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FIrst FLights

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First Flight Reports

Bobby Hubbard & Alex Curtis | Olathe, KS RV-10 #41935

Congrats to Bobby and Alex as they complete their first flight in their RV-10! Bobby reports: After 5 years, 9 months — and a ~12mo pause during COVID — we have an airplane! Alex and I (Bobby) have been dreaming of this day for many years and other than the fact that it actually flew, […] Read More

John Fontaine’s RV-12is | Bluemont, Virginia RV-12iS #120640

Congratulations John on completing his first flight in his RV-12is! He reports: After many years of building, which of course took longer than anticipated due to raising a child, remodeling a house, and having a full-time professional pilot career, I finally finished my RV-12IS (which I began as a RV-12) and flew my first flight […] Read More

Mark P. Smith’s RV-8 | Fort Worth, Texas RV-8 #82620

Congratulations Mark! He writes: After 18 years of slow building, N705JM finally took flight at KWEA in Texas. It’s been a long journey and I thank my patient family for supporting me in this endeavor. I also thank Joe G who provided mentorship and encouragement which ultimately made the finish line possible. This RV-8 is […] Read More

Aitor Lazo’s RV-9A | Irving, TX RV-9A #92286

Congrats to Aitor on the first flight of his new RV-9A! He writes: I just realized I never updated you on my first flight. Almost a year later I’m done with phase one, what an incredible ride. N253LP flew for the first time on June 27th 2023. The flight was uneventful and provided an incredible […] Read More

Dave Romuald’s RV-14 | Newnan, GA RV-14 #140281

Cheers to Dave on the completion and first flight of his RV-14! He reports: It took 4 years and 2400 hours to build my slow build RV-14. I enjoyed every minute. Many thanks to the builders at KFFC for their advice and tools. I also want to thank Steve Hicks for his very informative blog. […] Read More

Sobota Laurent’s RV-7 | Neuchatel, Switzerland RV-7 #74154

Congratulations to Sobota for his first flight in his RV-7! He shares: Finally, after starting this project 12 years ago, it could be real. I started this kit in 2012 in France, stopped 3 years when I was moving to Switzerland as I didn’t have a garage in my house (I had to build a […] Read More

Jim Frisbie’s RV-10 | Canby, Oregon RV-10 #41633

Congratulations to Jim for a successful first flight in his RV-10! He shares: We had N651DF signed off almost nine years to the day after building began. First flight was later that month. It flew true to form with great control, feel, and “hands-off” stability. We are deeply grateful for the support and encouragement of […] Read More

Gary Novotny’s RV-12iS | Chuckey, TN RV-12iS #121411

Congratulations to Gary on completing his first flight in his RV-12iS! He reports: On Mar 14, 2024, I had one of my great thrills to make my first flight in my new RV-12iS. I was fortunate to not to have any negative issues. The engine literally purred like a kitten. The flight controls were very […] Read More

Simon Boynett’s RV-7 | Leicestershire UK RV-7 #72126

Cheers to Simon on the completion and first flight of his RV-7! He writes: First flight was very exciting. I was filled with nervous anticipation during the short taxi to the end of the grass runway. All checks done, sun was shining, slight breeze down the runway. Full power 2650 rpm no problems, tail up […] Read More

Mike Walker’s RV-10 | Cold Lake, Alberta Canada RV-10 #41779

Cheers to Mike for completing his RV-10 and first flight. He writes: After 6 years and nearly 2 months of building, RV-10 41779 took to the skies over Cold Lake, AB Canada for the first time. It was constructed using the QB option for wings and fuselage, with an Aerosport IO-540 D4A5 up front. G3X/GTN750 […] Read More

Steve Methot’s RV-7 | Angus Ontario Canada RV-7 #74364

Congratulations to Steve on his first flight and completion of his RV-7! He reports: After 10 years of on and off building, C-FSMW finally took to the sky on Jan 7, 2024 at Edenvale Airport, Ontario, Canada. The weather was cold, the sky was grey, but the excitement of this moment was as if the […] Read More

Christoph Widmer’s RV-12iS | Switzerland RV-12iS #121242

Great work, Christoph, in completing his first flight in his RV-12iS! More adventures are to come. He shares: First flight on a beautiful day. The plane flew perfectly as expected, just pure joy. Thank you, Van’s, for making this wonderful kit and I hope you will successfully continue to build those kits for many more […] Read More

Scott Oloff’s RV-10 | Oxford, CT RV-10 #41762

Congratulations to Scott on his first flight in his RV-10! He shares: Flight was mainly uneventful with a smooth takeoff and landing. The only squawk that needed to be addressed is that on departure, I recognized that the airspeed was showing values less than half of actual. I activated my backup alternate static air which […] Read More

Brad McRee’s RV-9A | Hawkins County, TN RV-9A #90916

Congrats to Brad on his first flight with his RV-9A. He writes: Yet another RV-9A flew today. This airplane was completed by a first-time builder with help from his RV-builder/owner friends Chuck, Mike, George, and Bob. Throughout the process, Van’s Aircraft has been a pleasure to deal with and I remain a steadfast supporter of […] Read More

Mark Misage’s RV-12 | Austin, TX RV-12 (original) #120327

Congratulations to Mark on the completion and first flight of his RV-12! He writes: N624RV took to the skies for the first time on December 11, 2023, in the able hands of Hank Seidel, who landed an hour later sporting the Van’s grin and reporting a beautiful flier with zero squawks! We have been working […] Read More