long response from an RV fanatic
VANS hands down! In your original listing of what you want, you pretty much listed the exact design goals and capabilities of the RVs. The RV is truly the jack of all trades and doesn't sacrifice much in any specific category to attain its overall versatility. The handling is fantastic; direct link controls with no cables or pulleys to the elevator and ailerons, great short field performance, very good speed and economy, proven design; stable, supportive company.
I owned a 4 and flew one other. It's like wearing an airplane. Some of my friends that flew F-16s and flew in mine or other RVs loved them and remarked how similar it was to flying a fighter.
The taildraggers look great and are about the tamest conventional geared plane you can fly.
The 4 is a great plane. . . for the pilot. The "alleged" back seat is ok for very small people only. It's very critical on weight & balance. Easy to load aft and can be dangerous if you do so, especially doing aerobatics. The baggage area is behind the rear seat, very limited, and again, CG can be an issue. They're a lot cheaper than the newer models -- much fun for the money. Very few are IFR; panel space and weight limited. I think it's the best looking RV and most who have flown all seem to agree the 3 (single place) and 4 are the best of the best as far as handling. You can still build a 4, but very few kits are being sold now compared to the others. They are much harder to build and more labor intensive because they are not CNC match-hole construction like the newer kits, and even though the kit is a couple, three thousand cheaper, the resale value pales in comparison to a 7 or 8. You would work twice as hard and long to have an investment worth half the money.
If you buy a flying RV, make sure the service bulletins have been done (you can find them on the Vans website) and that the tanks don't have any #^#$ sloshing compound in them!
The 8 has much more room for the rear pax, larger baggage area in the back, (I think) a better CG range, and an additional baggage area up front to help balance the load. They have higher payload capability; many more are IFR and they cost almost twice as much as a 4.
The 6 was the first side-by side derived from the 4 and the 7 is the newer slightly improved version of the 6. The 7 has a bigger tail and slightly more room inside; it seems to be by far the most popular one now. I was planning on building an 8 but after checking my neighbor out in his newly built 7 I was "converted." I really prefer tandem seating, but side by side offers less CG issues and the wife much prefers it. Doing aerobatics sitting off centerline was not at all the issue I thought it would be; the 7 is even better on the ground handling; much more panel space for avionics; large baggage area, and match-hole construction (they just upgraded the -8 kits to match-hole also). The RV-7 also has great re-sale value, seemingly the highest of all the 2-seat RVs.
I started my empennage about two months ago and have it about 2/3 completed. Fuse and Wings coming via ABF freight Friday! I was very hesitant about taking the plunge to build an airplane. I knew I could do it but was worried I would get burned out or wouldn't enjoy the work. I've found that I enjoy the building process much more than I thought I would. I can see how people get addicted to this and end up building/restoring multiple planes.
yea ive been looking into the vans....whats everyones take on the 4? I know a guy who I respect pretty well for his intelligence and he chose a rv4 over all of them, we've also pulled over 6g's in it...i dont think that qualifies as light acro does it? Im beginning to think Ill build a vans and maybe just buy a bonanza or something similar to haul the family around in.
