Manual flap bummer...maybe...

[cjensen]

I got my manual flap weldment back from the powdercoater today (looks GREAT!!), but when I put the one that comes with the fuse kit on top of it, turns out the aft arms on the manual weldment from an RV-6 are about an inch and a half longer. Wonder if this makes much of a difference on a 7?





I'm gonna give Van's an email tomorrow to see what they say, but I don't think they'll offer much support since they don't offer this option on the 7.

[1:1_Scale]

Are they both for manual flaps? I'm guessing the top (white) one is for electric flaps? My absolutely unedumacated guess is that the arms for the manual flaps are longer simply for additional leverage? I'd have to see the drawings for both setups to understand better

[TomC]

I would think that the longer rear bars would give the pilot LESS leverage on the flaps. The possible problem with the longer rear bars would be whether or not it would fit in the same space as the original unit. This would also change the connection to the flaps as when the flaps are retracted, the connecting rod must come through a hole in the bottom of the fuselage. I don't know how this would work with the longer rear bars. It would probably be easier to either:

1. Weld a longer handle onto the kit-supplied actuator or
2. Cut and weld the rear bars on the replacement actuator to make it the same as the kit-supplied actuator.

Good Luck,

[cjensen]

I'm getting some early feedback both off and online, but it seems as though on the RV-6, the flap handle mounts in front of the bulkhead, and the electric behind. If this is the case, no problems, but I haven't had a chance to check the drawings yet. If not, I may have to cut and weld. The interior space is identical on the 6 and 7 where the weldments mount.

[1:1_Scale]

I would think that the longer rear bars would give the pilot LESS leverage on the flaps.

You're right. In light of that, I change my answer to: "the longer bars may give the same flap deflection without having to pull the handle up into the windscreen"

Actually, Chad's latest info sounds very plausable too

[Bob Barrett]

The weldment that is powder coated appears very similiar to the electric flap weldment that came with my RV-6A kit. I haven't permantly installed mine yet and it appears identical. I have to cut the holes in the fuselage yet but I plan to wait until I have the wings on it again to make the holes for the flap connections.

[cjensen]

Well, both of those are powdercoated. The white one came with my fuse kit for electric flaps. The silver one is out of an RV-6 that I reconditioned and had powdercoated.

I need to look at the plans I guess. Are the holes that go thru the floor for the attachment already cut for the 7?

[jim_geo]

Chad, I dont exactly get your question but I think the answer is yes. There will be a hole on each side of the fuse provided by Van's that you'll enlarge later on to run flap actuator rods through.



From the looks of the picture here it doesn't look like moving the flap actuator foreward would be just easy.

[cjensen]

Chad, I dont exactly get your question but I think the answer is yes.

Wow. After reading it this morning, I'm with you... I don't get it either, but I've been high on cold medicine, so that's my excuse.

You did a good job of answering a cloudy question though! That's what I needed to know. The hole is there, but is enlarged later. The more I think about this, the less of a problem I forsee it being. There is no difference in where the weldment mounts between the 6 and 7, and it worked fine on the 6 with a slightly longer arm. If owners are able to switch to electric in their sixes without any problem, then I should be able to go manual without any major headaches...theoretically.

[cjensen]

Got a reply from Van's today. Gus was very nice about it, but basically said that "We've never tried to put manual flaps on a 7/9, so we don't know." He did say that if I followed the install for the 6, that it should work out.