Van's Air Force
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Exiting the cockpit
- Thread starter RV-9Brian
- Start date
Sam Buchanan
been here awhile
I know what you are dealing with, it is more difficult for me get out of the RV-6 than it was 25 years ago.
Something you might consider is a center console. I rolled my own but there is at least one vendor than has them listed. The console provides a solid base against which your wife can push with the left hand as she uses the right hand on the longeron to slide up the seat back. I assume you allow your passenger to put their feet in the seat bottom as they prepare to exit.
The biggest problem is the ground attitude of the tipup taildraggers and lack of good handholds, gravity is working against us mature aviators. Hope this is useful so you can continue to enjoy your -9.
Something you might consider is a center console. I rolled my own but there is at least one vendor than has them listed. The console provides a solid base against which your wife can push with the left hand as she uses the right hand on the longeron to slide up the seat back. I assume you allow your passenger to put their feet in the seat bottom as they prepare to exit.
The biggest problem is the ground attitude of the tipup taildraggers and lack of good handholds, gravity is working against us mature aviators. Hope this is useful so you can continue to enjoy your -9.
Check government surplus sales for an ejection seat?
Seriously....perhaps a top of panel handle like the -12iS has could be fabricated? I'm not sure of the -9 panel structure.
Once she is standing on the seat, we’re ok. She uses my shoulder to lean on (I’m standing by the right flap) and I have my arm behind her to keep her from falling. I like the idea of a center console. I will try that. Thanks!
RV-6/7. Consider this type of stool (9 or 11 in) for the future, Wife has used one for in and out for years now and it work out perfectly. Stores in the baggage compartment easy enough as well. It appears to have become a popular accessory amongst us older ones. Caution: I never let someone step off the wing if using the stool without me standing there, missing the stool would not be fun. BTW the cheap ones seem to wobbly, get a good one.
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They're great for all sorts of people. I have two, one for each side of my RV-6. Sure, I can get up on the wing easily enough without it, but I often find I'm up and down off the wing dozens of times while I preflight, clean up the plane, load and unload stuff, and so on. My wing walk material is also inordinately small compared to most RVs.
I originally got the step stools for my son, who was 7 or so when I started flying with him in it. The stool gave him more of a sense of independence entering and exiting the airplane, and I didn't have to worry about potential damage from him inadvertently kicking the flap on his way up.
--Ron
We use one exactly like this one. I use it too when I’m loading baggage. Thanks.
The problem with the side-by-side RVs is getting out of the cockpit, not getting down off the wings. Stools are only applicable to about 10% of the problem. Age, especially with a little knee surgery, a little hip surgery, or a little shoulder surgery makes these particular airplanes pretty unfriendly.
For A models, the easy exit bar is a complete game changer.
For A models, the easy exit bar is a complete game changer.
If there’s a will, there’s a way…
I installed a similar bar in a 6 tail dragger by riveting brackets to the floor stiffeners, than bolting a bar to them.
If you have carpets, they would need to be modified with cut outs to go around the bar brackets but after the bar is bolted in, the assembly actually helps in preventing them from slipping.
I also helped a friend fashion a bar for a 14A.
I have no clue what the main gear weldments look like in a side-by-side RV tail dragger and why Alan doesn't make a an exit bar for them. It was the first thing I bought for mine after I ferried it home and has not disappointed in any way. My mistake was in getting the version for fuel injected RV's. My engine is fuel injected so that's the bar I bought but at that stage of my RV ownership I didn't understand that many/most have the boost pump up in front of the fuel selector....mine doesn't. A flat bar would have worked fine. I mentioned this to Allan once, he immediately offered to trade my bar out, but I kind of like it.
The other thing that aids in exiting a side-by-side RV is grab handles for the roll bar. I suppose that the worst possible case for the aging RV pilot would be a tail dragger with a tip-up canopy. If I had one of those, I might be having the same concerns as OP.
A center console would be great if you have the shoulder strength push your self up with one hand on the rail and the other on console. A console wouldn't have been useful for me before had my shoulder replaced.
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Only a part of the solution but I retrofitted the steps on my -7 to help get up on the wing, big improvement. If you have a slider, a handle on the center bar of the roll cage help to pull straight up from either seat to get a foot on the spar. I think a center console as suggested is also a great idea to help push up to sit on the back of the seat.
Figs
Figs
Do you have any photos of your work? Mine is a 9 tail dragger with a tip up canopy so the hand holds in front are not possible.
RV-15 looks like a great airplane, but for pilots of an age where getting in and out of an RV-9 is physically difficult, embarking on a 2-4 year build may not be a practical solution. And it will be a l-o-o-n-g time before that model starts hitting the used market.
Sam Buchanan
been here awhile
I can't find a photo but will get a couple next time I'm at the hangar. The console is a simple project but very useful. Also, I have steps on both sides of my RV-6, they have been shortened a few inches to make them look "normal" on the taildragger (step is about even with trailing edge of the flap when it is dropped).
Perhaps a 2-week to taxi? https://vansairforce.net/threads/will-vans-sell-factory-built-rvs-now-with-mosaic.237336/
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There is no weldment in the taildragger.
The red grab handles on the windscreen bow is the first thing needed. I made my own before you could purchase aftermarket ones and they were welded on before the airplane flew.
Like Sam, I am getting up in age and it is more difficult to get out of the airplane then it was 25-years ago. I "borrowed" / stole the idea from Keith that he used in his RV-7A. Instead of buying Allan's bar, he made a foot anchor on the floor to help get started out of the seating position. Not my idea and it was stolen from what Keith put in his RV-7A.
It is a 1" angle made to fit then bolted in. IF you put a subfloor in your airplane, this will not work. There is another one in the right seating position.
I have a folding step like others shown above that was used to get my 90-year old mother on and off the wing.
In the hangar, I use an old metal glass milk bottle crate to make it easy on me preflight and servicing the cockpit.
Hope this helps others and it is a way to save some money if you do not want to purchase Allen's device.
We're talking 2-weeks-to-taxi after all the parts arrive, right? If that was a practical option for a 70+ year old, I'd order an RV-15 this afternoon, but lead times on Lycoming's IO-390 engines alone are running, what...14-18 months? Lycoming backlog aside, Van's inability to reliably ship parts and kits in a timely fashion appears to be a consistent and recurring theme here on VAF.
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The center console made a big difference for me and it was a pretty quick project considering.
Purchased here: https://www.aircraftextras.com/E-Zout.htm
Purchased here: https://www.aircraftextras.com/E-Zout.htm
I can highly recommend the Anti-splat Aero "Easy Exit bar" for anyone with a "A" Model RV https://antisplataero.com/product/easy-exit-bar/
Sorry, those were customers planes & have gone home.
Look at your side skin lowest longeron & floor stiffeners, picture how you can either bolt or rivet two brackets to them to attach a cross bar. Quite simple actually.
I want to know how you attached the cargo net. I need that. Thanks.
I know it's not a fix, but I put my heel on the gear leg tower. I am going to try and come up with a bolt on peg that folds up. I don't like the Anti Splatter bar.
I wish I could come up with some sort of Chicken Handle that attaches to the roll bar without drilling holes. I don't like the idea of drilling holes in my roll bar
I think a collapsable peg makes a lot of sense. Maybe something along the lines of a motorcycle kick starter - swings back in one direction to store out of the way against the spar carry through, but swing it forward and it becomes a rigid bar to push against.
Sam Buchanan
been here awhile
This is worthwhile spitballing but keep in mind the OP has a tipup taildragger. The suggestions for roll bar handles and gear tower dodads don't apply to those of us with no roll bar in front of us, gear attached to the engine mount, and a little wheel at the rear of the plane.
Adel clamps through 4 bolts. I then just tie wraps to attach the cargo net to the adel clamps.
My wife can not do the lifting and leg bending necessary for exiting the same fuse. I considered a series of air bladders nearly flat when deflated and can lift close to the longeron. Issues are lateral stability and leg room for rotation and over the longeron to the wing. I ordered wings for the RV15.
Av8torTom
Well Known Member
Does your passenger side have a stick? Might be easier for her to get out without the stick so she can roll onto the seat on her knees
