Van's Aircraft, Inc. is an American kit aircraft manufacturer founded by Richard VanGrunsven in 1973. The Van's RV series aircraft are all-aluminum, low-wing monoplanesofmonocoque construction. In 2023, over 11,000 Van's aircraft were flying worldwide, one third of the USA's experimental aircraft fleet.[1]
As of November 2019, about 10,600 RV kits had been completed and flown, and thousands more are under construction. Completion rates currently average about 1.5 per day,[6] making the series the most numerous of all homebuilt aircraft.[7][8][2]
After announcing financial difficulties in October 2023, on December 4 2023 Van's filed for Chapter 11bankruptcy protection. Factors leading to the reorganization included corrosion issues (a "multi million" dollar problem), laser-cutting instead of punched parts (affecting 1800 kits), and kit pricing under the cost of production and shipping.[3][9]
RVs are deemed Experimental Amateur Built (EAB) aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States and are accepted under the corresponding category by the aviation authorities in many other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. A modified version of the RV-6 was sold to the Nigerian government as a kit-assembled military trainer.
The RV-12iS is available as an experimental light sport aircraft (ELSA) or special light-sport aircraft (SLSA), which allows for commercial use for purposes like rental and flight training.
RV-1: single example of a modified Stits SA-3 Playboy built by VanGrunsven in 1965 and modified with a 125 hp (93 kW) Lycoming engine, larger tail, modified cowling, modified fuselage and a custom metal wing[10]
RV-2: wooden flying-wing sailplane prototype that was never completed[11]
RV-3: single-seat kit aircraft, aerobatic, debuted in 1972; genesis design for rest of the RV series[11][12]
RV-5: single example of a small metal single-seat aircraft that was originally flown with a half-Volkswagen engine and then with a two-stroke Rotax 447 engine[11]
RV-6: two-seat, side-by-side seating aircraft, aerobatic; the most-built model of the RV series and likely the most popular kitplane ever produced[11][14]
RV-7: modernized kit with similarity to the RV-6, with longer wingspan and larger rudder, aerobatic; replaced the RV-6 model[11][15]
RV-8: two-seat tandem seating, aerobatic aircraft, with larger cockpit and greater overall size than the RV-4[11][16]
RV-9: two seat, side-by-side aircraft; non-aerobatic, with larger wing and more docile handling qualities than others in the RV line[11][17]
