The Van's RV-6 and RV-6A are two-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplanes sold in kit form by

Van's Aircraft Van's Aircraft, Inc. is an American Homebuilt aircraft, kit aircraft manufacturer founded by Richard VanGrunsven in 1973. The Van's RV series aircraft are all-aluminum, low-wing monoplanes of monocoque construction. In 2023, over 11,000 Van's a ...

. The RV-6 is the tail-wheel equipped version while the RV-6A features a nose-wheel. The RV-6 was the first aircraft in the popular Van's RV series to feature side-by-side seating and the first to offer a nosewheel option. It was first flown in 1985. Over 2700 kits have been completed and flown. The RV-6 and RV-6A were replaced by the similar, but improved, RV-7 in 2001. Kit components are still available to allow builders to complete RV-6s under construction, but no new complete kits are available.

Development

Van's Aircraft designer,

Richard VanGrunsven Richard E. "Dick" VanGrunsven (born 1939) is an American aircraft designer and Homebuilt aircraft, kit plane manufacturer. The number of VanGrunsven-designed homebuilt aircraft produced each year in North America exceeds the production of all com ...

, designed the RV-6 series as a two-seat side-by-side development of the RV-4, which was itself a development of the single seat RV-3. Market demand motivated VanGrunsven to design the RV-6 and offer it as an optional nosewheel design. The original two seater RV-4 has been a remarkable success, but the tandem seating configuration was not considered ideal by many potential owners as it leaves the passenger isolated in the back seat. Many spouses of builders especially favoured the side-by-side configuration over the tandem arrangement. VanGrunsven worked diligently to create a side-by-side design with a generous cockpit that did not sacrifice the RV-4's handling,

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...

performance and especially its high cruise speed. In the end the RV-6 prototype produced cruise speeds that are only slower than the RV-4 with the same engine. The first RV-6s had a forward hinged canopy design. This was a simple one-piece arrangement, but it made taxiing the aircraft with the canopy open more difficult. Later kits had the option of a rearward sliding canopy that could more easily provide ventilation on the ground. One RV-6A was modified for open cockpit flight with an enclosed rear turtledeck. The RV-6A version features steel rod landing gear with the nosewheel strut attached to the engine mount. The nosewheel is friction castering and the aircraft is steered with differential braking. The brakes are mounted conventionally on the rudder pedal toes.

Nigerian Air Force RV-6A Air Beetle

The RV-6 is also used as a military training aircraft. The Nigerian government's Aeronautical Industrial Engineering Project (AIEP) searched for a suitable trainer that could be assembled in Nigeria using local labor and selected the RV-6A. Three prototypes were constructed as a proof of concept using a combination of consultants (Peter Lewis from the USA and John Cook from Great Britain) and local labor, subsequently EXP-1 was the first Aircraft to have been assembled and flown in Nigeria. Van's produced 60 kits to fulfill the order and these were assembled, and test flown in Nigeria, entering service with the Nigerian Air Force in 1989 as elementary training aircraft under the name "Air Beetle". The air training school is based at Kaduna, Nigeria. The only other amateur aircraft to have this distinction is the

Pazmany PL-1 The Pazmany PL-1 Laminar and Pazmany PL-2 are American two-seat trainer and personal light aircraft designed by Ladislao Pazmany to be marketed as a homebuilt aircraft by his company Pazmany Aircraft Corporation. The aircraft was built under l ...

, which was built as a trainer for Taiwan's Air Force in the 1970s. The RV-6A Air Beetle T.18, as it was designated in Nigerian service, appears to have been out of service by 2010. Though there were some efforts to return some of the aircraft to service in 2010, they do not appear to have gone anywhere. At least one aircraft was lost in an accident, killing it
pilot

AVA-202

A modified version of the RV-6A is manufactured in Iran by Aviation Industries of Iran as the AVA-202. First flown in 1997, the main change from the RV-6A is a greater wingspan of .Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12'', page 156. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011.

Operators

; *

Nigerian Air Force The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the youngest branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces, established four years after the nation became independent. As at 2021, the air force is one of the largest in A ...

(RV-6A)

Specifications (RV-6 180 hp)

References

*Lambert, Mark. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993–94''. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Data Division, 1993. .
Van's Aircraft Website

External links

Van's Aircraft
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