Harmon Rocket II
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
The Harmon Rocket II is John Harmon's six-cylinder conversion of the Van's RV-4: a shortened RV-4 wing and a strengthened, lengthened fuselage around a 250 hp Lycoming IO-540, 1,200 lb empty and 2,000 lb gross, quoted at 230 mph cruise, a 55 mph stall and 3,100 fpm.
A Rocket is an RV-4 with twice the engine, and everything follows from that: fighter-like climb and 200-knot cruise, a six-cylinder overhaul bill, 15 gallons an hour at speed, and a heavy nose that makes the tailwheel handling and the landing more demanding than the RV it came from. Every Rocket is a one-off conversion built from Harmon's plans and parts onto Van's RV-4 components, so the quality of the fuselage modification, the engine mount and the fuel system is the builder's and the inspection has to be done by someone who knows both the RV-4 and the Rocket changes; the empty weight varies and the weight-and-balance, not this row, gives the useful load. It is high-performance for endorsement purposes and insurers want tailwheel and type time. The owner may maintain it and the condition inspection needs an A&P or the repairman certificate.
Variants of the Harmon Rocket II
- Harmon Rocket II · 91 active · this page
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Partial: 13.2 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)
Among 1–2 seat pistons (321 models)
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Put Harmon Rocket II side by side with up to three other models.
- Harmon Rocket II
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tailwheel |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 (250 hp) |
| Horsepower | 250 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | — |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 200 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | — |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | 3,100 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 48 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 800 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,000 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,200 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 117 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 91 |
| Median year built | 2004 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 54.95 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 54.95 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 18 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 19.78 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 3 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 91 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 91 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 91 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 2.7 of 103 |
| Support | 5.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 4.9 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | Partial: 13.2 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)6 |
- Accident record: class median 36.69 · 321 models in class.
- Severity: class median 13.04.
- Access: class median 1,000.
- Support: class median 77.5.
- Liquidity: class median 20.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30