FIrst FLights

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

Philippe Heer’s RV-14 is now among the flying! Philippe tells the story: What a super day it was here at the West Houston Airport (KIWS). After five years and four months on my first build, a perfect flight without issues is in the books. My builder’s log shows 610 days of building that translates to […] Read More

Ryan Moss got his RV-7A into the air from Starks Twin Oaks Airpark, a very short flight from Van’s HQ. Here’s how he tells it: Takeoff was at 10:50 from 7S3, and I was accompanied by a chase plane and a ground crew. Once I took a moment to unwind a little, confident that the […] Read More

Another RV-14A has joined the ranks of the flying! Barry Wawrin describes the event: Departed Akron Fulton International Airport (KAKR) on the afternoon of October 26, 2025. The weather forecasted beautiful blue skies but it was somewhat surprisingly bumpy. Nevertheless, the aircraft circled the airdrome at 4,000 feet MSL for 1.2 hours. No major problems […] Read More

Ross Anderson’s RV-7A has taken to the air. Ross, clearly a “man of few words,” reports: Piloted by Air Force/NASA/RV vet Jim Van Laak. Flew basic first-flight maneuvers for 25 minutes at KFCI. Upon landing, he rolled back the canopy and reported “This plane flies great!” Multiple friends/helpers in attendance!