Hi all, I am new to this forum and it is amazing! I have an RV-3 that I bought in the fall of 2005. I really have enjoyed flying the plane. It is down for maintence right now and I am contemplating the 3b wing retrofit; is there anyone out there doing a retrofit? If so could you give me an idea of the pain and agony involved. While I have never built an RV I have completed and flown a minimax, I realize that the skills are different but I think that the ability to learn is the most important quality required.
Van's Air Force
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new wings
- Thread starter aeronut
- Start date
RV3B wing
Hello I also have an older RV3 that i am in the process of modifing to the B wing. Let me preface anything that I say with this , this is my first foray into building an airplane. I replaced the center section with the new center section it was not overly difficult, but it was frustrating. The frustration was probably more to do with my lack of expierence than anything else.
Hello I also have an older RV3 that i am in the process of modifing to the B wing. Let me preface anything that I say with this , this is my first foray into building an airplane. I replaced the center section with the new center section it was not overly difficult, but it was frustrating. The frustration was probably more to do with my lack of expierence than anything else.
Hey dude!;
It seems that suddenly -3 flyers and builders are coming out of the wood work!
On the -3 that I have, we installled the spar mod that was sent out several years ago. I was a simple process just to drill out some rivits and bolt it on to the spar, just as safe as the new wing, but alot less time involved.
Mike Bauer
RV-3 N87LB flying (19 years now)
RV-4 N742MC building
It seems that suddenly -3 flyers and builders are coming out of the wood work!
On the -3 that I have, we installled the spar mod that was sent out several years ago. I was a simple process just to drill out some rivits and bolt it on to the spar, just as safe as the new wing, but alot less time involved.Mike Bauer
RV-3 N87LB flying (19 years now)
RV-4 N742MC building
JonJay
Well Known Member
Best RV3 Guy at Vans...Modified wings are not "B" wings.
Try to get to Phil. He seems to be the most knowledgeable.
My understanding is that you can not upgrade old wings and make them "B" Wings. Depending on vintage, there are several modifications to the old wings and fuselage that can be done to strengthen them, specifically at the wing root and rear spar cross over mods in the fuselage. They are still not "B" wings as the spars and general construction or different, not to say they are not as strong, I dont know, just not the same. A modified wing is different than a "B" wing.
Or, you can order new "B" wings and refit a new center section into the fuselage. You still have to make the necessary fuselage modifications to the rear spar carry through as well. Then you have wings tanks and a fuselage tank to deal with.
I looked at buying a built 3 and modifying it. I ended up with a new kit due to all the variables and variances of the older 3's. Everytime I found one, there was something a little off about it that scared me away. If I already owned one, it might have been a different.
Try to get to Phil. He seems to be the most knowledgeable.
My understanding is that you can not upgrade old wings and make them "B" Wings. Depending on vintage, there are several modifications to the old wings and fuselage that can be done to strengthen them, specifically at the wing root and rear spar cross over mods in the fuselage. They are still not "B" wings as the spars and general construction or different, not to say they are not as strong, I dont know, just not the same. A modified wing is different than a "B" wing.
Or, you can order new "B" wings and refit a new center section into the fuselage. You still have to make the necessary fuselage modifications to the rear spar carry through as well. Then you have wings tanks and a fuselage tank to deal with.
I looked at buying a built 3 and modifying it. I ended up with a new kit due to all the variables and variances of the older 3's. Everytime I found one, there was something a little off about it that scared me away. If I already owned one, it might have been a different.
randylervold
moderator
Wally Anderson at Synergy Air has done one conversion. Give him a call to learn more about how difficult it is. IIRC he said it was fairly major surgery. That kind of mod for a previous RV builder is not too bad but if you don't have any construction experience I'd approach it very cautiously.
spitfire55
Member
New wings
After working as an aircraft sheetmetal mech. for a major airline for the last 30 years and after building homebuilts since 17, Zenair CH 200 and 250s I can tell you it is alot easier to build a metal airplane than fix or mod them.You will find working with new clean holes is different than having to drill out and rivet existing fasteners especially when the holes are dimpled.Not that it can't be done or you can't learn,but you do have to take care and it would be a heck of a way to learn sheetmetal. I would truly speak to someone who has done it before.
Bill
P.S. I too want a RV-3 as my next project.
After working as an aircraft sheetmetal mech. for a major airline for the last 30 years and after building homebuilts since 17, Zenair CH 200 and 250s I can tell you it is alot easier to build a metal airplane than fix or mod them.You will find working with new clean holes is different than having to drill out and rivet existing fasteners especially when the holes are dimpled.Not that it can't be done or you can't learn,but you do have to take care and it would be a heck of a way to learn sheetmetal. I would truly speak to someone who has done it before.
Bill
P.S. I too want a RV-3 as my next project.
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Thanks again everyone, I definately have some knowledge gaps to fill. Having rebuilt one home and one new construction, I would never attempt a rebuild again without a lot of though, but I would not hesitate to do new construction. So I see the wisdom in your coments. I have signed up for a two day sheet metal course in January, we will see how that goes. I am not committed to the project at this point, just exploring options.
13brv3
Well Known Member
Retrofitting -B wings is a pretty big job, but it's certainly doable if you have the tools and sheet metal skills. The less complete your fuselage is, the better off you'll be. FWIW, I bought a project that I later found to have some life threatening mistakes in the wings, so I scrapped them, and spent a full week of vacation doing the retrofit.
Don't forget that Van's offers a very substantial discount for retrofit wings. Here's a link to the retrofit pics. It's a zip file that's about 14MB. http://www.radrotary.com/b_retrofit.zip
BTW, it's amazing to see how much activity there is in the RV-3 section compared to a few years ago when I was working on mine.
Cheers,
Rusty
Don't forget that Van's offers a very substantial discount for retrofit wings. Here's a link to the retrofit pics. It's a zip file that's about 14MB. http://www.radrotary.com/b_retrofit.zip
BTW, it's amazing to see how much activity there is in the RV-3 section compared to a few years ago when I was working on mine.
Cheers,
Rusty
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A pictures worth a thousand words
thanks to 13brv3 and to Randy and everyone else, the pictures in the zip file were excellent; they really let me know how much I do not KNOW wow. I could forsee a million places to make mistakes. I will talk to Wally Anderson, probably to see if he knows anyone on the east coast that is quilified and would be willing to do the work. The airplane looks to be very well built. I am the third owner and have enjoyed flying N887RP muchly. I have not tried any form of aerobatics and will not until everything is correct both training wise and airplane wise ( though some say my landings should require an aerobatic waiver). I still plan to attend the sheet metal work shop in January in Oshgosh, it will at least give me a feel for what I do'nt know. Happy New Year to All.
thanks to 13brv3 and to Randy and everyone else, the pictures in the zip file were excellent; they really let me know how much I do not KNOW wow. I could forsee a million places to make mistakes. I will talk to Wally Anderson, probably to see if he knows anyone on the east coast that is quilified and would be willing to do the work. The airplane looks to be very well built. I am the third owner and have enjoyed flying N887RP muchly. I have not tried any form of aerobatics and will not until everything is correct both training wise and airplane wise ( though some say my landings should require an aerobatic waiver). I still plan to attend the sheet metal work shop in January in Oshgosh, it will at least give me a feel for what I do'nt know. Happy New Year to All.
RonRosenberg
I'm New Here
RV3 "B" Wings Retrofit
MY RV-3B (N9286T) was the one that Wally Anderson and I (way MORE of Wally and his crew than me) retrofitted. IT was a BIG job, and the methodology was very different from the instructions from Vans ("remove empennage and wings, suspend fuselage from overhead in the inverted postion ...). We did it with the "3" on its wheels the whole time (and with the empennage intact)
I didn't build the plane (or any other) so the job was WAY BEYOND my skill level. It sure was a blast to fly, but unfortunately I had to sell it with plans of getting something more capable for business / IFR travel.
Wally can give you the straight scoop.
Ron Rosenberg
San Francisco
MY RV-3B (N9286T) was the one that Wally Anderson and I (way MORE of Wally and his crew than me) retrofitted. IT was a BIG job, and the methodology was very different from the instructions from Vans ("remove empennage and wings, suspend fuselage from overhead in the inverted postion ...). We did it with the "3" on its wheels the whole time (and with the empennage intact)
I didn't build the plane (or any other) so the job was WAY BEYOND my skill level. It sure was a blast to fly, but unfortunately I had to sell it with plans of getting something more capable for business / IFR travel.
Wally can give you the straight scoop.
Ron Rosenberg
San Francisco
