Long awaited by RV pilots with a need for some extra room, the four seat Van's Aircraft RV-10 program has just logged its first flight.

A Van's statement details the goings-on...

"At about 8:40 the big six cylinder spooled up (quietly, with that big muffler) and the airplane was in the air in about 450 feet. Takeoff and climb out certainly looked like an RV!

With Ken Krueger and Scott Risan in the RV-8A flying chase, Van circled the airport for about half an hour, monitoring engine temperatures and feeling out the controls. They were just small dots at 5000’, but those of us on the ground could all agree on one thing: it sure climbs well! Over the radio, we could hear Van describe the ailerons as feeling very good – not much different than the RV-9, which is a good thing. Pitch control was positive. He didn’t exercise the rudder extensively, but initial impressions were very good. It was powerful, but not twitchy. Approaches to stall, at least at the weights and CG positions of this first flight, resulted in a descending mush without a definite break. Van says that he didn’t really work the ailerons hard in this condition, but always felt he had positive aileron control, even when the wing was mushing. Low speed handling was reassuringly solid.

The RV-10 has a trim tab on both elevators. The one on the right elevator is linked with the flaps in an effort to minimize trim requirements as the big flaps go up and down. The ratios were well chosen, and the system will require only minor tweaking.

The only squawk on the whole flight was a vibration in the left gear leg at fast taxi speeds. The shop guys are investigating the brake disc and wheel balance.

As he climbed out, Van (right) described the RV-10 as a very pleasant airplane to fly. We tried to get him to show the RV Grin…"

Van's promises more performance data and flight impressions as flight testing continues, but that for the moment, "nobody here really cares about the absolute numbers. The RV-10 flies and flies well, and there are a lot of people who have spent a good chunk of their recent lives involved in this project. They’re all smiling this morning."

We'll have more details for you shortly...

FMI: www.vansaircraft.com