FIrst FLights

Here’s the great news from Tom! ”I’m happy to report that after a 6.5yr build, N432TM took to the air for the first time. First flight was successful and I’m looking forward to flying the 40hr test period and learning how to fly my new plane! Van’s, Thanks for a great Aircraft!“

John’s report on the first flight of his new bird! ”Hi, my RV-7 VH-BBU had her maiden flight yesterday (Aug 17) in the hands of the legendary Nigel Arnot. He reports that she flies beautifully and all temps and pressures where they should be. Many people have contributed to this result, and the skills I’ve […] Read More

Nice Job, Ian and congrats on your first flight! “I started building my first amateur built aircraft in June 2014 with the help of three friends who have built an RV4, RV7A and two Midget Mustangs between them. Most of the work was done in the evenings or weekends in my shed in the backyard […] Read More

Congrats to Alex – and family – on the first flight of his new RV-7! “8 years, 4 months, and 12 days ago a young married couple launched their dream of building an airplane. Today our RV-7 took flight for the first time. Soaring to 4000ft over the fields of Lincoln, CA N759AQ flew beautifully. […] Read More

Of his new conventional-gear RV-9’s first flight, Tom tells us: ”The airplane flew like a dream, straight and true. After 12 and a half years, today was a dream come true.” Congrats!

Congrats to Thomas on his first flight! Here is his report: After 5.5 years of building from slow kits, my RV-14A took flight. I have to thank John B. for doing the honors, I know when I am out-skilled and left it to his very capable hands. The plane flew beautifully and the Thunderbolt Lycoming […] Read More

Congrats to Mark on his new RV-14a, and for being chosen to display it at Oshkosh this year in the Lycoming booth! His report: After 3 years of construction, N435MD took flight for the first time. The plane is even more fun to fly than it was to build, and I really enjoyed the building […] Read More

Brian writes in about the first flight of his RV-7! Congrats! This is the aircraft I have always wanted: it is a dream to fly, short take-off roll, climbs without effort, extremely light on the controls and super quick, we were 167 Knots indicated at 25″ and 2500 rpm. Staying close to the field when […] Read More

A big thumbs-up from Tim: “First flight went Great. No issues or problems. Have just finished phase one testing. Very capable aircraft.”

Greg reports on the recent first flight of his new RV-7A! Van’s Aircraft Kit #73657 took to the skies on December 18, 2018, exactly eight years to the day from the first rivet squeezed, thus realizing my life long dream of building and flying my own aircraft. Better late than never! RV alumni and test […] Read More

Congratulations to Klaus and Ricardo on their new RV-14A! This RV-14A was built by Klaus Knop and Ricardo Guzman in Viña Del Mar, Chile. Construction started in June 2016 from a complete kit and finished June 2018. Installed is a Lycoming OM-390 210HP engine with a 2 blade propeller. The aircraft is fitted with two […] Read More

RV-9A N748PK’s airborne debut was a complete success, except for a glitch in not-as-redundant-as-I-thought avionics. Perfect CAVU day, 59F OAT, altimeter 29.98, wind 290 at 5 kts. Additional pilot Barry Weber (right seat) and I (left) rolled up to the movement area 30 seconds before Livermore Tower (KLVK) opened at 0700 local time. Chase pilot […] Read More

My RV has a Superior XP 360 with a Sensenich fixed pitch prop. I installed a single 10-inch Dynon HDX panel with only a ASI and Altimeter analog backup. After a thorough preflight by by myself and my test pilot, we started up and taxied to the threshold. We did a quick power check and […] Read More

RV-12, known as Builder# 120822, Registration# N119RG earned it’s wings of flight on July 13, 2019 as an E-LSA. After some initial adjustments to the flaperons to neutralize a heavy right wing, N119RG flies very stable with great characteristics. Dual G3X touch screens provide excellent situational awareness and guidance. The paint scheme has been chosen […] Read More

Anthony sends us this belated first flight report! RV-6 ZU IKP was built by repeat RV builder Mark Munro in Johannesburg, South Africa taking 14 months to complete. She has a Lycoming 0-360 A-1-A 180hp engine swinging a fixed pitch P-Prop. The aircraft is fitted with the MGL Explorer EFIS and is simple and light […] Read More

Congratulations to repeat RV-builder James on the first flight of his RV-10! We purchased the kit from the builder in 2008 in Colorado who had built the tail section and loaded it in a truck and drove it to Alabama. We began working on it right away, working on it as time and funds permitted. […] Read More

Congrats to Christian on the first flight of his new RV-8! I made the first flight of my slow-build RV-8 without any snags. It flies straight and fast. Equipped with YIO-360 180 HP, 3-blade MT, Grove landing gear and Beringer wheels and brakes. Have 10 hours on the plane now, engine temps are quite low, […] Read More

Congratulations to Kenneth on the completion and the first flight of his RV-12! I purchased a tail kit that was partially complete in 2014. After one move and two years of health problems it was completed. The first flight went great the only problem was a carb. float on the Rotax 912 ULS. Hope to […] Read More