Parking Brake...

For obvious reasons... Has anyone added a parking brake to RV-12?

Very few. Most folks make chocks from PVC and carry those in the airplane. Gust locks of some sort are a good idea.

Yes

Piper - Yes, I have installed a Matco parking brake on the right tunnel rib.

Am not flying yet, but mounting the Matco parking brake high on the right tunnel rib seems to be a good location for the parking brake ... and clear of the rudder cables.

Other installs

Thanks John. I too am interested in a parking brake and from what I see I like your install and would like to know more.
Where did you get yours?
Did it come with fittings? Or did the instructions call out which parts were needed?
Does the lever on & off come out the top or side of the tunnel?

Thanks again.

I too mounted the same unit at the same location. It is a very easy installation.

John-G said:

Piper - Yes, I have installed a Matco parking brake on the right tunnel rib.

Am not flying yet, but mounting the Matco parking brake high on the right tunnel rib seems to be a good location for the parking brake ... and clear of the rudder cables.

Click to expand...

Parking Brake Install

Patrick - It has been a while, but I?m almost positive I ordered the Matco parking brake through Aircraft Spruce.

About the same time I ordered the parking brake, I also ordered the Aircraft Specialty?s vinyl coated Teflon brake line kit for the RV-12. I told Steve at Aircraft Specialty that I was planning on installing the Matco PVPV-D parking brake so he could make shorter lines to interface with the Matco parking brake ? also had them include the proper fittings for what I was doing. So they supplied all the fittings for their lines and also included the fittings that go onto the aft side of the parking where the standard Van?s poly line attaches and runs to the landing gear mounts. Aircraft Specialty brake lines were also utilized from the landing gear mounts to the wheels. (Aircraft Specialty's brake lines are top notch and Steve was great to work with).

The on/off lever on the Matco parking brake does NOT come out of the tunnel and moves within the tunnel ? because the parking brake is mounted sideways following the slope of the tunnel, the lever actually moves parallel to the tunnel rib cover, but underneath it. A pull cable will be used to activate the brake.

Happy building,

If you get the Vans tow bar it serves three purposes.
You drill one position of the extendable arms with the prongs pointing inward for conventional tow bar use.

You drill a second setting with the arms shorter and the prongs pointed up. This lets it be used as a control lock. It locks the flaperons, pitch, and rudder. The prongs press against both brake pedals and also act as a parking brake.

You can drill a third position to be just a flaperons - pitch - rudder lock without the brakes, by having the prongs press against just the rudder pedal.

One nice thing about this is that it locks the pitch in the neutral position, not full up pitch.

Bill_H said:

You drill a second setting with the arms shorter and the prongs pointed up. This lets it be used as a control lock. It locks the flaperons, pitch, and rudder. The prongs press against both brake pedals and also act as a parking brake.

You can drill a third position to be just a flaperons - pitch - rudder lock without the brakes, by having the prongs press against just the rudder pedal.

One nice thing about this is that it locks the pitch in the neutral position, not full up pitch.

Click to expand...

I've been trying to figure this out. I bought a flying RV-12 with the tow bar. I can see how it locks the rudder pedals, with or without brakes. I can't figure out how it would lock the stick in any position... it seems to just brace between the floor just below the stick, and the rudder pedals. Can you tell or show me how it locks the stick also?

IMHO, a parking brake is nice to have, but is not necessary. Aircraft parking brakes tend to bleed off pressure after awhile and no longer effectively immobilize the aircraft. I cringe when I have to park next to an aircraft that does not have at least one chock and/or tiedown in place. A parking brake is useful if you tend to park on sloped aprons or in very windy conditions. They can momentarily hold the aircraft stationary while you disembark to position your chocks and/or tiedowns.

As for control locks, I use Van's clever towbar/rudder pedal lock for my RV-12. I use the pilot-side seatbelt looped around the control stick to immobilize the flaperons/stabilator. This works for me. There are a number of other control lock suggestions previously mentioned on this site.

I find the parking brake a nice feature of my Cherokee when fueling or if I have to tie down on an incline. It would be nice to have the option in my 12. Inclines are really a pain resulting in a quick egress to get the plane coralled.

My last plane for many years was a Cherokee, maybe that is why I thought I had to have one. It is inexpensive and very easy to install, so why not have one. Here is a photo of mine:
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