Latest Updates:
[October 5, 2024] 2024 Maintenance - Repaired Grand Rapids HX EFIS
[September 21, 2024] 2024 Maintenance - Lapped #2 exhaust valve
[September 16, 2024] 2024 Maintenance - Started inspection of #2 exhaust valve
[June 24, 2024] 2024 Maintenance - Completed Mag/Fuel pump work
[June 20, 2024] 2024 Maintenance - Installed magneto
[June 18, 2024] 2024 Maintenance - Reinstalled fuel pump, replaced dip stick gasket
[June 15, 2024] 2024 Maintenance - Installed high temp adel clamp
[June 14, 2024] 2024 Maintenance - Installed new PMag Ignition Wires
[June 11, 2024] 2024 Maintenance - Replacing Slick 4371 Mag, Fuel Pump Work
[May 19, 2024] 2024 Maintenance - Completed annual

NEW! Check out my latest creation - www.TailNum.com for a daily listing of the newest available FAA N-Numbers/TailNumbers, along with the most flexible TailNumber search engine on the Internet!


Welcome to my builders log for a Van's Aircraft RV-7. In case you didn't know, the RV-7 is a 200+ MPH side-by-side seating taildragger kit airplane. This website documents every step in the building process. The kit ships in 4 stages - Empennage (tail), Wings, Fuselage and Finishing. This keeps you from having to plop down a lot of money from the getgo. The quality of the kit is top notch, and the satisfaction from the building process is unbeatable only by the community of other RV builders/flyers. If you decide to start one of these, you will never have the feeling of having no one to go to if you have problems. That is what really sold me on the project.

So how did I get into all of this? Well, it was a simple decision based off of me being a) a pilot, b) bored and c) needing a hobby. My college buddy emailed me a link to a builders log and that was it. Before I knew it I was taking a builders class to see if this was really for me, then off buying airplane parts.

There are a couple of major decisions that you have to make with this plane - 1 or 2 person? side-by-side or tandem seating? Taildragger (conventional) or tricycle landing gear? How big of an Engine? Constant Speed / Fixed Pitch prop? composite, wood or metal prop? Avionics? The list goes on and on. It may seem like a lot of major decisions, but you in the end you make a airplane that is absolutely uniquely yours, and you will know it inside and out.










































Site Disclaimer: If you are building an RV and run into a problem, please don't base your solution solely on what you find on this site. This site documents how I built my plane, not how to build a plane. I have never built a plane before. I try to back up every question I have with a sound solution from a lot of other builders and/or from the tech support I receive from Van's.

http://RVplane.com

Last Modified: October 5, 2024