Ravin 500 Twin?

Capt.Crash'n'Burn

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Capt.Crash'n'Burn
Has anyone heard of a Ravin 500 being built as a twin??

Seems like it would make one hell of a long range bird with twin diesels. :wink2:
 
So would most of the light twins ;)

The Ravin especially. It's ~40 MPH faster than the Comanche on the same HP. Put a couple of diesels to feed off of its 160 Gal fuel tank and you could go a long way, pretty fast. You won't have to worry about there being no 100LL either.
 
The Ravin especially. It's ~40 MPH faster than the Comanche on the same HP. Put a couple of diesels to feed off of its 160 Gal fuel tank and you could go a long way, pretty fast. You won't have to worry about there being no 100LL either.

Yes but both the engines and the fuel would be heavier.
 
Yes but both the engines and the fuel would be heavier.

If I'm guestimating right, 160 gal of fuel will be 128 lbs heavier and the engines will be ~100 lbs heavier (SR305-230) for a total of ~360lbs.

Now the Ravin 500 twin (airframe) would have a lower empty weight due to the fact that it's composite, that would off-set some of the difference. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to increase the gross weight by a couple hundred pounds since we're talking about an experimental that could (I hope) be built from plans. Slightly beefier landing gear and a slight increase in wingspan should do the trick.
 
Has anyone heard of a Ravin 500 being built as a twin??

Seems like it would make one hell of a long range bird with twin diesels. :wink2:

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller??

No... Not yet. But I tell ya what, I've thought about it. If I ever go insane enough to start wanting to build airplanes, it'd probably be the 3rd or so on the list. :)
 
No... Not yet. But I tell ya what, I've thought about it. If I ever go insane enough to start wanting to build airplanes, it'd probably be the 3rd or so on the list. :)

Why only 3rd?

Who wouldn't want a long range, fuel efficient, fast cruiser??
 
If I'm guestimating right, 160 gal of fuel will be 128 lbs heavier and the engines will be ~100 lbs heavier (SR305-230) for a total of ~360lbs.

Now the Ravin 500 twin (airframe) would have a lower empty weight due to the fact that it's composite, that would off-set some of the difference. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to increase the gross weight by a couple hundred pounds since we're talking about an experimental that could (I hope) be built from plans. Slightly beefier landing gear and a slight increase in wingspan should do the trick.
Are you assuming the airframe will be lighter, or do you have evidence of fact? Typically in order for a composite structure to be lighter than comparable aluminum, it will be much more expensive, incredibly so.
 
Why only 3rd?

Who wouldn't want a long range, fuel efficient, fast cruiser??

Nothing wrong with the plane... I just figure I need to build up my building skills first!

I'd probably start with an RV - Lots of people building 'em, should be good support, should also be easy to sell after completion. Next, I'd go for a Highlander - Those just look like a lot of fun. I'd keep that one. THEN I'd go for the "Ravin 1000".
 
Are you assuming the airframe will be lighter, or do you have evidence of fact? Typically in order for a composite structure to be lighter than comparable aluminum, it will be much more expensive, incredibly so.

You're right, I was assuming it would be lighter. It is in fact, a couple hundred pounds heavier.

From the Ravin website it looks like they have a beefier "Beechcraft" style landing gear system to handle the extra weight.

Since this is an experimental, that would allow you to add even stouter gear and perhaps even increase the wingspan.

If I win the lottery, this looks like a project that could pay off since you'd end up with a fast, economical long range cruiser that doesn't need 100LL.
 
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