After just over 2 and a half years of building, RV-8 ZU-FCE took to the air !
She flew true and straight like all RV's do !

The engine is a XP-IO-360, with a Hartzell c/s prop. Avionics is our locally produced MGL Odyssey Efis and MGL V10 radio. Weight is 1118 lbs. painted.

Thx to Van's and the homebuilding community all over the world, for your help and support !!

A greater bunch of people is hard to find !!

           

     Dawie Van Staden
     ( South-Africa )
     [ dawie1970 at vodamail.co.za ]

Please advance the Hobbs meter another click. I started the standard kit in early 2004 not knowing what a cleco was, never having built anything remotely comparable to something of this magnitude, and never having flown in an RV. After 5 years and 3000+ building hours of effort, and transition training with Mike Seager, I flew my RV-7 for the first time on
April 9, 2009 at Essex Skypark (W48) near Baltimore, Maryland. I finished my Phase I period on July 21, just in time for a great trip to AirVenture 2009. I’m still in the initial stages of exploring the new worlds this plane with its marvelous performance has opened up. It’s everything I thought it would be and more.

The particulars: Tip-up, Mattituck TMX-360 carbureted, one Slick Mag, one Lightspeed EI, Hartzell blended airfoil CS prop, VFR/Night, Dynon D-180, Garmin 496 in Airgizmo mount, SL-60 Comm/GPS, Garmin 327  transponder, PM-3000 Intercom, TruTrak Pictorial Pilot wing leveler. Empty weight was 1069 pounds.

Thanks to Vans Aircraft Company for enabling the dream, Bruce Barrett, Mike Regen, Chip Lock, Vans Air Force, EAA Chapter 571, my parents, friends and family, and above all to my wife Lynnette who never refused a request for help with riveting and dimpling and her steadfast support.

            

     Bill Cloughley
      http://www.pilotbill.com/
      [ flybill7 at comcast.net ]

RV-7A S/N 72356 (N68SF) made its first two flights today (9/14). ECI IOX-360 (builder assist with dealer DB Aerotech), Catto 3- Blade, D-180, D-100, SL-30, GNC 300 XL, GTX-327, HS-34, AP-74, dual batteries, Classic Aero Interior. Weight: 1070 lbs. Build Time: 4 ½ years and 2600 hours with 130 helper hours.

Both flights were great with the airplane flying straight and true. Thanks to my wife for her constant support, Vans for a super job from every aspect, Jan Bussel for transition training, and the great encouragement and advice from Curtis Pennington (local A&P at KMKJ). Also, thanks to Rens en Joke Verhoeven for letting me share his great paint scheme.

From the build experience:
Most Enjoyable – Airframe & firewall forward
Most Messy – Fuel Tanks
Most Challenging – Electrical
Most Frustrating – Canopy frame fit and engine cowl fit
Most Elbow Grease – Prep for paint

If I could do this, then anyone can. I was pretty well on my own living 75 miles from the nearest EAA chapter and a first time builder. I will always appreciate the opportunity for the build experience and feeling the of accomplishment that comes with the first flight.

       Scott Freeman
       Marion, VA
       [ sgfreeman at smyth.net ]

To All At Van's:

September 14, 2009 was a truly amazing day as I flew my RV-9A, N858JK (builder number 91328) for its maiden voyage. The flight went extremely well, no squawks, and she flew straight and true, no trim required. 971 lbs empty weight (unpainted) with an ECI O-320 and a fixed pitch, wooden Sensenich prop. The panel is day VFR with a Dynon FlightDek D180, Garmin 496, SL-30 and GTX 327 stack with a PS Engineering intercom. Every day of the 3.5 year, 2100 hour project gave me a wonderful sense of accomplishment and was a great lesson in perseverance. Without the ever patient help of the tech support folks at Vans, the project surely would have taken much longer. Thank you!

I attribute the total uneventfulness of the first flight to 8.5 hours of superb transition training with Mike Seager in his 6A and a fair number of independent eyeballs looking over my work before first flight. Many thanks to Tom Tyndall (EAA flight advisor), Cotton Matthews (EAA tech inspector) and Lanny Lambdin, Jeff Caplins, Jeff Frankart and Don Alexander for their help in the pounding of the rivets. Who would have thought that a bucking bar and rivet gun would be the ingredients for friendship?

           

     Best regards,
     Ray Swanson
     Richmond, VA
     [ rswanson90 at comcast.net ]

After 8 ½ years (2,496 hours) of building, N451BZ (Serial #81412) took to the air for the first time. My transition training with Kent Gorton did a great job in preparing me for the outstanding flying characteristics of the RV series. 451BZ weighs in at 1132 lbs and is powered by a Mattituck TMX360 Red Gold series engine. I have already seen a 1,700 fpm sustained climb rate with my skinny 140 lb self at the controls. I am convinced that the easiest way to build an airplane light is to have the pilot go on a diet…

If you are sitting on the fence trying to decide if this is the right aircraft for you, let me tell you that this is the most bang for the buck out there…I feel terribly sorry for my "factory built" airplane friends who will never know the thrill of flying a machine that has been crafted by their own hands. Building this machine was the most mind-expanding thing that I have ever done.

I would like to thank Barbara, my wife and Abigail, my daughter for supporting me throughout the building process. My father, Don Sr., was always there to lend an extra pair of hands along the way. My brother-in-law, Peter Hendriks, caught this awesome photo of the prop vortex which occurred on my first flight.

        Don Alexander
        [ Don.Alexander at astenjohnson.com ]

RV-7A Serial #70067, IO-360-AIA, Catto 3 blade, Dynon 100 EFIS,
1075# Empty.

Flawless first flight 5/23/09. Phase 1 completed. Now have 35 carefree hours.

I celebrated my 90th birthday last March.

               

 
        Gordon Zwirtz
        Yucca Valley, CA.
        [ gczwirtz76 at msn.com ]

On September 8, 2009, my RV-8 quick-build (s/n 82718) flew for the first time. Everything works, flies true and straight, Yahoo!

It took me 2 yrs, 3 months, with quite a bit of help from my friend Bob Kuykendall. Thanks also to Mike Seager for transition training - the flying was easy.

What a beautiful-flying airplane.

              

         Steve Smith
         Cupertino, California
         [ jlp-scs at pacbell.net ]

             

         Thank you
         Andre Labuschagne
         Rustenburg, South Africa
         [ andre at prontortb.co.za ]

Hi There,

I thought it was about time to list my RV-7A "build number71724" as flying since I have over 100 hours up now.

It's powered by a Mattituck OF360 (FADEC) with a 3 blade Aero Composite C/S 3 blade prop, full leather interior, Blue Mountains Sport EFIS & Auto Pilot, 480 Garmin, Vision Micro engine monitor & DVD player & is IFR legal. It also has fuel tip tanks (250 litres total) and a Menske canopy tip up which is a worthwhile addition, we love it.

With all the creature comforts it weights in a little heavy at 1192 lbs. It flies perfectly with no vices at all, but is about 12 knots slower than Vans advertised figures which is probably due to prop. & weight, but that's the RV I wanted.

The slow build kit was fantastic to build and so were Van’s to deal with. We had teething problems with FADEC & Vision Micro for the first 50 hours or so, but that's now rectified and my RV grin is getting wider all the time.

I love this plane!

         Regards
         Brian Degenhard
         [ brian at daytonasigns.com.au ]

Add another one to the completed and flown. N6PW aka 91259 flew today 27 Aug 09. 

My 9A has a Superior IO320 put together by Barrett Precision Engines, one mag and a lightspeed, roller lifters, fuel injection and a Catto Prop. Build time was just over 3 years. I still had a life when building in the garage as I did most building at night but when moved to the airport (08A) it became an everyday job.

Interior done by Abby at Flightline. Instrument panel has dual Dynons, SL30, GTX 327, Av Map GPS, PS intercom, Advanced Flt AOA, and TruTrak Digiflt II.

Flies balanced right out of the box. Plane has a date with paint shop in early October. I had some help from numerous folks but two get awards. Dan Horton was tech advisor providing exceptional advice and help. John Vickery was there to rivet or buck, entertain or encourage.

            

       John Castor
       RV-9A 91259
       [ rjcastor at knology.net ]

         [ a.kassianides at cytanet.com.cy ]

Just wanted to let you know that after just under 4 years building, standard RV-10 kit serial #40473 made its first flight on August 14, 2009 from Bayport Aerodrome over the south shore of Long Island. On hand for the event were my brother Scott flying chase in his -6A accompanied by RV-7 builder Mike Muratore taking pictures and RV-8 builder Jon Ross video taping the take-off and landing from the ground.

N629RV is equipped with a Mattituck TMX IO-540 swinging a Hartzell blended airfoil prop. Avionics include a 2 screen Grand Rapids EFIS, Garmin GNS-480 + GTX-330, Electronics International MVP-50, and TruTrak VSGV A/P.

While I owe thanks to a long list of people for making this happen, a few deserve special recognition. Foremost, my wife Claire and daughters Christina & Julie for all their encouragement despite the long hours and missed softball games. My brother Scott for countless hours of help and expert electrical work. His wife Wendy for donating her half of their garage. RV-8 builder and tech counselor Jon Ross for all his advice, encouragement, and use of his impressive collection of aircraft tools.

As for my initial reaction after the first flight: 'Holy Sh**, I love this plane'

         Tom Gesele
         West Islip, NY
         [ tgesele at optonline.net ]

Another first flight… was May 21 2009. First day accounted for 6 hours of aviating joy. Plane trims to a balanced hands off state. I still have a few EFIS/Avionics settings to wrestle with, and some radio noise to quiet down, but the bird flies like a dream.

Stock Lyc YIO-540, Hartzel blended airfoil, 2x AFS 3500, TT/AFS VSGAV AP, Garmin 430, GTX 330, 240 Audio, and ICOM A210.

          Cheers,
          Frank Dombroski
          N46WD - Aviating
          [ f.dombroski at yahoo.com ]