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FIrst FLights

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Luis Luciani’s RV-14A | Houston, Texas RV-14A #140645

Luis writes in to tall us about the first flight of this RV-14A! My new RV14A is a pure joy to fly. It tracks true and zero issues came up during the first flight. I would love to take credit but it has to be due to the incredible precision of the kit. The picture of […] Read More

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 […] Read More

Mark Easton’s RV-10 | Portland, Oregon RV-10 #41683

Congrats to Mark on the first flight of his RV-10! He writes: After exactly five years and one day N25CM took flight from Stark’s Twin Oaks Airpark outside of Portland, OR. My dream to build an RV began back in the late 70’s when, as a child, I saw kit plans being advertised in Popular […] Read More

Enrico Musto’s RV-8 | Trento, Italy RV-8 #82813

Congratulations to Enrico on his new RV-8! He writes: This morning, after 50 months of building time, shortly after my 50th birthday and a pandemic rolling over the whole wide world, my RV-8 became an airplane! A huge big thanks to the experienced RV-8 pilot Luca Perazzolli, my mentor and master, who kept me motived […] Read More

David Porter’s RV-4 | Martinsburg, West Virginia RV-4 #2120

Congratulations to David, who writes to tell us about the first flight of his RV-4: My RV-4 received its airworthiness certificate on January 29, 2021, and flew for the first time the next day. The serial number is 2120, and it began life when the empennage kit was delivered to a customer in Virginia in […] Read More

Erik McClenney’s RV-14 | Bellevue, Washington RV-14 #140024

Erik writes in to let us know about the first flight of his new RV-14! After spending 8 years slow-building a slow-build RV-14 kit, I had my first flight in N276EM on December 24, 2020. The flight was short and (mostly) uneventful. I want to say that building it was just as much fun as […] Read More

Denis Le Quellec’s RV-7 | Vannes, France RV-7 #73967

Congratulations to Denis on the first flight of his RV-7! He writes: Well… three years after the first flight I still have that grin on my face ( too large to fit any pictures !). It took just under seven years to build and it was worth every penny ! An adventure of a lifetime with […] Read More

Randy Vanstory’s RV-10 | New Braunfels, Texas RV-10 #41763

Congratulations to Randy on the completion of his RV-10! He writes: From the day I drove the 1st rivet till the day I picked up my plane from the paint shop (final step) was exactly 4 years, to the day! Building has been an incredible adventure. From the people you meet to the immense sense […] Read More

Darryl Foster’s RV-7A | Conroe, Texas RV-7A #74503

Congratulations to Darry on his new RV-7A! He writes: I always wanted my own airplane but certified airplanes are expensive. I discovered the amazing Van’s airplanes and ordered the tail kit. Four and a half years later, she took to the skies over North Houston. I’m part of the local EAA Chapter 302 and they were […] Read More

Robert Semones’ RV-8 | Louisville, Kentucky RV-8 #83046

Congratulations to Robert on the first flight in his RV-8! He writes: Well, almost 11 years to the day my RV-8 project took to the air. Life and work sometimes get in the way but I wasn’t going to quit till it was complete. My RV-8 is a slow build kit with the ShowPlanes fastback […] Read More

Jeffrey Karrels’ RV-10 | Vienna, Virginia RV-10 #40245

Congratulations to Jeffrey on the first flight of his RV-10! He writes: My family has put up with 3050 build hours over 4 years, 5 months, 12 days answering the questions from countless numbers of people who when they tried to tell them that their dad/husband was building a plane had to be convinced that […] Read More

William Mahon’s RV-14A | Edmonton, Alberta RV-14A #140447

Congratulations to William on the first flight of his RV-14A! He writes: Sorry it took so long to report first flight. First flight was on March 1st, 2020. This plane flies beautifully. Thanks to the guys at Van’s for a great design and particularly Scott McDaniels for every post he has ever written in Van’s Airforce […] Read More

John Prickett’s RV-7A | Austin, Texas RV-7A #71821

Congratulations to John on his new RV-7A! He writes: It’s been a long road. Well, I did do a s-l-o-w build. Was ready to fly on 12/29/20, but two stormy IFR days made me put it off until the new year. Flies great. My wife took the pictures.

Ed Fleming’s RV-7 | Harare, Zimbabwe RV-7 #74230

Congrats to Ed on the new RV-7! He writes: One day the to-do list got down to zero, and it was time to fly! I was nervous of course, but it was a non-event, handled, and flew perfectly. I kept her light, 180 hp IO-360/Hartzell prop, basic VFR Garmin panel, and painted interior – weighs […] Read More

Richard Parker’s RV-12 | Orlando, Florida RV-12 #120509

Congrats to Richard on his new RV-12! He writes: After an extremely slow build (life happens) of my RV-12, the boxes of parts sent to my house(s) over the years became the most wonderful airplane I have ever flown. The experience of building something that I now fly around in is something I will cherish […] Read More

Henkjan van der Zouw’s RV-10 | Utrecht, Netherlands RV-10 #40355

Congratulations to Henkjan on his new RV-10! He writes: Finally, after fifteen years from start, the PH-ZME made its first flight, the first four years of the build went fast. but after that things happened in life that slowed down the finishing process. The project sat in the corner of our workshop for a number […] Read More

Jim and Jean Fisher’s RV-14A | Manchester, Iowa RV-14A #140411

Congrats to Jim and Jean on their new RV-14A! They write: First flight was quite a thrill. It wanted to climb like a rocket. Thank you Van’s for designing a great plane. There are so many helpful people in this industry. Looking forward to many years of fun flying!

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