Van's Air Force
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- Thread starter RV8JD
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(Adding this little parenthetical because the previous post and the thread title have been turned into "dot dot dot" for some reason: Brazil has expanded its definition of "LSA" to include airplanes as large and fast as the RV-10. Van's partnered with Flyer - the company that assembles quickbuilt kits in Brazil - to certify the RV-10 there, so it is now possible to buy a certified factory-built RV-10... in Brazil. I believe that the original post linked to this article).
There is some interesting background here that is not mentioned in the press releases and news reports. Sure, Brazil passed their own version of MOSAIC and this allows for factory-built RV-10s. But why did they pass their own version of MOSAIC?
One reason is that the government down there used to be just fine with companies that assembled kitplanes as their business model. There were multiple companies, some with dozens of employees, just cranking out RVs (and Glasairs and Rans and so on). However, at one point, the government decided that they would start enforcing the law that says that airplanes registered as EAB must be built (at least mostly) by people who are in it just for recreation/education and not profit. So those companies were about to see a large reduction in their revenue. (Most of them also did various mods, maintenance, etc., but that's not as profitable as selling airplanes).
Another reason was an accident where an EAB (specifically, a Compair) crashed into some buildings, and this led the government to pass a law forbidding Experimentals to be flown over densely-populated areas, defined as areas (including airport traffic patterns) that, in case of engine failure, would not be within gliding range of undeveloped areas (trees, water, or open fields). This pretty much meant that Experimentals could not be flown from airports in cities (with certain exceptions/paperwork).
Both of these factors led people to aggressively lobby the government to allow for larger airplanes to be certified as S-LSA, so that these airplanes could be professionally manufactured for profit, and flown from the cities where most pilots live.
Most VAF'ers probably don't appreciate how large the Brazilian market can be. Van's website reports that something like 1037 RV-10s have been completed, right? Well, this presentation by the Brazilian government says that there are 402 RV-10s registered in Brazil. That's almost 40%! (To be fair, the vast majority of those 402 were built professionally and are not real "homebuilts").
So maybe now you can imagine how strong of a push there was down there, over the past couple of years, to get the RV-10 "back in production".
Friendly reminder; Don't forget to appreciate how lucky we are in the US to have so much freedom with EABs! (and ultralights and so on).
There is some interesting background here that is not mentioned in the press releases and news reports. Sure, Brazil passed their own version of MOSAIC and this allows for factory-built RV-10s. But why did they pass their own version of MOSAIC?
One reason is that the government down there used to be just fine with companies that assembled kitplanes as their business model. There were multiple companies, some with dozens of employees, just cranking out RVs (and Glasairs and Rans and so on). However, at one point, the government decided that they would start enforcing the law that says that airplanes registered as EAB must be built (at least mostly) by people who are in it just for recreation/education and not profit. So those companies were about to see a large reduction in their revenue. (Most of them also did various mods, maintenance, etc., but that's not as profitable as selling airplanes).
Another reason was an accident where an EAB (specifically, a Compair) crashed into some buildings, and this led the government to pass a law forbidding Experimentals to be flown over densely-populated areas, defined as areas (including airport traffic patterns) that, in case of engine failure, would not be within gliding range of undeveloped areas (trees, water, or open fields). This pretty much meant that Experimentals could not be flown from airports in cities (with certain exceptions/paperwork).
Both of these factors led people to aggressively lobby the government to allow for larger airplanes to be certified as S-LSA, so that these airplanes could be professionally manufactured for profit, and flown from the cities where most pilots live.
Most VAF'ers probably don't appreciate how large the Brazilian market can be. Van's website reports that something like 1037 RV-10s have been completed, right? Well, this presentation by the Brazilian government says that there are 402 RV-10s registered in Brazil. That's almost 40%! (To be fair, the vast majority of those 402 were built professionally and are not real "homebuilts").
So maybe now you can imagine how strong of a push there was down there, over the past couple of years, to get the RV-10 "back in production".
Friendly reminder; Don't forget to appreciate how lucky we are in the US to have so much freedom with EABs! (and ultralights and so on).
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The first one was just delivered. Link below to Google-translated article. (Original in Portuguese, here).
aeroin-net.translate.goog
Primeira aeronave LSA/ALE de 4 lugares do mundo é entregue a um cliente pela brasileira Flyer
O reconhecimento do processo de certificação pela ANAC, em novembro de 2023, tornou esta a primeira aeronave ALE/LSA de 4 lugares do mundo.
aeroin-net.translate.goog
