Van's Aircraft RV-10
| RV-10 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Role | homebuilt aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Van's Aircraft |
| Designer | Richard VanGrunsven |
| First flight | 29 May 2003 |
| Introduction | 2003 |
| Number built | 815 (December 2016) |
| Unit cost |
USD$114,230-$127,485
|
| Developed from | Van's Aircraft RV-7 |
| Variants | Van's Aircraft RV-14 |
The Van's Aircraft RV-10 is a four-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplane sold in kit form by Van's Aircraft. It is the first four-seat airplane in the popular RV series. The RV-10 first flew in May 2003, and the first kit parts were delivered to a customer in September 2003.
By December 2016, 815 RV-10s had been completed and flown.
The architect of the line of Van’s aircraft, Richard VanGrunsven, designed the RV-10 to satisfy a market demand for a four-seat version of the popular RV series aircraft. The RV-10 was designed from the start as a touring aircraft and as such it forgoes the aerobatic capabilities and the lighter handling common to the aircraft in the RV line from the RV-3 to RV-8. Instead the RV-10 design focuses on greater stability and payload.
The design power is 210 to 260 hp (157 to 194 kW) and the prototype was flown with a Lycoming IO-540 powerplant of 260 hp (194 kW), which is the maximum that the airframe was designed to accept. When Van's introduced the RV-10 they planned three engine configurations. One configuration using a smaller lighter 210 HP Continental IO-360ES, and two others using the larger 235 and 260HP Lycoming I/O-540. The #1 factory demonstrator used the IO-540, while the #2 RV-10 used the Continental IO-360. Vans decided to discontinue the support for the Continental engine after a poll which indicated that most builders would install the Lycoming engine, although this poses problems for builders in certain countries with engine displacement limitations in which the Continental's 360 inches displacement would be admitted.
This is the first aircraft in the RV line that does not have a hinged or sliding canopy. VanGrunsven instead opted for two gull-winged doors to provide access to the four seats.
This design has benefited from many of the production changes that were pioneered with the RV-7, RV-8 and the RV-9. Like those aircraft, the RV-10 uses computer assisted design to produce a kit with pre-drilled rivet holes, thus greatly reducing assembly time for the builder. The RV-10 is available only as a tricycle landing gear version and no tailwheel or retractable landing gear versions are planned.
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