slider vs tip up

[Bill]

Ihave read much on the subject of slider vs tip up, visibility etc. but I have not read much about wind noise and comfort in cold weather..I just really like the slider, but curious can the be sealed tight?

[captain_john]

An excellent question!

This is the "other" hot debate! Personally, the slider has me for the moment. However, people who have been there and done that (like Checkoway) SWEAR that the Tip Up is THE ONLY way to fly!

The slider has the nod for "cool fighter style" appeal.

I also like the grab handles for ease of egress, as I have blown out discs in my lower vertabrae.

They say it is harder to assemble and more difficult to swap out panel instruments later in the build.

The Tip Up also sports a totally "NUDE" view of the world around you. That view is hard to beat!

I must say that if I were to do it now, I would be hard pressed to feel comfortable in my decision... but slider has my attention for the time being.

If I get a back operation, that may all change!

CJ

[Spike]

I plan on building the tip up for 2 main reason. The first is the visability that it gives. I spent some of my primary training in a Socata and fell in love with that open feeling. The other reason is that I think the plane is prettier without that big honkin bow staring right back at you. I think this especially applies to the A variants. I dont like the A's with sliders at all.

[gramps]

I'm bilding a tip-up. After flying the factory 7, I just have to have that visibilty. It's like skydiving without all the wind.
Ease of build? They're both a pain in the shorts to fit up. Both can get cracked during assembly.
Leak? The tip-up is famous for leaking water down forward of the panel. Providing you're in the rain in the first place. The sliders leak at the aft end. As guys say around here, do you want the leaks at the front or the back?
Ventilation? The slider may get more air to you while you're on the ground, but the tip-up gets you some at least.
Looks? Now there's a subject. My opinion is, I'm building to fly looking out, not stand around with the ground pounders looking in. If I need a fashion accessory, I'll chunk all this and buy a Harley.
Anyway, the view out the tip-up is cool. Cooler than the slider. The slider aint bad, but looks like a Tri-Pacer compared to the tip-up.
Build what you want. The answer for me might not be the answer for you.

Have fun - That's the only reason we're doing this anyway. Gramps - Tip-up 7A with a nosewheel

[RV6junkie]

I prefer and built the slider for several reasons....

1. You can safely leave the canopy open during a hot day without fear of wing or prop-blast destroying your canopy;
2. Having a roll bar makes me feel MUCH safer;
3. Easier ingress/egress;
4. Looks cool.

Granted, it would be nice to have easy access to the back of the panel, but that is a concern but a few times a year (if that), while the above 4 items are a concern every time you fly.

I have flown the tip-up. I can’t say that there is a vast difference in visibility. In 10 years I’ve never found myself saying, “this damn roll bar is in my way”. The truth is I never notice it.

[728GD]

I built the slider due to my height. I'm about 6' 5" and most of it is from my butt up. When I first started to look at the RV's, 3's, 4's, and 6's at that time, I chose the 6 for side by side seating. Then I talked with Ken from Van's and he told me you can actaully gain about an inch of head room by using the slider. Just the way it sits and with the roll bar in the front, the canopy goes over the top which will add a little more clearance.

He was correct. I have flowen in both and I have more head room in a slider. I even went as far as bringing my own seat cusions with me to insure those were the same.

So if you are tall and worry about having enough head room in the RV, I suggest the slider. Best thing to do is ride in both, just be sure you use the same size seat cusions for a true compairison.

For me it is the slider all the way. I like being able to taxi around with it open or cracked and not having to worry about it flying off.

Dale

[nightflyer]

My kit (which I bought second-hand) was ordered with the slider parts. I thought long and hard about buying the tip-up parts, mainly because I think the tip-up looks a little better. But those parts cost about $300, and it doesn't look THAT much better. I'm pretty sure I'll stick with the slider. On the subject of visibility: I just cannot believe there's that much difference; I suspect that the slider canopy frame just "disappears" (kind of like the mirror I mounted on my cycling helmet. I never know it's there until I look for it!).

[728GD]

Nightflyer, I agree with you. I really don't even notice the roll bar on my slider. You move you head a couple of inches and you see everything. The visability is still great.

One point mentioned previously about the panel availability with the tip up is a very good point. Anyone who has had to pull a gyro or work behind the panel on a slider will agree. I have been under mine a few times, as most people will with a home built. Seats and backs out, pillows, blankets, anything to lay over the rudder and breaks so you don't smash your head. You all know the drill, lay upside down, light always in the wrong place, the tool you really need just out of reach, if you have it with you at all. It is literally a pain in the neck, back, sholder....... The tip up wins in this area with no question. BUT, watch out for leaks in the weather stripping allowing water into the back of the panel.

You decide.

[arffguy]

Tip for sealing the tip-up canopy:


http://home.mindspring.com/~rv6/RV6site ... canopy.htm

He has some other neat things there too.

[prestwich]

Well, I'm a long ways from having to make this decision, since I just ordered my tail kit two days ago and the only airplane tool I own so far is a pair of cleco pliers! But, I ran across this guy's modification a few months ago. It's a guy who modified his slider to allow it to tip up. I'm having trouble seeing the advantage, other than easier access to the cargo area. It doesn't offer the unrestricted view of the tip-up, and I don't think it allows the easier behind-the-panel access, either. Have you guys seen this, and what do you think about it? Also, what I think would be cool would be a gull wing canopy. Any ideas?

http://www.aircraftextras.com/Tip-Up-Slider1.htm

[Spike]

I'm having trouble seeing the advantage, other than easier access to the cargo area.

I think you see the advantage just fine. That is the primary reason that people go with that mod. They get the slider that they want, but get the cargo access that they need.

Personally, I am going with tip. That is driven 100% by wanting the view. Might as well do it while I am young

[captain_john]

I think I need the Tip up/slider.

After looking around at both sliders and tip up's, I don't see how I can stuff my dog into the back of the plane without blowing out my back! He will be travelling with me most of the time and it is a primary design concern.

With this, I could stuff his furry little ass into the baggage compartment fairly easily.



As a plan "B", I suppose he could clammor up the wing and hop across the upholstery and get everything all scratched and muddy... NOT!

CJ

[captain_john]

...another shot of the same thing:



CJ

[jim_geo]

On order is the tip up. The unobstructed view is the reason. The slider is pretty cool I agree, though it isn't cool enough. Looking cool is one thing but what is it going to like where it counts...in the air.

[Andy G]

Recently I’ve been flying a Citabria. On the door is a jettison handle in case you need to bail. My question is; how do you jettison a tip up? It seems like relative wind would want to keep it closed. The only RV I have flown (9A) had a tip up. The view was unbelievable!

[captain_john]

Van has a jettison handle on the panel. It pulls the hinge pins on the leading edge. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever done it and we really don't know if it will work. It should though. It may need a bit of a push to get it beyond the boundary layer I am guessing.

CJ

[johnk]

I think I prefer the tip-up for a couple of reasons, but I have one issue. When I look at photos of an occupied 6, 7, or 9 taken directly from the side, a straight line drawn from the top of the engine to the top of the structure behind the pilot seems to pass straight through the pilot's head. In the event of a nose-over accident, does this mean a broken neck? The slider, on the other hand, has what everyone calls a "roll bar" at the front of the slider. Does anyone know if it is actually strong enough to act as a roll bar and support the weight of the aircraft in a nose over?

[captain_john]

John, I thought of that too. Nobody ever "plans" on getting upside down in an airplane and the odds are low, but it "can" happen.

I am not aware of any accidents that someone was either saved or jepoardized by one over the other. Assuming one's head could be held far enough back, under the rollbar of a tipup... I suppose they would be ok. Any way you slice it, that individual(s) just crashed in an airplane and that is a traumatic experience any way you slice it! Not where I wanna be!

Sometimes you just gotta make a decision. I went with the tip up.

CJ

[svanarts]

I'm not an RV-6 flier but I have to say that I prefer the visibility of the tip-up to the slider. But since my RV-4 has the tip-over canopy I could be biased.

PS. I'm not TOO confident about the RV-4 roll bar's ability to keep the ground out of my hair either. I've head that pointy roll bar sinks into mud quite nicely.

Blub.

Blub.

Blub....

[Spike]

I am going tip up also and quite frankly I doubt the structural integrity of both variants. After that Im just going with the one I prefer.

-- John