![]() Rian Johnson told me the plan was to build a new set of wings with fuel tanks in the second quarter of 2023. It has no fuel in the wings, the control system in the wings was not like what they expected to build and there are other ways the quick-to-flight first airplane would differ from the individual kit. Regardless, the test article you all have seen was built to prove the overall design but was also built quickly. Sometimes you learn the most from your assumptions that don’t work out. You may remember that the company was careful to call the first airplane a “test article,” saying that many things were going to be tried-not all of them had to be successful for the airplane to be a success. Here’s the executive summary, if you will. Reviewing the seminar and then following up with questions for the staff afterward gave me a good view of what’s happening and where the project is headed in the near term. The Van’s development team, from left: Rob Heap, recently retired Scott McDaniels, Axel Alvarez, Rian Johnson and Brian Hickman, just before the reveal at AirVenture 2022. No prices have been announced, of course, so we’ll know when we know. Remember that the RV-15 is larger than the -14 and the impressive new air-spring gear system has some high-end parts that aren’t going to be cheap. ![]() With full quickbuild options, today’s RV-10 kit costs just under $81,000, while the sophisticated RV-14 kit is around $64,000. ![]() We have speculated before that based on the content in the airplane, the size of the model and other factors, it’s likely the kit price will be closer to an RV-10’s than, say, an RV-14’s. At this stage, precise timetables for specific kit availability remain undefined, as has the cost of the kits. I’ll answer your first question here: The RV-15 is still on track to be available a year to 18 months after last summer’s reveal, meaning that it’s possible-though not a dead cert-that you’ll be able to wave money at Van’s come Oshkosh. (The seminar should still be available for viewing at /videos.) In it, company president Rian Johnson, veep Greg Hughes, engineer Rob Heap and test pilot Axel Alvarez discussed the development program and offered careful predictions on where they’re going. Breaking the SilenceĪt the end of January, Van’s participated in EAA’s Homebuilders Week with a seminar on the RV-15. Ask Cessna or Cirrus how long new-airplane development can take. Yes, the RV-12 also has a stabilator but the two designs are dissimilar in design intent, size, weight and expected performance. What’s taking so long? Let’s not lose sight of the fact that the RV-15 embodies many design traits new to Van’s. Better to do the hard work of determining what works and what doesn’t in the quiet of a methodical flight-test program than to bleat out press releases. As all good companies do, Van’s went largely quiet during this time. After a loud and successful debut at AirVenture last summer, the airplane went back home to resume its flight-test program. You are not alone wondering what’s happening in and around Aurora, Oregon, where the Van’s Aircraft crew continues development of the RV-15 high-wing utility aircraft.
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