FIrst FLights

Congratulations Gavin! He writes: This beautiful RV-8 started life out as an early QuickBuild kit that was purchased from the original builder in 2018. After leaving the Van’s factory in 1998 and through many hours of blood, sweat and tears together with good friends, Reyno Coetzer, Mike George and Peter Steyn she was completed in […] Read More

Congratulations to Michael and Colleen! They write: First flight of our RV-8, sporting the initials in our tail number in memory of our two brave and beloved sons, took place on Friday July 9th 2022 in Eugene Oregon. The aircraft performed exactly as advertised and capped a journey of friendship and experiences that wil last […] Read More

Congratulations to Steven on the completion of his second RV! He writes: Built an RV-9A, completed exactly 4 years ago – construction took 25 months. Proud owner of a 2 plane RV air force with completion of the RV-10, Independence Day, 2022.

Congratulations Larry! This RV-14A was an absolute joy to build. Between my son and I we have about 3500 hours into the build. This was a slow build all the way. As a result, I know every inch of the plane. I also wired the Garmin G3X IFR capable panel and did the paint job […] Read More

Nice work on your RV-14A, Brian! He writes: Great experience building the plane and flying it for the first time. The RV-14A is a wonderful plane to fly. I am a CFII and just enjoy to fly and help others fulfill their dreams of flight. I am learning aerobatics and plan to use the N84BR […] Read More

Congratulations to Mark on the completion of his beautiful new RV-6! Sorry for the late sub mission.Well the day arrived to do the first flight. The Test pilot said to me when we were taxing out. (Before hand we had our briefing of what we were going to do and what we would do if […] Read More

Congratulations Joe! I started my build in August 2015. First flight was on July 5th, 2022. Nearly a 7 year build time. The kit was a slow build RV-7 with a slider canopy. I can’t thank my wife and daughters enough for all the support over the years. They have been a great help when you […] Read More

Jason wrote in to let us know about the recent first flight of his RV-10: After just over 4 years of building, N410JB took her first flight on June 30th…. almost 10 years to the day after my RV-7A had her first flight in 2012! One of the best parts of building an RV is […] Read More

Congratulations to Steven on his new RV-14A! He writes: We chose a beautiful CAVU morning for the first flight. This is not my first flight in a plane I’ve built, but was the first flight in an RV. I cannot compliment Van’s enough for their design, manufacturing process, and assistance. Back to the first flight. […] Read More

Congratulations to Larry, who writes in to tell us about the first flight. of his new RV-7A: First flight was accomplished on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (KARB) with the able assistance of fellow EAA333 chapter members Mark Powell and Jeff Cohen. After a glitch with the radio was resolved […] Read More

Chalkie just completed another RV! Congrats! My first RV was an RV-6 23680 which I completed in early 2003 and then flew to OSH in celebration of the Centenary of Aviation in July / August 2003. 77 hours to OSH via northern route across North Atlantic. Return flight was St Johns – Santa Maria and […] Read More

Congratulations to Jim on his new RV-10! He writes: After just over 3 years and 2,700 hours of building – our dream airplane finally flew. With help from my grown adult children and most especially my wife, our RV-10 was complete. Building in isolation in a remote part of Canada made the build somewhat difficult […] Read More

Congratulations to Michael on his new RV-6! He writes: I had test pilot fly the plane. Had no problems, flew straight and true. Stalls were as advertised. I really enjoyed the flight, let off a lot of stress that had been building up over the last couple of months. I had a lot of friends […] Read More

John wrote in to let us know about the recent completion of his RV-12iS! He writes: Having never had a go at anything as complicated as this, I pulled the trigger and away we went! I found opening all the boxes and looking inside quite daunting and, to be honest, quite overwhelming. So I carried […] Read More

Congratulations to John and Chris. They write: After three years and nine months of work, our RV-9a was finally read to fly. With the weather forecast looking good, we gathered at Krugersdorp airfield on a cold winter’s morning. ZU-SRV was pulled out of the hangar and the pre-flight checks done. Then, in the capable hands of test-pilot […] Read More

Nice work Frank! He writes: I have been a pilot for most of my life and been flying for the airlines since 1996, at no time since my flying began did I ever think of owning my own airplane. Then one day out of the blue, I told my wife that I’d like to build […] Read More

Congratulations to Nathan! He writes: After 5 years of building my RV-7 took to the sky for the 1st time. It was a great day with a few friends coming out to watch. The plane flew flawlessly and I have now finished the 25hr testing phase. It’s been an awesome experience that has been challenging […] Read More

Tim wrote in to let us know about the first flight of his RV-7A: After more than 10 years of building, my project was ready for the first flight. Accompanied by my friend Harry van Altena, an experienced RV-7 owner as safety pilot, we performed the Maiden Flight at Lelystad Airport EHLE in The Netherlands […] Read More

Congratulations to Randy on his new RV-12iS! He writes: This was a family project. My youngest son helped with the wiring harnesses & avionics. My oldest son helped with the power-plant. My wife was the support, without which this dream could never have happened. The family involvement shows in the plane’s registration #N924SF … the […] Read More