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Front Rudder Pedals

Champ

Well Known Member
I decided to go with ground adjustable rudder pedals way back mostly because I thought they were a more robust assembly. Inflight adjustable seemed kind of wobbly. Now that I'm in Phase 1 I'm second guessing that decision. My son who will fly occasionally is a few inches taller than me and needs the pedals farther forward. Ground adjusting will be a bit of a pain and adding a back cushion pushes me to close to the stick.

I did put in the aft nut plates for the centre bar for the inflights as a just in case before the floor was closed up. A big problem though is that the ground adjustable attach angles F-8108 are where the F-874 slide blocks for the inflights would run and would probably have to be removed.

1. Anyone ever converted from ground to inflight adjustable?
2. Was I incorrect in the wobbly assessment of the inflights?
3. Any way to make ground adjustment easier?
 
I decided to go with ground adjustable rudder pedals way back mostly because I thought they were a more robust assembly. Inflight adjustable seemed kind of wobbly. Now that I'm in Phase 1 I'm second guessing that decision. My son who will fly occasionally is a few inches taller than me and needs the pedals farther forward. Ground adjusting will be a bit of a pain and adding a back cushion pushes me to close to the stick.

I did put in the aft nut plates for the centre bar for the inflights as a just in case before the floor was closed up. A big problem though is that the ground adjustable attach angles F-8108 are where the F-874 slide blocks for the inflights would run and would probably have to be removed.

1. Anyone ever converted from ground to inflight adjustable?
2. Was I incorrect in the wobbly assessment of the inflights?
3. Any way to make ground adjustment easier?

We have the in air adjustable set-up so I can not tell you what it takes to change over to that. I can tell you it is worth it if you can get it done and there is no problem with wobbly peddles for the in flight adjustable system.
Most of the time my feet are off the peddles and on the floor. Only when at very low speeds with high power or maneuvering do I place them on the peddles. The adverse yaw is very slight with the RV-8. Just after round-out and touch-down, I bring my toes up to the top of the peddles for breaking once I know I will not be going around. You really don't feel any wobble are movement as your feet are working the peddles and has a lot more travel than the slight movement of the peddles mounted on the slide tube.
You can move them for servicing and if you wish on long CX flights you can push them away so you can stretch your legs from time to time and yes if you have more than one guy going to fly that ship, it is nice to just pull the "T" handle and adjust them to your liking.
I would have to vote, yes it is worth it.
Hope this helps, Yours, R.E.A. III #80888
 
I have in-flight adjustable pedals and have never detected any wobble... I can't speak to ease of conversion...
 
Converting the Rudder pedals

There is nothing easy about moving ground adjustable pedals! Air adjustable pedals are rock solid!

I helped a new RV-8 partnership convert their 8 from ground adjustable to flight adjustable. It is not difficult. One partner is over 6 feet and the other about 5' 10". If your 8 is a quick build, the mounting holes and nut-plates are already installed. For easy access, remove the forward cargo floor. If the aircraft is a taildragger, this job is easier if the tailwheel is raised to level the fuselage, i.e. Tailmate.

Unbolt the master cylinders and leave them there, safety-wired out of the way. Disconnect the rudder cables. Remove the exsiting pedal assembly.
IMPORTANT......Remove your old pedals and drill off, unbolt, or otherwise de-attach any pedal extensions added during the build and discard them! Attach the pedals to the adjustable assembly.

Drill the old mounting tracks off. Use aluminum tape to cover the holes and to provide a slick track for the new pedals nylon sliders to slide on. Bolt the new pedal assembly to the firewall, and mount the rear cap mount to the floor with #3 bolts into the existing plate-nuts. Attach the master cylinders to the new pedals, and reattach the rudder cables.

Enjoy your more adjustable RV-8. I move my pedals one notch closer or further depending on my shoes, or if I'm wearing a jacket, or just my preference at the time.
 
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I will probably eventually switch to in flight adj rudder pedals but will stay with the grd adg until the pain becomes to great.

Looking at what's involved I thought I could leave the grd adg tracks in place and put a UHMW strip on top of the horizontal leg with recesses for the track rivet heads, using double sided tape. The in flight slides could ride on top of this. This would raise the rudder pedals around 1/4".

Danny - I'm travelling now so can't check the drawings. When drilling out the track rivets don't the remnants drop inside the sealed space under the 8's fwd floor?
 
Danny,
Why is this important?

I have flown 19 different RV-8s including the Doll. All the 8's with rudder pedal extensions had gained very little, while giving up both comfort and controllability. The extensions interfere with application of brakes when the pedal is at the rudder stop, and brake is needed to remain in control, i.e. stay on the runway. I'm not saying that you can't get to the brakes, but it inhibits application as if you are wearing combat boots. The purpose for installing them is bogus in the first place. They are installed to help prevent dragging the brakes and causing premature brake pad wear. I just purchased new pads from Vans Aircraft/Dresser and paid $7.80 each. Come on guys.... that's less than $40 bucks to replace the pads. I replace mine at every conditional no matter what condition they are in. That way I know I can go another year without worrying about the brakes. Brakes are important on all aircraft, but on taildraggers they are critical!

I know of one famous RV pilot who's wife hated flying the 8 until new pedals without extensions were installed. Happy wife, Happy life!

Second, extensions make it impossible to stick your feet though the pedals and stretch out your legs during cruise. Those that have always flown with extensions have no idea what you're missing in this regard. Every year I fly the Doll non-stop from Oshkosh WI to 52F near Fort Worth TX. The flight averages 4+40. It's really not that bad, but there is no way I could do that with useless pedal extensions preventing me from stretching out during flight.

If you have them installed....Take Them Off and enjoy your 8 a whole lot more!
Van designed the brakes on the 8 perfectly.
 
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I will probably eventually switch to in flight adj rudder pedals but will stay with the grd adg until the pain becomes to great.

Looking at what's involved I thought I could leave the grd adg tracks in place and put a UHMW strip on top of the horizontal leg with recesses for the track rivet heads, using double sided tape. The in flight slides could ride on top of this. This would raise the rudder pedals around 1/4".

Danny - I'm travelling now so can't check the drawings. When drilling out the track rivets don't the remnants drop inside the sealed space under the 8's fwd floor?

Most of the shavings end up on the floor and can simply be vacuumed up. Any part of the rivet that falls below the floor will not cause any problems, and can be removed if your 8 has the hinge attaching the cooling ramp to the fuselage in the rear. All you need do is remove one upper fairing and slide the hinge pin out to clean out the area beneath the floor.
 
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