Roee Kalinsky's RV-7A Project

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Welcome! This is the online home of my RV-7A project.

The RV-7A is an amateur-built kit airplane from Van's Aircraft.  It is a versatile two-seater with impressive STOL, cross country, and "sport" aerobatic capabilities.  This website will be a living document throughout the project, and when the time comes will serve as the primary form of documentation for the FAA.  Hopefully as the project progresses, the information on the website will also prove useful to other builders.

Van's RV-7A demonstrator -- a glimpse of the finished product


Mine, work in progress... (photo taken Oct 29, 2011)


Mine, work in progress... (photo taken Oct 8, 2011)

Mine, work in progress... (photo taken May 8, 2010)

Mine, work in progress... (photo taken April 13, 2010)

Mine, work in progress... (photo taken January 24, 2009)

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why a kit plane?
Why an RV?
Why the RV-7A?
Is it an ultralight?  Or a light-sport?

 

Q: Why a kit plane?

A: Partly for the challenge and enjoyment of building, and partly for the end product.  As a kid I used to build scale and radio control airplanes.  So if building little airplanes is fun, building a big airplane should be a lot of fun.  As for the end product, many modern kit planes far outclass their production counterparts, and for a fraction of the cost.  I presently fly beat-up old Cessnas, Pipers, and Grummans, which I rent from a club at obscene hourly rates.  Spending a small fortune to own one of these spam cans doesn't seem very attractive either.  Spending a small fortune however to build and own my dream airplane, that sounds pretty good ;-)

 

Q: Why an RV?

A: Long before I ever got my pilot's license I fell in love with Burt Rutan's EZ series of canard pushers.  Such a novel design, a truly great airplane and within the reach of the average person.  That's probably when the homebuilt seed was first planted in my brain.  More recently, and now a private pilot, I became interested in the Lancair kits.  Fast, sleek, constructed with the most modern materials and techniques.  It was becoming clear I would soon be building some composite speed machine.  Well, when I started to get more serious about building an airplane it was time to do some systematic research.  When I laid out my wish list along with the constraints of reality I arrived at a clear winner.  An option that I had initially almost ignored, the aluminum RV series from Van's Aircraft.  Although they don't have quite the sexy lines and inherent coolness of the composites, it is simply the right airplane for the mission.  The biggest factors that distinguished the RV above the rest were the phenomenal versatility of its performance envelope, sporty yet benign flying characteristics, economics, and the community of thousands of RV builders and pilots sharing their collective knowledge and experience.

 

Q: Why the RV-7A?

A: By all accounts, all one and two-seater RV models have very similar flight characteristics (except for the -9, which has a different wing).  The -3, -4, and -6 have been pretty much superceded by their modernized descendents, the -7 and -8.  The -7 is a descendent of the wildly successful -6, which has been redesigned to accommodate larger engines up to 200 hp, and to take advantage of modern CNC manufacturing to produce a "matched hole" kit.  Likewise, the -8 is a descendent of the -4.  The -9 is like a domesticated version of a -7 (more trainer-like handling, not quite as fast, not aerobatic), which is by all accounts a very good airplane but I'm not building an airplane to be tame.  And the -10 is a big ol' four-seater, also not what I'm looking for.  So between my top contenders, the -7 and -8, the differences are primarily in cockpit configuration.  While the -8 with its tandem seating and full bubble canopy is more fighter-like and perhaps more fun when flying solo, I chose the -7 with its side-by-side seating, which I think is nicer when carrying a passenger.  It also provides a larger instrument panel and better weight & balance characteristics.  The "A" suffix denotes tricycle landing gear, which I opted for because as an engineer I understand the benefits of positive stability (as do insurance companies).  And I'm not interested in arguing about this with the tail dragger cult, to each his own.

 

Q: Is it an ultralight?  Or a light-sport?

A: No.  In the United States, ultralights are limited to a 254 lb empty weight, single occupant, 5 gallon fuel capacity, 55 knots in level flight, and 24 knots power-off stall.  The new light-sport category is limited to 1320 lb max takeoff weight, 120 knots in level flight, and 45 knots power-off stall.  The RV-7A weighs in at about 1100 lb empty, can carry two occupants and baggage plus 43 gallons of fuel to a max gross weight of 1800 lb.  It cruises at over 170 knots (that's 200 mph or 320 km/h to non-pilots), and has a power-off stall around 50 knots.  Its operation is regulated in the U.S. by FAR Part 91 just like a Cessna or Cirrus.  The RV is a "real airplane".

 

 

 

Send mail to roee@kalinskyconsulting.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2003 Roee Kalinsky
Last modified: October 25, 2013

Visit my consulting web site at www.kalinskyconsulting.com for your engineering needs.