Pre-built RV's

[THEHANGAR]

Im interested in getting a rv-6/7 but not really interested in the build time...... Are there any companies who take new rv kits and pre-assemble them or would i have to start from scratch?! if so... how far do they assemble the aircraft? And how much more does it cost.......??

 

[brett]

If you want to buy a used one you shouldn't have any problem; they show up on Barnstormers and Trade a Plane regularly. The 6 is quite a bargain over the seven in the used market; alot more bang for the buck. I don't know why there is such a huge price difference. Yeah, the 7 is a little better, but not $30-50K worth! The RV-4 is an even better deal if you don't need a lot of room, not as good for XCTRY but flying qualities are a touch better.

Make sure the fuel tanks don't leak and that if they had sloshing compound that it was completely cleaned out and re-done with proseal only. Cleaning sloshing compound out of the tanks and re-sealing is a most miserable and time-consuming job and if you had to pay someone to do it the labor would cost many $$$!

FWIW I'm building a -7. I owned an RV-4 previously that someone else built. I'm enjoying the building process more than I thought I would and it's progressing nicely.

As far as professional builders: This is a hot topic right now that threatens experimental aviation as we know it. EAA and others are trying to encourage voluntary scaleback on what the professional builders are doing as it violates the spirit of the rule the whole privelege is based on and the FAA I think, has already mumbled they may have to crack down if people continue to be pseudo-manufacturers of kit planes.