantial damage to the plane.
 
Back seater pedals

Back seat pedals were part of my criteria when I was looking for my plane.

It had the metal rod pedals which were hinged at the base to a fuselage bulkhead. Metal rods then ran beside the pilots legs for both pedals and both brakes. Once installed they take up the few precious inches of cockpit space whether you have a passenger or not.

The rear passenger could not get enough extension on the brakes to use them and our attempt to try turned dangerous so I removed them which was onerous indeed.

When my instructor (in back) was in the plane, his feet were constantly rubbing against my thighs which would bother many people. More importantly, his feet would sometimes catch on the sides of the bulkhead to which the pedals were attached restricting his extension, again creating unsafe conditions, particularly on the ground, take off and final. So, I had them removed too, but this time I recruited a 20 year old girl to crawl under the panel which was much easier on my back and provided a better view.

I couldn't trust them for any significant maneuver and they add little performance in the air (most of my passengers are non-pilots so I let them use the stick and I help with rudder, they don't know any better and are thrilled).

When I listed my plane for sale, the only serious buyer was all hot for the pedals despite my cautions. When I found out that he was a student, had not soloed and intended to do his ab initio training in the plane with an instructor who had no RV time, I refused to pursue the sale and directed him here to research the matter.

It is only one novice rv'ers opinion but, obviously, I caution against.

Jim
RV-4
Dues paid.
 
We carry the fold down type or rear seat pedals. Properly installed, they will fold down and be completely out of the way. The key is to trim the top of the pedal to not interfere with your ankles when your feet are in the footwells. If you don't have footwells, no trimming is needed.

Each installation will be slightly different, but even starting from scratch with a new installation, it shouldn't take more than 30 minutes. Even if you pull the floorboards (not required) and install nutplates, it shouldn't be very difficult.

Rear seat pedals The photo shown on the site should give you a good idea of how these work.

Note: Brakes are not part of this system.
 
I have the above pedals installed on mine and they work great. They allowed me to do my tail wheel transition time from the back seat.

When I originally purchased the RV it came with the linkage kind but I found them to be too cumbersome and take up too much space.

I've got them just sitting here (the linkage kind) if anyone wants them.
 
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