Mark Ciaglia’s RV-10 | The Woodlands, Texas RV-10 #41717

Congratulations to Mark, who writes to tell us about the first flight of his RV-10:

It began as a dream. I took the demo flight at AirVenture 2016 with my wife. She had to approve before we committed to this project. I actually sat in the back so Mike our amazing demo pilot could dazzle my wife, who sat co-pilot. Success!!! We ordered the empennage kit 15 minutes after landing. We took delivery 3 weeks after AirVenture and the journey began. I enjoyed every minute of the build from riveting, priming, and even the dreaded fiberglass. I was fortunate to have a three-car garage and did almost the entire build at home. I never missed a family event and carved out time to build (usually at 4:00 AM while everyone slept). Many times my family loved helping out along the build. 4 years, 5 months, and 11 days N627DG took to the skies for an uneventful first flight. I have to thank all the previous builders who shared their knowledge, the Van’s community is an amazing support group. EAA 302 and their tech counselors made sure this was a safe aircraft with routine inspections. N627DG is powered by a Thunderbolt IO-540 with cold air induction, EFII System 32 (ignition and injection), and a Whirlwind HRT375 prop. SteinAir built an amazing panel full of Garmin equipment (3 G3X’s, GTN 650xi, and full 3 axis autopilot). The interior includes several carbon fiber components from Aerosport products and the upholstery was done by AviationX Interiors. We look forward to many years of family trips in our new RV-10. Thank you Van’s Aircraft for providing an amazing kit.