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Original Wing Plans for RV-3

KatieB

KatieB

Well Known Member
Patron
Hi all,

I recently purchased a complete, largely untouched "vintage" RV-3 kit with original wings. The kit is in great condition but the plans have been lost.

Does anyone have plans and build instructions for the original wings they'd be willing to copy or sell?

Thank you!
Katie
 
Say, Katie....

...are you building the -3 by yourself, or do you have a significant other to help?

A friend of mine near here has just laid the longerons and bulkheads in the jig, so if you want to see a -3 up close, give me a shout. I'm just south of Augusta, Ga.

Best,
 
Thanks!

I have a significant other who's finishing an RV-8 and we have close friends who have built a 6 and 6A. So I am blessed to be surrounded by great people with RV experience and nice tools! :p However there may be times when it would be helpful to see a 3 in-process, so thank you Pierre-- I'll keep you all in mind.

Katie
 
Welcome Katie - welcome to the wonderfully "creative' world of RV-3 building! these kits are like no others - you'll have to do a lot of interpolation on the plans, be suspicious of numbers that don't add up, and generally have a good eye for how airplanes are built. Louise and I are having a great time learning and teaching our way through the airplane, since it is her first build, and we have our -6 and -8 to look at when we need examples for ideas on how things can be done.

Our project is always available for inspection should you find yourself in Houston.
 
Thank you for the warm welcomes! I am sure this project will be quite a challenge, but definitely doable with the help of the folks on this addicting VAF forum and my building buddies here.
 
Welcome, Katie!

We look forward to following your progress. While the RV community is a close group, you'll find the active (and completed) -3 builders are a particularly tight group. We all need each others help to avoid re-inventing the wheel! :)
 
Rare bird?

I get that impression! I didn't realize the -3 was such a rare bird. Do you know how many are flying? I read an estimate of 150 online somewhere but that seems so low!
 
KatieB said:
I get that impression! I didn't realize the -3 was such a rare bird. Do you know how many are flying? I read an estimate of 150 online somewhere but that seems so low!
Click to expand...

Van's reports that they know of 268 -3s that have been completed and flown(http://www.vansaircraft.com/public/flights.htm). The factory doesn't hear of every flight, though, and many of those completions are probably no longer flying for various reasons. I expect 150 is a fair estimate. In all the fly-ins that I've attended and other wanderings, I've only seen about four....and none since we picked up our kit last February. I'm hoping there will be some at Oshkosh this year!
 
Wow!

You've only seen 4? Holy cow. I have seen a few at local breakfast fly-ins, but don't remember seeing many at OSH. Neat!
 
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