H

hughfi

Well Known Member
Hi there,

Does anyone know where I can buy an extended RV6 panel that I can use for my panel rebuild? The stock one is about 2 inches too short for what I want. I know folks have found these, but as of yet, I have not been able too.

Any info greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Hugh.
 
It's a flat panel...

hughfi said:
Hi there,

Does anyone know where I can buy an extended RV6 panel that I can use for my panel rebuild? The stock one is about 2 inches too short for what I want. I know folks have found these, but as of yet, I have not been able too.

Any info greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Hugh.
Click to expand...

RV-6 panels were shipped with only the lower flange bent.

Buy a piece of 6061-T6 locally and have a metal shop put in the lower flange.

Use the old panel to get an exact size/shape of the curve, or just go with the plans dimensions and hope the original builder was accurate...:)
 
affordable panels

I think affordable panels has one...well they did for my 7...I'm pretty sure Fabian can help you out....

take care
 
Van's bent one up for a local guy and didn't charge him much over the regular price. Call them.
 
Van's already makes one a couple inches taller. Look under RV-6 panels in the online catalog and choose the once that has the suffix "OVSZ" or something like that. Call Van's if you can't find it on their website. It costs about $50.

The top profile is uncut, but all you need to do is use your original panel to trace the top outline.

Hope this helps.
 
Vans Aircraft

F603 OVSZ, for tip up
F6103 OVSZ, for slider

I have one in my plane. I believe it was about 2 inches bigger.
 
The oversize instrument panel for the -6 series is 2.2" longer than the stock panel and although not generally known, Van's has em.
 
Extended panels for the -6 are ane ENTIRELY different story than the panels for the 7,8,9 or 10. All of those planes had a pre-shaped panel - and the panels along with the canopy deck rail mounting areas are quite different..

Most (not all) of the 6's shipped exactly as Gil described...a big piece of metal with the bottom flange bent...we (the builder), then taped a sharpie to the end of a yardstick, traced the shape and cut it with whatever we had.

As others have stated, about the only 100% accurate way to get a truly good fit on a -6 panel is to use the old one as a template. We do many, many of these and that's what we do. Of course we start out with new flat sheet stock, then put the bend wherever it needs to be for the customers new height, but only after we've traced the curve and cut it out. Naturally it's way cheaper for you to do this yourself than pay us to do it! :)

It's dirt simple to do yourself, if you have access to a brake and a bandsaw, the aluminum should be cheap. Just get yourself a 2'x4' chunk of .063" aluminum, cut out what you need and bend it - then you're done and you have a perfectly fitting panel!

My 2 cents as usual.

Cheers,
Stein
 
And note that...

SteinAir said:
....
It's dirt simple to do yourself, if you have access to a brake and a bandsaw, the aluminum should be cheap. Just get yourself a 2'x4' chunk of .063" aluminum, cut out what you need and bend it - then you're done and you have a perfectly fitting panel!

My 2 cents as usual.

Cheers,
Stein
Click to expand...

...Vans calls out for 6061-T6 in the plans - which should be cheaper and easier to get locally than the higher grade (more $$$) 2024-T3 used for the other sheets in the RV-6s.
 
Higher grade?

Hmm...I found 2024-T3 more prone to cracking than 6061 T6...The latter is cheaper too.

The whole Zodiac I own was made from 6061 T6..If I make my extended range fuel tanks I will use 6061 T6

Yeah I know 2024 is Alclad but it makes very little difference in the real world from my experience.

Frank
 
It depends on...

frankh said:
Hmm...I found 2024-T3 more prone to cracking than 6061 T6...The latter is cheaper too.

The whole Zodiac I own was made from 6061 T6..If I make my extended range fuel tanks I will use 6061 T6

Yeah I know 2024 is Alclad but it makes very little difference in the real world from my experience.

Frank
Click to expand...

...how you define higher grade....:)

But 2024-T3 has ---

25% higher yield strength

75% more tensile strength

and essentially equal elongation at 0.065 thickness

These are "real world" numbers.

...I say the numbers make the 2024-T3 "higher grade" and hence more expensive....:)

It should not crack while bending if you use the correct bend radius, which is about 3 times that of 6061-T6 - the penalty paid for higher strength properties.

Chart here for reference -

http://www.thesheetmetalshop.com/pdf_manual/bend_radius.pdf

But Van specified 6061-T6 for this application, so go with the plans and save some $$$...

However, just because the Zodiac was built with the weaker material, that is not a reccommendation to substitute where Vans specifies 2024-T3, even if it does bend "better"....:)
 
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