I am at the stage of thinking about batteries. I have an 8 with a hartzel constant speed and a 180hp lycoming. I was planning to use the bottom of the front baggage compartment. What I need to know is
1/ Does this sound like a good location for that combination of engine and prop?
2/ Which battery do most builders use?
Thanks
Jim
My thoughts:
There are quite a few -8's flying with this same engine/prop combination, and most of them are in the forward third of the CG envelope when solo. The further forward you get the CG, the more "solid" the airplane feels, the further aft, the lighter it becomes. Back when people used heavy lead/acid batteries, you could make quite a difference in CG with battery location, but with a huge number using PC680's, it is not as big a deal....however, a way is won with individuals, not a single army, so everything you can move aft will give you a lighter control feel - assuming that like most RV-8 pilots, your flying will be done mostly solo. (No matter what you think now, unless you are far out on th bell-shaped curve, this will be how it works out). I like the aft battery location, and look at the battery whenever I have to look at the controls behind the baggage compartment - usually at annual.
AS for the forward location, I personally have found that the little right side part of the forward baggage compartment is incredibly useful for the canopy cover, tools, oil, etc that always live in the airplane. If you travel a lot, it makes a difference! If you are local-only, out-and-back type flyer, then it may not be so important - but ask folks who have been flying for a couple years, not those who THINK they know how they are going to use the space once they finish.
All of the solutions work by the way - my thoughts are just to add data for your consideration.
Paul