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Building
an RV -
QuickBuild Kits
RV kits provide
all the parts to build a complete airframe. The builder
must provide the engine, instruments, propeller, avionics
and upholstery. All RV kits have been reviewed by
the FAA and have been found eligible for licensing
in the Experimental Amateur Built category. This means
that the fabrication work we do on the kit parts is
less than 50% of the total required to complete the
aircraft, and that at least 51% of the work remains
for the kit builder.
Two kinds of kits are available: the Standard and the
QuickBuild.
 
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All RVs, whether built from a Standard
or a QuickBuild Kit, are built from the same parts. The difference is the degree to which
these parts have been pre-assembled when the builder receives them. If the builder has a
little more to spend, and wants to fly even sooner, then the QuickBuild Kit is an
excellent value.
The Standard Kit is perfect for the
builder who enjoys the process and is working on a limited budget. Please visit the
Standard page for more information on the Standard kits.
So, the RV is exactly what you’ve
been looking for since you were drawing airplanes on your third grade workbook cover. But
now you have a family of your own, and a job with responsibility, and time is precious.
Spending 1800 to 2000 hours in the shop is going to be very difficult.
How would you like to hire an experienced expert, with
three hundred RV airframes on his/her resume, for twenty five weeks, eight hours a day?
 He/she
will build the first half of your RV, jigging and
riveting almost three quarters of your metal airframe.
He/she will do all the messy jobs, like sealing the
fuel tanks. He/she will prime every metal piece, to
protect against corrosion. He/she never leaves a mess,
makes noise, needs insurance or wants to use your
bathroom. When he/she leaves, you will have only 800
hours or so of work to finish the airplane.
And he/she works for about eight dollars an hour!
We don’t know anybody like that either, but we can tell you how to get the same
result: Order a QuickBuild Kit.
Van’s QuickBuild Kits cut building time for the RV-6/6A and RV-8/8A in half. The
airframe arrives at your door about 75% complete. You can pry open the crate, set the
fuselage on a padded floor, toss a cushion off the couch into the cockpit, climb in and
make airplane noises.
Even though both RV-6/6A and RV-8/8A QuickBuild Kits look almost like airplanes when
they come out of the box, they are recognized by the FAA as meeting the "51%"
rule. Many have been already been completed, licensed and flown. Authorities in Canada,
Australia, the UK, and other countries have also accepted the QuickBuild as meeting their
requirements for licensing as an amateur built airplane.
There are some minor differences between RV-6/6A and
RV-8/8A QuickBuild Kits, so let’s look at them one at a time.
| The
RV-6/6A QuickBuild Kit |
The RV-6/6A QB kit includes an almost complete empennage. Both stabilizers are finished
and ready to install on the fuselage. So are both elevators. The builder must build the
rudder and the trim tab…and of course the pre-punched parts for those are included in
the kit.
 The
wings are completely riveted together except for one
outboard skin. The fuel tanks are finished, pressure
tested, and attached. The builder must fit, drill
and rivet the skins, install the control pushrods
and bellcrank and pop rivet the composite wingtip
on the end. The ailerons and flaps arrive complete
and are attached to the wing with a few bolts and
a hingepin. We estimate that a builder working two
hours an evening and a long Saturday can have a wing
to flying status in a week.
The fuselage looks like a large aluminum canoe. The builder installs the floor boards
in the cockpit and baggage compartment, and the upper skins on the
tailcone.
At this point it is time to install the Finishing Kit, which includes the canopy,
engine mount, cowling and landing gear.
There are several options when ordering the RV-6/6A QB kit. The builder can choose to
build an empennage from a standard kit, and delete the partially built empennage from the
QB kit for credit. Slightly over half the kits shipped have been ordered this way. While
it does save a bit of money, probably the major advantage is to allow the builder to start
sooner, and with a much smaller investment.
The QuickBuild Kits are built past the point where
decisions on canopy and landing gear options can be made, so a QuickBuild customer must make these decisions when the
order is placed. Do you want an RV-6 or RV-6A? A sliding canopy or a tip-up canopy? You can have any combination. No matter
which ordering option you choose, remember that the wing and fuselage are a matched set,
and must be shipped at the same time.
The Finishing Kit may be ordered separately, usually after the builder has been working
for a while and can estimate the speed of his progress.
| The
RV-8/8A QuickBuild Kit |
The RV-8/8A QuickBuild Kit is similar in
concept to the RV-6/6A QB but arranged a bit differently.
In the RV-8/8A Quickbuild, the builder begins by building
the complete empennage from the Standard kit.
This may be ordered any time, without placing
an order for a QB kit…in fact, many builders
make the decision on whether to order a Standard or
QuickBuild based on their experience with the empennage.
The wings are finished to same degree as the RV-6/6A QB kit.
In the fuselage, the builder gets back the time he spent on the empennage. The tailcone
skins are already installed, and the supports for the RV-8 landing gear – the most
time consuming part of the fuselage – are complete. The builder must finish the
interior of the cockpit and complete the forward baggage compartment.
When that is done it is time for the standard Finish kit, which includes the canopy,
engine mount, cowling and landing gear.
How big are the crates?
The QB kits come in BIG crates (see Crate Sizes and
Weights below) so be prepared with lots
of help when the truck arrives.
Do I need more work space for a QB?
You will need the same space as you would with a Standard Kit, but you will need the
whole space sooner. Better get the garage completely cleaned out before the kit arrives.
What tools do I need for a QB?
The same tools are used on both the Standard and QuickBuild kits…they just
aren’t used as much on the QB.
Will I need to build jigs for a QB?
No jigs are necessary for the QB kits, except for the "V-blocks" used to
build the RV-6/6A rudder.
Can I use the empennage I started years ago on a
QB?
Generally yes, but remember that empennages are specific to the aircraft type…you
can’t install an RV-4 empennage on an RV-6 or RV-8, for instance.
| QuickBuild
Kit Crate Dimensions |
| # Crate |
Size |
Weight |
| 1 Wing Kit |
131"x20.5"x52.5" |
360 lbs
(RV-6/6A)
330 lbs (RV-8/8A) |
| 2 Fuselage Kit |
193"x49"x50.5" |
880 lbs |
| 3 Finishing Kit |
97"x49"x28"
97"x39"x35.5"
97"x39"x28" |
320 lbs
(RV-6/6A)
260 lbs (RV-8/8A O-320/360)
245 lbs (RV-8/8A IO-360) |
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