The Van's RV-8 is a

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

two-seat, single-engine, low-wing

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

sold in kit form by Van's Aircraft. The RV-8 is equipped with

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

, while the RV-8A version features

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle ...

. The design is similar to the earlier RV-4, although it is larger than that earlier model..Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Vol. 28, No. 12, December 2011, p. 74. Belvoir Publications. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12'', p. 125. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011.

Development

Richard VanGrunsven designed the RV-8 series as an updated, larger tandem aircraft based on the RV-4 design concept. The RV-8 first flew in 1995 and was first shown publicly at Oshkosh that year. The RV-8 incorporated changes as a result of lessons learned in producing the popular RV-4 design. The RV-8 airframe accepts larger engines from , including the

Lycoming IO-390 The Lycoming IO-390 engine is a horizontally opposed, four-cylinder aircraft engine, manufactured by Lycoming Engines. There is no carburetted version of the engine, which would have been designated O-390 and therefore the base model is the I ...

. The RV-8 also has increased wingspan and wing area over the RV-4, as well as greater cockpit width, headroom, legroom and an increased useful load, all with a view to accommodating larger pilots. Like the RV-3 to RV-7 that preceded it, the RV-8 is stressed for

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glide ...

. The RV-8 series was intended from inception to include a nose-gear-equipped version designated the RV-8A. The RV-8A was first flown in 1998 As of November 2022, 1,611 RV-8s and RV-8As have been completed and flown.

Specifications (RV-8)

References

External links

*
How the RV-8 Came to Be - AVweb
{{VansAircraft Homebuilt aircraft 1990s United States civil utility aircraft RV-08 Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1995

Development

Specifications (RV-8)

See also

References

External links