Congratulations to Martin on another RV, this one being an awesome RV-9A! He writes: It’s my second RV. I have an RV-7A since 5 years. The test flight of the RV-9A was done without any problem. A left heavy wing will be easily fixed but besides that, all goes perfectly! IO-320-EXP engine, Whelen light, […]
[…] his RV-14! He writes: First flight June 16th 2021 HB-YSI without defects encountered. Aircraft is very pleasant, fast, stabil to fly without trim issues. After 20h I’ve finished all the Flight Test. I’m happy to fly in the Swiss Alps. It was the third RV… Many thanks at all my friends and Van’s for the help.
Rob wrote in to let us know about the completion and first flight of his RV-14A: Thanks to test pilot Dave Wohling and chase pilot Dave Taylor. The aeroplane flew beautifully and I am extremely happy with it. Special thanks to Toni for her patience and to Ryan, Linz, Dave and all who helped […]
[…] so in 2013 embarked on the build of an RV-14A. At approximately 16:00 hours on 1st September 2021 VH-VFB departed the earth for the first time. My test pilot was impressed by the performance and reported no inherent bad flight characteristics. Thanks to all at Van’s for your help in making this possible. A […]
[…] wrote in to let us know about the first flight of his RV-7: I started the slow build kit six and a half years ago and my test pilot flew CL for the first time in June this year. No tweaks were necessary and she flew straight and level right out of the box, […]
[…] page at a time and taught him that if you do something every day – you will finish the project . I flew off the 25 Hour test period and then Darcy jumped in and that was a smile I will never forget and more to the point he will never forget that feeling […]
[…] took to the sky in Inverell NSW Australia on the 15th March 2022 – under the Southern Cross. Time of flight was approximately 16:40 Australian Summer Time. Test pilot was David Brown (RV10 owner) from Caboolture Australia. “Beware of the Ides of March” because another beautifully designed Van’s aircraft takes to the sky – […]
[…] let us know about his first flight in his RV-8. He writes: The first and second flights of my RV-8 occurred on Thursday, April 28, 2022 with test pilot David Carrick at the controls. The first flight was only five minutes; an unknown vibration occurred and David returned to the field. The engine was […]
[…] a recognizable part. The whole build is like that. Just down the road there is always a success! 2 1/2 years later and well all that remained was test flying and painting. As I write this all that remains is painting. It’s a credit to the design and ethos that the only adjustments neccessary, were […]
[…] 7/22/22. It was a 47 min flight that reached an altitude as high as 5,168 ft, and achieved a ground speed that went up to 172mph. The test pilot said it flew incredible. Zero issues. The flight controls performed perfect. No heavy wing nor were there any other surprises. I have to shout a […]
[…] and Noel on this amazing accomplishment! They write: After 10 years of on and off building, my RV-3 took to the skies on July 29, 2022. The test pilot, Noel Simmons, reported the plane flew hands off at 185 mph. Will be getting the paint job done in September. The paint will look like […]
We’d be amiss if we didn’t post the first flight report from the RV-15 prototype! Test pilot Axel Alvarez writes to describe the experience: I am happy to report that the RV-15 Engineering Prototype aircraft has flown for the first time. We had a few people working on the aircraft non-stop. This aircraft was […]
[…] finished it for him. I’m certain he was riding along on that first flight. It was wonderful! We’re going to call it “Tom’s Dream” and paint it in the 357th fighter group colors. He always wanted a P51. His wife will be the first passenger once I finish the test flights and have 40 hours.
[…] Jeff writes: My first Van’s kit was an RV-6 that took me 23 years to complete in 2010. Not having 23 more years I decided to go with a quick build RV-10, and with my son Jeff’s help, N3360V first flew uneventfully in Oct, 2022 with its 89 year old test pilot at the controls.
[…] a good uneventful way, if that makes sense? Nerves were high as I did rebuild the engine myself so lots could go wrong. I also hired a test pilot to go with me to help facilitate that learning curve as these planes are no Cessna when it comes to handling. As we departed the […]
Jeff Malcomb graciously agreed to perform the first flight and it went smoothly. The Phase 1 Flight Test and my transition training in it have both been completed. So, the focus has shifted to increasing my proficiency and finding a paint shop to paint it.
Congrats to Tony, who writes: First flight was great! Flew straight as an arrow and smooth. Looking forward to going through all the test cards. The engine is a Thunderbolt IO390 and prop is Hartzell composite. Very smooth combination.
[…] to Bernhard, who writes: First flight was made at EDAC (Leipzig-Altenburg) . After postponing first flight due to weather condition, finally on morning of May 12th conditions were good. First flight was carried out by Rudolph Hankers, a very experienced test flight pilot. All major functions except of avioncs details were tested and worked fine.
[…] RV-12iS. He shares: After 3 1/2 years of building, on March 8th, 2023, N242SA slipped the surly bonds of earth and took flight. With the help of test pilot Jeff M (pictured at right), she flew flawlessly with no squawks. I’ve had the RV grin ever since. As someone with no prior knowledge of […]
[…] out in the Van’s RV-10 so I knew what to experience flying this bird. I’ve got 15 hours so far and am going through the EAA Flight Test Manual. I still pinch myself that I built this and now get to fly it. Grins galore and always a conversation to be had in the […]
