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 Josh and Paul, who recently wrote in to let us know that they completed their RV: After a six-year build, my son, Josh, and I completed our RV-12, N623RV! She flies beautifully and is a great well-balanced plane! I definitely still have that RV grin every time I fly in her!
Congratulations to David on the first flight of his RV-10! He writes: Flew as expected. Need to do a little rigging tweaking and get the engine broken in. Great fun!!
Congratulations to Lennard and Jay on their first flight of their RV! While a first flight is always a momentous occasion, this RV-7A also happens to be the 11,000th flying RV and the 1885th RV-7/7A to be completed and flown. They wrote to tell us: “First flight couldn’t have gone better! Aircraft flew hands off. […] Read More
Congratulations to Doug and Sue! The first flight went absolutely amazing! Good solid ride. Very responsive and handled fantastic! Looking forward to lots of adventures.
Carl wrote in to let us know about the first flight of his RV-14A: When I gave it full power, I yelled “Wow”. The Io390-EXP 119 engine really makes a difference. Aircraft flew perfectly, stable and true! It was a cool day and the temps all remained excellent since I am currently flying my RV14, […] Read More
Congratulations Whitney! My first RV build but definitely not my last. Had a perfect flight with my father, #1 helper and supporter, watching alongside my wife and friends. The grin is real!
My first flight happened almost 3 years to the day of a demo flight at Van’s and 10 years that I got my Private Pilot license. What an amazing adventure! The flight was more than awesome and I look forward to many more.
Congratulations to the Leth family on their new RV-12! Two words explain our first flight after a couple of years building the family plane with my daughter and son – RV GRIN! “It’s a great day when you fly the plane you built!” -Tony Leth
Congratulations Peter! First flight went very well, 2 flights on the day totaling 1 hour. Flys perfectly straight and had no issues . Pulled the cowls off after flight and all good. This is the second time I’ve had the RV grin after building an RV-7, I’ve just started another RV-7 build as well.
El primer salto sobre la pista 1000 metros. fue de sorpresa, mi experiencia era 600 horas de Cessna 152 y 172, estoy muy feliz con el avion. hoy 11 octubre 2021 tiene 100 horas de funcionamiento sin novedades GRACIAS!! The first jump on the track 1000 meters. It was a surprise, my experience was 600 […] Read More
Congratulations on the first flight of your RV-6A, Jürgen: Started building in 1989 in Del Mar California in my garage and got the wings, fuselage, and tail feathers done before having to move to Santa Fe New Mexico. I finished the plane at Moriarty Airport and started flying in February 2021. What a relief to […] Read More
Congratulations to the Souther Arizona Teen Flight group on their new RV-12iS! They write: Amazingly enough, even with Covid, we managed to work on and finish our Second RV12iS. We started the project with 10 students about 8 months before the lockdowns started and had to take about 5 months off. Once back at it […] Read More
Congratulations to Hans on his new RV-12! Flight went flawless. Piet flew off-hands straight right out of the box. A fine touring airplane with great comfort and lot, lots of fun!!
Congratulations Dennis! He writes: Had my first flight yesterday and what a day it was. The plane flew great and the performance is excellent. Thanks to everyone that helped in my build, including Van Aircraft, VAF, and especially Tim Olson for his online posts and transition training help, it made the first flight really easy. […] Read More
Congratulations to Jim on the first flight of his beautiful RV-14A! He writes: Fun first flight, uneventful. Aircraft performed flawlessly, flew hands off. Its been a fabulous journey building a slow build kit. Special thank you to my wife for all her encouragement. Made many friends over the years and couldn’t have done it without […] Read More
Congratulations to Michael on his new RV-12! He writes: The aircraft performed almost perfectly from its first flight. A few initial issues such as an intermittent contact break in a socket, rudder trim tab and radio presets were quickly resolved. I now own a stunning aircraft, exceeding all expectations. The touch-screen EFIS and autopilot are […] Read More
Congratulations to Johan, who kept his first flight report short and sweet: Rather uneventful , no heavy wing or any other issue apart from the rubber seals on the filler plates fuselage to wing that were flapping in the breeze, I’ll have to glue them to the plates. What a machine, this will be fun!!! Johan
Congratulations to Pete, who recently wrote in to let us know that he has flown his new RV-7 for the first time: On Friday, September 24, my RV-7 N174PM took off from Aerocountry with Chuck Wilson at the controls. Jeff Hansen flew chase in his RV-4. Chuck reported that it flew very well. There was […] Read More
Congratulations Ivan! One day after receiving its airworthiness certificate from DAR Jon Ross, our RV-7 took flight for the first time on 9/13. The first flight went off without a hitch. The airplane flew just like it was supposed to- fast and straight! And boy is it fun to fly! It is a VFR machine […] Read More
Scott wrote in to let us know about the first flight in his RV-8: My RV-8 has fully fledged. I took it for a short flight after a long build. The build was an interesting experience for sure, some frustrations but I learned lots. Looking forward to more flying and learning in phase 1 and […] Read More
