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Rear seat weigh limit
- Thread starter t28flyr
- Start date
A few things.. I have a -4, similar to the -8. Have you got any experience in Tandem aircraft and loading? Sam principles will apply to all. The RV 4/8 carry all the fuel weight forward of the CG, so fuel will be a factor as well. In my -4, I don't let PAX exceed 200 lbs, and I will also maintain at least half full tanks. The pitch sensitivity goes up, and down trim is required as load increases. The light loading of the RV requires conscious application of elevator with a back seat PAX, and it's not hard to over G one if you yank it. Landing requires very light pitch changes, but not dangerous by any means. I almost always have a PAX in my -4 (wife) and am very used to it.
I’ve flown my -8 near the aft limit. It is more sensitive in pitch but even as a low time pilot I had no problem or concerns if I used wheel landings. You have to go through the W&B for that airplane but you should be able to handle at least 450 lb of pilot/passenger weight.
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My RV8 will be over gross long before it gets close to being past the rear of CG limit!
To the OP -
It sounds liek you haven;t bought the airplane yet, so you can;t go experiment…but if/when you do own the RV-8, you shoudl go out with various progressively aft CG’s and decide where YOUR limit is - then you can back-figure what rear seat weight that corresponds to.
What we have found with the -8’s that have a constant speed prop is they can be just fine at the aft limit until you are decelerating in the flare. With the big flat prop, they decelerate very fast, and as the airplane slows below about 70 knots, the stick force gradient can reverse at aft CG…in other words, you have to PUSH on the stuck (slightly) to keep the nose from rising. This can be very disconcerting to someone who has never experienced it!
To answer your question directly - I find that a 220 lb passenger is about my limit in the -8 - at that point, the stick force gradient DOES reverse (or go to neutral) and that gets a bit fun, especially if I’m trying to land short.
It sounds liek you haven;t bought the airplane yet, so you can;t go experiment…but if/when you do own the RV-8, you shoudl go out with various progressively aft CG’s and decide where YOUR limit is - then you can back-figure what rear seat weight that corresponds to.
What we have found with the -8’s that have a constant speed prop is they can be just fine at the aft limit until you are decelerating in the flare. With the big flat prop, they decelerate very fast, and as the airplane slows below about 70 knots, the stick force gradient can reverse at aft CG…in other words, you have to PUSH on the stuck (slightly) to keep the nose from rising. This can be very disconcerting to someone who has never experienced it!
To answer your question directly - I find that a 220 lb passenger is about my limit in the -8 - at that point, the stick force gradient DOES reverse (or go to neutral) and that gets a bit fun, especially if I’m trying to land short.
