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FIrst FLights

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Andrew Kilroy’s RV-14A | Alameda, CA RV-14A #140394

Congrats to Andrew Kilroy on the first flight of his new RV-14A! He wrote to let us know: The first flight was eventful! Took off in chilly, calm conditions and noticed that my airspeed went dead five seconds after take off. I did a simple pattern and landed (without airspeed). In just the first 4 […] Read More

Richard Drown’s RV-14A | Chandler, AZ RV-14A #140286

Congrats to Richard on completion and first flight of his RV-14A! He writes: I started building my RV-14A in 2016 and my first flight was on 10-21-2022. The building process was a labor of love. There was sweat. I live in Arizona and my hangar is not air conditioned. There was occasional blood. Metal is […] Read More

Greg Long’s New RV-12 | KIKV - Johnston, Iowa RV-12 #120719

Congratulations to Greg Long, who writes to tell us all about the build and first flight of his RV-12, and includes a video as well! Building my own plane has been a dream for most of my life. Since 1986 when I completed my private pilot license, I flew various club planes including Cessna and […] Read More

Joe “Zack” Czachorowski’s RV-10 | Wilmington, DE RV-10 #41729

Congrats to Zack – our East Coast Rep and transition trainer extraordinaire, on the completion of this new RV-10! Zack writes: I recently completed my 3rd RV, another RV-10. These RV aircraft never cease to amaze, especially the RV-10. The slow stall speed, the fast cruise speed, the large useful load, and its great sexy […] Read More

Krea Ellis’ RV-10 | Locust Grove, GA RV-10 #41694

Congrats to Krea Ellis, who writes in to share the first flight he and his son made in this new RV-10! After 4000+ hours of build time, N10KE took to the air at Newnan-Coweta County Airport (KCCO) on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. My son Keith was PIC and I accompanied him as a Qualified Pilot […] Read More

Matt Van Eck’s RV-10 | Howell, Michigan RV-10 #41815

Matt Van Eck wrote in to tell us about the first flight of his new RV-10! The idea of building an airplane has always been a dream since I was a young kid. I began the Standard Built project in November of 2019 and spent 2 years and 8 months riveting, wiring, and painting. (Something […] Read More

Christopher LoPresti’s RV-14A | Farmingdale, New Jersey RV-14A #140635

Christopher LoPresti writes in to share the first flight of his new RV-14A! After three years of building, almost to the date, the aircraft was ready to take flight. Present in the aircraft during the first flight was pilot Frank Dobroswki, a veteran RV builder, and Christopher LoPresti, the co-pilot and builder of this aircraft. […] Read More

David Hays and Bill Bacon’s RV-14 | Senoia, Georgia RV-14 #140129

David and Bill send the following story about the build of their new RV-14! Congrats to both! The story of RV-14 N914DH began slowly in December 2013. The empennage kit was ordered. It arrived in February 2014 but construction didn’t begin until April 2015. We had a whole house renovation in progress that prevented any […] Read More

Mike Hathaway’s RV-14A | Kingsport, Tennessee RV-14A #140897

Congratulations to Mike! He writes: Great day for first flight 65 degrees and no wind. Flight was only 20 minutes but it was wonderful. This is my fourth build but I still had butterflies. Thanks to my support at our local airport and at home and thank you Van’s for a great product.

Jim Potter’s RV-14A | Ramona, California RV-14A #140419

Congratulations to Jim on his new RV-7A! First Flight happened at 7AM at Ramona Airport on 9-24-22. Don Eccker, who assisted me with the build took honors for the first flight. The plane flew straight and true – hands off and was fast. Can’t thank Van’s enough for a fantastic designed airplane.

Mike Buettgenbach’s RV-12 | Derby, Kansas RV-12iS #121220

Congratulations to Mike who recently completed and flew his RV-12! He writes: First flight (and second flight) was on Sunday, 9/25/22. Absolutely perfect. . . No squawks, no heavy wing, even the stall vane was right-on. Certainly brought a smile. Great airplane. Greg H once told me: “That’s a kick-a$$ airplane!” . . . yup, […] Read More

Teodor Sacaciu’s RV-7A | Willis, Texas RV-7A #74788

Congratulations to Teodor on the completion of his second RV! He writes: Hello there,  This was my second RV. I built the first RV-6A in 2000 and decided to build the RV-7A during the Covid. The sad thing was that I had to wait a whole year for a hangar but finally thank God I […] Read More

Klaus-Peter Morhard’s RV-7A | EDTW, Black Forest, Germany RV-7A #71249

Congratulations to Klaus-Peter Morhard, who writes to share with us the first flight of his RV-7A! Hallo Zusammen, Fast ewig habe ich an meiner RV-7A gebaut, da ich einen LOM M332C eingebaut habe und nun echt zufrieden bin. Nachdem die Schallpegelmessung erfolgreich abgeschlossen ist, wollte ich mein Flugzeug fertig melden. Jeder Flug war einfach toll […] Read More

Frederic Magare’s RV-9A | Kyle, TX RV-9A #91380

Congrats to Frederic on the maiden flight of his RV-9A! He writes: First Flight was straight forward with no control issues to report. In the weeks leading to the first flight, I found that I was experiencing a great deal of anxiety. I could not sleep the night before and preparing to go to the […] Read More

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