Balancing Act...
Frank,
I flew my early model RV4/Harmon parts HR2 for nearly 1000 hours. The empennage on mine was stock RV4 with .020 tail feather skins, standard fuse with tip over canopy, IO540C4B5/Hartzell, nothing special except that it was very light for an HR2 as John Harmon assisted the build and (like me) is
weight aware.
That said, in the many arenas of sport aviation/HR2 employment a former F16 driver can tread, structural integrity is one I respect. I never, ever saw a need for a counterbalanced rudder through all the speed regimes the amazing airplane is capable, nor did I ever encounter even the slightest hint of flutter.
However comma, if you are determined to have a counterbalanced rudder, my Eagle driver/RV4 guru bro “Hollywood” fabricated the cleanest, most well engineered counterbalanced RV4 rudder I have seen in nearly 30 years of RV-8ing. It’s not
gangly like the 7,8 9, but properly proportioned. I can ask him to share his drawings, pics and even plans he has or you can ask him yourself. His website is
www.hotelwhiskeyaviation.com
Tell him Smokey says hey...
he might even talk you into purchasing a set of ER tanks, highly recommended.
V/R
Smokey
Hollywood’s RV4 with CB rudder