Congratulations to Steve on his new RV-12iS, he writes: After 6.5 years and ~2000 hours of build time, my RV-12iS took to the skies for the first time on May 1, 2025 (May Day!) from Paine Field in Everett, WA. The airplane flew flawlessly and handled beautifully, with zero issues or surprises. I couldn’t […]
[…] 2025! Come see us at the Van’s booth, No. 605 in the Homebuilt Display area! We’re still working out the details on our forums for this year, but our “What’s New at Van’s” forum will be held on Monday morning—not Tuesday, which is traditionally the day—plus we’ll have several more during the weeklong airshow. Â
Congratulations to Ken on his new RV-8! He writes: After 21 years 3 months and 29 days my ironically named quickbuild RV-8 took to the air. She flew straight and true. Great delight after extreme perseverance.
Congrats to Brad on his new RV-14A! He writes: My five year build culminated in a fantastic first flight on the morning of March 25, 2025. Even though I had looked at every nut, bolt, fitting and basically every centimeter of my beautiful beast at least 1000 times; I was still a bundle of […]
[…] the strength of the RV community—builders and owners who share knowledge, lend a hand, and support each other. To make those connections even easier, we’ve created a new opt-in network for RV builders and owners. This network is designed to help RV enthusiasts connect more directly with others in their area. If an RV […]
Congratulations to Randolf on his new RV-10! He writes: 12 years, and 5100 hrs build time logged. A very special thank you to the Van’s team and all of its affiliates. First flight went uneventfully and lasted 2.1hrs.
Congratulations to Jaron on his new RV-8! He writes: I fly helicopters for the USAF, so finding time to balance the build, work, and family life has been challenging over the last five years. I started building after the start of COVID-19 in March 2020. After three assignments, two deployments, and countless TDYs, I […]
Congrats to David on his new RV-7! He writes: After a 5 year build effort, N961VJ completed its first flight. She flew straight, no heavy wing, and CHT’s in the 350’s. Couldn’t have done it without expert advice from Tom Berge, Everette Williston, Mike Kerzie, Bob Fouts, and the Guys at Van’s (Kevin, Tony, […]
Congratulations to William on the new RV-7! He writes: I’m very happy to get my RV-7 in the air! It flew great with no issues.
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Congrats to Dan on his new RV-8A! He writes: To get here it took 4 years (almost exactly), 3300 hours of work, 15000 rivets, and almost my sanity, but N8824 took to the skies this morning, 11/19/2024, at 11:02am, from KSDC, and flew beautifully! I can’t understate how fast and smooth this thing flies. […]
[…] would work 12 hr days in the garage getting a whole bunch done. Flying his RV-7 also made the initial flight seamless and set expectation for a new airplane. I have about 50 hours in his RV-7 and I can’t describe how comfortable I became as soon as the tail came up on the […]
[…] has flown for the first time! He writes: After briefing the tower for my first flight profile, I climbed aboard with a nervous, excited mindset. On takeoff clearance, the 2500 hours of work diminished into a single moment. What an incredible machine, looking forward to continuing the test flying phase, then the world’s my lobster…
Congratulations to Matias on his new RV-7! He writes: The first flight lasted 15 minutes, it was the most focused and incredible moment of my life. Only after the flight did I realize that I had flown in an airplane that I had built myself. I love the RV-7.
Congratulations to Buck on his new RV-8, he writes: Construction of my dream RV-8 began way in 2002 (!) and progress stopped and started numerous times due to life getting in the way, having multiple jobs, house moves, and all sorts of other distractions — including my own desire to customize almost everything on […]
Congratulations to Kenneth on his new RV-10! He writes: I started the build in December 2018 as I retired from the electrical contracting industry and spent ever day over the last 4+ years working on the build. A heartfelt Thanks to my good friend Stuart who has been with me throughout the build. I went […]
Congratulations to Nathan on his new RV-12iS! He writes: After 4 years and 1 month of building our RV-12iS flew for the first time. Except for needing to adjust the rudder tab, it flew straight and true. Thanks Van for the great airplane. It has been a great retirement project.
Congratulations to Adrien on the completion of his new RV-7! He writes: Building the RV-7 was an amazing experience. The planning, the days spent in the hangar with my friend Xavier (also a builder), the questions, and solving (small) issues – I miss all of that today! On March 20th, after 4 years of […]
[…] I said to myself, well it flies and the enormity of it started to sink in. Followed Mike Busch’s recommendations on how to properly break in the new engine. That was; run it hard and continuous for 1-2 hours until the CHT’s come down but not more than 440 degrees F. Returned to the […]
Great work, Michael! He writes: Building this aircraft has been a journey of highs and lows and a test of patience and a lesson in persistence, flying this wonderful piece of engineering is well worth the price of admission. A big Thank You to everybody at Van’s Aircraft, Van’s AirForce and EAA Tech Councilor […]
