Used Aircraft Guide: Van’s RV-8

FLYING Magazine

If you would like to find out how it feels to fly an old-school, piston-engine fighter, there are a few paths available.

Learning to fly a North American AT-6, just like aspiring fighter jocks did during World War II, is a great way to build the skills necessary to move on to more glamorous warbirds and to experience the feel of combat-style flight without necessarily burning through millions of dollars in the process. Those with more time and money to spend, and a desire for horsepower in the four-digit range, can acquire a P-51 Mustang or other former front-line fighter aircraft for a more authentic and thrilling ace fantasy.

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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Or you could build a Van’s Aircraft RV-8. The aircraft’s owners and the manufacturer routinely tout its speed, efficiency and “fighter-like” responsiveness, handling, and maneuverability. Indeed, the aircraft is designed for aerobatics and complies with the FAA’s requirements to withstand a range of plus-6G to minus-3G.

Small Frame, Big Performance

Numbers continue to tell the story regarding the RV-8’s appeal. Designed to accommodate engines from 150 hp to 210 hp, RV-8s often wind up with a 180 hp Lycoming O-360, which many pilots say is the ideal powerplant for the airplane in part because its relatively light weight gives the RV ideal balance and control harmony.

Others find it difficult to pass up an opportunity to add extra power and install the 200 hp IO-360. Fans of the combination tout its exhilarating short-field and climb performance, while critics say the engine’s extra weight throws off the balance and nullifies much of the power advantage.

• READ MORE: Used Aircraft Guide: Beechcraft Bonanza
• READ MORE: Used Aircraft Guide: Cessna 195 Businessliner

The homebuilt taildragger typically weighs about 1,100 pounds empty and has a maximum gross weight of 1,800 pounds. The term “hot rod” might come to mind, especially when you consider that later versions of the famously fast and lightweight Mooney M20J have a maximum gross of 2,900 and also use the 200 hp Lycoming.

Beyond the numbers, though, it is the RV-8’s handling that attracts pilots. While descriptions such as fighter-like crop up often in reference to it, many pilots familiar with the airplane say it handles the way most people think fighter planes handle, but the RV actually is more enjoyable.

“I think the best things about RV-8s are that they are light on the controls, well balanced, and maneuverable,” said Darren Clarkson, a captain with Southwest Airlines and RV-8 owner. “You notice right away that the control feel is very nice—really harmonized. But I would stop short of saying it flies like a fighter.”

Clarkson’s brother built his RV-8 in the early 2000s but found, after a few years, that he was flying less as he got busy with a growing family and career. His was a classic case of “life getting in the way” of certain recreational pursuits. It turned out to be good news for Clarkson, though.

He and his brother disassembled the aircraft and trucked it to his home base in Arizona. That was in 2014. Clarkson still flies the RV-8 regularly. He and his wife, also an airline captain, have flown it to the “four corners of the U.S.,” he said, and have put about 700 hours on the Hobbs.

“Not that many hours, really,” he said—spoken like an airline pilot.

Modest Start 

Richard VanGrunsven became interested in airplanes at an early age and received his pilot certificate when he was 16, after learning to fly on his family’s farm in Oregon during the mid-1950s. His path toward becoming an aircraft manufacturer became clearer in the 1960s, when he began exploring ways to improve upon the kitbuilt models that were popular at the time.

VanGrunsven had been flying a Stits Playboy, a strut-braced, low-wing, single-seat monoplane with an open cockpit. Designed by Ray Stits, who is famous for numerous designs that helped fuel the homebuilt aircraft movement, the Playboy combined a steel-tube fuselage with a wooden wing and fabric covering—typical construction for the period. Builders bought plans from Stits to build the airplane. Stits also sold partial kits to help move the projects along. VanGrunsven began a series of modifications that gradually improved the Stits. Changes included an upgrade from a 65 hp Continental engine to a 125 hp Lycoming O-290. The extra power boosted performance, but the airplane’s flight characteristics, including a high landing speed, were not ideal and needed work.

He continued to modify the Stits design with a bubble canopy, which improved style and aerodynamics, and a new aluminum wing featuring flaps and Hoerner tips. The flaps helped lower the aircraft’s stall speed to about 43 ktas. By late summer 1965, VanGrunsven had registered his reworked model as an RV-1. More changes followed, from the addition of wheel pants and a sleeker cowling to reworked tail surfaces.

It might have been difficult at the time to imagine the fleet of aircraft that would follow this early, relatively crude testbed. The RV-1, however, marked the genesis of an aircraft series that would dominate the homebuilt market for decades. When he could do no more to upgrade the RV-1, VanGrunsven decided to design his own aircraft—the RV-3. This all-metal, low-wing, single-seat sport airplane built around engines of 100 to 160 hp immediately made a big impression. Many pilots saw his RV-3 in action and wanted one of their own. Some were happy to buy plans and build their own from scratch.

Van’s Is Born

Soon VanGrunsven quit his day job with Hyster, a forklift company, and turned his full attention toward producing the RV-3. In 1973 he made it official, founding Van’s Aircraft Inc. and began selling plans and a small selection of parts for the RV-3. He operated the new company from a small shop behind his house in Reedville, Oregon.

The RV-3 was a breakthrough on several levels. It showed how robust, fast, and fun a homebuilt aircraft could be. As the company often said, you “wear” the RV-3, which is so small and responsive that pilots can feel like they truly are at one with the aircraft. Beyond all the tactile excitement, though, the airplane also proved practical. 

Though the RV-3 was conceived as a sport airplane with significant aerobatic capability, its surprising utility undoubtedly helped many pilots make the case for owning one. With a top speed of more than 175 ktas, 30 gallons of fuel, and a maximum 30 pounds of baggage, the aircraft made a pretty good cross-country traveler. Such all-round capability, which Van’s calls “total performance,” was largely unheard of in the homebuilt segment 50 years ago and remains somewhat rare.

What is clear when you look at an RV-3, and even clearer to those who have flown one, is that its DNA has carried on, to varying degrees, throughout the fleet of Van’s designs developed over the decades. Some of its strongest connections are with our featured aircraft, the RV-8, which resulted from demand-driven evolution.

While the RV-3 was a hit, there were a lot of pilots who wanted the option of flying with a passenger. Van’s responded with the RV-4, a larger version with a second seat in a tandem configuration. Next, Van’s started hearing from pilots who wished to have their passenger next to them instead of behind them.

Listening to Customers

One major factor in Van’s success has been the company’s interaction with customers and keen awareness of their preferences.

By the 1980s it was clear that demand could support a new model, and the company flew its RV-6 prototype for the first time in 1985. The new aircraft essentially was a side-by-side version of the RV-4, with similar performance and a wider fuselage. The RV-6A version of the airframe also introduced tricycle gear to the Van’s fleet.

Van’s said 70 percent of its customers prefer side-by-side seating, which is one of the reasons why the RV-6 and RV-6A were the best selling among Van’s airplanes and the industry’s best-selling kit aircraft. Its roomier, modernized successor, the RV-7 and RV-7A continue to sell well.

While more pilots opt to sit next to passengers, there are still many who crave the particular sensation and point of view that come with sitting on the aircraft’s centerline. By the mid 1990s the tandem RV-4 was long in the tooth and, according to customers, a bit cramped inside, especially for the passenger.

Centerline Seating Option

Van’s designed the RV-8, a larger tandem airplane with more cabin space, baggage compartments fore and aft, and numerous additional improvements over the RV-4. 

While the bulk of customers might prefer sitting side by side, the centerline enthusiasts are especially passionate about their preferences.

As Van’s describes in its marketing materials, the company caused a scene—perhaps the analog version of a viral moment—at Wittman Field (KOSH) when it unveiled the RV-8 at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 1995.

“The response left no doubt about the desire for an airplane like the RV-8,” Van’s said. “The ground around the display aircraft was beaten into a trench, and Van’s personnel were fending off people waving handfuls of cash.”

The RV-8 went on sale the following year, and the company began selling complete kits in late 1998, with kits for the tricycle gear RV-8A following. Since then, the RV-8 has become a strong seller among pilots who enjoy performing or training in aerobatics, air racing, and formation flying. 

After many rounds of expansion, several new models and a couple of moves to larger production facilities, Van’s operates from a 60,000-square-foot factory in Oregon on the Aurora State Airport (KUAO), employs about 110 people, and turns out several hundred kits annually. Builders have completed and flown more than 11,000 RV kits to date, and there are thousands more under construction around the world, Van’s said.

Van’s RV series enjoys a safety record better than the average for homebuilt aircraft. Models including the RV-8 and RV-7 are considered to have particularly low accident rates that often compare well with certified airplanes. Still, pilots shopping for any secondhand homebuilt aircraft need to be especially thoughtful when conducting their due diligence and sizing up potential acquisitions.

Kitbuilt airplanes often handle quite differently from certified models, exhibiting flight characteristics that can be both alluring and frightening to
pilots taking their first steps into the experimental market. 

While experimentals might have top speeds and other performance figures worthy of private pilots’ fantasies, they might also prove tiring on long trips, refuse to fly hands-off even for a few seconds, or have a tendency to stall and spin in the traffic pattern at speeds that inexperienced pilots would consider excessive. 

Even though standards within the experimental aircraft industry have improved over time, buyers are wise to thoroughly review the specifications, limitations, and pilot reports on any amateur-built aircraft they are considering for purchase. Does the experimental airplane of your dreams have a challenging center-of-gravity envelope, a complex fuel system, or a lack of redundancy in areas that would be required in a certified aircraft? Ultimately you will have to decide which tradeoffs you are willing to accept and whether you truly are prepared to handle challenges that certain aircraft present.

Some pilots find that they are more comfortable accepting the many, sometimes seemingly oppressive rules and requirements of FAA-certified aviation than taking on the risks, hidden quirks, and mysteries that potentially come with used experimental machines.

Clarkson, also an A&P mechanic, said the RV-8’s structure and systems are simple and straightforward enough for an attentive pilot to handle. He also noted there is a vast community of RV pilots, mechanics, and suppliers who can help solve any problems that might crop up.

He said his RV-8 has been a “joy to own” and a part of many of his fondest aviation memories. One example he recalled involved taking a friend’s aviation-obsessed, 6-year-old son for a ride many years ago. The flight went well until he rolled the aircraft inverted. He and his passenger had discussed and agreed on the maneuver in advance, but that did not keep the boy from succumbing to motion sickness.

“I regretted that roll and wondered if it might have ended the kid’s aviation dreams,” Clarkson said.

It did not.

“Flash-forward to today,” he said. “Now he is 22 and flying as PIC in a [Beechcraft] King Air 350. I guess it worked out.”

Another notable flight was his longest cross-county trip in the RV—from Lincoln Park, New Jersey (N07), to Chandler, Arizona (P19).

“I didn’t start the trip with a plan to make it in one day. It just happened almost by accident,” said Clarkson, describing how he took stock of his overall condition at each fuel stop.

With one leg to go, he felt fresh enough to continue. He arrived in Chandler 11.5 hours after departing Lincoln Park.

“The airplane is super-capable, and the flight went well,” he said.

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This column first appeared in the May Issue 970 of the FLYING print edition.

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