Van's Aircraft RV-8

The RV-8 is Van's larger tandem two-seater with conventional gear, introduced in 1996 (shown as a demonstrator at Oshkosh 1995) as a roomier, longer-range stablemate to the RV-4 rather than a replacement for it. With the reference 180 hp Lycoming O-360 it cruises at 176 knots at 75% power, carries 42 gallons for a range near 690 nm, and climbs at over 1,600 fpm from an 1,800 lb gross weight. The pilot sits on the centreline with the passenger behind.

Those figures describe Van's reference airframe, not any RV-8 on the register: builders fit anything from 150 to 215 hp, fixed-pitch or constant-speed propellers, and panels from steam gauges to full glass, so finished empty weights spread well beyond the published 1,067-1,120 lb and no two fly or weigh the same. Loading deserves attention on any tandem, because a rear passenger moves the centre of gravity aft; the RV-8's answer is a second baggage bay forward of the CG so the pilot can balance the load, but the individual aircraft's weight-and-balance report, not the brochure column, says where its envelope actually sits. Insurers generally expect dual instruction before solo and solo time before passengers in a tailwheel aircraft, and Van's itself has pushed transition training for years. On maintenance the amateur-built category is generous: the owner may do any work, and the annual condition inspection needs only an A&P rather than an IA, or the original builder if they still hold the repairman certificate for this airframe. The kit price in the record buys the airframe alone; the engine, propeller and avionics are a large additional cost on top of it.

Variants of the Van's RV-8 / RV-8A

• RV-8 · 1996 · 1,200 active · this page
• RV-8A · 302 active

Also consider

• Van's Aircraft RV-7
  Score 23.7/50 · 2 seats · 173 kt
• Game Composites GB1 Gamebird
  Partial 17.9/30 · 2 seats · 178 kt
• Van's Aircraft RV-6A
  Score 27/50 · 2 seats · 170 kt

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