FIrst FLights

Adress of my blog: https://www.hotel-oscar-tango.com Take-off video: Landing video:

A big day for Jim, whose RV just made its maiden voyage. He writes: First flight finally in the books. It took a long time … but it was worth the wait. It took every bit of perseverance I had near the end, but the moments where the plane started to come alive, e.g. first […] Read More

Celebrating Ken and his newly flying RV, he writes: Built N73XP in home pole barn (built for project) and final assembly at 3CM (Bay City, MI). Started build in July of 2013 and airworthiness certification in Sept 2023. First flight was by Ken on November 19, 2023. Very nervous leading up to the flight, until […] Read More

Malcom flew his new RV-6 for the first time! I had local RV legend Simon Pike do the first flight. Results were good, although it flew a little right-wing heavy. We did 4 short flights between us that first day. IAS and TAS have yet to be calibrated; however, XM6 seems to be quite fast […] Read More

Congrats to Pete on his new RV-12iS! He writes: Today, on August 5th, 2025, after four and a half years of planning, building and dreaming, G-UAPS took to the skies over the south-east of England for the first time with John Price (fellow RV-12iS builder) at the controls – marking the successful completion of a […] Read More

Congratulations to Giovanni on completing his RV‑7! Was a Windy Day, Sun was barely visible due to Smoke in the Air, as it had been for weeks, But We decided To Fly Take-off was quick, first hop was only 5-10 minutes, just a lap around the pattern. Still, it felt like I had used the […] Read More

Congratulations to Dennis on completing his RV‑8! Today in the light of the midnight sun, my long time project took to the skies for the first time piloted by my father and RV-4 #432 Builder Bjarne Isaksson. It is powered by a O-360 turning a Cato 2 blade prop, Empty weight was 468kg, climbed like […] Read More

Congratulations to Richard on flying his new RV‑12iS! He writes: Life kept getting in the way but we finally got it done. We were performing taxi tests and I guess we got a little too fast. Had to make a split-second decision. The airplane was ready to go. Handling great. So… what the heck. The […] Read More

Another RV takes flight—congratulations, Megan! Flying the RV-10 has been such a blast! From start to finish, the build took my husband and I seven years (2018-2025), but actual build time was 3.5 years (an overseas assignment close to the end of the build put work at stoppage for a while!). The first flight was […] Read More

Congratulations to Chuck and Jerry on their new RV-14A! They write: Wow, what a day! After 5 1/2 years of building, N671RV took to the air 7/4/2025. Dad and I have had a wonderful time building and now we’re going to have a wonderful time flying. What a great father / son project! The first […] Read More

Congratulations Engelien! Despite multiple rest years, 2500 hours of logged work ended with certification on 6/28/2025. I was honored to have my son, Paul perform first flight. He has flown most everything. As the DAR said, now the adventure begins. Thank you VAN’s, VAF, and many friends for your support and wisdom. CLEAR PROP.

Congratulations to Garry on the completion of his second RV! He shares: The hand me down kit I purchased in 2017 was already 12 years old and no rivets have been driven (this made for a blank canvasfor RV#2 ) so having only been flying my RV 6 for eight months ,it got severely neglected […] Read More

Congratulations to Richard on the first flight of his RV‑6A, and thank you for the detailed report. He writes: N921CR is the result of a 30-year build, and the first flight was worth the wait! QP John Musgrave and I lined up on Clow International Airport’s (1C5) runway 36 and in a few brief seconds, […] Read More

Todd wrote in to let us know that he has completed his RV-10! He writes: The first flight for N92TJ took place May 29, 2025 after a 6 ½ year build. I decided to build a plane so my wife and I could go on trips and cross things off our bucket list on our […] Read More

Congratulations to Jim on his new RV-14! He writes: 3yrs one month. 20-30 hrs a week. I am very impressed with quality of the kit and performance of the aircraft I have the biggest RV grin.

Congratulations Samuel! Got that RV grin!

Congrats to John on his new RV-10! He writes: Very smooth first flight, wonderful feeling to fly an aircraft that I have already spent so much time with!

Congrats to Pat Geyer on his RV-7! I was in the process of restoring and RV-6A but found many structural issues due to the method of build and was looking for a kit that someone was abandoning. While at Oshkosh my wife, Mary, and I went to the Van’s display. Mary suggested that I should […] Read More

Congrats to Jory on his new RV-14A, he writes: The first flight was conducted with safety pilot Robert Meyer from EAA Chapter 1445. It flew as expected and didn’t fail to provide the RV grin.

David flew his new RV-12iS! He writes: Flew Great! Built as a retirement project after a 35 year airline career flying the 12 is just fun. First flight flown from Boundry Bay Airport CZBB. For a little airplane it’s a real,performer!