September - October - The Recreational Aircraft Association

Another benefit is that with the tapered
wing it is no longer called, by default, an
RV something. Although I have nothing
but good things to say about the RV
product line it is nice to not be just another
another wing was offered for sale.
This is the EVO wing, with a name
that reflects the evolution of the aircraft
type. The wing is tapered in
both directions and has a wing span,
depending on tips, of 26 feet vs. the
22 feet for the standard wing. The
wing area has remained the same
but the wing loading is higher as the
new wing is about 65lbs heavier. It is
designed for much higher speeds and
as such heavier skins and internal
parts were used. The wing, as supplied,
comes closed, top and bottom,
with the control surfaces ready to
mount. The leading edge needs to be
installed as well as bell cranks, flap
bay ribs and inspection covers. The
26 gallon per side fuel tanks are sealed
and installed. This wing has a very
commercial/military look to it and is
much stronger than anything else I
have worked on to date. The Vne has
been increased from 235 knots for the
standard wing, to 250 knots for the
EVO tapered wing.
One of the really nice things about
the new computer cut parts is that the
main spars stubs of both the standard
wing and the new tapered wing are
exactly the same. This means that not
only can a standard wing aircraft be
retrofitted but that damaged wings
may be replaced with new factory
parts. This was not possible with the
old RV type spars used in the Harmon
Rockets. The new wing has a repositioned
rear spar which is forward of
one of 5000 flying aircraft.
the old location. It is possible with
the addition of some interior parts to
retrofit a standard wing fuselage. My
plane was originally a standard wing
model so I had to make this modification.
It was not that difficult to do
and the supplied parts riveted right
in place. There are new wing to fuselage
intersection farings that are supplied
and in general I found that the
fibreglass parts are getting better and
better.
One of the reasons I chose this
wing was the challenge of doing
something different. I have made
numerous changes to this aircraft to
reflect what I have learned from previous
projects and also to make it a
bit more personal. Starting with the
wings I have replaced the supplied
flat wing tips with a more rounded tip
that, in my opinion, add to the pleasing
lines of the tapered wing. The
under wing intersection farings have
been changed to smooth the transition
from the wing to the fuselage. On the
interior I have increased the size of
the passenger foot wells, added an
upper rear baggage compartment,
totally reworked the pilot seat, added
forward storage lockers, fabricated a
custom engine control quadrant and
installed a two axis auto pilot. I also
used a unique single canopy track
and although it works ok it needs a bit
of refining before I would recommend
this modification to other builders.
On the engine side of the firewall I
modified the I0-540 Lycoming engine
with 10 to 1 pistons and replaced one
magneto with an electronic Lightspeed
Engineering ignition. In testing
on previous aircraft I found that speed
and cooling gains could be enhanced
with work around the cowling inlets
and I totally reworked this area, which
has resulted in very cool engine temperatures.
The engine was rebuilt by
ATC in Orillia, Ont., with the addition
of many new parts including brand
new ECI cylinders. One of the really
nice features of these cylinders is a
five year guarantee against corrosion.
This is very welcome new technology
for me as my airplane can sit idle for a
few months in the winter.
The lower landing gear stubs
were changed to end up with a zero
camber and zero toe in when the aircraft
is in the three point attitude.
This has resulted in very little tire
wear and nice ground handling. The
tail weights are a bit heavier with this
wing, at about 65 lbs., and I can feel
this extra weight in the rudder pedals.
One of my American friends has come
up with a redesigned tail fork and I
am going to install and test this product.
From the cockpit seat, the first thing
you notice is the extra wing length. The
tapered look is quite evident and the
lines are well proportioned with the
fuselage. Although the main spar is
in the same location the average chord
of the wing has moved forward. This
8 Recreational Flyer September - October 2006