O

Olaffer

I'm New Here
Great forum! And some pretty good looking aircrafts here! Nice work. Unfortunatly I do not know that much about aviation other than that I like it and that I would some day like to build my own aircraft! I don`t hold a PPL-A license, at least not yet, but hopefully I will start pursuing it this spring! :)

My aviation record is rather short.. A coulpe of runs in my friend`s old Cessna. But he has sold it now. He is missing having his own aircraft so much that he is looking for a new one. He really likes the Rv-4.

Not a "bad" aircraft I`m sure, but I have never liked it too much. I find the canopy a bit too "bulky" for it`s size... I know - I`m being a bit picky!

There is a RV-4 flying here at Stord (Norway) and my friend wants to build/buy a Rv-4 as well.

I suggested that we could build one together! :)

But then I saw the Rv-3....

I didn`t even know the Rv-3 excisted until I came across it doing some research about the Rv-4. And it was LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!

But the Rv-3 is a single seater... To me that is a huge drawback.. :( Half the fun is sharing the experience isn`t it?

And the cost of building a Rv-3 isn`t that much lower than that of a Rv-4..

So I`m just a bit curious why you guys opted for the Rv-3? Was it love at first sight as well?? ;)

Sorry about the long post, but I had to clear my heart! ;)

Best regards, Olaffer
 
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The RV-3 being lighter and with a shorter wing just flies better. More fun.
Having said that the -4 performance is a close second and it has a back seat.
 
Welcome to the forum.

Just remember, you don't have to build everything per plans. If you don't like the look of the -4 you can change what you don't like. On the other hand doing that will most likely extend your build time (it happens to me over and over again). I don?t know why you don?t like the -4. It is the same basic shape as the -3, just a little bigger. If you have a wife (and she is not a pilot) you may have a though time selling the idea of a -3 to her. If you want to see a different canopy on a -4 you can check my pics. Go to the canopy section.

http://picasaweb.google.com/N704TK
 
Thanks!

Good looking aircraft! Certainly an alternative! :)

My wife doesn`t ever want to come flying me, she has stated... :eek:

So I don`t think she cares if it is a -3 or a -4! ;)

And I must specify: I don`t dislike the -4... It just wasn`t "love at first sight" as it was with the -3!
 
So you are not as shallow as me..? ;)

Is it a bit foolish of me wanting to start my aviation career building a Rv-3?

Should I rather start out sharing a Cessna or something?
 
Shallow

Hi

Your question actually shows your inexperience as a pilot rather than shallowness. The primary thing to consider when buying/ building an aeroplane is its mission. What do you want to do with it, general touring, aerobatics, racing, short take off, cruise speed, one, two or more seats.

Then find what fits is capable of fullfilling your mission requirements at a cost that is acceptable to you.

The RV 4 fits most of my requirements, to keep the wife happier a six or seven would have been better as they prefer to sit next to you, but the slighly better handling of the 4 won the contest for me. I have a 9 as well and that flys great, the wife is happy, but I would much prefer to be in my 4.

In my opinion the fastback four looks slightly better than the 4, but it depends on the paint scheme. I would not even consider 3 because it is single seat.

Besides what do you want to do fly an aeroplane or have an ornament to look at, a 3 and 4 are almost identical when looking out from the cockpit.

Regards
WAM
 
The problem is that I HAVE thought about my needs! And the Rv-4 fits the bill perfectly..

Yet I just LOVE the looks of the Rv-3... ;)

But the more I think of it, the more I understand that it HAS to be a Rv-4...

I don`t need/want a cross country cruiser. I want a fun, agile plane with the possibilty of taking it further into light aerobatics if ever desired in the future.

I only live a five minute drive from the local airport, so I want a fun plane for "unschedueld" flights when I find the time, and the weather is good!

And it is a "must" that is has two seats! I need to share the experience with friends and family!! So the Rv-3 is more or less out of the question. But it looks DA** good! Maybe I should build two?? :p

And is that the case? That most Rv-3 owners uses it as a second airplane?
 
Building a 3 gives you a better excuse to build another plane later in life. "Honey we can fly to the beach in 30 mins vs 2 hours in the car. You know, they do have two seater kits..." :D
 
Even if flying isn?t your wife?s thing, they are known to change their mind, then you?re stuck with building again if you went the one-seater route first. If they still are not interested, think of how many relative and friends who would be. I can?t imagine not sharing the experience.

I?ve heard many also say that after flying these planes, they would never go back to certified aircraft. They just fly better, more fuel efficient and are faster, and offer many other cost saving advantages with stuff you can do yourself that others don?t have to do for you. If you?re a bit new to all of this though, don?t even think about it unless you have some EAA chapter that will keep an eye on you when you?re building it. Otherwise it will mostly likely end up as another uncompleted kit that you?ll have to sell. Choosing one of Van?s kits, you have a great deal of support like probably no other kit out there today. I'm not sure how things are in Norway, but evidently you have Van's aircraft there also.

The RV-4 was built around the 3. They don't look that much different to me. Richard VanGrunsven, the man that designed all of these aircraft says the 3 is his favorite flyer. Next to it, he likes the 4, and I understand the 4 is his daily flyer. All of my life, I wouldn?t consider anything but side by side seating, but something changed over the last year with this forum perhaps having something to do with that. Post date all of the RV-4 topics, and I think you?ll find more people saying the 4 is the sweetest flying two-seater. A few that had built others RV?s went back to the 4, they missed its flying characteristics. Also read about Dave Ander?s 260+ mph fastback 4, and how he can pull back to 190 mph at 14,000 feet and get 42 mpg economy cruise. I?ll be ordering 4 kit in the next few days myself. But definitely going with a fastback model.
 
RV-4 fast back

wrongway john said:
(Stuff Cut) Also read about Dave Ander’s 260+ mph fastback 4, and how he can pull back to 190 mph at 14,000 feet and get 42 mpg economy cruise. I’ll be ordering 4 kit in the next few days myself. But definitely going with a fastback model.
Click to expand...

Speaking about Dave Ander's fast back, the fuselage parts are available from John Harmon. You can see the Harmon Rocket 2 canopy of John's website at www.harmonrocket.com.

There are several other RV-4's flying with this fast back modification. The Harmon Rocket 2 fuselage and the RV-4 fuselage are identical in this area.

You might contact John through his website to see what is available for a canopy and canopy frame. This will be a different fit for a RV-4 fuselage compared to a Harmon Rocket 2 fuselage.

Jim Ayers
RV-3 flying
RV-6A flying
HR2 almost flying
 
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That most Rv-3 owners uses it as a second airplane?
Click to expand...
A good number of the RV-3 builders are building it as a second aircraft, in fact lots a second RV - including us ;)

Reasons are varied, from the "most fun" RV to fly, to having to build one of the original harder kits, to just liking building.

However, if we did not have a 2 seater as well, I doubt we would even consider the RV-3.

Andy & Ellie Hill
RV-8 G-HILZ
 
Thanks for the feed back, everyone!

Seems like it has to be a RV-4...

Just got to build the garage first! 6,2m x 9,2m and it will have a full "basement" for future projects! :) The plans are ready, I just hope they will be approved.
 
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