Van's Air Force
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How can you tell the difference between a -6 and -7?
- Thread starter gib
- Start date
bkilby
Well Known Member
Early -6 rudder had no counterbalance.
Very late -6 has the -8 rudder with small counterbalance.
Very early -7 had the -8 rudder as well.
Later -7 has the -9 rudder with the large counterbalance.
Wingtips also vary, but so many have been changed that you can't go by that.
If you are in the cockpit, look at wing attach bolts. RV-6 has bolts all the way across.
RV-7 has just a few on each side.
Very late -6 has the -8 rudder with small counterbalance.
Very early -7 had the -8 rudder as well.
Later -7 has the -9 rudder with the large counterbalance.
Wingtips also vary, but so many have been changed that you can't go by that.
If you are in the cockpit, look at wing attach bolts. RV-6 has bolts all the way across.
RV-7 has just a few on each side.
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flion
Well Known Member
If you have only the empennage (in other words, you are buying parts or some such) then you should look at the plans. If the empennage does not have a plans set to go with it, do not buy it. If you are trying to tell RVs apart from the tail, the above will give you a fair guess but the surest way is to look under the horizontal stabilizer. There you should find a data plate with the model number. Even the guys who build a "John Doe 6A" rarely change the number designation; they just preface it with something other than RV or Van's.
I hope so... I understand that with the same engine and prop the -6 will outrun the -7 by a few mph.is that the RV7 is faster.
Just kidding....
Looking at a completed airplane you can't really trust wingtips and you can't really trust tails. For example, my RV6 has the huge RV7 tail on it...I've seen RV7's with the old style wingtips and RV6's with newer style tips. The one thing I've never seen is a -7 with the tiny original -6 rudder. Note in the pic below BOTH airplanes are RV6's. Note that the last RV7 we built had the RV8 rudder on it which is sized right in between the two in the pic below (and my favorite for both looks and flying after having tried all 3).
An easy thing for me to look at is the center bottom of the fuselage where the spar carrythrough goes. On a -6 it's tapered the same as the dihedral for the wing since the spars go all the way into the center of the plane. On a -7/8/9/etc.. it's flat (MUCH nicer to build than way)! There are also some subtle changes that an experienced builder can easily identify (the spar carrythrough bulkhead vertical rivet line spacing on the side of the fuse are a dead giveaway, as are the armrest rivet lines if done exactly per the original RV6 plans vs. RV7's. Another spot is the square to round interface joint at the lower fuselage aft wing trailing edge area).
My 2 cents as usual (oh...and done well, the -6's are usually just a smidge faster, tiny bit more sensetive, but the -7 definately lands nicer).
Cheers,
Stein
An easy thing for me to look at is the center bottom of the fuselage where the spar carrythrough goes. On a -6 it's tapered the same as the dihedral for the wing since the spars go all the way into the center of the plane. On a -7/8/9/etc.. it's flat (MUCH nicer to build than way)! There are also some subtle changes that an experienced builder can easily identify (the spar carrythrough bulkhead vertical rivet line spacing on the side of the fuse are a dead giveaway, as are the armrest rivet lines if done exactly per the original RV6 plans vs. RV7's. Another spot is the square to round interface joint at the lower fuselage aft wing trailing edge area).
My 2 cents as usual (oh...and done well, the -6's are usually just a smidge faster, tiny bit more sensetive, but the -7 definately lands nicer).
Cheers,
Stein
L.Adamson
Well Known Member
That pic reminds me.............that the shorter 6 tails certainly are "classics" and look much better, as well as proportional.
L.Adamson --- RV6A
Birkelbach
Well Known Member
I just thought of another way to tell... Look at the fuel caps. RV-6 capacity is 19gal per tank, the -7 is 21gal per tank.
Only useful if the plane is on the ground, and only if they don't have non-standard tanks, of course...
Aren't there two rows of screws holding the tanks on the -6? There is only one row on the -7.
The tails are structurally identical. My -7 has an RV-6 tail. I received my RV-6 emp kit exactly one week before Van's announced the RV-7. :-0
I simply upgraded the elevator and rudder skins to 0.020 (from 0.016). Then, later, I got the free RV-9 rudder from Van's after they did the spin testing. I tell people that I started building my RV-7 before Van's started selling them.
L.Adamson
Well Known Member
RV6 = Old and Busted
RV7 = New Hotness
Duck !!
The 7 is just a compromise of a bunch of parts from other pre-punches..
I'd never trade the six for one.
L.Adamson
Brantel
Well Known Member
I was about 4 months before the announcement of the 7. I also quickly converted my 6 to a 7...
rzbill
Well Known Member
The 7 is just a compromise of a bunch of parts from other pre-punches..
Touche'
Nice one! But isn't that a 12?
Old and busted hotness...
L.Adamson
Well Known Member
Touche'
Nice one! But isn't that a 12?
Old and busted hotness...
No...............the 12 is an entirely new design for people who enjoy "slow" airplanes.
Van's just had a lot of 8 & 9 parts.........and decided to make a 7 out of them.... Then they had to stick a bigger rudder on it, because it didn't spin test as well as the 6 did.
L.Adamson --- RV6A with the "classic" tail
Birkelbach
Well Known Member
No...............the 12 is an entirely new design for people who enjoy "slow" airplanes.
Then they had to stick a bigger rudder on it, because it didn't spin test as well as the 6 did.
L.Adamson --- RV6A with the "classic" tail
There's too much hate here. I'm goin' back to the AOPA list.
