Hi All-
My wife & I are completing the tailcone on our -10 (in the garage, while raising five kids!) and are headed for the QB fuse next. After reading an article about Piper Dakotas, I found myself wondering, "What is the real world useful load on an RV-10 with four real-world adults? Van's website says, "It will carry four FAA standard people, full fuel and sixty pounds of baggage.", then states, "accommodates four full-sized adults."
Useful load = 1070 (2700 Gross -1630 BEW)
I figure 4 full-sized adults = 900 lbs.
Leaving 170 left for fuel = 28 gallons = two hours w/o reserve.
That's ok when flying our friends one hour to the beach for dinner, fueling, and coming home, using a Lycoming IO-540 at 14 gph (rough high-end estimates from what I see on these boards).
So the question is, are there some more actual numbers RV-10 fliers would like to share on the heavy side? Does anyone carry four linebackers and still have enough gas to fly more than an hour? Is my data incorrect?
Thanks, -Scott
My wife & I are completing the tailcone on our -10 (in the garage, while raising five kids!) and are headed for the QB fuse next. After reading an article about Piper Dakotas, I found myself wondering, "What is the real world useful load on an RV-10 with four real-world adults? Van's website says, "It will carry four FAA standard people, full fuel and sixty pounds of baggage.", then states, "accommodates four full-sized adults."
Useful load = 1070 (2700 Gross -1630 BEW)
I figure 4 full-sized adults = 900 lbs.
Leaving 170 left for fuel = 28 gallons = two hours w/o reserve.
That's ok when flying our friends one hour to the beach for dinner, fueling, and coming home, using a Lycoming IO-540 at 14 gph (rough high-end estimates from what I see on these boards).
So the question is, are there some more actual numbers RV-10 fliers would like to share on the heavy side? Does anyone carry four linebackers and still have enough gas to fly more than an hour? Is my data incorrect?
Thanks, -Scott