Van's Aircraft RV-7A
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-7A is the tricycle-gear RV-7, which Van's tabulates separately: 1,130 lb empty against 1,114 for the taildragger, 171 knots at 75% power on 180 hp, 665 nm of range and 1,600 fpm of climb from the same 1,800 lb gross weight. The nosewheel costs 16 lb, two knots and $4,600 on the standard kit price.
This is the version for pilots who want a conventional landing, and tailwheel RVs cost materially more to insure, so the premium follows the gear. Every amateur-built reservation nonetheless holds: the engine could be anything approved between 150 and 215 hp, the finish standard could be anywhere from workmanlike to immaculate, and the aircraft's own weight-and-balance is the only trustworthy number. The nose gear deserves a specific look: Van's mandatory SB 07-11-09 (2007) requires a revised leg and fork on any "A" model whose finish kit shipped before February 2005, after a run of nose-gear overload accidents, and an elastomer-mount nose gear option followed in 2019, so ask which configuration is fitted. Kits delivered between January 2022 and June 2023 may include laser-cut parts that Van's later listed for replacement because of cracking at dimpled holes. Maintenance is the amateur-built advantage — owner-performed work, an A&P signing the annual condition inspection without an IA, or the original builder with the repairman certificate — and the running cost of a fixed-gear 180 hp Lycoming is modest for the speed.
Variants of the Van's RV-7 / RV-7A
- RV-7 · 2001 · 766 active
- RV-7A · 2001 · 935 active · this page
Also consider
- Van's Aircraft RV-6AScore 27/50 · 2 seats · 170 kt
- Van's Aircraft RV-8AScore 19.5/50 · 2 seats · 175 kt
- Game Composites GB1 GamebirdPartial 17.9/30 · 2 seats · 178 kt
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Put Van's Aircraft RV-7A side by side with up to three other models.
- Van's Aircraft RV-7A
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| 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 | 171 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 665 nm |
| Service ceiling | 19,500 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,600 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 50 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 670 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,130 lb |
| Usable fuel | 42 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $52,900 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $77,300 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 1,026 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 935 |
| Median year built | 2010.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 27 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 28.881 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 27.812 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 157 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 16.793 |
| 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 935 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 935 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 935 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 5.7 of 101 |
| Severity | 4 of 102 |
| Access | 3.7 of 103 |
| Support | 9.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.4 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 26.4 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