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Basic Empty Weight

Rjmvmi1998

Active Member
I am interested in what other builders have weighed in at completion of their project. My RV10 has Air Conditioning, dual EarthX batteries, and fairly standard instrument panel. My Basic Empty weight is 1705 LBS. I feel this is heavier than most. Curious what other have weighed in at.
 
IFR panel (stock Van's with 2-screen non-Touch G3X, G5, TT A/P, GTN 650, SL30), full interior and exterior paint, Odyssey Batt, etc, etc.... 1650 lbs
 
1607. IFR. Single screen + G5 G3X setup, paint, basic interior, overhead console. I figure it would have been 1590 without the overhead console or extra firewall/belly protection.
 
Fully equipped, dual g3x suite, 3 axis a/p servos, CAI, mtv-9 three blade prop, full leather interior and carpet, Evoke paint, desser retreads, dual earthx, showplanes cowl and induction, HWA ER tanks.

1749 lbs
 
1607 lbs. No AC, 1 main battery (Odyssee), minimalist interior, light, poor, do it yourself paint, Leather seats, full ifr (2 GRT Hx, 1 Dynon D6 w/ Li backup battery, 420W, SL30, Trig transponder, Trio AP), FlyLED lights.
 
1727. Full Aerosport panel, full Garmin, 2 G3X, GTN 750, G5, AP, EartX main (just inside FW on top of center console) and TCW backup battery. No AC.

We did put a 22 lb piece of lead in the tail faring so that CG envelope is consistent. I can load 973 lbs just about anywhere in the envelope. 100 lb max in baggage.

Where did I go wrong?
 
1727. Full Aerosport panel, full Garmin, 2 G3X, GTN 750, G5, AP, EartX main (just inside FW on top of center console) and TCW backup battery. No AC.

We did put a 22 lb piece of lead in the tail faring so that CG envelope is consistent. I can load 973 lbs just about anywhere in the envelope. 100 lb max in baggage.

Where did I go wrong?
Well, that 22 lb of dead weight was needed because you moved the battery forward.
 
1680
Garmin 2xG3X. GTN750, G5, MH O2, show planes cowl, Hartz 3blade. 2xalt and 2x pc680. Overhead console and center console. SD ER tanks.

No paint yet. Booked in for feb. I expect this to add a significant amount of weight. Exactly how much I’m not sure yet.
I’ll likely replace my PC680s with EarthXs to hopefully offset some of this. (Should be good for a 20lb saving)
 
1680
Garmin 2xG3X. GTN750, G5, MH O2, show planes cowl, Hartz 3blade. 2xalt and 2x pc680. Overhead console and center console. SD ER tanks.

No paint yet. Booked in for feb. I expect this to add a significant amount of weight. Exactly how much I’m not sure yet.
I’ll likely replace my PC680s with EarthXs to hopefully offset some of this. (Should be good for a 20lb saving)
Paint will prob add around 25lbs give or take a few pounds
 
1695
Full paint, full IFR G3X suite, 650, 355, 3axis autopilot, full leather, carpet, 2 IBBS batteries, 1 Odyssey battery, aerosport carbon fibre panel, consoles, etc.. MH built in O2, Wilkerson retreads, Whirlwind prop, SDS EFI, Matco wheels and brakes, stock cowl.
 
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1680
Garmin 2xG3X. GTN750, G5, MH O2, show planes cowl, Hartz 3blade. 2xalt and 2x pc680. Overhead console and center console. SD ER tanks.

No paint yet. Booked in for feb. I expect this to add a significant amount of weight. Exactly how much I’m not sure yet.
I’ll likely replace my PC680s with EarthXs to hopefully offset some of this. (Should be good for a 20lb saving)
Yep, paint will add 20-30 pounds. A little more of this paint weigh will be aft of the CG than forward.

Keep in mind replacing your aft batteries with EarthX will require you to sharpen your pencil on managing W&B. Options are to add ballast aft when needed or such.

On the first RV-10 I found two PC-625 batteries aft provided a nice, all around compromise for how I used the plane. This plane has a stock IO-540 and Hartzell BA prop. The PC-625 batteries are a little lighter, have a higher Amp-hour and CCA than the PC-680 I find their form factor to be easier to work with as well.

Carl
 
I made this graph that shows how many pounds move the CG by one inch (red) and two inch (green) at the various stations. The assumption is here 2 adults and full fuel as base.
The formula is:
additional weight for 1 inch CG move = TotalWeight^2 / (AdditionalWeightArm * TotalWeight - TotalMoment - TotalWeight)
additional weight for 2 inch CG move = 2 * TotalWeight^2 / (AdditionalWeightArm * TotalWeight - TotalMoment - 2 * TotalWeight)

1733501679550.png
 
Yep, paint will add 20-30 pounds. A little more of this paint weigh will be aft of the CG than forward.

Keep in mind replacing your aft batteries with EarthX will require you to sharpen your pencil on managing W&B. Options are to add ballast aft when needed or such.

On the first RV-10 I found two PC-625 batteries aft provided a nice, all around compromise for how I used the plane. This plane has a stock IO-540 and Hartzell BA prop. The PC-625 batteries are a little lighter, have a higher Amp-hour and CCA than the PC-680 I find their form factor to be easier to work with as well.

Carl
Yep.
I’m pretty good at keeping ballast in the back for solo or ops with no pax or bags.
I imagine lighter at the back will give me more loading flexibility overall. But generally the envelope is wide enough for me to have never had any loading issues.
Another way to look at it would be the earthx offsetting paint plus the YD plus the MH tank.
I’ll reweigh it all next year in march or April and report back with changes.
 
Assembled the above posts into a spreadsheet, feel free to add / correct / complete.
Thanks
/Martin (still building)
Thanks for putting this together. When I did my WB 2 weeks ago I was thinking I’d be in the mid 17’s for weight. With all the extra stuff I put on I’m happy where I am.

Keith
 
Thanks for putting this together. When I did my WB 2 weeks ago I was thinking I’d be in the mid 17’s for weight. With all the extra stuff I put on I’m happy where I am.

Keith
Thanks for compiling this data. Much easier to look at.
 
1606 lbs - Whirlwind composite prop, 2x EarthX batteries, 2xEmags, IFR, basic interior (no leather). It used to be 1596 when I bought the plane ~3 years ago but I replaced the stock brakes with Matco and replaced the dual Lightspeed ignitions with dual Emags both of which added a few pounds each. The CG with just me and a reasonable amount of fuel is close to the forward edge of the CG envelope so I usually have 50 lbs of ballast in the baggage area when only the front seats are occupied. The other factor that possibly contributes to the forward CG is that both the EarthX batteries are on the front side of the firewall (which may have been offset with the composite prop). On the plus side, I can load any combination of passengers and baggage (up to 100 lbs) within the max gross weight and not have any CG issues.
 
1734 with dual alternator 3-blaze MT-prop, full interior aerosportpruducts plus sound insulation under the floor. Dual electronic ignition Lightspeed Plasma III and EMAG.
 
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