Pedaling fast as I can...
How hard is it to add rudder peddles for the backseat on a rv 4 that is already built. Also how hard to add the throttle and mixture controls for the back seat guy
thanks
David
Hey David,
Many years ago after reading an excellent article in the now defunct Van's
RV8R newsletter, I installed the single best cockpit mod ever in my RV4,
rear passenger foot-wells.
Now that back-seaters had a place for their heels, (water bottles, wallet, keys etc) I thought I would experiment with rear rudder pedals. Not that I encourage anyone to have a fully functional rear cockpit in a Four (weight, cost simplicity notwithstanding) however, the thought of small tabs attached to the rudder cables became a reality.
The RV8 rear rudder "Tabs" have been modified into a Four but I personally don't like them. Later, when I bought and rebuilt my Harmon Rocket II, (basically a slightly bigger Four) the rear rudder pedal (and throttle) idea returned.
So...
I stopped by the Home Depot aviation department and bought a pair of small cable clamps and a sheet of .040 aluminum. After drilling a couple of holes and some bending I had some usable small tabs you could dig into the soles of tennis shoes into and move the rudder.
I sat in the Rocket's "pit", placed them comfortably on the cables and tightened the clamps. Yessir, rear rudder control in a pinch, light, simple and cheap.
Like RV's used to be...
Voila, experimentation
by definition...
V/R
Smokey