General Information

What exactly is an RV-7??

An "RV-7" is an advanced 2-seater aluminium aircraft, a "kitplane", which is purchased as a set of components which need to be assembled into the finished product. The "RV" comes from teh name of the designer who owns the company: Rick Van Grusven. You can read all about him at the Van's Aircraft Website. Rick Van Grusven "Van" is a pioneer in teh commercialization of Kit-based aircraft. He runs an excellent company which has provided all the components which I refer to in this Builder's website.

 

What is in the kit?

The RV-7 is a side-by side 2-seater aircraft which is designed to out-perform most commercial aircraft of similar mission. The kit consists of: 1. Empennage - the "tailfeathers" including horizontal and vertial stabilisers, elevators and rudders; 2: Wings, including flaps and ailerons; 3. Fuselage; 5. Finish kit - with canopy, engine mount, engine cowlings etc, 6. Firewall-forward kit with everything you need to connect your engine to your aircraft.

 

What is NOT in the kit?

I also had to buy an engine - I chose an excellent new unit from Aerosport Power in Canada, and a propellor, which was bought from Sensenich via Vans. I am aiming for full Instrument Fight Rules (IFR) systems, and so I have to purchase Flight and Nav instruments to suit. Vans instruments are not rated for IFR. Also I need to get a heated pitot tube..

 

How much does it cost?

Aviation is never cheap. A new Cessna or Piper will cost you in the order of AUD$300,000.00. You can get an RV-7 into the air for about AUD$110,000, 10% of which is GST (ouch!) and 10% of which is freight (double ouch!). Remember, a reconditioned engine is about AU$30,000, Instruments are damned expensive, and GST is a killer. My working budget allowed 10% for GST and 10% for freight, and this is pretty right. Go to Van's website and use the "costing" link to make the calculations. Divide by 0.70 to make it Aussie dollars and then add 20% for GST and freight. GST is charged by Customs when you import the kit components.

 

What is the normal sequence?

Normally you will import the empennage kit first. This takes about 200-300 hours to complete. If you do not like the tasks involved in building, you can just shelve it and forget about ordering the rest of the aircraft. Otherwise, once the emp is complete you need to move on to Wings and Fuselage. Ulimately, whgen these are finished, you need to add controls, instruments, wiring, engine, canopy and a whole host of details before you get to fly. It takes a lot of time!

 

Quick-build vs Slow-build

Vans give you the option of ordering the "Quick-build" kit. This comes with the wings and fuse shell more or less complete. It saves you about 1000 hours of building, and this costs about AUD$25000 extra (including extra freight and GST). If you go for the "slow-build" you will pay less but you will need to invest a lot of time in putting the shell of teh wings and fuse together.

 

Engine and Propellor options

Big decisions are required early on. Do you want constant-speed or fixed-pitch propellor? The former is more efficient. The latter is simpler and cheaper. You can opt for Lycoming O-320 160 HP, O-360 180 HP or O-360 200 HP engines. You can get the same from Aerosport Power as lomng as you are experimental. You can fit an auto engine with an appropriate fiorewall forward kit and engine mount. You need to do a bit of research to decide what is best for you.