Electric flaps

[Tkitchen1]

Hello all, I was doing my inventory on my fuselage kit last night and I discovered that I have the parts for electric flaps. I did not order electric flaps. I looked at Vans order forms and did not see them as an option. I just assumed that I would get manual flaps which is what I wanted. Are electric flaps the only choice?

 

[L.Adamson]

Hello all, I was doing my inventory on my fuselage kit last night and I discovered that I have the parts for electric flaps. I did not order electric flaps. I looked at Vans order forms and did not see them as an option. I just assumed that I would get manual flaps which is what I wanted. Are electric flaps the only choice?

Seems like they are for the "9". Personally, I wouldn't have manual flaps if someone gave them to me, and threw a few hundred bucks in too!

These RV's are not like the forward johnson bars that you have in Pipers. Manual flaps in an RV means reaching down between two people that are already close enough.................every time you want to use the flaps. I much prefer my flap toggle switch that is located next to the throttle. This way, I keep left hand on the stick, while the right is operating the throttle and flaps at the same time. It's very convenient, and doesn't mean cramming a hand between two tight fitting people .... P.S. --- I usually only use 1/2 flaps.

L.Adamson

 

[G Swartley]

Flaps

The flaps in a 9 are almost 7 feet long each. I can't imagine that pulling up on a lever would be real easy.

My .02

 

[Robert M]

Electric flaps......

..... come standard on the -9/9A's. I have never piloted a plane with manual flaps and don't want to. I believe that Van's makes them electric is because, as Mr. Swartley mentioned

The flaps in a 9 are almost 7 feet long each. I can't imagine that pulling up on a lever would be real easy.

. The only plane that I have ridden in with manual flaps was a Cherokee 180 and that pilot had to really pull on the lever to get the flaps down. I'm happy about the electric flaps.

There is a way to do a conversion to anual flaps but I dn't have that information. It is however somewhere up on this forum.

Good luck with your build.

 

[N941WR]

As the others have said, the -9/9A only comes with electric flaps.

When I was building I called Van's and asked about a manual flap option and they said the flaps were too big to pull down by hand.

That said, someone on the forum is installing an RV-6 manual flap handle on their -9. I don't think he is flying yet, so there is no report on how they have worked out.

FWIW, I did my transition training in an RV-6 with manual flaps and after flying with them, I'm very happy with the electric flaps. The problem, as I saw it was, there is very little room to pull up the flaps without elbowing your passenger in the ribs. It might have been my technique but I never did get it down. In the Cherokee I used to fly, the flap handle was down on the floor, not up, even with the seats, so they were easier to pull on. The down side is, you can't dump the electric flaps quickly.

 

[az_gila]

Which might be considered...

........ The down side is, you can't dump the electric flaps quickly.

...as a good plug for the flap up limit switch discussion on this ongoing thread - which suggests a flap switch with a solid up position and a momentary down position.
Just hit the switch briefly and let the electrics take them up...

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=35610

This is the way my certified Tiger is wired...

 

[RVNineA]

..... The only plane that I have ridden in with manual flaps was a Cherokee 180 and that pilot had to really pull on the lever to get the flaps down. ....

I have a Cherokee 180 and the manual flaps are very easy to deploy. I would estimate that a force of only 2 or 3 lbs is needed on the lever.

 

[N941WR]

...as a good plug for the flap up limit switch discussion on this ongoing thread - which suggests a flap switch with a solid up position and a momentary down position.
Just hit the switch briefly and let the electrics take them up...

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=35610

This is the way my certified Tiger is wired...

Gill,

I can reach my flap swich with my hand resting on the TQ, the problem, as I see it is the slow speed of the flap motor, not the switch.

That said, I did take serious look at an automated flap position switch, like you describe. I dropped the idea in my search for simplicity, reliability, and minimum weight.