I am pretty excited to see what Vans comes up with for a backcountry offering.

https://www.vansaircraft.com/rv-15/

They design top notch kit planes and I hope that this lives up to the name.

That will sure be cool! They have been so successful with their low wings, this will probably be good.

This is a design I’m really looking forward to, will be interesting to see what the final design ends up being. This is Vans 50th year anniversary and I’ve got my money (what little I have left) on a surprise reveal at Oshkosh 2022 to celebrate their 50th.

I hope the wing is high enough so you can see out of it and not feel like you are sitting in a tunnel as well as a few other things. Looking forward to seeing what they come up with.


Kurt

When this hits the airways (workshops), I’m betting Vans won’t be able to build kits fast enough.

MTV

mtv wrote:When this hits the airways (workshops), I’m betting Vans won’t be able to build kits fast enough.

MTV

At least their name isn’t Bebe so a deposit will be in safe hands.

As always there is something exciting combing down the aviation pipeline.

Vans is the 800# Gorilla in the hanger when it comes to Experimentals, l am in the middle of a build so it does not effect me, but I hope they come out with a true BC plane and not a BC capable plane like the S-21.

But I don’t see them going tube and fabric. When you read the VansAirforce website their rank and file at hoping for a 175 knot backcountry plane which is silly.

Should be interesting.

I hope they go 4 place, 300hp. There’s already enough 2 seaters out there.

Ross4289 wrote:I hope they go 4 place, 300hp. There’s already enough 2 seaters out there.

How much would that potentially weigh? Gotta figure a 36’ wing for a plane that heavy to be considered “backcountry”

The Bearhawk Model 5 (potential 6 seats) with a 300 hp engine does in fact land short.

Utah-Jay wrote:Vans is the 800# Gorilla in the hanger when it comes to Experimentals, l am in the middle of a build so it does not effect me, but I hope they come out with a true BC plane and not a BC capable plane like the S-21.

But I don’t see them going tube and fabric. When you read the VansAirforce website their rank and file at hoping for a 175 knot backcountry plane which is silly.

Should be interesting.

It's gonna be all aluminum. That's what Van's does best. Why make another supercub clone? (other than the obvious current market for supercub clones)

Well considering a Skywagon weighs 1700-1900lb or so, that would probably be on the high end for such an airplane.

I’d be surprised if they try to compete with Cubs for stall speed/short landings. Seems that space is filled.

c170pete wrote:

Utah-Jay wrote:Vans is the 800# Gorilla in the hanger when it comes to Experimentals, l am in the middle of a build so it does not effect me, but I hope they come out with a true BC plane and not a BC capable plane like the S-21.

But I don’t see them going tube and fabric. When you read the VansAirforce website their rank and file at hoping for a 175 knot backcountry plane which is silly.

Should be interesting.

It's gonna be all aluminum. That's what Van's does best. Why make another supercub clone? (other than the obvious current market for supercub clones)

Their fiberglass quality is not particularly good. My shop paints a handful of new RV’s each year, and the cowling and other fiberglass parts of the airplanes need a fair bit of body work to look good (extra weight)

I’ve built an RV and have been around Vans around 15 years, listening to associates and friends within that community. Here’s what I’m betting. They are going to construct what will be successful and make a profit. There product will be a little different from anybody else’s with probably the best, or close to it, builder support in the business, it’s one of the many reasons they are so successful. My money is on them producing a 2 place tailwheel and nosewheel airplane first. That market does have a lot of competition, but it’s huge and can’t be ignored. They will then move up to 4 place, I’d highly doubt 6 place. They don’t even have a 6 place low wing. They’ll probably be build off lycoming power plants. The performance is going to be so interesting to watch, hopefully they put long wings on with lots of fuel capacity. Really looking forward to the news and development!

185er wrote:My money is on them producing a 2 place tailwheel and nosewheel airplane first. That market does have a lot of competition, but it’s huge and can’t be ignored. They will then move up to 4 place, I’d highly doubt 6 place. They don’t even have a 6 place low wing. They’ll probably be build off lycoming power plants. The performance is going to be so interesting to watch, hopefully they put long wings on with lots of fuel capacity. Really looking forward to the news and development!

I agree - I can’t see them jumping straight to a 4 place (even though it would be what I would want) the question is will it be side be side or tandem? I’m guessing it’s going to be more like a Cessna 140 (but wider - probably cabin width similar to the 14) than a super cub. But with the same power plant choices as the RV14, either a 210HP Lycoming IO-390A or the 215HP IO-390-EXP119.

It’s fun to speculate and play aeronautics engineer - who knows, but it going to be interesting to see what they reveal.

My WAG is a 4 seater with a really big motor. If not a 4 seater a 2 seater with huge baggage area. I have no insider knowledge or history with RVs. Just guessing based on the RV-10 premium and how much their customers weigh and spend on their planes. Poor tinkerers can go rebuild wrecked real Super Cubs the big money will buy RV kits.
PS Someone should start an internet rumor that the RV-15 will have retractable Bushwheels.

I am excited to look, but I will probably never own one. I like the idea of metal wings, chrome moly fuselage, a la Bearhawk, or Badlands traveller. Or at least chrome moly cage and an aluminium tailcone. It will be interesting to see his take on a bushplane, Vans is a classy outfit.

corefile wrote:

185er wrote:My money is on them producing a 2 place tailwheel and nosewheel airplane first. That market does have a lot of competition, but it’s huge and can’t be ignored. They will then move up to 4 place, I’d highly doubt 6 place. They don’t even have a 6 place low wing. They’ll probably be build off lycoming power plants. The performance is going to be so interesting to watch, hopefully they put long wings on with lots of fuel capacity. Really looking forward to the news and development!

I agree - I can’t see them jumping straight to a 4 place (even though it would be what I would want) the question is will it be side be side or tandem? I’m guessing it’s going to be more like a Cessna 140 (but wider - probably cabin width similar to the 14) than a super cub. But with the same power plant choices as the RV14, either a 210HP Lycoming IO-390A or the 215HP IO-390-EXP119.

It’s fun to speculate and play aeronautics engineer - who knows, but it going to be interesting to see what they reveal.

Couldn’t they use some of the RV-10 engineering towards a 4 place? Seems it would take a similar amount of design an planning as a 2 place.

I’m betting whatever it is, it’s not a clean sheet design and will use a lot of parts and engineering from their existing products.

That definitely means aluminum structure, skin, and wet lay fiberglass non-structural parts.

Ross4289 wrote:

corefile wrote:

185er wrote:My money is on them producing a 2 place tailwheel and nosewheel airplane first. That market does have a lot of competition, but it’s huge and can’t be ignored. They will then move up to 4 place, I’d highly doubt 6 place. They don’t even have a 6 place low wing. They’ll probably be build off lycoming power plants. The performance is going to be so interesting to watch, hopefully they put long wings on with lots of fuel capacity. Really looking forward to the news and development!

I agree - I can’t see them jumping straight to a 4 place (even though it would be what I would want) the question is will it be side be side or tandem? I’m guessing it’s going to be more like a Cessna 140 (but wider - probably cabin width similar to the 14) than a super cub. But with the same power plant choices as the RV14, either a 210HP Lycoming IO-390A or the 215HP IO-390-EXP119.

It’s fun to speculate and play aeronautics engineer - who knows, but it going to be interesting to see what they reveal.

Couldn’t they use some of the RV-10 engineering towards a 4 place? Seems it would take a similar amount of design an planning as a 2 place.

I’m betting whatever it is, it’s not a clean sheet design and will use a lot of parts and engineering from their existing products.

That definitely means aluminum structure, skin, and wet lay fiberglass non-structural parts.

I don’t think they can use much of anything from the RV10 - the fiberglass cowling, and maybe some of the empennage, other then that it’s a very different design - the whole top of the fuselage and doors are all fiberglass in the RV 10, the wings not only being low wing are also strutless, they would have to design a new wing with a strut or to keep it strut less run the rather large carry through spar that the 10 wing has through the top of the cabin, which is much different then like they do in the floor with the 10, and pretty short wing to be much of a design for a backcountry plane, maybe they can reuse the empennage of the rv10 - and even that would need to add in the tailwheel parts and beef it up if it is a tailwheel backcountry plane. I don’t think they can reuse the main gears on the rv10 for a four place backcountry plane. I don’t really think the RV10 engineering gets them very far at all - nor do any of their 2 seater designs.

But I’m just a packet pusher - I’m not a aeronautical engineer - so I’m just another talking head on the internet. But it sounds good to me

Another question is: will they stick with their low aspect ratio small wing formula that has worked so well on all of their low wing sport planes?

Even with small wings most of the RVs I’ve flown have respectable slow flight and short field performance. Seems like they could just add a few feet of span to an existing wing. Integrate some nice Fowler type flaps and meet the demands of a light backcountry plane pretty easily.

I could see Vans doing something like what Murphy Aircraft has been doing. I can’t see them going “rag and tube”.

Maybe they are going for the hole in the market for an aluminum 180-185 class airplane.A 3000 lb IO-540 powered four place could be neat.

Whatever it is, they aren’t fools over there and I’ll bet that they come out with something super cool.

The way that they are hyping it, it better not just be a Rans by Vans.