Inherited RV-6A Kit need help with value.

[dccusnr]

My wife and I inherited a RV-6A Kit from her father. We are looking for information on what the value of it is? Most of the kits are still in the shipping crates.
This is a list of the kits:
RV-6 - EMP (Empennage Kit) & Plans
RV-6 - Wing Standard Spar
RV-6A Fuselage Kit/ Tri-Gear
RV-6A Finish Kit/ Eng. Ant-DYNA 1
RV-6A Finish Plans
We have the original invoice and packing list for the above kits.
We also have a Lycoming Engine Model: 0-290-G (see paperwork picture)
Sen Senich Propeller Hub Design: M76A-M2 (see paperwork picture)
Thank you for any help that you can give us. I have numerous photos.

 

[RNB]

Where are you (the kit) located?

 

[dccusnr]

The Kits are in Dunkirk, New York 14048

 

[Aden Rich]

A serial number of the kit would give light to it's age. Looking at the floor mounted rudder pedals in one pic, I am assuming it was purchased from Vans in the 90's? The control skins are probably .016. So the purchaser of this kit would be looking at only putting a 150/160 hp engine on this airplane. I would say if there is not a bunch of rust on the steel parts and the skins/parts are not full of corrosion, the kit is probably worth about 8-10K. It's a SLOOOOOOOW build kit too which many people are not into these days. Vans started Prepunching skins in the early 2000's. Engine isn't took sought after due to parts availability. Maybe 4-5K. Cannot get cylinders for the 0-290's anymore and rings/pistons are spendy.
Most people would just put the money into a 0-320 and get more HP.
Still a nice kit since it's all there.

 

[dccusnr]

All the kits were bought from August 1988 to December 1990. Selling the entire plane kit together. Engine and propeller can be sold with kit or separately.

 

[gasman]

My wife and I inherited a RV-6A Kit from her father. We are looking for information on what the value of it is? Most of the kits are still in the

First thing, contact Van's Aircraft to see how to get this kit number transferred into your name so you can properly sell the kit and have the new owner able to also transfer the kit number to them to complete the sale. Without this, the builder will not be able to register the aircraft without the bill of sale (with their name on it) from Van's..... issued at time of completion.

 

[Kyle Boatright]

A serial number of the kit would give light to it's age. Looking at the floor mounted rudder pedals in one pic, I am assuming it was purchased from Vans in the 90's? The control skins are probably .016. So the purchaser of this kit would be looking at only putting a 150/160 hp engine on this airplane. I would say if there is not a bunch of rust on the steel parts and the skins/parts are not full of corrosion, the kit is probably worth about 8-10K. It's a SLOOOOOOOW build kit too which many people are not into these days. Vans started Prepunching skins in the early 2000's. Engine isn't took sought after due to parts availability. Maybe 4-5K. Cannot get cylinders for the 0-290's anymore and rings/pistons are spendy.
Most people would just put the money into a 0-320 and get more HP.
Still a nice kit since it's all there.

Directionally I agree with this post. A circa 1990 RV-6 kit needs a special buyer. Kind of like a second hand set of custom left handed golf clubs. There are buyers out there, but there isn't a lot of demand for that particular kit or engine. The hobby has moved on to bigger engines, easier to build kits, and builders who value time more than money.

 

[dccusnr]

First thing, contact Van's Aircraft to see how to get this kit number transferred into your name so you can properly sell the kit and have the new owner able to also transfer the kit number to them to complete the sale. Without this, the builder will not be able to register the aircraft without the bill of sale (with their name on it) from Van's..... issued at time of completion.

Thank you for the advice. This is new to me and I am trying to learn about this process.

 

[BH1166]

My thoughts are to donate to a worthy program, take the deduction on the estate. The effort to build that vintage kit in IMO, and a engine not fitting for the airframe, just isn’t logical . Good luck, sorry for your loss.

 

[WenEng]

Is there a canopy or an upper and lower engine cowling, gear legs, wheels, brakes, hardware? The aluminum has been sitting somewhere for, call it 35 years. The steel parts I see are rusted, and some outdated. The main spar needs special attention due to its importance. If the aluminum,(wing skins, fuselage skins spars, ribs, are not useable, you have very little chance of selling it. I built my RV6A and there are skillsets newer models do not necessarily require. Just giving you my 2 cents. It will take a special person to be able to build that kit, especially if parts are missing and cannot be purchased from Vans. The right person may come along. Just know its a very small market at this point in time, in my opinion. Some more pictures of the metals could help.

 

[dccusnr]

Directionally I agree with this post. A circa 1990 RV-6 kit needs a special buyer. Kind of like a second hand set of custom left handed golf clubs. There are buyers out there, but there isn't a lot of demand for that particular kit or engine. The hobby has moved on to bigger engines, easier to build kits, and builders who value time more than money.

Thank you for the advice. We are looking to sell the kit for a reasonable price and this is the first forum that is giving us useful information about the plane kit.

 

[BobTurner]

First thing, contact Van's Aircraft to see how to get this kit number transferred into your name so you can properly sell the kit and have the new owner able to also transfer the kit number to them to complete the sale. Without this, the builder will not be able to register the aircraft without the bill of sale (with their name on it) from Van's..... issued at time of completion.

After ‘first thing’, above: second thing is to open up the crates and inspect the parts. After 30+ years in an up state NY garage there is likely some corrosion (aluminum alloy) and rust (steel, including engine cylinders). Can you even rotate the crankshaft, or is it frozen? You might like to contact a local EAA group, see if a volunteer will help you look. Or at least take close up photos, post here.
Third thing: since I see that some work has been done, is there any kind of record that it was done by your Dad (or other unpaid person)? Depending on how much work is already done such a document can be very valuable in getting the finished kit certified as an amateur built plane.
The answers to these questions will have a big impact on what is a fair price.

 

[dccusnr]

Is there a canopy or an upper and lower engine cowling, gear legs, wheels, brakes, hardware? The aluminum has been sitting somewhere for, call it 35 years. The steel parts I see are rusted, and some outdated. The main spar needs special attention due to its importance. If the aluminum,(wing skins, fuselage skins spars, ribs, are not useable, you have very little chance of selling it. I built my RV6A and there are skillsets newer models do not necessarily require. Just giving you my 2 cents. It will take a special person to be able to build that kit, especially if parts are missing and cannot be purchased from Vans. The right person may come along. Just know its a very small market at this point in time, in my opinion. Some more pictures of the metals could help.

Thank you for your thoughts. We had a mechanic from our local airport look it over and he said all the parts are in the crates and the aluminum parts were not corroded.

 

[dccusnr]

After ‘first thing’, above: second thing is to open up the crates and inspect the parts. After 30+ years in an up state NY garage there is likely some corrosion (aluminum alloy) and rust (steel, including engine cylinders). Can you even rotate the crankshaft, or is it frozen? You might like to contact a local EAA group, see if a volunteer will help you look. Or at least take close up photos, post here.
Third thing: since I see that some work has been done, is there any kind of record that it was done by your Dad (or other unpaid person)? Depending on how much work is already done such a document can be very valuable in getting the finished kit certified as an amateur built plane.
The answers to these questions will have a big impact on what is a fair price.

Thank you for the advice. I will be contacting Vans about transferring kit number. My father-in-law was the person who did the work on the parts that are together.

 

[bertschb]

...if there is not a bunch of rust on the steel parts...

Looks like some rust in the 3rd photo.

 

[PaulvS]

The condition of the parts is of less concern than is the limited availability of replacement parts from Vans, since this model was superseded around 7 years ago:

Letter RV-3-4-6P1 - Van's Aircraft Total Performance RV Kit Planes

Kit Availability and Pricing Change

www.vansaircraft.com

The current lead time for replacement parts is 2 years or more. Replacements would be required for kit parts that need to be upgraded due to service bulletins, e.g. the nose gear fork and possibly the leg too. It is also normal for a builder to expect to replace some parts due to mistakes that are made during construction.

Some of the kit parts will have aged beyond their use by date e.g. tires and tubes and rubber seals. I expect that most of the metal parts should be usable if they have been stored in a dry environment, even though there may be some surface corrosion that can be removed with a bit of effort.

The completed horizontal stabilizer in the photo looks like it has been damaged (dented skin) and will need to be repaired or replaced, however empennage kits are no longer available for RV-6 and someone would need to adapt the parts from RV-7 or RV-8.

As others have said, there is a limited market for this type of kit and it may appeal to a scrounger type builder or to someone who is repairing or rebuilding an RV-6A and wants it for the parts. The value is really down to what someone is prepared to pay for it and I guess that will be in the range of $5-10K.