Cargo Pod/moto pod

as I cruise for more info on all the various aftermarket thing everyone has done this one caught my eye.

David Shelton if your out there I am referring to your Pod.

How many folks have installed this thing? I have a thule cargo pod for my car so this could be potentially useful some day.

the big question is if you decided to do something like this it seems to me some MAJOR planning on hard point install and antenna's will be required fairly early on for obvious reasons.

For those who did to this, how did you do it?

anyway back to the forum search, I am finding more after market mods than I could even imagine existed.....................

I don't have the pod, but I did install the internal hard points. It would have been a snap had I made the decsion to install the hardware before I started the fuse. As a result, I had do the retro fit process (and it's designed for this), but it's a royal pain in the rear. Dave's website is kind of jacked up right now so my intent was to visit his booth at OSH this year (if he has one) and inquire about finally purchasing a pod now that I'm flying.

Pod - yup got one of those...

I was able to add the hard point kit during the build process so it wasn't as bad as a retro might be. Once the hard points are installed you are done. David builds the Pod when you are ready for it as I don't think he keeps stock on these items.

I have flown several family trips with it and we really like the affordability to carry large objects that otherwise wont go in the cabin without removing seats. We have a 3 year and 1 year old so we take everything and the kitchen sink with us. The RV10 feels as if the CG is slightly lower (below) you and it becomes even more stable, or so it feels that way. Speed penalties..... no matter what I say most wont believe me, but I tested during phase 1 and only recorded a 1 - 2 knot penalty. David shows (I think) 6-8 knots penalty and I discussed this with him. He has it that way essentially because no one would believe him if he said what the real world numbers are similar to what I just did. Just remember he is offering the pod has a speed enhancement.

The pod is a work of art, you can buy it painted or straight white gel coat. There is some assemble required, wheels, lift mechanism, cables, etc. No big deal to do.

I have a Show Planes cowl so I had to modify how my engine air flow exit the cowling. The Show Planes cowl doesn't require any 'extra' vents, louvers, or doors to help it cool the engine. But with the POD sucked up close behind the cowl air flow exit it did put back pressure on the cowl and therefore drove up my temps a little. I ended up putting cowl flap just for when I have to POD attached. Otherwise no need for them if using the standard Vans cowl. I also have extensions for my exhaust pipes to allow the exhaust to flow furhter out and away from the underside of the pod/belly of the aircraft since in my case at a high angle of attach the exhaust went straight for the wing root. You know what that means.... All is good now with the extensions as I only use them with the pod. Again I am not aware of anyone else needing them with the standard stock cowl.

I think other peoples experiences will vary on what is required and what is not, each build is different so don't read this post the wrong way. Your mileage may vary.

*** My oldest will always ask if we are going to land on the water when we put the 'boat' under the plane.

Good feedback. One other thing I forgot to mention is you also need to think about antenna layout. I bring this up because at the early stages of build this is something that you may or may not have been thinking about. In my case, I had originally planned for 2 belly whip COM antennas under the rear seats -- built and installed doublers, drilled holes, the hole schmack. Then I decided to provision for the pod so that meant a new plan for both COM antennas and my transponder antenna and a little more work.

I've ordered the pod and the bike.

I am not yet started on my fuselage yet, but have planned my antenna placement to work with the belly pod. My COMM whips are out on the wings. My blade antennas will be behind the pod on the bottom of the fuselage. My NAV antennas are in the wingtips (Archers) and I will have my ELT antenna and GPS pucks on top, most likely. I am getting excited to start on my fuselage and plan to receive my pod and modified motorcycle at Airventure. I'm not sure if David is going to have a booth, but he will likely be at the show, at least for a few days, so maybe he can answer people's questions.