The Van's Aircraft RV-10, is a four-seater, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt aircraft with a tricycle landing gear. The RV-10 was designed from
the start as a touring aircraft, whereby explicit use was made of the knowledge gained with the RV-7, RV-8 and the RV-9. Like those aircraft, the
RV-10 uses computer assisted design to produce a kit with pre-drilled rivet holes, thus greatly reducing assembly time for the builder. The aircraft
is constructed of aluminum with the cabin structure and gull-winged doors made from composite materials. The landing gear is tubular steel with the
nosewheel mounting tube welded to the engine mount. The RV-10 is designed to fly well on various versions of the six-cylinder Lycoming O-540 engine,
developing between 235 and 260 hp. As in all nose-wheel equipped RV aircraft, the nosewheel is free castering and the aircraft is steered with
differential braking. The brakes are mounted conventionally on the rudder pedal toes. The RV-10 is available only as a tricycle landing gear version.
On 29 May 2003, the prototype powered by a fuel-injected 260 hp Lycoming IO-540 was flown first at Aurora State Airport (KUAO), Oregon, USA. The Van's
Aircraft RV-10 was introduced on the market in 2003, with the first kit parts delivered to a customer in September 2003. The amount of time and effort
required to build the airplane can vary greatly, but Vans claims that the average first-time builder can complete it in 2,000 hours. Van's Aircraft of
Aurora eventually offers RV-10 QB kits. Van's Aircraft was founded in 1972 by the American aircraft designer Richard E. VanGrunsven. Nearly thousand
RV-10s have been sold and up to now most of these RV-10 aircraft are completed. The ICAO Aircraft Type Designator for the Van's Aircraft RV-10 is RV10. |