RV-4 updated?
I asked Van's staff, maybe a year or two ago, specifically - any plans to drop the RV-4? Answer: no. Said they in fact had just shipped a couple kits out in the last week or so. The philosophy seems to be just keep the product offerings expanding, heck you can still buy an RV-3 kit, and people are still doing so. The only model that's "gone away" is the -6, but the -7 is really the same airplane, just somewhat re-engineered with an emphasis on easier to build mods, ie. pre-punched.
RV-4 sales did drop somewhat with the introduction of the RV-6, but the real replacement airplane was the RV-8, which addressed a couple percieved shortcomings of the -4, the desire to hang something bigger than 180hp, and a snug cockpit. The -8 was designed for up to 200hp and the fuselage was widened to accomodate the "bubba factor". But in doing so, one of the coolest design features, IMHO, was lost - the cheek cowling and the swept back gear. The cheek cowls on the -4 and -3 look like it's going 200mph just sitting on the ramp. The widened cowl on the -8 looks like, well, maybe a spam can Grumman Tiger. But hey, somebody likes them, sales have really taken off and it's certainly easier to build.
Doug Seward
RV-4 wings