RV-9A and RV-12 Build Cost Comparison

[Rupester]

Good points all, Bob. Well said.

I should have said my $100k estimate was based on a QB with a new IO-320.

[N941WR]

In 2007 I completed and flew my -9 for the first time for a total cost of $64K.

The plane is a tip-up tail dragger and was unpainted, the interior was by Rust-Oleum, I had a Dynon D100 EFIS, D10 EMS (great combo, BTW!), DJM center throttle quadrant, Andair fuel valve, parking brake, fire extinguisher, five point Hooker harnesses, 496 for nav, iCom A200 Radio, Garmin transponder, Catto wood prop, etc. In short, a day/night VFR ship. (Empty weight at that time was 990 lbs.)

The big ticket item, the engine, was found on Barnstormers for $3500, had zero since major, etc. Here's the catch, that overhaul was done in 1959 and the engine was pickled. Also, it was an O-290-D2 and was set up for an adjustable pitch prop, not a CS prop.

I pulled the jugs and all was fine, see picture below, replaced all the rubber seals, converted it to FP, changed the accessory case to add a fuel pump & oil filter, and flew it for almost three hundred hours until I had a prop strike and replaced it with an ECi O-360 kit engine.

In short, you can build a really nice RV for less than $100K, you just need to be prepared to do more work than most of today's builders.


(Click to enlarge)

(See my website for details of my initial build.)

FYI - As the airplane currently sits in my hangar, it has a Dynon SkyView 10" w/ transponder, iCom A210, Dynon auto pilot, full leather interior, and that O-360 that is covered by a Sam James Holey Cowl. All those changes increased my EW to 1080.

[JSOliveira]

My 9a came in under 65k. No scrounging, all new stuff.

Polished aluminum with fiberglass parts professionally painted arctic silver (I did prep work)
Slow build (2040 hours)
IO 320 with Sensench prop from Vans
Dynon D180, icom 210, GARMIN Transponder, G495 GPS, flight com intercom, electric trim on panel, map box, Classic Aero over Vans foam with carpets and armrests. Backup steam gauge for airspeed and altitude

Weighs 1070
Meets Vans performance numbers exactly.

Simple and light.

Yes, you can spend more, but why? I stayed focused on mission and avoided scope creep and mods.

It is performing exactly as expected. Been flying 16 months, 95 hours. Total avg 6.24 gal per hour. On trips at 145 knots, 7 gal per.

N709 RV
SN 90054

[rjtjrt]

John O
Could you post a photo of the final result of the Arctic Silver on the fibreglass, adjacent to the polished aluminium?
I am thinking of same sort of thing but not sure how it turns out.
Don't want to hijack this thread, so if not appropriate to post here, possibly email it to me - I will send you my email address by PM.
John

[AF_Alan]

I tracked every purchase on my 9A finished in May including shop supplies and specialty tools. Excluding the tools I could resell, cost totaled $73K.

Slow build 9A (2692 hours)
New Mattituck IO-320
Sensenich FP prop from Van's
Dual steps, dual brakes, Van's FWF kit
Dynon 7" Skyview, GPS, EMS, transponder & A/P
Analog Airspeed, Altimeter & Compass (economy models)
Icom A210, PM 300 intercom, ACK 406 ELT
$5K in painting I prepped, but professionally shot
Flightline Upholstery over Van's seat foam
Aero LED Nav/Strobes and Harbor Freight LLs

All performance numbers meet Van's posted

[Mike S]

Just for a bit of mental exercise consider the following three ads here in VAF.

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...d.php?t=103672

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...d.php?t=103397

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...d.php?t=103685

All up asking price of the above is under 35K, and you get the all of the big ticket items needed to put together a basic day VFR 9.

And, the engine/prop is a certified combo, so only 25 fly off hours.

Tempting.............