G

gasman

Well Known Member
Friend
As of October 19, 2009 6,396 RV aircraft have been
completed and flown!
Listed by Model
RV-3 264
RV-4 1306
RV-6/6A 2368
RV-7/7A 845
RV-8/8A 922
RV-9/9A 479
RV-10 206
RV-12 6

SO IT IS STILL THE RV6/6A...........:D
 
Especially when considering that the completion rate of the newer models will likely be higher than that of the -6. So even more -6 kits have been sold...

Either way, these are some VERY impressive numbers for a modest company from Oregon...
 
lufthans.nl said:
Especially when considering that the completion rate of the newer models will likely be higher than that of the -6. So even more -6 kits have been sold...

Either way, these are some VERY impressive numbers for a modest company from Oregon...
Click to expand...


And there are still a number of -6/6A kits in progress...well, at least one that I know of for sure :)
 
I thought the -6 was discontinued in favor of the -7, but I see now you can still buy the kits, and some are prepunched. Some things just keep getting better. :D
 
I wonder

what the breakdown is between taildragger and "A" models sold.
Bill Brooks
Ottawa, Canada
RV-6A finishing kit
 
C-GRVT said:
what the breakdown is between taildragger and "A" models sold.
Bill Brooks
Ottawa, Canada
RV-6A finishing kit
Click to expand...

I always wondered that number myself and asked Van's about it once. They told me they don't really know that until they sell the fuselage kit.
 
and probably always will be....

Well, forever is a long time I guess, but considering the 6 had a 10 year jump on the 8 and was still being sold in great numbers for another 5 years until the 7 replaced it, the other models have a lot of catching up to do. As an indication of how many kits are still out there unfinished, just do a quick search in BS for RV's and see what pops up. Lot's of them yet to be completed.
 
I would like to see a breakdown of how many RV-6(A) empennage, wing, fuselage, and finishing kits have been sold. It would give an idea where most folks give up. I'm gussing most people quit during the emp or wings. if you make it to the fuselage, you can get in and make airplane noises....
 
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Geico266 said:
I thought the -6 was discontinued in favor of the -7, but I see now you can still buy the kits, and some are prepunched. Some things just keep getting better. :D
Click to expand...


no, you can't start any new 6's. notice the emp kits are not being produced. you need a 6 emp in order to buy the other 6 kits. Vans supports the existing 6 kits, but they will not make any more than the ones already started.
 
By way of comparison, I thought I'd dredge up the numbers of some popular production aircraft from Wikipedia. And, while Van's doesn't come anywhere near the production output of Cessna or Piper, the numbers are still pretty impressive for a kitplane manufacturer.


Model.....................Introduced....No. Built.
==================================================
Cessna 172 Skyhawk...........1956........43,000+..
--------------------------------------------------
Piper PA-28 Cherokee.........1960........32,778+..
--------------------------------------------------
Piper J-3 Cub................1938........19,073...
--------------------------------------------------
Beechcraft A23 Musketeer.....1963.........4,366...
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Grumman AA-5 Traveller.......1971.........3,282...
--------------------------------------------------
Grumman AA-1 Yankee Clipper..1968.........1,820...
==================================================

 
there is more of us.

Another 6 kit here thats getting closer and closer. Should be hanging the engine in the next month or so.
 
Just for fun, I used web.archive.org to look at Van's hobbes meter two years ago today. I then took the completion rate (completions per year, not completions per starts) of each model (except 12 -- too new) over these past two years and projected it out linearly five years into the future. As a prediction of future completions, this relies on a bunch of totally bogus assumptions, so don't take it too seriously. But I didn't want to spend more than 5 minutes on this to make it more accurate, and it's fun to look at nonetheless.

projected_completions.jpg


Some interesting points:

- The 7/7A is currently enjoying by far the most new completions at about 160 per year (about 33% of all the models combined). Next in line is the 8/8A, with about 90 new completions per year.

- Over the next year or two, the 7/7A should surpass the 8/8A in total completions, and the 10 should surpass the 3.

- About 4 years out the 7/7A should surpass the 4 in total completions.

- The 6/6A will remain the leader on the distant horizon for a good long time.

P.S. as for which is the "bread winner", that's an entirely different question of which kit are they selling the most per year.
 
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Or you could say that the SIX is the model that made Van's what it is today. When the SEVEN passes the SIX in sales, then it will be the most popular kit aircraft ever built.

More SEVENS should be completed due to the fact of their design.
 
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