Raymond Labonte’s five years of building paid off with a first flight of his RV-14: After a 5 year and 4 days build RV-14 serial number 140800 was launched for its first flight from the Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport on 10/11/25. All went as expected and proved that 5 years of effort was well worth […] Read More
Matthew Rivard made it two 10s in two days to get to first flight. Here’s more: I completed the first flight of my RV-10, N238MJ, and I’m happy to report it was entirely uneventful, with everything going exactly as planned. The aircraft performed perfectly in all phases of flight and flew true right out of […] Read More
Greg Hartt’s RV-10 has flown for the first time. Here’s the story: After 5 long years of building and a few months of waiting on the FAA, I was able to obtain my airworthiness certificate and hold the first flight a couple days later. I had to wait from some ceilings to open up but […] Read More
Paul van Sandwyk’s RV-6A has completed a 32-year build odyssey to become the latest RV-6A to take flight. Here’s his story: At Oshkosh in 1992 Jerry VanGrunsven took me up for a “free” ride in Van’s demonstrator. Shortly after I purchased the plans for RV-6A #22320. The empennage kit was shipped, by sea, in December […] Read More
Thomas Davidson flew his RV-9A for the first time, and earns his way into the “man of few words” finals for 2025! He says: Flew straight and true, stall performance as expected. Very fun to fly!
Sometimes life throws you curves balls during a build, but Ron Ingram did not shy away from the challenge. He shares a little about the build of his new RV-6A. In 2002, I decided to take the plunge and build an RV-6A. I had already started the work on a Dragonfly, but the RV was […] Read More
A lot of help went into building Michael’s Truett’s RV-9A. It is #1200 of the RV-9 series to be completed! He shares his story and build dedications. I began my RV-9A build when I first retired in 2018, with the full support of my loving wife Denise. This was my retirement project, which also included […] Read More
Richard Raymond’s RV-14A took to the skies and is a painting the horizon red. He shares a snippet of his story. After just over three years of slow building, another -14A joins the list of flying aircraft. My sincere gratitude to all my assistants and the good folks at Van’s who produced a stunning kit.
Gregory had the whole family help with this build, even his pregnant wife was alongside him setting rivets. Lombard tells the rest of the story: I started building in January of 1998, three months after getting married, and not coincidentally four months after getting a ride in an F-104 Starfighter. I’ve raised 2 kids and […] Read More
Jeff Dingbaum’s “no surprises” RV-14A joins the flying fleet of RVs after nearly a decade of “family first” building. Here’s the story: The first flight of N3299A was a long time coming, over 9 years. Life and family came first and sometimes a successful work session was a rivet or two. Thanks to my wife […] Read More
Knut Hentzschel persevered through 14 German winters — what better way to distract yourself than to build an RV — and reaped the reward of his RV-9A’s first flight. Here’s the rest of the story: Finally, after 14 winters of building (my interests were different in the summer), my RV-9A has taken to the skies. […] Read More
Larry Larson joins the ranks of the milestone makers, with the first flight of his RV-7A. Larry has been active on Van’s Air Force and an occasional contributor to Kitplanes magazine. Here’s his (short) story: It took 12 years. Talk about slow build. You all know her as Lucy. I’ve been in the community since […] Read More
Thomas Klammer just flew his RV-10 “retirement project” for the first time. Here’s the story: I am a private-pilot, SEL, with an instrument rating. I earned my PPL about 15 years ago, and have 600 hours, half in C-172s and half in Cirrus SR-22s. All my flight time was in rental aircraft. After 10 years […] Read More
Allen Maris watched his RV-7A make its first flight from the ground, a heart-in-throat feeling to be sure. He writes: After 8 years of on-and-off building, the garage project finally became a plane. A close friend and qualified test pilot did the first flight. Watching it take off was surreal—seeing my plane in the sky […] Read More
Don Lepek has been so busy making BBQ runs that he’s only reported in on his RV-14A’s first flight: The first flight of my RV-14A was great but short. I had a minor issue with oil temperature but fixed by adding a diverter to the bottom of my oil cooler. But the second flight was […] Read More
Roblin Christophe has flown his second RV-7A. Here’s the background: It took 5 and a half years to build and paint this beauty, and it’s my second RV-7A after the one I built in 2006. There were high and low feelings during COVID due to many shortages but finally a big smile after a few […] Read More
John Salley didn’t let the distance from home to build location deter him, resulting in a newly flying RV-12iS. Here’s the story: I built the plane 4 hours from my home, at my son’s shop in Wilmington, NC. I made the trip every 3-4 weeks, usually for 4-5 intense 12-14 hour days each time. Even […] Read More
Alan Bumbaugh just flew his brightly painted RV-7A. Here’s the story: I’ve finished eating the elephant. On October 10, 2025, kit number 73672, N287M, under the guidance of my mentor and additional pilot Jim Harris, lifted off for the first time. Initially a short hop to 25 feet altitude and taxi back for flight to […] Read More
Dan Frazier’s “fun project” during COVID just became an airplane: Dan tells the full story: Like many others, my build started as a COVID project. Seemed like an impossible thing to build an airplane, but I figured the empennage kit could be a fun project amid a lonely time of social distancing. Worst case, I […] Read More
Rick DeGroff RV-14A became a flying machine this month, reminding us that “the effort is worth it.” Here’s his story: On November 1, 2025, I had my first flight in the Vans RV-14A that I started in May 2019. This was a “slow-build” and I had no previous airplane building experience prior to starting. At […] Read More
