Van's Aircraft

The company was founded by Richard "Dick" VanGrunsven in 1973.

In 2013, the company announced it would begin selling assembled RV-12 model aircraft as well on a limited basis.

In December 2017, the company reported that its 10,000th aircraft had flown, an RV-7 built in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

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, making the series the most numerous of all homebuilt aircraft.

After announcing financial difficulties in October 2023, on December 4 2023 Van's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 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.

RV-3: single-seat kit aircraft, aerobatic, debuted in 1972; genesis design for rest of the RV series

RV-4: two-seat kit aircraft, tandem seating, aerobatic, bubble canopy

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

RV-7: modernized kit with similarity to the RV-6, with longer wingspan and larger rudder, aerobatic; replaced the RV-6 model

Regulatory status

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.