[Juicegoose]

Guys i've seen on alot of aerobatic aircraft they have a clear plexiglass bottom right below the feet. Has anyone done this or even thought of doing it. I just figured it would be more of a cool factor then anything else.

 

[Mel]

Please...NO!

The aerobatic aircraft you see with bottom windows are not of stressed skin construction. The skin of an RV IS structural.
You would loose considerable strength of the fuselage by replacing the skin with plexiglas.

 

[Juicegoose]

bam and like a swift wind my question is answered. Ya like i said it was just an idea. thanks manz!

 

[Rick6a]

Those aerobatic aircraft only have a skin between the pilot's feet and the ground. Unlike other RV designs, there is a floor, subfloor, AND outer skin to deal with on the -8 series. While it *may* be structurally possible to add a window, it would be a challenging modification.

 

[penguin]

And how much work is it to keep the window in the floor clean enough to see through? The purpose is to see the judges so you can put the figures in the right place and get top marks, but the motor throws out enough junk that it is a real pain to keep it clean enough to see out of. It seemed that we replaced the window each annual (made from perspex from Home Depot), but after a couple of months it was too milky to be much use.

Pete