The Van's Aircraft RV-9 / RV-9A, is a side-by-side two-seater, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt aircraft with either tricycle or tailwheel landing gear.
The RV-9 is the tail-wheel equipped version while the RV-9A is the nose-wheel version of the aircraft. The RV-9/9A is an airplane, designed for pilots who
are not interested in aerobatics but simply want a nice-handling aircraft for sport flying. With side-by-side seating, this two-seater is designed to
provide fast and efficient cruising while retaining a low landing speed. The RV-9 shares many common parts with the RV-7 and the RV-8, which reduces
production costs. The main difference of the RV-9/9A with the RV-4/6/8 is the wing that is longer and narrower than the wings of the RV-4/6/8 series,
and uses a new Roncz airfoil. The increased span allows it to climb well on low power and glide a long way. The flaps are a long span, slotted, high
lift design that allows the airplane to land slower than many primary trainers. A simplified constant-chord horizontal tail and large vertical tail
are proportioned to work with the longer wing. The robust fuselage and cabin are identical to the RV-7/7A and there are the same sliding/tip-up canopy
and trigear/tailwheel landing gear options.The RV-9 prototype was flown first in December 1997. The Van's Aircraft RV-9 was introduced on the market in
1999. The RV-9/9A is sold in kit form and as a complete ready-to-fly aircraft by Van's Aircraft of Aurora, Oregon, USA. Van's Aircraft was founded in 1972
by the American aircraft designer Richard E. VanGrunsven. Thousands of RV-9/9As have been sold and up to now over 1000 RV-9/9A aircraft are completed.
The ICAO Aircraft Type Designator for both Van's Aircraft RV-9 and RV-9A is RV9. |
On 13 September 2016, the amateur-built Van's Aircraft RV-9A s/n 91098 was registered F-PDAD in France with Danny de Brandt, with Valenciennes
Denain aerodrome as base. Despite, the amateur-built Van's Aircraft RV-9A is registered in France, the aircraft was built
by Danny de Brandt, Belgium, and is most of the time based at Grimbergen airfield near Brussels. The aircraft is powered by an 160 hp
AVCO O-320 engine. On 30 April 2023, Van's Aircraft RV-9A F-PDAD was seen at Flugplatz Leer-Papenburg (EDWF) in Germany. |