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Is the -7's rudder a direct swap onto a -6?

Jeff:

No, they are not a quick swap. The -7 has a counterweight which the -6 does not. You would need to change out the entire vertical stab/rudder.

Regards,
 
Yeh, I should have been more clear in my post..

After looking at some pictures, this is what I noticed also..

Oh well, more of a reason to build my own 8.. :D
 
Depends...

...on the vintage of the 6. Starting in about 97, 6 kits had the taller, counterbalanced rudder and VS. If your's is of the newer variety, than you should be able to swap rudders.

If not, well, there's a 6 tail kit in the classifieds...
 
Yup Jeff (Point) is correct regarding the -6 vintage. I was being a bit of a purist in my original post.
 
I have not had the fairing off the tail in some time and since I did not build it I do not remember/know what the mounting of the tail section looks like..

Seems like it should be riveted to the airframe or is it bolted on?

I do not really want to get into extensive renovations on the plane. The main reason I was thinking about the new tail section was to see if I could build it..

I'd like to build my own bird one day and thought "Maybe I could build the tail section of a 7 and once it was complete.. throw it on the 6.."

I'd like to have an 8.. Maybe one day.. :D
 
The empenage is bolted on Jeff.

If you are handy at all with tools, you should have no problem building an RV. Building the airframe entails drilling holes, smoothing of said holes and edges of parts, dimpling or countersinking holes, and riveting. Repeat as required. ;)

The learning curve for all the above is quite steep. If you have any doubt, an easier litmus test for you may be to order one of the toolbox projects that Vans sells that will teach you all the basics. You wil end up with a nice little tool box to boot!

Dive on in Jeff!

Regards,
 
Yeh, I would consider myself an easy 7.96 out of 10 with tools..

I do all my own repair work on cars, etc.. Actually, my pops and I are smack in the middle of a heads/cam swap in my other "toy." Different type of tools, I know, but still think I could pull off building a plane..

I have built more R/C models than I can count from my own plans all the way up to ARF kits..

Are there any benefits to the larger vertical surface other than the recovery out of a spin and the LOOK.. I think it looks better for some reason.. :)

Also, is the horizontal section the same on both birds?
 
Last edited:
Tram said:
Are there any benefits to the larger vertical surface other than the recovery out of a spin and the LOOK..
Click to expand...
It has been suggested that the larger tail gives the 6 more yaw stability and reduces "fish-tailing" in turbulence. This would seem to make sense, but I've never seen any real data on the subject.

The tail is bolted on. Replacing the existing vertical stab and rudder would not be a terribly difficult thing to do, and many have done it before.

The only potential downside is that it is sometimes difficult to convince people that it is a 6 and not a 7...;)
 
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