RV-11 is Richard VanGrunsven's designation for a proposed single-seat touring motor glider design similar in layout to the AMS Carat.[1] Most touring motor gliders are two-seaters; VanGrunsven felt that the lower drag and weight of a single-seater would allow for superior performance.[2]
Although the designation is the 11th in the Van's Aircraft “RV” series, the RV-11 is not a company project. Rather, it is Richard VanGrunsven’s “personal pet project”, being designed and built at his home in his spare time.[3]
The prototype RV-11 uses the wings of an HP-18 sailplane mated to a specially built fuselage.[4] A Jabiru 2200 was installed in the nose.[5] The panel features an I-K Technologies AIM-1 display and a MicroAir radio.[6] The canopy is the aft half of an RV-4 canopy, rotated 180 degrees so as to face forward.[7] Construction is all-metal, except for the PVC ribs in the HP-18 wings and - as is typical in RVs - some small fiberglass components such as the engine cowl and prop spinner.[2]
The RV-11’s single main landing gear is similar to those of a DC-3,[7] retracting up and forward, “half way” into a pod-like fairing on the underside of the belly.[5]
VanGrunsven first announced the RV-11 in an issue of the RVator newsletter published in 2000.[2] In a 2002 issue, VanGrunsven reported that the prototype was “perhaps 80% complete”.[5] Later issues included photos of the build.[7][6] In 2022, at an EAA event to celebrate the 50 years of Van's Aircraft, VanGrunsven showed recent photos and reported that, although the airplane has not yet been completed, further progress has been made.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Van’s Aircraft "RVator" newsletter, 2000 issue #2. Archived
- ^ a b c Van’s Aircraft "RVator" newsletter, 2000 issue #1. Archived
- ^ Flying Magazine, "Van’s Aircraft and Those Amazing RVs"
- ^ a b Experimental Aircraft Association, "AirVenture 2022 - Theater in the Woods - Van's 50th Anniversary"
- ^ a b c Van’s Aircraft "RVator" newsletter, 2002 issue #4. Archived
- ^ a b Van’s Aircraft "RVator" newsletter, 2004 issue #2. Archived
- ^ a b c Van’s Aircraft "RVator" newsletter, 2002 issue #6. Archived