The Van's RV-3 is a single-seat, single-engine, low-wing

kit 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 by Van's Aircraft.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 74. Belvoir Publications. Unlike many other aircraft in the RV line, the RV-3 is only available as a tail-wheel equipped aircraft, although it is possible that some may have been completed by builders as nose-wheel versions. The RV-3 is the genesis design for the rest of the RV series, all which strongly resemble the RV-3. The RV-4 was originally developed as a two-seat RV-3.

Development

The architect of the line of Van's aircraft, Richard VanGrunsven, designed the RV-3 in the late 1960s after experience flying the

Stits Playboy The Stits SA-3A Playboy (also called the Stitts SA-3A Playboy) is a single seat, strut-braced low-wing monoplane that was designed by Ray Stits for amateur construction. The aircraft was designed and the prototype was completed in a three-month ...

amateur-built aircraft. The RV-3 started out as an attempt to maintain the Playboy's layout and concept but to improve it in every regard. The RV-3 was designed to have light handling, aerobatic capabilities, fast cruise speeds, and short field

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh condi ...

capabilities. The RV-3 was also designed from the start for serious travel and as such carries 30 US gallons of fuel, giving it a range of about 600 statute miles. The design horsepower is 100–150, typically using a

Lycoming O-235 The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine.Textron Lycoming: ''Operator's Manual, Textron Lycoming Aircraft Engines, Series O-23 ...

Lycoming O-320 The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of naturally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder, direct-drive engines produced by Lycoming Engines. They are commonly used on light aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. Different variants ...

powerplant. Some builders have fitted RV-3s with more powerful engines, however. The RV-3 uses a NACA 23012 airfoil on a constant chord wing. Construction is semi-

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

of predominantly 2024-T3 aluminum sheet. The wings are built around an aluminum

I-beam An I-beam, also known as H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish, Bulgarian, Spanish, Italian and German), is a beam with an or -shap ...

spar with a lighter rear spar. The aircraft has plain flaps operated by a handle. The main landing gear is attached directly to the welded steel engine mount and consists of tapered, sprung steel tubes. Construction time for the RV-3 is reported to be 1300 hours for a first time builder. The very first RV-3 built by VanGrunsven won "Best Aerodynamic Detailing" at the 1972 EAA Oshkosh Convention. There is an RV-3A model, but its designation does not follow VanGrunsven's normal system, where "A" models are nosewheel equipped versions. An RV-3A is an early RV-3 that has undergone rear spar and wing root upgrades as described in Van's publication CN-1. Due to ongoing structural concerns, the production of RV-3 kits was suspended in 1996. Continued customer demand for the single seat design resulted in VanGrunsven engineering a new wing for the RV-3. Production of kits was restarted a few years later. New aircraft completed since the wing redesign and aircraft that have been retrofitted with the new wing are referred to as an RV-3B. By November 2022, 304 RV-3s have been completed and flown.

Aircraft on display

* Classic Flyers Museum – ZK-RVE, built from the first kit exported outside the US in 1976. *

EAA AirVenture Museum The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...

– RV-3 Prototype N17RV

Specifications (RV-3B)

References

Van's Aircraft Website
* Armstrong, Kenneth, ''Choosing Your Homebuilt – The One You'll Finish And Fly'', Butterfield Press, Templeton CA 1993. * Bowers, Peter M, ''Guide to Homebuilts'' 9th Edition, TAB Books Blue Ridge Summit PA, 1984. * Plane and Pilot, ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', Werner and Werner, Santa Monica CA 1978

External links

Van's Aircraft RV-3
{{VansAircraft Homebuilt aircraft 1970s United States civil utility aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft RV-03 Aircraft first flown in 1971

Development

Aircraft on display

Specifications (RV-3B)

See also

References

External links