FIrst FLights

Congrats to John on the completion and first flight of his RV-6A! “Another 20 year build. I started the tail kit in 1999, had the wings and fuselage assembled past the quick build stage, but life got in the in 2005 and I stopped work on it for the next 8 years. In 2013 after […] Read More

Mike Dooley of Lee’s Summit writes in to tell us all about the first flight of his new RV-8! Congrats, Mike! RV-8 N768RV took flight this afternoon! Awesome performance and handling and a smooth landing to cap off the flight. Thanks to Bill Gill for providing excellent transition training and for flying chase in his […] Read More

Congrats to William on the completion and first flight of his RV-8! He writes to tell us: After fourteen years of start and stop building (Airline Pilot Schedule) N159WP flew for 1 hour and fifteen minutes on September 26, 2019, and many more since. The airplane is a delight to fly, and gets accolades where […] Read More

Congrats to Hernan on his new RV-10! He writes in to tell us: First flight was pure joy. The plane trimmed well and flew hands off effortlessly. The controllability and maneuverability are everything I expected from the experiences of my RV owner friends. To finally fly an RV-10 was the culmination of one of our […] Read More

Xavier writes in from France to share his first-flight announcement with us! Hello Van’s community, Another one completed after 10 years of building. Nothing to add about the 8… Fantastic, easy to fly, performance! Thanks a lot to Van’s support which is just the best. “My Little Dream” is powered by a IO360 (180hp), is […] Read More

Congrats to Mike, who writes with some great news and advice to people who are building: N612AW took to the skies after 8 years of building. Many thanks to my patient wife and family. Also thanks to the riveting help of Don Hornick. The help and support of all the RV owners at KRNM and […] Read More

Carl writes in to share: “Everything went as planned! very stable aircraft, all systems stayed in the green.”

After 30 months of Friday evening build sessions, N112YS had a discrete and uneventful first flight, with PAP test flight one completed by pilot Dallan Reese. A short public inaugural flight gave local supporters the chance to witness the building accomplishment of the seven high school students responsible for its construction, and also completed the […] Read More

Congrats to Gary on the huge milestone! After 18 years of building I finally flew my RV-7 today. First flight was 2.0 hrs. with the coaching and experience of Terry Lutz, CFI/APP. Landings are different than my Dragonfly.

Sometimes (often even!) it’s a family affair. Better watch what your kids ask for – they might get it! Congrats to Rick and family on the new airplane! We look forward to seeing and meeting you at AirVenture! In 2010 my younger son, in middle school at the time, suggested we go to AirVenture, this […] Read More

Congrats to the builders of this new RV-7 in South Africa earlier this year! A belated first flight report for RV7 ZU-WAB on 2 April 2019 (My wedding anniversary, yes you need an understanding wife for this project). Took three builders to complete on and off after first work done in June 2003. Test flew […] Read More

Greg Beckner writes in to share the story of his first couple flights in his new RV-14A! First two flights yesterday. Launched and flew without incident. The plane was straight and level hands off-amazing what the Van’s designers have accomplished. The plane is very sensitive so a deft touch is required. After landing we took […] Read More

Jeffrey Scott wrote in to tell us about his first flight with Dave Schmitz as Additional Pilot. Congrats on the new airplane, looks really nice! I purchased this kit 2nd hand, just past quick build stage, four years ago. Perfect timing to select interior, instruments, engine, prop, all the personal items. Sunday we had planned […] Read More

Congrats, Roger! Nice looking airplane! My RV-14 ZK-LBK flew here in New Zealand after 5 years and 7 months of building. First time build but great support from the Van’s Aircraft team. Flew beautifully and is a standard kit VFR machine with Dynon Skyview avionics suppled by Advanced Flight. Engine and prop the standard package […] Read More

Every RV story is special, but Mr Princeton’s RV-8A story is especially so. Congratulations and happy flying! It’s done; after 14 years my modified RV-8A, VH-XCP had its first flight on 26th April 2019 at the controls of my friend and celebrated Air Show Pilot Paul Bennet at our home airfield in the Hunter Valley […] Read More

Here’s the word from Jonathan on the maiden voyage of his RV-8: “First flight in the books! She flies like a dream, no surprise there. I’ve owned a RV-6 in the past and always dreamed of building an 8. I picked this one up as a partially completed project (quick build stage basically) just over […] Read More

Thierry writes in to tell the tale of this new RV-8! Hello Vans’ community, I am sending you this e-mail to let you know that RV-8 SN82013’s maiden flight took place in Toulouse – France on 08/13/2019. It took us 14 years to complete our RV-8. The engine is an Aero Sport Power IO-375 with […] Read More

Ed Hicks (editor of Flyer magazine in the UK) writes in to tell us all about the maiden voyage of the RV-8 that he and Steve Ayers built! Just over 7 years since we started planning for the project, RV-8 G-MIRV made it’s first flight on the 1st of July in the hands of co-builder […] Read More

Congrats to William Wilson on the first flight of his new RV-7A! After 7.5 years my RV-7A project has officially become an airplane as N247BW. Airworthiness inspection was performed on 8/2 by Ted Gauthier. The inspection went very well and I found the experience quite enjoyable. Immediately after the inspection was completed, all of the […] Read More