What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Size question

2

2bolts

Well Known Member
Does anyone know of a completed 7, or 9 in the San Antonio area? Whose owner would be kind enough to let me sit in it to see if I'd fit.

I'm 6'6" and 245, so I'd just like to find out if I could actually get in one, before putting 'money on the table'. My wife would prefer to sit next to me, as against behind me (RV8), I'm assuming so that If I don't look scared she knows not to worry.:D
 
Welcome to VAF!!!!

Roger, welcome aboard the good ship VAF:D

I am pretty sure you will fit in either model just fine, hopefully someone pipes up soon with a test fit offer for you.
 
maybe...

the 7/9 fuselage is more torso limited than leg... if your torso is especially long you will have trouble without pretty much eliminating the seat cushion. I am just under 6'-5" with a 34" inseam for reference. During the build I was particularly focused on maintaining head and leg room and it worked out great. I had to have my seat cushions customized a bit making them very thin and use a halo headset. The fit is perfect. I could have gotten an extra 1/2" of room by cheating the canopy up more during construction and would likely do that if I built over. No problem with leg room for me. There is much more headroom and personal width space in the -8 if you plan to keep the extra weight on ;)
 
Hi Roger. I had a gentleman of your complexion maybe couple pounds more. He was doing just fine. Seat back was at last hinge and all additional cushions were removed.


Roman.jpg
 
I did some transition training with someone of about that build in a 7 - he fit, but I think on a regular basis he's much happier with his -8.

Dan
 
Thanks Mike for the welcome.

Thank you also Stephen, Vlad and Dan.

There are always way to make things work, stephen I'm a 34 inseam as well, (I just checked), so my torso might be a tad taller than yours.

But back in the UK I used to own a half share in a Luscombe 8A. Now that is an aeroplance built for 5' 10" people! I had to use a 1" lower cushion and had to hunch down a bit but I managed. Unfortunately my posterior doesn't have the padding needed to fly without sitting on at least a 2" cushion, but as you say there are tweaks that can be made.

To be honest I prefered the 8, it looks sexier to me, but my wife didn't.
 
fit...

Hi Roger, with a 34" inseam you will have no problem with legroom... I set up my rudder pedals as far forward as the plans suggest (they can go farther though) and I use the middle seat hinge point with the setback directly against the brace. For me, this geometry gives the best torso room with the seat ribs on the 7/9 and the location of the roll bar and curve of the canopy.

With my very thin seat bottom and back I have about and 1-1/2" headroom once the seat foam is settled and I am fully strapped into the seat... This will put you pretty darn close to the canopy though. You will be able to cheat the fit during construction to get another 1/2" or so and you gain a bit if you don't fully extend your back straight... one thing to note... as you get very close to the canopy the side of the bubble starts to impinge on you a bit.

When you test fit in a plane make sure that you examine the seat cushions and back closely... start out without any cushions. Although mine are very thin the bottom could be a bit thinner still.

Come to Oshkosh and there will be lots to try out!
 
[email protected] said:
Hi Roger, with a 34" inseam you will have no problem with legroom... I set up my rudder pedals as far forward as the plans suggest (they can go farther though) and I use the middle seat hinge point with the setback directly against the brace. For me, this geometry gives the best torso room with the seat ribs on the 7/9 and the location of the roll bar and curve of the canopy.

With my very thin seat bottom and back I have about and 1-1/2" headroom once the seat foam is settled and I am fully strapped into the seat... This will put you pretty darn close to the canopy though. You will be able to cheat the fit during construction to get another 1/2" or so and you gain a bit if you don't fully extend your back straight... one thing to note... as you get very close to the canopy the side of the bubble starts to impinge on you a bit.

When you test fit in a plane make sure that you examine the seat cushions and back closely... start out without any cushions. Although mine are very thin the bottom could be a bit thinner still.

Come to Oshkosh and there will be lots to try out!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice Stephen....Oshkosh That's a great idea!
 
Fit

I just completed an RV9A, have a 34 inch inseam and am 6'4" and fit fine. I also put the rudder pedals as far forward as possible and I also moved my throttle and mixture into the lower part of the panel to make sure I would have the necessary knee movement. I took off the seat stand-off and while I don't have a bunch of headroom, I am comfortable. I had Classic Aero make my seats 1 inch thinner than the norm - the cushions do have a lot to do with the fit. Good Luck
 
Thanks everyone for advice

Thanks everyone for your advice. I manged to get an opportunity to try 2 RV -9's one with a tip up canopy and one with a sliding canopy.

Unfortunately, my torso is too long for both even with seat cushions removed. I could just put my hand flat on top of my head, and squeeze it under the canopy when closed.

I also managed to get a chance to try a RV -8, With thinner seat cushions and the Todd canopy I'll get into one with reasonable comfort.

So it looks like I'm going for the 8 :)
 
What about the -14?

I'm 6'-2", shortish legs, and LONG torso. I fit in a -6 easily, once in!

It's the gettin' in and out that get's me.........:eek:
 
The 14?

Hi Pete,

When I first saw the 14 on this site I was quite excited, initially. But I decided against it for a few reasons.

I want a slider, not a tip up canopy and a tailwheel version. I know the info says that the tip up has a new hinge to allow it to get out of the way when open, but I can?t see any proof of this.

I've tried a tailwheel tip up and it definitely was in my way and made things a little awkward.

Also a tailwheel 'will be developed', but they don't say when.

The pictures look very nice and the performance figures look o.k. but there is no information on cabin height. Sitting down with a straight back my torso is 41 inches tall, from the bottom of my bottom to the top of my head. The info doesn't give any idea of measurement in this regard.

But the cruncher is that they are very vague on delivery, availability dates of sub-kits and costings. Wing kits available in Sept 2012 (maybe), and it might cost around $9,000. If I was showing a product, all this information would have been worked out in advance so that when the product was displayed to the public the website would have that info straight away, so that potential customers would know all the details quickly and up front.

It?s almost like Vans is testing the waters so to speak. A few I?ve spoken to around me say that they wouldn?t build a 14, but they?re not my size. I don?t have a problem with it being a ?two seat 10?, or a ?big 9? that can do aerobatics. It doesn?t worry me that the tail ?is a 9? and the wings ?from a 10?.

I do like a few ideas from the 14, wing attach bolts outside the fuselage, in my opinion that?s where they should have been from day one. From my days as a mechanic I often cursed a designer making things much more difficult than they needed to be. The modularity of the construction, hoped for faster construction, all are good.

But why 210 hp? Why not 180, or, 200? I?d like to choose. I know some people on here want to hammer around the skies at 200+mph, but I?m happy to do 180, for instance.

Most feel that the costs will be closer to the 10 by a fair margin, than an 8, or 9. So why build a 14, when for a bit more you might be able to build a 10, have more room and four seats.

The cost speculation, I?m sure isn?t helping the 14, this could have been stopped dead in it?s tracks, if it was on the website, but there aren?t any pages like the previous models have on the website. Anyway the 10 is way above my price range (when built), so if the 14 was ?up there?, it would be out of my reach.

Apologies for this being so long-winded
 
Roger, I'm about 6' 2" maybe 215 so a little smaller however I moved my pedals as far forward as they would go, ( beyond the plans). If I put the seats In the last hinge it is very very comfortable, my legs have a very slight bend which I like. I wish you were closer to check it out, everyone who sees it loves the fit and feel over what is considered "normal". Let me know and I'll go into more details if you would like.

-David
 
thanks gents

Thanks for the offer 'trg845G', I asked 'Flyguytki' to take some measurements, which he kindly did. I think my best option is the 8. If I could modify a 7 to fit I'd be too uncomfortable to do long flights or withstand turbulence.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top