Van's Aircraft RV-8A
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-8A is the tricycle-gear version of the RV-8, sharing its tandem fuselage, 42-gallon tanks and 1,800 lb gross weight. Van's tabulates it separately and slightly behind the taildragger: 175 knots at 75% power on 180 hp, 678 nm of range, 1,600 fpm of climb and a 19,500 ft ceiling, with better visibility on the ground as the trade.
The nosewheel makes it the easier of the two to land and generally the cheaper to insure, which is often why it was chosen over the RV-8. The point to inspect is the nose gear itself: Van's mandatory Service Bulletin 07-11-09 (November 2007) requires the leg and fork on every two-seat tricycle RV whose finish kit shipped before February 2005 to be brought to the later configuration, which gives more clearance between the fork axle and the ground when the gear is overloaded; a fork height of 2.8 inches means it has been done, 3.8 inches means it has not, and the later elastomer-mount upgrade offered for the RV-7A and RV-9A does not exist for the RV-8A. Van's own advice is that tyre pressure, fairing clearance, axle-nut torque and pilot technique matter most, so ask how the aircraft has been operated. Beyond that, every caution about an amateur-built aircraft applies in full: the engine, propeller, panel and build standard are the builder's choices, the empty weight is whatever the scales said on the day, and the logbooks and the quality of the riveting tell you far more than the type does. The condition inspection may be signed by an A&P without an IA, or by the builder-repairman; a second owner cannot inherit that certificate.
Variants of the Van's RV-8 / RV-8A
- RV-8 · 1996 · 1,200 active
- RV-8A · 302 active · this page
Also consider
- Van's Aircraft RV-7Score 23.7/50 · 2 seats · 173 kt
- Game Composites GB1 GamebirdPartial 17.9/30 · 2 seats · 178 kt
- Van's Aircraft RV-6AScore 27/50 · 2 seats · 170 kt
Compare with…
Put Van's Aircraft RV-8A side by side with up to three other models.
- Van's Aircraft RV-8A
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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 | — |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 175 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 678 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 | 680 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,800 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,120 lb |
| Usable fuel | 42 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $49,900 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $75,500 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 341 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 302 |
| Median year built | 2007.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 14 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 46.361 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 39.742 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 45 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 14.93 |
| 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 302 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 302 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 302 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 3.4 of 101 |
| Severity | 1.7 of 102 |
| Access | 3.8 of 103 |
| Support | 8.1 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 2.5 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 19.5 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