Van's RV-8
 Van's RV-8. Photo: Ahunt at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
| |
| Make | Van's Aircraft |
|---|---|
| Model | Van's RV-8 |
| Type | RV-8 |
| Country |  United States
|
| First flight | 1995
|
| Number built | 1611 (November 2021) |
| Registered in the US | 1,294 (FAA register, October 30, 2026) |
| Seats | one, one passenger |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-360, 200 hp |
| Cruise speed | 210 mph (RV-8) |
| Range | 940 mi (RV-8) |
| Service ceiling | 22,500 ft (RV-8) |
| Max weight | 1,800 lb (RV-8) |
| Developed from | Van's Aircraft RV-4 |
| More aircraft · For sale | |
The Van's RV-8 is a two-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplane with seats one behind the other, sold as a kit by Van's Aircraft. The RV-8 has a tailwheel and the RV-8A a nosewheel. It is like the earlier RV-4 but larger.[1] As of November 2022, 1,611 RV-8s and RV-8As had been completed and flown.[1] In the U.S. there are 1,294 with a valid registration, counted by model name.[2]
History
Richard VanGrunsven designed the RV-8 as a bigger, updated tandem airplane based on the RV-4 idea. It first flew in 1995 and was first shown publicly at Oshkosh that year. The nosewheel RV-8A was planned from the start and first flew in 1998.[1]
It takes engines from 150 to 210 hp, including the Lycoming IO-390, and has more wingspan and wing area, a wider cockpit, more headroom and legroom and more useful load than the RV-4, so bigger pilots fit. Like the RV-3 through RV-7 before it, it is stressed for aerobatics.[1]
Registered in the United States
The FAA register lists 1,294 of these airplanes with a valid U.S. registration. Here they are by the model name the FAA uses.[2]
| FAA model name | Registered |
|---|---|
| RV-8 | 585 |
| VANS RV-8 | 266 |
| RV-8A | 132 |
| RV8 | 120 |
| VANS RV8 | 77 |
| VANS RV-8A | 49 |
| RV8A | 42 |
| VANS RV8A | 21 |
| VAN RV-8 | 2 |
Specifications (RV-8)
| Item | RV-8 |
|---|---|
| Crew | one |
| Passengers / capacity | one passenger |
| Length | 21 ft |
| Wingspan | 24 ft |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in |
| Wing area | 116 sq ft |
| Empty weight | 1,120 lb |
| Maximum takeoff weight | 1,800 lb |
| Fuel | 42 u.s.gal |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-360, 200 hp (four cylinder, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engine with fuel injection) |
| Maximum speed | 221 mph |
| Cruise speed | 210 mph |
| Stall speed | 58 mph |
| Range | 940 mi |
| Service ceiling | 22,500 ft |
| Rate of climb | 1,900 ft/min |
Figures as given in the Wikipedia article and its sources.[1]
Photos
-
Van's Aircraft RV-8A (N98VR) at the 2007 South West Regional Fly In, Hondo, TX. Photo: TimothyMN, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Vans RV-8. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Van's RV-8. Photo: KitfoxRV, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Vans RV-8 Takeoff. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 4.0 -
Van's RV-8. Photo: Piemags Aviation, CC BY-SA 4.0
All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; click a photo for its full credit and license.
Buying a Van's RV-8
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Wikipedia, "Van's Aircraft RV-8", read November 1, 2026. Airplane Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Federal Aviation Administration, Releasable Aircraft Database, file dated October 30, 2026. Valid registrations of fixed-wing airplanes whose FAA maker and model names belong to this family. Airplane Wiki uses only counts from this file, never owner names or addresses.