What's new
Van's Air Force

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

RV6/6A vs RV7 /7A

bizpilot

Member
I am fairly new to VAF, just curious, what are the differences between the RV7/7A and RV6/6A ?

Bob Bisbee
1/2 RV14A
 
Like Larry mentioned, there’s quite a few differences between the 6 and 7 but to the untrained eye it may be kind of hard to distinguish the difference between the two if they were sitting side by side on the ramp.

Here’s a few of the differences:

1. The 7 basically took the place of the 6.
2. The 7 is pre-punched while the 6 isn’t.
3. The A-model on both are nose-draggers.
4. The empennage on the 7 is bigger/taller on the 7.
5. “Looks wise” you can even throw the 9 in there as possibly being hard for the untrained eye to tell the difference between the 6, 7, and 9.

Like I said, there are many other differences between the two, so the ones I mentioned are just some of the obvious ones.
 
Last edited:
Lots. 7 is prepunched. Different tail, wingtips, fuse is wider.

Fuselage is not wider. It is slightly longer (more leg room) and the seat pan is lowered to give more headroom. But width is the same on the -6, -7, and -9.
 
Headroom

Fuselage is not wider. It is slightly longer (more leg room) and the seat pan is lowered to give more headroom. But width is the same on the -6, -7, and -9.[/QUOT

Would it be at all feasible to lower the seat pan on my 6a for some more headroom?

Secondly if one did lower the seat pan would that mess with the view over the panel and negate the headroom?
 
Headroom

Fuselage is not wider. It is slightly longer (more leg room) and the seat pan is lowered to give more headroom. But width is the same on the -6, -7, and -9.[/QUOT


Would it be at all feasible to lower the seat pan on my 6a for some more headroom?

Secondly if one did lower the seat pan would that mess with the view over the panel and negate the headroom?
 
Question - Are you building or buying? If building, build the -7. The - 6 is only supported on a more limited basis by Vans, plus the kit is not as highly engineered and will take you longer to build. If you?re buying a completed airplane, you?ll get more bang for the buck with a -6, if comparably equipped. Both are comfortable once you?re seated, unless you?re a large person, then neither is. You should be able to find a very nicely equipped, well built, relatively low time, pretty RV6 for less than $70K. That same list of requirements on an RV7 would be more like $100K or more. Either airplane flys better than anything you?ve ever flown before.
 
Almost a 14

If your a big guy and do get a 6, I strongly suggest looking into a ?Almost a 14? mod from AntiSplat Aero. I put one in mine and that extra few inches of seat back travel is truly amazing.
 
Fuselage is not wider. It is slightly longer (more leg room) and the seat pan is lowered to give more headroom. But width is the same on the -6, -7, and -9.[/QUOT

Would it be at all feasible to lower the seat pan on my 6a for some more headroom?

Secondly if one did lower the seat pan would that mess with the view over the panel and negate the headroom?

If you have a chance to sit in a six, remove the wedge under the seat and sit in and check the height. You want to be able to see OVER the panel and the cowl. You can always use thinner seat cushions.

You can not lower the seat pan.
 
The 6 was the last ?hand engineered? and hand drawn design. The 7 was designed specifically for ease of manufacturing to take advantage of the huge investment Vans made in CNC equipment to manufacture the 8, 9, etc....and to share some parts and increase production efficiency.
Along with the change, improvements where made in seat position, fuel capacity, higher VNe, higher gross and aerobatic weight recommendations, and better spin characteristics. Also, matched hole design wasn?t possible with the 6 without reverse engineering the airplane for CNC. It just made sense to move on make a few changes and make an easier to build product.
The 6 is still fully supported as all Vans models are. You can buy any part if needed. The plans are also drawn to manufacture from, not just build from. You can readily fabricate any part from the plans with the proper tools and skill set.
I have seen well built and equipped 6?s go past the $100k mark recently, so by and large, you can still get 6?s for less, but the secret may be getting out!
 
Higher VNE?

Is the higher VNE of the 7 due solely to the counterbalanced rudder, or are there other factors? Thanks.

Cheers, David
RV-6A KBTF
 
Is the higher VNE of the 7 due solely to the counterbalanced rudder, or are there other factors? Thanks.

Cheers, David
RV-6A KBTF

I believe there where a host of factors. If you dig deep enough into the archives there have been many discussions over the years.
Some of the factors may not have anything to do with the design and more to do with changes in philosophy at Vans when they set their recommendations.
 
The big ones for me are:
More fuel for the RV-7 (42 gal) verses RV-6 (38 gal)
More Wing Span RV-7 (25') verses RV-6 (23')
More Gross weight RV-7 (1800 lbs) verses RV-6 (1650 lbs)
Very similar planes. RV-6 should be slightly faster for same HP (shorter wing, smaller tail), but Van says they are the same.

Fuselage I thought were identical. RV-7 length is listed a few inches longer, part of that is due to bigger rudder.
 
Last edited:
The RV6 is also slightly faster in roll I suspect due to the shorter wing. However, really splitting hairs here.

In turbulence, the RV6 will give you a little ?tail wag? from time to time.
I have never seen that as a problem, much like the V tail Bonanza?s. Just part of the character of the airplane.
 
Fuselage is not wider. It is slightly longer (more leg room) and the seat pan is lowered to give more headroom. But width is the same on the -6, -7, and -9.[/QUOT


Would it be at all feasible to lower the seat pan on my 6a for some more headroom?

Secondly if one did lower the seat pan would that mess with the view over the panel and negate the headroom?

Put in the almost RV14 mod. I am 6'4" and started with the thinest cushions possible. Afterwards I had to add a seat wedge. Best mod ever in my book.
 
Back
Top