RV14
New member. Not a pilot. Longtime aviation enthusiast. Been to Oshkosh a number of times. Familiar with Vans only from what I have seen at Oshkosh and online.
Here are the completed kit numbers off of Vans site as of today.
Listed by Model
RV-3 276
RV-4 1355
RV-6/6A 2492
RV-7/7A 1247
RV-8/8A 1174
RV-9/9A 762
RV-10 441
RV-12 217
RV-14/14A 1
I had not been paying much attention to Vans site for quite a while since other things in life have taken priority. I just realized this week that the 14 was now in the lineup. So I read up on it and watched their demo videos on youtube.
Based on what I saw, I liked it. I am not a big guy. My immediate impression was that the increased baggage hauling ability was a big plus. The slightly roomier interior and headroom is nice to have as well. I am only 5'8" and 140 so it is not a requirement, but one of those things where if you got used to having and using the extra room, you would probably miss it if you switched to a smaller cabin. And if you are married, your partner would no doubt voice complaints as well.
Will it affect the value of the RV7? Only time will tell. There will always be a market for people who like to haul stuff and people who just like to fly light. So I think both models will stay in the lineup and that the 14 will sell quite well. With the 14 being a bit roomier, it may make the decision for prospective buyers much easier.
For those of you flying the 7/8/9, do you find the current luggage capacity to be a pain in the butt?
How often do you haul a full load of stuff? That varies with everyone no doubt.
For long trips, I can see the usefulness the extra hauling capacity. For short flights around home base, it wouldn't matter as much. So how often do you take long trips comes the question?
As far as the cost vs the 7 or 9, have to wait and see when the entire kit is in production and prices come out. But I would think if you can afford to build the 7 or 9, that the 14 wouldn't be out of possibility unless you are on the ragged edge financially to begin with.
As far as fuel use goes, well, I read somewhere that experimental pilots are some of the biggest penny pinching tightwads on the planet. I can't really say.
I know there are guys who have no problem justifying 30k on an instrument panel setup and them groan and moan over a bit more fuel cost or something else. And I have no doubt there are guys who complain to their partner if they spend $100 on some personal item, when the garage/hanger is chock full of tens of thousands of dollars of aviation, custom car, fishing, etc non necessities.
When your buddies call you up and say, "hey we are going over to such and such place to see Joe's new hanger and have lunch," do you jump right in or do you say, "well, let me see what current fuel prices are and run some numbers and I will get back to you."
Running on the ragged edge of being able to afford something is no fun at all. And having an nicely built plane that you can't afford the fuel and insurance for is a major downer. Because you just built yourself a nice expensive decorative ornament for your hanger or airport tie down.
The kit completion rate as a whole I think hovers around 20% of all kits sold. I don't know how much of the 80% failure to complete is based on finances. Biting off more than you can chew as it were.
When it comes down to it, you either can afford it or you cannot. It's nice to dream, but reality can be a real pain in the rear of dreams. If you want a plane you can actually fly, insure, maintain, hanger, and repair, the cruel reality that you are not Warren Buffet, hits home hard.
I am sure there are plenty of people who get started building and ordering parts, but when the credit card bills start mounting and you can't pay off the balance each month, uh oh. Income reality check. Lots of partial kits hit the for sale market because of that no doubt.
Like many hobbies, you start with a pile of cash, throw it out the window. Then you throw more money out the window each month. It's just some hobbies have bigger windows and some have windows with vacuums attached.