Congratulations to Randolf on his new RV-10! He writes: 12 years, and 5100 hrs build time logged. A very special thank you to the Van’s team and all of its affiliates. First flight went uneventfully and lasted 2.1hrs.
Great work, Robert. We’re excited to see his first flight in his RV-7. He shares: After 10 years of building my SB RV-7 kit, there were no more bits to assemble, and ground checks were all complete. I have been flying a 1946 Cessna 140, so have some tail dragger experience, but the RV is […] Read More
Congratulations to Jaron on his new RV-8! He writes: I fly helicopters for the USAF, so finding time to balance the build, work, and family life has been challenging over the last five years. I started building after the start of COVID-19 in March 2020. After three assignments, two deployments, and countless TDYs, I finally […] Read More
Congrats to Alan on the first flight of his RV-8: On a cold (-9C) winter day after 2 yrs 9 months of building RV-8 SN-81792 finally took to the air. She flew as you expect an RV to fly, smooth and responsive. Great performance from the Whirlwind 3 blade composite prop….really stuffs you back in […] Read More
Congratulations James! Thanks for sharing your first flight story: First flight in snowy and cold Montana. Performance was outstanding and the plane trimmed very nicely. Quite a sense of accomplishment having putting it together piece by piece. A wonderful education. I want to thank my supportive wife Lisa, the Van’s staff that have kept the […] Read More
Congrats Dale! He writes: The first flight of N741WS took place on October 15, 2024. Lou Landucci did the honors of the first flight at Fairweather Field (TX42). All went well. Under the “Additional Pilot Program”, Lou has also acted as the Qualified Pilot and Dale Smith has flown as the Builder Pilot to accompany […] Read More
Ken and Sherry wrote in to let us know about the first flight of their RV-12iS! See their report: After roughly five years of building in our spare time, N190KS received her airworthiness certificate on November 12th, 2024. We were beyond thrilled, and at the first good weather window, Ken did the first taxi testing […] Read More
Congrats to David on his new RV-7! He writes: After a 5 year build effort, N961VJ completed its first flight. She flew straight, no heavy wing, and CHT’s in the 350’s. Couldn’t have done it without expert advice from Tom Berge, Everette Williston, Mike Kerzie, Bob Fouts, and the Guys at Van’s (Kevin, Tony, Sterling, […] Read More
Congratulations to William on the new RV-7! He writes: I’m very happy to get my RV-7 in the air! It flew great with no issues.
Congratulations Matthew! Everything went as planned on the first flight. The 20-minute flight was uneventful and the plane flies great!
Congratulations to Frank on his new RV-14A! He writes: On the 121st anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight, our RV-14A took its first flight. We took off in light winds for its first hour of flying and to begin engine break-in and flight test. Really no serious squawks were uncovered and sure is a […] Read More
Congratulations to Keith on completing and flying his incredible RV-10! He shares: 4 years and 2 months later we have a flying RV-10. There’s been ups and downs along the way, but the first real (airborne) makes it all worthwhile! The performance is spectacular! With my wife’s help and support we have made our dream […] Read More
Congratulations George! He writes: The RV-10 is my second build. Special thank you to Martin Sutter and Jon Abarr for all their technical knowledge and their constant support to complete the build. I built a RV-7A in 2006 and still enjoy flying it. My first flight was a long time ago but I keep procrastinating […] Read More
Congratulations to John on the first flight of his RV-7A! First flight was flown by Tom Berge, all went good, had two wiring changes, one for trim direction and one for MP ground, also left heavy wing.
Congrats to Dan on his new RV-8A! He writes: To get here it took 4 years (almost exactly), 3300 hours of work, 15000 rivets, and almost my sanity, but N8824 took to the skies this morning, 11/19/2024, at 11:02am, from KSDC, and flew beautifully! I can’t understate how fast and smooth this thing flies. It’s […] Read More
Nice work Michael! He writes: During my university time we were designing and building an aircraft at the Akaflieg Stuttgart, the fs35. When i finished I decided to proceed this dedication for aviation and started an RV-7 empennage. But then I was able to purchase a second hand QB-Kit RV-9 and built in in the […] Read More
On Saturday 11/16/24 N567P took to the sky for the very first time! I started the build Thanksgiving week of 2019. My kit was a mixed bag of slow build wings, a quick build fuse, and an engine I yanked out of an old Pitts S1 and overhauled. One thing that a person learns is […] Read More
Congratulations to Estevan! He writes: The first flight on my homemade airplane was a thrilling blend of tension, excitement, and a deep sense of accomplishment. After years of learning and building, everything was finally in place. The engine fired up smoothly. As the plane rolled down the runway, I felt surprisingly confident. The takeoff was […] Read More
Congratulations Andrea! He writes: I became the owner of the RV-7 s/n 72206 on August 25, 2021 and on September 19, 2021 it was destroyed by a tornado while it was parked in the hangar at Carpi airport (Italy, ICAO code LIDU). In May 2022 my insurance paid me the damage, in July 2022 I […] Read More
Christopher’s RV-9 has flown for the first time! He writes: After briefing the tower for my first flight profile, I climbed aboard with a nervous, excited mindset. On takeoff clearance, the 2500 hours of work diminished into a single moment. What an incredible machine, looking forward to continuing the test flying phase, then the world’s […] Read More
