Van's Aircraft RV-7
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-7 replaced the RV-6 in 2001 as Van's side-by-side two-seat taildragger, with a longer wing, 42-gallon tanks, a larger rudder and an 1,800 lb gross weight. On the reference 180 hp Lycoming O-360 it cruises at 173 knots, has a range of about 670 nm and climbs at 1,650 fpm; useful load is 686 lb.
Van's counts just over 2,000 RV-7/7As flown, and the matched-hole kit means the airframes are more uniform than the RV-6 generation. Uniformity has limits, though: engines run from 150 to 215 hp, propellers from fixed-pitch to constant-speed, and panels and interiors vary enormously, so the 1,061-1,114 lb empty weight range Van's publishes is only where well-built examples cluster. The buyer's work is the logbooks, the workmanship under the inspection panels and a current weight-and-balance. Two things worth asking about recent builds: kits delivered between January 2022 and June 2023 may contain laser-cut parts that Van's later found prone to cracking at dimpled holes and lists for replacement, and the company went through Chapter 11 from December 2023 to May 2024, so the kit's completion history matters. A tailwheel endorsement is required and transition training in an RV is what insurers expect. The annual condition inspection needs an A&P, not an IA, or the builder holding the repairman certificate; the kit price quoted is airframe only.
Variants of the Van's RV-7 / RV-7A
- RV-7 · 2001 · 766 active · this page
- RV-7A · 2001 · 935 active
Also consider
- Van's Aircraft RV-8AScore 19.5/50 · 2 seats · 175 kt
- Van's Aircraft RV-6AScore 27/50 · 2 seats · 170 kt
- Game Composites GB1 GamebirdPartial 17.9/30 · 2 seats · 178 kt
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Put Van's Aircraft RV-7 side by side with up to three other models.
- Van's Aircraft RV-7
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One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tailwheel |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Lycoming O-360 (150-215 hp approved) |
| Horsepower | 180 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 2001 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 173 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 673 nm |
| Service ceiling | 20,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,650 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 50 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 686 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,114 lb |
| Usable fuel | 42 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $48,300 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $72,200 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 835 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 766 |
| Median year built | 2012.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 13 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 16.971 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 13.052 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 103 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 13.453 |
| Airworthiness directives | 10 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 766 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 766 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 766 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 8.2 of 101 |
| Severity | 1.3 of 102 |
| Access | 3 of 103 |
| Support | 9.3 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 1.9 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 23.7 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 31.56 · 197 models in class.
- Severity: class median 10.
- Access: class median 1,000.75.
- Support: class median 89.
- Liquidity: class median 19.74.
- 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