Convert RV6 to RV6A

[sailvi767]

Taildraggers are harder to land than tri gear aircraft. They are a challenge. I however enjoy the challenge and get a great deal of satisfaction out of a perfect wheel landing or a great 3 pointer. That’s why I went with the TD.
From a pure operational perspective there is no question the trigear is better but then I would lose the satisfaction. I enjoy it and will keep striving for that perfect wheel landing. It probably will forever elude me but it sure is fun trying!
George

[N941WR]

The easiest way to do that conversion is to convert your -6 to Cash and then convert the Cash to a -6A.

Unless you have built an RV or have extensive aircraft structure repair experience, I wouldn't suggest you undertake it.

[gmcjetpilot]

Originally Posted by rvbuilder2002

This sounds like a post made just for the sake of arguing a point?

I don't disagree that with any airplane, if the takeoff is longer than the landing then it could be argued that short landing is of no value, but that is wrong. It takes much more skill of the pilot to plant the wheels on a specific spot on a runway, at a very specific speed, than it does to execute as short of a takeoff run from a specific spot. So being able to land shorter than taking off can be of value.

Regarding the comment Mel made, the physics is pretty basic.... an airplane will fly at its slowest possible speed when flown near its critical angle of attack. Slowest speed equates to shortest take-off or landing.
A tail dragger RV-6 can not attain any where near critical angle of attack when the gear is in contact with the ground. An RV-6A can get much closer to doing so.

Note that this should not be construed to mean that just any pilot will be able to make an RV-6A take off or land shorter than any other pilot in an RV-6.
It requires a lot of practice to fly an RV out at the edge of the performance envelope, but the difference in performance potential is real.

I am not arguing I am making a valid point. I think your reply is just to argue since you seem to agree with me. Also you are making straw-man arguments about things I did not say or imply.

"It takes much more skill of the pilot to plant the wheels on a specific spot on a runway, at a very specific speed"

Yep we agree. The claim to fame of a Trike is easier landing (more forgiving from ground loops) not shorter landings. That is all I am saying. However the new Trike Carbon Cub they are doing market studies with, having bush pilots fly, apparently does land and takeoff in shorter distances. On T/O it can rotate to higher angle of attack, and on landing it can slam brakes on with out tipping on nose.... No argument just expressing my opinion, RV-A models short field abilities are not practically speaking, not better than the TG to any significant degree. Have a nice day.

[gmcjetpilot]

Originally Posted by sailvi767

Taildraggers are harder to land than tri gear aircraft. They are a challenge. I however enjoy the challenge and get a great deal of satisfaction out of a perfect wheel landing or a great 3 pointer. That’s why I went with the TD.
From a pure operational perspective there is no question the trigear is better but then I would lose the satisfaction. I enjoy it and will keep striving for that perfect wheel landing. It probably will forever elude me but it sure is fun trying!
George

That is fine statement and common wisdom. I agree TG is more fun... However I have taught a lot of folks... almost 2000 hours dual given, mostly in certified trikes. However I have done a few hundred tail dragged enforcement and transition training in RV's and other tail dragger's. The RV is easy to land regardless of gear configuration overall.... If a pilot is a not skilled it does not matter which gear. A botched landing in a RV trigear can result in the plane on it's back..... However a competent pilot with 3-10 hours of training can learn to fly (land and takeoff) a tail dragger, and likely after 30 to 50 takeoffs/landings would not say it's harder but more fun. However that does not mean they will never ground loop, but then again an RV tri-gear can't say you will never flip over.

I do AGREE that a TG is less forgiving of a poor landing or take off skills, and it does not "auto correct" like a nose wheel plane will. That is true.

In my time teaching I only "lost one student", and by lost I mean after +5 hours they could not land to save their life, so they got another instructor which was good... However they ended up flying with a few instructions and quit. Most of my Pvt students took their check ride in 40-50 hours. All my other students that started with me finished their rating (Pvt, Commercial, Inst, ME). The point being skills do vary... and you have to be comfortable. If you don't want to dare the ground loop monster, then by all means get a Tri-gear... but you are missing the fun.

The comment about buying a A model outright is a good one. A person with no building experience and trying to convert the plane would not be the best idea, unless they had help and resources (people with tools and skill to help)..

[RV8iator]

Originally Posted by sailvi767

Taildraggers are harder to land than tri gear aircraft. They are a challenge. I however enjoy the challenge and get a great deal of satisfaction out of a perfect wheel landing or a great 3 pointer. That’s why I went with the TD.
From a pure operational perspective there is no question the trigear is better

Hmm, I would say different, definitely NOT harder.
Pure operational perspective, the same.

Just my two cents worth.

When done correctly, they are both challenging.
When done incorrectly, it’s the pilot, not the airplane.
If you need a machine that will save your bacon, perhaps you should play in a different skillet.

[sblack]

It has been established through government funded research that TD pilots are more manly and have higher sex drive. But do what you like.

[flyabq]

Hello,
If you do the conversion I would be interested in your -6 things. I have an 6A that I would like to make a -6

[DeeCee 57]

why don’t u guys swop aircraft then

[cranland]

Converting to 6A will make it less valuable and less desirable if you ever go to sell it!

[jeffkersey]

When I was looking for a flying RV to buy, I missed on a couple nice taildraggers. I was not tailwheel endorsed and I know some high time pilots that seemed to get a little nerved up when the wind started blowing 8 kts? I decided to go get a tailwheel endorsement. I got great instruction in a Citabria. I was signed off in 2.4 hours. Certainly a less forgiving type landing gear to fly but I was now confident I could fly one if I found the right one. In the end I found a very low time 7A in a price range I was comfortable with. The insurance with my limited tailwheel experience was literally less that half of what it would have been in the taildragger. That amount of savings paid for more than half the fuel I would burn in a year! The insurance would go down over time as I gained more tailwheel experience but I have not heard of any taildragger insurance, no matter the pilot experience being any less than what I pay for my tri-gear plane. I've kept it on a short grass strip, one way in-oneway out, the last 4 years. It has performs well. I am also a bit vertically challenged and I really have a hard time seeing out the front of a taildragger. I really like to see what I am pointed at.

All that said. I love the taildraggers. I think they look extra cool. There is some swagger to your story when you operate one. I would enjoy the extra challenge of operating one. If someday I ever lose my compulsion to do the most fiscally responsible thing associated with everything I do. Maybe I'll treat myself to a beautiful taildragger.