Vans RV-4/7

Hi guys,

Anyone got any experience of these aircraft? Looking to start one is a few years when my 40 is done. Although I haven't got it past the wife yet.

My head says get the 7, but my heart says the 4.

So has anyone built/flown/knows some who has done either, and could share their experiences?

Thanks
Jon
 
Jon,
I built an RV-4 many years ago from plans only. A little before the partial kits were available. Be prepared to spend a lot of time on that project. Pretty straight forward
but time intensive. If it were me, I'd go for the RV-7 these days.

No issues with the RV-4 though, lots of fun. One of those "you fly it all the time"
a little difficult to trim in flight. As I said, lots of fun!
 
That looks like a nice bit of kit Scott, it's a shame it was never offered as a quick build, it may have saved it.

Thanks for the info guys. As I said my heart says build a 4, I like the tandem seating and the performance.

However, I have to get this past the wife, and she won't take kindly to staring at the back of my head for hours on end. And she may well throw up on me.

So, my head says a 7.

Has anyone flown/built either? As I said any info would be gratefully received, although a lot of water has to flow under the bridge before this project takes off.
 
few of the guys at work were building or had built the 7, at least two in the taildragger configuration. never heard any complaints. one had the subaru engine powerplant, but was replacing it with the other aircraft oriented engine, whichever that was.

i was looking at building the 12, the one that used the rotax. i was told there was a pretty good resale market for these, but so far haven't pursued it.

these guys are air traffic controllers btw, so their choice would be something to consider.
 
Hi Jon,
I have flown the RV-4 and it was a blast. Very easy to fly and with a 160H.P. 0-320 and a wood prop it had great performance. I would recomend it for sure.

Steve
 
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