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RVF-84

Member
Hello all,

As much as I?d like to build an RV-8, my 6'6 / 240 frame seems to fit better in the ?7?. :mad: Trust me, I've sat in every ?8? I can get myself into and it's a tight fit! I'm going to Van's next week, one last time, just to make sure. (My wife is 6'02, so that rear seat is a problem as well....)

My question is this, other than 'Flash', belonging to our benevolent host, does anyone have good pics of RV-7's painted in military paint schemes. I know there aren?t too many side by sides in military history, but I never did go after that fighter pilot job, and now's my chance. :D

I would love to make my own "RV-7: Flight of the Intruder" but, man, flat gull gray is boring!

Any help/pics would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Peter
 
rv space

Peter, have you sat in a 7 with your wife? That might be cozy. I'm much smaller than you at about 5'10" - 180lbs, and when I flew with Alex D http://www.rvtraining.com/ for transition training in his 6 I found it to be a tighter fit than my 8.

Anyway, about the paint scheme, you could just ignore the fact that you have a side-by-side, and paint it like you would an 8. I'm sure it will look great, as long as you put the 3rd wheel in the correct place. :)
 
Hi Peter

I'm surprised that you have found the -8 cramped. I'm 6'4" and have you by 60 odd pounds and, while snug, there is lots of room for me. Is it the height that is the problem?

Cheers
 
Have you Considered?

RVF-84 said:
Hello all,

As much as I?d like to build an RV-8, my 6'6 / 240 frame seems to fit better in the ?7?.
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You could always just skip the "RV" stage of building and move right up to the Rocket. :D Plenty of room for big guys and the HP to keep you moving!
FirstFlightPrep23.jpg
 
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It depend o whether you want to sit next too your wife or not????
You will get more "workspace" in the 8 than the 7
and those Rocket guys GET OFF OUR SITE!!!!! sorry just kiddin nice ship

j?rn m?ller
RV8 200 hours
 
The 8 has slightly more shoulder and head room, but it certainly does not have more "workspace" (dash) than the 7/9 :D
 
Cockpit space

J?rn's talking about space for your body, and working that stick and rudder!

Here's his office - a very nice one. I snapped this photo in Colmar, France last summer.

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One very cool thing about his aircraft is he has no lights. It really makes it look a lot cleaner. I imagine it's a bit lighter, too. No night VFR allowed with experimentals in Denmark.

My current "ride" is the red and yellow piper just above J?rn's right wingtip.

(Sorry, I couldn't let Randy have the only cool photo in this thread!) :)
 
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If 6's qualify as being similar to a 7 then there are lots of warbird schemes out there.

I went and looked for the nice silver one that was in the "Classified" on VAF section but it's gone now.

And I recall a guy that had a nice 6A painted in P-51 livery up near Van's about four yrs. ago.
 
Resale Value?

I like the warbird look myself, but I've wondered if it would affect the resale value. I'm afraid some folks just wouldn't want one painted that way.

What do ya'll think?
 
Side by side warbirds Cessna AT-37 and Douglas A-1E

I have a little time in this bird. I was always impressed by its acceleration. It was basically a T-37 trainer beefed up with T-38 engines. With a 1000 hours in regular 'Tweets', the AT-38 seemed like a rocketship. When fully armed with external tanks, bombs and rockets, it seemed like there would be no way to get it off the ground. But, off it would go! The nose mounted gun would give off an erie blue-green smoke right in front of the canopy when fired. It had a gattling-style multi barrelled nose gun and it sounded like an extended 'belch' from inside the cockpit.

It was used extensively in Viet Nam and they remain in some third world inventories now. You have your choice of many authentic warbird paint schemes. See Cessna T-37: Information From Answers.com. Also see specs at http://www.globalaircraft.org/planes/a-37_dragonfly.pl and history at http://a-37.org/a37.htm

The A-1 Navy attack birds were adopted by the USAF and several SE Asia countries. There were variations of cockpit configs. The H was a single seater. The E was side by side. There was one version that had a crew of 5!Again, you have a multitude of paint schemes and countries including USAF,USN,USMC, etc.
See A1E at http://www.mcclellanaviationmuseum.org/A1E.html
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Mark Burns said:
I like the warbird look myself, but I've wondered if it would affect the resale value. I'm afraid some folks just wouldn't want one painted that way.

What do ya'll think?
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I think you take that chance regardles of what paint scheme you choose. If you like the warbird look....Do It! There will be those who like/dislike whatever you do.

Regards,

Donald
RV-8 Building
N-284DP (Reserved)
 
Mark Burns said:
I like the warbird look myself, but I've wondered if it would affect the resale value. I'm afraid some folks just wouldn't want one painted that way.

What do ya'll think?
Click to expand...

Didn't stop me! I can always repaint if I want to. But as an AF vet, I kinda dig it, and even more so after getting the back story from the builder.
 
There is a local -6 painted dark blue with a white arrow on tail pointing straigh up, stars and bars, etc. It looks like something you would see on an F-4U, VERY nice!
 
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