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Getting smart on the 6A

WingnutWick

Well Known Member
Hello all,

I have had an RV-8 for about 5 years and have done all my own work on it. My girlfriend just bought an RV-6A and I?m sure I?ll be the primary maintainer for it as I am for the 8. That being said working on the 8 has been my only experience and has also been my learning platform.

I?m just writing to see if anyone has any big-ticket motherhood items about the 6A that I wouldn?t necessarily know about from working with the 8?

I do have a couple initial questions:

1. Accessing behind the panel - besides working from below, does the panel just unscrew and detach like the 8s?

2. Brakes - I?ve noticed that her pilot side (left seat) right brake pedal is soft and left one feels good but on the passenger side, it?s the swapped with the left brake almost going to the floor. Before I go diving my 6ft4 frame under her panel I was wondering where the servicing needs to occur. I?m assuming it?s not on the brake assembly/pad side as both sides seem good depending on which seat you?re in. My 8 with only brakes in front and reservoirs mounted on each pedal, this is new to to me.

Alll your help, advice, and 6A wisdome is appreciated!!!

Happy Holidays

-Wingnut
 
-6A Examination

Make sure the bracket that restrains the nosewheel from castering 360 degrees is oriented properly! Also look as the single bolt or pin that is holding the nose strut into the engine mount, and check it for excessive wear. That pin/bolt failing has caused some prop strikes.

Carl
..
 
Nose shimmy

You will also need a fish scale to adjust the tension of the nose wheel turning with the nose off the ground. You will only need verify this each condition inspection as it does not change much but too little may cause nose wheel shimmy.
 
Adding to the above, check that all related SBs have been complied with.

The panel will come out, once all screws are removed (tip-up or slider?). With the tip-up, you have good access with the canopy tipped straight up or removed.

Bleed the brakes with a pressure pod from the bottom up and see if that solves your soft pedal problem. If not, you will probably need to rebuild that cylinder (easy peasy).

Find an experienced mechanic or A&P (you'll need one for the CI) to inspect your work. A second set of eyes is always a good idea.
 
Early plans for the 6A had the left pilot side pedal plumbed to the left brake and the right passenger pedal plumbed to the right brake when brakes were installed on both sides.
This was done to simplify the plumbing (it was an easy path from the right passenger pedal to the right wheel).
This meant that the pilot right side pedal and the passenger left side pedal were operating through the opposite side pedal before influencing the wheel caliper.

Service history showed that this was less than ideal because if the system got low on fluid, the pilots right pedal would be the first one to quit working so the the plumbing was changed to have both the pilot side pedals plumbed directly to the calipers and the passenger pedals piggybacked as secondary.
It also made it much easier to add passenger pedals as a retrofit.
 
Early plans for the 6A had the left pilot side pedal plumbed to the left brake and the right passenger pedal plumbed to the right brake when brakes were installed on both sides.
This was done to simplify the plumbing (it was an easy path from the right passenger pedal to the right wheel).
This meant that the pilot right side pedal and the passenger left side pedal were operating through the opposite side pedal before influencing the wheel caliper.

......

If it was built to plans that old, the owner should probably check that overhead pedals are installed instead of the older floor mounted ones.
 
Good stuff!

Awesome, this is exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for. This coming weekend when I?m back in town I?ll be diving into it all and I?ll see if I can tell if the brakes are build to those old specs. Sounds like that may be the case given the differential feeling. It sat for a while so it may be just be a little low. Does the recommended method for adding fluid and bleeding change with the different systems?

For the nose gear and fish scale calibrating, I?ll search the threads. I?m sure there are plenty of chats out there about that!

Not a tip up. For some reason I always though all 6?s had that easy access and was a little bummed when I saw hers didn?t. Thankfully her panel is pretty squared away.
 
If it was built to plans that old, the owner should probably check that overhead pedals are installed instead of the older floor mounted ones.

The hung from above pedals are simpler to install and have a bit better geometry for some feet sizes and they are much easier to preposition for different leg length, but there is no reason to change floor mounted pedals if that is what it has.
 
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