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10_year_plan

I'm New Here
I hope to get an RV under way (soon) and want to know what everyone has done that is thinking outside the box. The ones I have heard so far:

Using an ASI instrument setup where he put the pitot and static at certain places within the engine cowling to test the cooling so he could tune his plenjm chamber.

Using automotive circuit breakers for non critical electrics.

Using a 2-blade prop to put engine in TDC and ease of construction (get the blades out of the way) of course there were other reasons.

Having 100LL in one tank for critical stages of flight and the cheaper mogas in the other tank for cruise.

What other nifty ideas have you guys come across or used in your aircraft
 
I wouldn't call it "brilliant", but i am proud of my home-made aluminum oil door, with nice Hartwell flush latch (all painted the same color as my cowl). It's made of thick alum, which I manually bent to the countour of the cowl by hand and hammer (and heat). Then to finish it off a touch of filler to feather the cowl around the edges for perfectly smooth fit. My oil door is incredibly rigid and the latch feels good and solid.

Also not brilliant, but my home-made modular panel, almost identical to the one sold by "Affordable Panels". This has already made life much easier during a couple of minor tweaks and upgrades. Pop off the passenger side panel section and instant wide-open access to my fuse blocks.

Another one not my idea, but a great one, is little handles attached to the canopy along the sides of the skirt to make opening the slider canopy much easier.
 
not brilliant....but you decide

prkaye said:
Another one not my idea, but a great one, is little handles attached to the canopy along the sides of the skirt to make opening the slider canopy much easier.
Click to expand...

I realized yesterday that a LOT of people, especially shorter, smaller low strength ( my Mom!) can't do the magic lift/twist/push/slide to open the slider canopy when belted in their seat. I'm sure side handles would help.....but mostly the final 6" of the rear slider ramp should be curved, if it were possible, so it's not a dead lift. I have no weatherstripping, so it's not 'sucked' shut at all.
Some other handles or grabs to make entering easier would be good.

IDEA:
so far, I've put a chuck of green vinyl tape on everything that it is safe for a passenger to grab, and red on the things that aren't!
 
Not my idea, but I put access panels in the deck in front of the canopy to get into the wiring etc. Sealed with homemade proseal gaskets, no leakage. Very useful for access behind the panel, even in the tipup.

greg
 
I filled all of the pulled rivets in my RV-12 prior to painting. Brilliant? Nope. I was waiting for the kits to be released and was bored out of my mind! :eek:
 
One thing you might do is to go look in the "Tips" forums here on VAF - lots of accumulated ideas from folks over the years - more than you can put in a single airplane, that's for sure!

Paul
 
some ideas

Some random thoughts, in my perceived order of value:

Baggage door for the RV7. Save huge time in construction, very convenient once flying.
Radio access panel, definitely.
Better copilot disconects (than the ones I have) for the stick to make removal faster.
Extra fuel, get it all approved at inspection, so no phase one reinstatement later. I have the HWA tanks and a removable 15 gallon tank in baggage that was tested and removed during phase one, but its proven to work and legal to reinstall if I never need it in the future. (Probably overkill, but its done and its there.)
LED landing lights (pretty much shock proof) in landing gear -- mine work as great recognition lights, and draw little power.
 
That DOES sound cool.

Any pics of LED lights in landing gear?

Dkb

mikerkba said:
Some random thoughts, in my perceived order of value:

Baggage door for the RV7. Save huge time in construction, very convenient once flying.
Radio access panel, definitely.
Better copilot disconects (than the ones I have) for the stick to make removal faster.
Extra fuel, get it all approved at inspection, so no phase one reinstatement later. I have the HWA tanks and a removable 15 gallon tank in baggage that was tested and removed during phase one, but its proven to work and legal to reinstall if I never need it in the future. (Probably overkill, but its done and its there.)
LED landing lights (pretty much shock proof) in landing gear -- mine work as great recognition lights, and draw little power.
Click to expand...
 
APRS

Not sure if APRS would work down under, but it is pretty cool and I trust it more than my ELT in case something goes wrong......
 
Just a little wiring hint

Well, I don't think it was brilliant..but one of the best things I did was take some leftover hinges, and rivet 1/2 of the hinge (with a pin) on the turned-under bottom all along the instrument panel, as well as all both "panel to sub-panel" ribs. With a little lacing cord, it was very easy to dress all the wires, giving a great place to secure everything, making for what I think was a simple and neat installation....Here is a small example...

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http://i56.tinypic.com/14jqfyc.jpg
 
all these ideas are great. I have been to the tips area (i think) but dont recall seeing much ingenuity, I think its because it didnt work :(
 
A few more....

Some RV-6's and -8's have IO-540 Lycs....cruise at 200 knots

Jon Johannson of Australia has 18 hours of fuel in his -4:eek:...been around the world east-to-west and west-to-east, solo!

Jess Myers uses V-6 Chevies with a belt-driven prop.

A guy in Colorado put a small turbine in an -8

Dentist Dave Anders broke the CAFE record with a level flight speed of 265 MPH in his -4!....and that record still stands.

An HR III has been over 300 MPH.

Best,
 
When you get to painting

Don't know if it's been done before but when you get to painting, I used a ratchet cable hoist attached to the engine lift point to lower the nose (tailwheel only please) effectively raising the tail. Much, much easier when painting the bottom of the the fuse and I was even able to level it for when I was painting the sides and striping.

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So far, so good. Worked for me any way.
 
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10_year_plan said:
all these ideas are great. I have been to the tips area (i think) but dont recall seeing much ingenuity, I think its because it didnt work :(
Click to expand...

1. Go here: http://www.vansairforce.com/community/forumdisplay.php?f=74

2. Go to the bottom of the page and you'll see "Display Options." One of them is "From the...."

3. Click to expand the selection.

4. Select "beginning."

5. Then click on "Show Threads." If you skip this step nothing will happen.

6. Bookmark the page that comes up and you'll have a nice batch of tips to review when you feel like it.

Dave
 
These are on our -10, so some may not apply to the 2 seats...

1. Front access panels. As said earlier, these are so nice for access behind the panel. Another benefit is I made them out of fiberglass then hid the GPS & XM antennas underneath. Thanks to D Checkoway for that idea.

2. Cowl flaps. The 10 normally has louvers on the cowl, I'm not a fan. Cowl flaps open for TO / Climb, closed for cruise. In the south TX summer heat max CHT @ 110kts climb is 415-418. Cruise 365-385. Love them!

3. Oil air control valve. Definitly helps oil temps come up quicker.

4. Extra fuel. Another 15 gallons per side (again, it's a -10) really make a difference on a cross country. These are outboard tanks that dump into the mains. Stock fuel system remained. I'll do the same on my -8, but 9-10 gallons a side.

Those are the mods I'm really proud of. They gave worked out great.
 
bkc3921 said:
Well, I don't think it was brilliant..but one of the best things I did was take some leftover hinges, and rivet 1/2 of the hinge (with a pin) on the turned-under bottom all along the instrument panel, as well as all both "panel to sub-panel" ribs. With a little lacing cord, it was very easy to dress all the wires, giving a great place to secure everything, making for what I think was a simple and neat installation
Click to expand...
That's a great idea. I simply put plate nuts under all the flages of the ribs and sub-panel so I could secure the wires with Adel clamps.


As for construction tips, there are too many to name.

As you build, keep in mind future maintenance and access.

I used cap screws in place of pan head screws as they are easier to install and remove in hard to reach places. More so if you use a flex drive and Allen bit.

Mounting the ELT and strobe power pack under the baggage compartment floor comes to mind.

Installing a coat hanger in the baggage compartment.

In short, you should probably start looking over a bunch of builder’s sites and take notes on the tips and techniques they have listed.
 
Panel mod

The one that has proven out best for me is putting the six pack on its own panel. Eight screws, a static, pitot, and AOA tube, unplug a few connectors and you have a big hole in the instrument panel to work through. It also makes changing instruments easier--no having to cut up the main panel. I guess you might call it a sort-of-modular panel.

Bob
 
10_year_plan said:
I hope to get an RV under way (soon) and want to know what everyone has done that is thinking outside the box. The ones I have heard so far:
Click to expand...

IMHO, One of the best "brilliant ideas" a new builder can have is to hold his or her "Builder Modifications" to a minimum!

Seems like everytime I took it upon myself to use one of my "brilliant ideas", it added another week to my building time. :)>)
 
Brilliant, you say :D:rolleyes:

O.K., here you go--------

I didnt think the factory wing tip landing lights were adequate, so I installed a Duck Works leading edge setup, with my own home brewed HID.

Now, the brilliant part---kept the tip lights, but turned them into wig/wag anti collision lighting.

Looking at them winking away, well, they just simply look ---er, uh, rather brilliant I guess you would say:D
 
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