Vans Aircraft Takes the Back-Country Route With Its First High-Wing Kit Plane

For nearly 50 years, Vans Aircraft Inc. has offered a series of low-wing, all-aluminum kit planes popular with those who like to fly airplanes they assemble with their own hands. The Aurora, Oregon-based company just posted a pair of YouTube videos, teasing the aviation community with footage of its new RV-15 Engineering Test Prototype aircraft in-flight.

The RV-15, the maker’s fifteenth design, is the first high wing kit plane Vans has created. Greg Hughes, the firm’s vice president, says it’s a result of the burgeoning market for airplanes pilots can fly to remote locations in the great outdoors where traditional runways don’t exist.

Back-country flying, an outgrowth of the “bush flying” historically done in Alaska and other sparsely populated areas of the U.S., is a sport which has soared in popularity over the last decade. A community of back-country enthusiasts have ardently promoted the freedom of flying off the beaten path via videos on social media, short-takeoff and landing competition events and back-country fly-ins.

“Our customers keep asking us for this, for an airplane you can land where there are bumpy and unimproved surfaces,” Hughes says. “Places where you can jump out of the airplane with your fishing pole or land in a field and camp.”

He explains that Vans made the decision to begin work on a back-country design several years ago, recognizing a “gap in the experimental aircraft market for the type of airplane the RV-15 represents.”

It’s a niche category that several other kit plane makers including Kitfox Aircraft, Zenith Aircraft Company, Bearhawk Aircraft, Murphy Aircraft and Just Aircraft, LLC have already entered along with certified aircraft manufacturers like CubCrafters, Aviat Aircraft and others.

Since 1973 more than 11,000 Vans kits have been completed and there’s a devoted following for the company’s comparatively speedy and maneuverable RV-series. On average, 1.5 RVs are completed and flown for the first time each day according to Vans. Hughes says the timing is right for a back-county RV and that the company’s video reveal of the RV-15 is creating a buzz.

Oshkosh Bound?

Last summer, Vans Aircraft said its goal was to have the RV-15 on hand for the 2022 edition EAA’s mammoth annual AirVenture airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. N7357, the prototype seen in Vans’ videos, was issued a certificate by the FAA in late May and Hughes confirms that the airplane has been flying since then but won’t say how many flights it has made.

As to whether the RV-15 will be present at Oshkosh (July 25-31) Hughes says, “that’s still our target. But we’re in phase one prototype testing so I can’t tell you for sure whether we’ll have the airplane there or not.”

Vans wants to get the airplane to AirVenture for people to see in person. The company will host a panel discussion with its engineering team at the event where attendees can learn more about the airplane and ask questions.

“Some people think we’re being a little bit cheeky about specifications and performance but what we’re really doing is releasing information based on things we know about,” Hughes explains. “We’ll update people periodically.”

He affirms that the prototype is, like most existing RV models, powered by a Lycoming engine. A look at the company’s videos shows a two-blade constant-speed Hartzell propeller providing thrust, an all metal fuselage with a large wing and a tall, broad vertical stabilizer, sizeable flaps, a control stick, pushrod-actuated control surfaces, large Plexiglas doors and what looks like a manual flap handle.

Vans hasn’t released dimensions for the RV-15 so it’s hard to say exactly how large it is or what kind of load it might carry but the interior appears roomy enough to carry significant baggage. Two seats or four? That question hasn’t been answered as of this writing.

Performance data isn’t available either however the debut video shows an impressively short no-flaps takeoff. Range and cruise speed are unknown but most RVs have a fairly good reputation as cross-country fliers.

“One feature you can’t see completely is the main gear system,” Hughes notes. “The gear legs are aluminum but internal to the airplane is a damping mechanism, a suspension if you will, that softens landings.”

This feature is modestly demonstrated in the second video with employees tugging/pushing on one wing, then the other to show the main gear flexing. Hughes reveals that the tail wheel mechanism has a shock absorber built into it as well “to help fulfill the mission of landing on less than smooth surfaces.”

The same video shows the RV-15 sitting on larger wheels and tires. They’re 26-inch Alaskan Bushwheels according to Hughes. “That’s another option we’re sure people will be interested in. It’s an experimental category aircraft so you have the opportunity to go bigger than that if you want to.”

Hughes cautions that the RV-15’s configuration is not final at this point. “The way the airplane looks will change a little bit before the final kit is done… The feedback we’re getting is informative, interesting and fun.”

Build-ability and Cost

The attraction of kit planes and the experimental category in which Vans aircraft are registered is twofold. Those willing to invest the time and energy to build an airplane from a kit can choose many of the components that go into it, from avionics to engines.

“Some people will want to build a lightweight, agile, relatively Spartan airplane and some people want to build a fancy airplane with more features.” Hughes says Vans has refined its kits over time, making them “more of an assembly project than a fabrication challenge” these days.

Kit planes also cost considerably less than certified aircraft he notes. But with the RV-15 prototype only in the beginning phase of flight testing, Vans has lots of work to do before it can determine a price for the new back-country plane Hughes stresses.

“We’re not going to be one of the most expensive models out there or the cheapest. Striking that balance of performance and affordability is something we’ll put thought into as we refine the prototype design into the kit design.”