What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

heavy left wing

jacksel

Well Known Member
Started flying my RV-7 a few months ago. Having gotten all the big issues ironed out I'm now looking into something that's been bothering me all along. I seem to need to input right aileron trim (manual) to relieve all pressure from the stick. This is during coordinated level flight. The wing trailing edges appear the same to me, but I know I'm consistently needing right trim. This is with the fuel balanced. I do prefer to fly from the right seat but I am doubtful that would make any difference. Has anyone dealt with this before?
 
Thanks for the reply. I knew there was something out there but couldn't find it. Very informative.
 
Me Too

I had the same issue with an RV-7A I bought over a year ago. Annoying. However, after contacting a friend of mine who has built two 6As and very well versed in all things RV we set up to go through the complete scenario of determining the problem.

I flew to get gas to even up the tanks. On the ten minute flight to his field I decided to try one more thing. I weigh 193 lbs and decided to see if that might make a difference. I moved to the center of the airplane with my left foot on the left rudder pedal and right on the right. When I trimmed out the stick pressure, damned if my aileron trim wasn't centered!

So what I decided to do was pinch the trailing edge of the right aileron so that I would need less right trim when solo (most of my flying), and a little left trim when dual.
 
Same same

I had exactly the same issue. I followed Van?s advice and slotted the heavy wing aileron brackets thereby moving the aileron vertical position 1/32 of an inch. It fixed the heavy wing instantly. I then ordered new blank brackets, drilled them to the new position, painted them, installed them and it flies beautifully with minimal trim. Obviously you?ll need to trim for single pilot and fuel usage but that?s normal.

Simon
 
I weigh in at 260#, so I always have a heavy left wing when flying solo. I fly with 5 gal. more fuel in the right tank, which perfectly balances out the left seat weight. If I don't do that, my roll trim is maxed out.
 
As mentioned, and noticed, a balanced side by side will require stick input or trim when flying solo all things being equal except passenger. I don't consider this a "heavy" wing. Some choose to make rigging adjustments for solo flight while others, like me, prefer to keep it balanced at the centerline. Just make sure you are not chasing a problem that really isn't there.
 
Back
Top