We learn of flying RVs in several different ways, and we can only add your RV to our counter if you let us know it’s flown! Ideally, a builder will use the form linked from this page to send us the story and a photo/video or two or three of his or her personal “RV grin.” Sometimes they call us on the phone, which is great but doesn’t actually provide us with anything to publish on the web. Other times we find out incidentally; for example when a customer calls to order new tires and we wonder why someone who is still building (as far as we know) would need them. Or, we may discover a first flight announcement on an RV web forum or other online venue. On yet other occasions, we learn of a new batch of flying RVs from “RV factories” overseas, but without the individual owner details.
We’d like to see more RV grins here, so please submit your first-flight story and pictures of your new “baby,” or we (and the rest of the world) may never know of your success! Click the “Submit Report” link on the right to do it!
Congratulations to Greg on the new RV-6! He writes: Dubbed the Phoenix Project, this was a replacement for my first RV-6. I started this build from a partially completed kit picked up in June of 2002. I’ve split my time with flying and upgrading a Navion but have continued to chip away at the RV. […] Read More
Congrats to David on the new RV-12! He writes: The aircraft flew just like any RV-12, beautiful! 👍 I would like to thank all of the Van’s staff who were there to help and support/supply at a moment’s notice. Just a note, I would say New Zealand has the greatest number of flying RVs per […] Read More
Congratulations to Aviation Nation and Charles Weber on the new RV-12iS. They write: DAR inspected & issued AWC with no deficiencies. Planned first flight early on a calm morning but Lane A fault light remained on. Opened cowl that evening and found wire connecting airbox sensors not connected. Ours is a youth build and there […] Read More
Byron wrote in to let us know about the completion and first flight of his RV-14A: N384RV took to the air May 1st with a very un-eventful first flight – just as we all strive for. This was a second build for me with the first being N253RV – RV-10. We downsized from our RV-10 […] Read More
Congrats to Glenn on the first flight of his RV-8! He wrote in to report: My RV-8, serial number #83182 had a successful first flight on May 14, 2021with only a few minor squawks. This is the second RV-8 I have built and flown. The engine is an IO-360-M1B with a Hartzell blended airfoil prop, […] Read More
Congratulations to Paul and Mary Beth on their new RV-14A: We decided to start this retirement “adventure” at Oshkosh 2018. Did the Van’s build workshop together at Oshkosh. Ordered our RV-14A kit in August 2018. Decided to utilize the help of SynergyAir in Eugene Oregon. Started building our empennage in December 2018. Spent 24+ 40 […] Read More
Mark wrote in to let us know about the recent completion and first flight of his RV-14A: Nice airplane, significant climb rate, very nicely harmonized controls. Reminds me of my days in the T-37. Covid and a very engaged Spouse resulted in a relatively quick build. Replaces a LongEZ that we built 35 years ago.
Congrats to James on the new RV-8, he writes: N420RV took to the skies over northern Virginia on Sunday, May 9, 2021 after 3 years of building. The plane flew wonderfully. Actually, the best plane I’ve ever flown (although I may be a bit biased). Totally worth all of the effort and frustration of the […] Read More
Congrats to Caleb on the first flight of his second RV! He wrote about it and sent in a video, as well: N955CT took to the skies on a smooth Saturday morning, with a friend’s RV-10 in chase close behind. Three more flights were conducted over the course of the day to work out a […] Read More
Congrats to Doug on the first flight of his new RV-7! He wrote in to report: My RV-7 took to the skies on April 18th, 2021 at the experienced hands of Doug Roth. I built this plane with a ‘keep it simple’ approach. My instrument panel is rather sparse. I have an analog airspeed indicator […] Read More
Congratulations to Robert on the first flight of his RV-7A! He writes: My RV-7A has joined Van’s Airforce! My build time was much longer than I expected, but the result is well worth the wait. The feeling of the wheels leaving the ground for the first time is indescribable. I had a video camera running […] Read More
Congratulations to Scott on the first flight of his RV-14! He writes: It finally happened! After two years of building, and another six months of painting, my RV-14 finally flew this week! Four years ago, my wife was wandering around the Van’s display at Oshkosh and snuck over to the -14 demo plane. When she […] Read More
Congrats to Jesse and Ken on their new RV-12. Here’s their story: Nearly 10 years ago, I bought the RV-12 empennage kit after looking at several different airplane options. This started the best father-son project you could imagine. I started the build, and as I got further along it became a weekly tradition for my […] Read More
Congratulations to Gary on his RV-12! He wrote to tell the tale: It was ready to fly in March 2020. Inspections were scheduled for late March. Then the country went into a 6 week lockdown courtesy of Covid 19! Finally got inspections done in May and flew on 6 June, a date I’ll remember as […] Read More
Congrats to Spencer, who writes in to tell us about his new RV-8 that he recently flew for the first time! Way to go, Memphis! Beat my 3 year goal! The day started with massive thunderstorms along the FL coast, and ended with an inspection and a first flight. The engine purred (phew!) and the […] Read More
Congrats to Andrew and Florence on their new, slow-build RV-7! They wrote in to share the news: Nine years seems like a very long time, but after finishing the empennage in just six weeks we found that sometimes the RV build had to take a back seat. Juggling a move, a house remodel, two airline […] Read More
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, Dynon […] Read More
John writes in to share the story of his new RV-7’s first flight! N9974P is a standard build kit that took over 13 years to build. I enjoyed the build and it was a true learning experience. I performed the first flight at KRHP which went well except for an inoperative airspeed indicator and a […] Read More
Nice work and congrats to Craig, who writes in to tell us: The airplane was inspected on 3 March by a Designated Airworthiness Representative and it was issued a Special Certificate of Airworthiness on the same day. I prepared the plane for it’s first flight over the next few days. Friday the 10th of April […] Read More
Nice work, Jonathon on your new RV-7! He writes in to tell us all about his new airplane: After a 3 year build my RV-7 took to the skies yesterday for the first time. Happy to say we had a successful first flight and it’s flying perfectly. Hands off straight and level, can’t ask for […] Read More