AOPA’s editor at large Dave Hirschman visited Van’s soon after we returned from AirVenture to fly and report on the RV-15. His report went live this morning along with a video review.
“Runup is standard, and the moderately loaded RV–15 is soon cleared for takeoff on Runway 35 at Aurora State Airport. Acceleration is rapid despite an 80-something-degree-Fahrenheit summer day, and directional control is excellent with an authoritative rudder. I hold a tail-low attitude, and the RV–15 lifts off in about seven seconds after a 500-foot takeoff roll with flaps up. The airplane accelerates to 80 knots indicated in a 10-degree nose-up attitude and climbs at 1,500 feet per minute. Pitch and roll forces are moderate and beautifully balanced, and my first surprise is how crisply the airplane responds. Pushrod elevator and aileron actuation means no slop, and anyone who’s flown an RV will recognize the family resemblance. In the practice area, I go through a series of orientation maneuvers that include steep turns, lazy eights, slow flight, and stalls through the full range of flap positions. The RV–15 makes it all stress free with obedient handling, benign stalls, and rock-solid slow flight.”
Dave flew with Brian Hickman in the morning, toured the factory, and then committed a late-day photo mission with Mt. Hood in the background.
“During an evening photo flight next to a Van’s Aircraft RV–10, following AOPA Senior Photographer David Tulis’s and AOPA Videographer Brianna Cabassa’s directions required making subtle yet nearly constant corrections. Despite its bulldog appearance, the RV–15 moves with subtle precision,” Hirschman reported in the AOPA online story.
Describing the RV-15 as “more and better,” Hirschman noted, “Among the sleek, low-wing designs at the Van’s Aircraft hangar at Aurora State Airport, the RV–15 stands apart. It seems like a big, brawny, misfit. Yet flying the RV–15 reveals that, somehow, it’s been imbued with the same ‘total performance’ DNA as other RVs. And it’s about to bring that hard-won versatility to a new, highly specialized, and uniquely demanding aviation niche.”
