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 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 ...

.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 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-3 in the late 1960s after experience flying the Stits Playboy 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 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 ...

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-2 ...

Lycoming O-320 The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of naturally aspirated, air-cooled, flat four engine, horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, direct-drive engines produced by Lycoming Engines. Introduced in 1953, it is commonly used on light aircraft such a ...

powerplant. Some builders have fitted RV-3s with more powerful engines, however.Plane and Pilot, ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 159, Werner and Werner, Santa Monica CA 1978Armstrong, Kenneth, ''Choosing Your Homebuilt – The One You'll Finish And Fly'', pages 363, Butterfield Press, Templeton CA 1993.Bowers, Peter M, ''Guide to Homebuilts'', page 234, 9th Edition, TAB Books Blue Ridge Summit PA, 1984. 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 is any of various structural members with an - (serif capital letter 'I') or H-shaped cross section (geometry), cross-section. Technical terms for similar items include H-beam, I-profile, universal column (UC), w-beam (for "wide flang ...

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 rods. 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. It also won the 1973 AC/EAA Efficiency Contest. 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 February 2023, 305 RV-3s had been completed and flown.

Aircraft on display

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

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 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft

Development

Aircraft on display

Specifications (RV-3B)

See also

References

External links