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RV-7 finishing kit on a RV-6?

ChiefPilot

Well Known Member
In one of the posts in the classifieds section, there is a -6 that is advertised as being "Built with RV-7 Finish kit". Is there any specific advantage to doing so?
 
Yes

I believe if you order a finish kit for the 6 today, and for the last few years, you get a 7 kit. Features that I like with my IO-360 Vert. Draft kit where;

Firewall mounted Oddessy Battery doing away with the old battery box and firewall penetrations.

The "Tunnel" with Fuel Selector Valve and FI Pump set up is very nice and only needs some slight modifications at the spar to make work. This allows most wiring to go through the tunnel and back through the spar. Very nice.

The "Tunnel" also incoroporates a nice transition for the heater box.

I believe those are the major improvements over the original 6 finish kit.
 
Preview plans

In the newer preview plans for the RV-6 VANs has inserted a couple of drawings for a RV-6 change to RV-7 configuration for fuel lines and battery. It is not too difficult to do. I did it on a very early RV-6A kit. You can purchase the full size plan for a few bucks per blueprint. I like the extra floor space and the smaller (less expensive) battery. Both configurations are nice and it is a personal preference item. I sort of thought if I ever sell it the "7" look MIGHT be more attractive to a potential buyer.
 
Ditto on JonJay. I am building my 6 this way, just comes out nicer at the tunnel. All rear wiring goes through the spar in the center.
 
Dont forget the canopy

The newer 7 kits have a lot better canopy system. The older kits had round tube on the sides that tended to flex. The new ones have square tube to make it more rigid. I used a lot of 7 parts on my RV-6 including the cowling. My next one will have all RV-7 finish kit.
 
The newer 7 kits have a lot better canopy system.
Interesting. Does the new canopy rod use the same aluminum "tube" as the new style flap actuator rods?

I've never heard of a failure of the old style round tube though, so not I'm not sure what "problem" this was intended to fix.
 
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Flap actuators

I have the hex actuators in my current kit. They are a lot beefier than the old ones. I always cringed when I tapped those rods out to accept the rod ends. They are always under compression but still you have to wonder.
 
I have done similar to Post #2. "Standard" RV-6A aft of the firewall, more of a -7A forward of the firewall. Somewhere in the build process of the 6A, I decided to purchase a set of RV-7 preview plans..what a great item that turned out to be. While looking through -7 preview plans to see what the (then new) 7's were like, I found numerious answere to a number of build questions I had on my -6A. I also liked the way the firewall forward areas were different from the -6A design, relocation of the battery box, gascolator, fuel line routings, electrical contactor placements, cabin heater box placement and design, etc.

The biggest help with the -7 plans were in the additional drawing details for the Cowling Instalation (DWG45) and the Tip-up Canopy drawings (DWG 48, 49).
 
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