Van's Aircraft RV-10
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 RV-10 is the only four-seat Van's design, first flown on 29 May 2003, with fixed tricycle gear, composite gull-wing doors and cabin top on a metal airframe and a 235-260 hp Lycoming IO-540 under the cowl. At 260 hp it cruises at 171 knots, carries 60 gallons for about 720 nm, climbs at 1,450 fpm and has a useful load of 1,070 lb at a 2,700 lb gross weight.
Van's positions it as an alternative to four-seat production singles and twins, and it costs accordingly: the airframe kit is $89,600 standard or $116,300 QuickBuild on the 2026 list, and the IO-540, constant-speed propeller and avionics add a comparable sum. Van's says it carries four FAA-standard adults, full fuel and 60 lb of bags at gross, but that arithmetic only works for a light build; at the upper 1,630 lb empty weight, four adults and full tanks leave nothing for baggage. The 260 hp puts it in the high-performance class and an endorsement is required; with fixed gear it is not "complex". Two type-specific points: an unlatched door can open or detach in flight, and Van's Service Bulletin 10-1-4 (January 2010) requires a door safety latch on every RV-10 whose finish kit shipped before that date, so confirm it is installed; and the engine installation, baffling and cooling are builder-executed, so cylinder temperatures and oil consumption on this particular aircraft are worth a long flight to observe. No two RV-10s weigh the same — Van's quotes 1,520-1,630 lb empty and well-equipped examples run heavier — and the builder's logbooks and the condition of the fibreglass work are what to judge. The annual condition inspection requires an A&P, not an IA, or the builder holding the repairman certificate.
Variants of the Van's RV-10
- RV-10 · 2003 · 786 active · this page
Also consider
- Mooney M20KScore 21/50 · 4 seats · 175 kt
- Piper PA-28RT-201TScore 24.3/50 · 4 seats · 172 kt
- Bellanca 14-19-3Partial 17.2/30 · 4 seats · 165 kt
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What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-540 (235-260 hp approved) |
| Horsepower | 260 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 2003 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 171 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 717 nm |
| Service ceiling | 20,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,450 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 55 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,070 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,700 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,630 lb |
| Usable fuel | 60 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $89,600 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $116,300 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 834 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 786 |
| Median year built | 2015.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 25 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 31.811 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 27.992 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 118 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 15.013 |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 786 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 786 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 786 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 6.2 of 101 |
| Severity | 3.2 of 102 |
| Access | 5.3 of 103 |
| Support | 8.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 1.5 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 24.9 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 204 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 148.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- 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