FIrst FLights

A short and sweet report in from Richard: Great flying aircraft, no surprise on first flight

Congratulations to Mike! He writes: Great day for first flight 65 degrees and no wind. Flight was only 20 minutes but it was wonderful. This is my fourth build but I still had butterflies. Thanks to my support at our local airport and at home and thank you Van’s for a great product.

Congratulations to Jim on his new RV-7A! First Flight happened at 7AM at Ramona Airport on 9-24-22. Don Eccker, who assisted me with the build took honors for the first flight. The plane flew straight and true – hands off and was fast. Can’t thank Van’s enough for a fantastic designed airplane.

Congratulations to Mike who recently completed and flew his RV-12! He writes: First flight (and second flight) was on Sunday, 9/25/22. Absolutely perfect. . . No squawks, no heavy wing, even the stall vane was right-on. Certainly brought a smile. Great airplane. Greg H once told me: “That’s a kick-a$$ airplane!” . . . yup, […] Read More

Congratulations to Teodor on the completion of his second RV! He writes: Hello there,  This was my second RV. I built the first RV-6A in 2000 and decided to build the RV-7A during the Covid. The sad thing was that I had to wait a whole year for a hangar but finally thank God I […] Read More

Congratulations to Klaus-Peter Morhard, who writes to share with us the first flight of his RV-7A! Hallo Zusammen, Fast ewig habe ich an meiner RV-7A gebaut, da ich einen LOM M332C eingebaut habe und nun echt zufrieden bin. Nachdem die Schallpegelmessung erfolgreich abgeschlossen ist, wollte ich mein Flugzeug fertig melden. Jeder Flug war einfach toll […] Read More

Johan gets straight to the point and minces no words in reporting the first flight of his RV-14. Congrats to him! He writes: “Flies beautifully”

Congrats to Frederic on the maiden flight of his RV-9A! He writes: First Flight was straight forward with no control issues to report. In the weeks leading to the first flight, I found that I was experiencing a great deal of anxiety. I could not sleep the night before and preparing to go to the […] Read More

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 easy […] Read More

Congrats to Scott Hersha, who finished and flew this new RV-6! He writes: I built this airplane from a used kit that was started in 1992. I’m at least the third builder (probably more), and I purchased it from a young man in Oregon who is a Van’s Aircraft engineer. He (Taylor) had it for […] Read More

Congrats to Robert Haag on the completion and first flight of his custom RV-4! He writes: Maiden flight with the “New Generation” modification of an RV-4. Powered by an Rotax 915is and equipped with a rescue parachute system. From the first second you get a smile on your face that lasts forever. Best regards from […] Read More

The first flight of RV-9A N326KM occurred at Spicewood Airport near Austin Texas on 8/17/2022. The aircraft performed very well with trim nearly perfect. This was my second RV completion (RV-7 N320KJ, 71363, first flew 5/12/2006). I always thought the 9A would be a great aircraft – it is! A special recognition goes to Skip […] Read More

Congratulations to Joe 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 […] Read More

Congratulations to William on his new RV-8! He writes in with a short report and photo: My first flight was just one trip around the patch but that was enough for the RV Grin.

Congrats to Mike Evans on the successful long-haul build of a beautiful bird – He proves that there’s not really such a thing as too many years! He writes: I have been waiting far too many years to write this email (27 years and 5 months) however it is my pleasure to inform you RV-6 […] Read More

Shawn recently flew his RV-7 for the first time! He writes: N726RG flew great on her first flight. High overcast and no wind conditions at Grove Field(1W1). Glad my father and one my best friends were there to see it. Great feeling. RV Grin 😁!

Congratulations to Steve! He writes: The adventure with G-STRV began in Oct 2017, when slow build parts began to arrive in Shropshire, UK, and my friend Tim Nicholas has been a faithful rivet partner throughout the build. The first flight took place from Sleap Airfield where G-STRV will live, and she felt “right” the moment […] Read More

Trevor recently completed his RV-7! He writes: A little late to report, but I’ve been having way to much fun! First flight was almost perfect other than the standard heavy wing. A quick tweak and I now have over 50 hours problem free and loving every minute of it. My wife and I have enjoyed […] Read More

Congratulations John! He writes: Since the first rivet was driven 3 years, 7 months, 3 weeks, and 1 day ago, N683JT left the earth for the first time the morning of 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 […] Read More

Congratulations to Scott and Rochelle! They write: My first flight was completed by Vern Darley (Falcon Field RV Squadron Peachtree City GA) and myself in the right seat. Vern is a highly experienced FAA examiner, an RV-10 builder, and longtime friend. We departed KCCO in Newnan Georgia. To say it was exhilarating is an understatement. […] Read More