I'm trying to come up with the price of various kit components back in the late 90's and early 00's to settle up a partnership. Does anyone know what the empennage, wing, and fuselage kits cost circa 2000? I've looked at the current website, and I know that things were much cheaper a few years ago.
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RV8 kit costs
- Thread starter raisbeck
- Start date
This may be no help at all, but could be an extrapolation data point...I was just looking at Mike Bullock's site from his Dec 2005 post:
RV-7s were about the same as RV-8s back then...
RV-7s were about the same as RV-8s back then...
| Year | 2005 | 2006 | Increase |
| Empennage | $1465 | $1495 | 2.0% |
| Wing | $5575 | $5800 | 3.9% |
| Fuselage | $4870 | $4975 | 2.1% |
| Fuselage(A) | $5390 | $5560 | 3.1% |
| Finishing | $5175 | $5310 | 2.5% |
| Finsishing(A) | $5410 | $5500 | 1.6% |
Checkout the wayback machine archive. below is from July 20, 2000 link is https://web.archive.org/web/20000620172752/http://www.vansaircraft.com/public/kitprice.htm
| Kit Prices |
| RV-3 | RV-4 | RV-6 | RV-6A | |
| Preview Plans | $45 | $50 | $55 | $55 |
| Empennage | $780 | $1047 | $1267* | $1267* |
| Wing | $4181^ | $4135* | $4089* | $4089* |
| Fuselage | $2119 | $2898 | $3370 | $3971 |
| Finishing | $3042 | $3986 | $4535 | $4761 |
| Total | $10,167 | $12,116 | $13,316" | $14,143" |
| QuickBuild | n/a | n/a | $20,816 | $21,643 |
| RV-8 | RV-8A | RV-9A | ||
| Preview Plans | $55 | $55 | u/d | |
| Empennage | $1329* | $1329* | $1283* | |
| Wing | $4797* | $4797* | $4950* | |
| Fuselage | $5269* | $4843* | u/d | |
| Finishing | $4104 | $4884 | u/d | |
| Total | $15,554 | $15,908 | u/d | |
| QuickBuild | $23,054 | $23,408 | u/d |
| Notes: |
A complete RV-8A kit cost $18k in 2005, $48k in 2025. That's closer to 3x than 2x. WAY beyond CPI inflation.
In Vans defense, engines may be up more than that. I hate being on the receiving end of price gouging.
In Vans defense, engines may be up more than that. I hate being on the receiving end of price gouging.
I'm not sure about price gouging, necessarily. I might be speculating here a bit, but they were (are) in a hole that they needed to dig out of financially. I read somewhere that part of their financial problem was they were selling kits for BELOW cost (particularly the QB's coming from overseas) and didn't realize it. Their eye clearly was not on the financial ball - probably didn't have the right people in place to manage what had become a behemoth very quickly. So from that perspective, some builders probably got great deals on kits and didn't know it - the pricing in affect at the time didn't reflect the true cost/profit margin that Van's needed to stay healthy in business long term.
That's my perspective on kit price increases. Yep, I'm glad I'm not building at this moment in time because it would be a lot more expensive than it was for me just a few years ago. And I'm REALLY thankful my plane was already complete and flying during the bankruptcy as they were trying to get thing figured out. I know parts delivery was frustrating for lots of people during that time. But if I were building now, I'd somehow stay the course. Because I have the luxury of knowing what I'd be building is a great, well-designed, brand new airplane with great performance and incredible handling and looks. I'm reminded of this every time I open the hangar door and especially when I pull it out of the hangar fly it.
It's an expensive hobby, and getting more so. But still, in my opinion, this is the least expensive way to own a brand new, fast airplane, capable, cross county airplane. And I can work on it, too, so I don't have to pay someone to do it and incur that expense.
That's my perspective on kit price increases. Yep, I'm glad I'm not building at this moment in time because it would be a lot more expensive than it was for me just a few years ago. And I'm REALLY thankful my plane was already complete and flying during the bankruptcy as they were trying to get thing figured out. I know parts delivery was frustrating for lots of people during that time. But if I were building now, I'd somehow stay the course. Because I have the luxury of knowing what I'd be building is a great, well-designed, brand new airplane with great performance and incredible handling and looks. I'm reminded of this every time I open the hangar door and especially when I pull it out of the hangar fly it.
It's an expensive hobby, and getting more so. But still, in my opinion, this is the least expensive way to own a brand new, fast airplane, capable, cross county airplane. And I can work on it, too, so I don't have to pay someone to do it and incur that expense.
