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]
A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flight without thrust from the means of propulsion.
Van's Aircraft, Inc. is an American kit aircraft manufacturer founded by Richard VanGrunsven in 1973. The Van's RV series aircraft are all-aluminum, low-wing monoplanes of monocoque construction. In 2023, over 11,000 Van's aircraft were flying worldwide, one third of the USA's experimental aircraft fleet.
The Van's RV-4 is an American light homebuilt aircraft supplied in kit form by Van's Aircraft of Aurora, Oregon. It seats two people in a tandem seating configuration with the pilot accommodated in the front seat.
The Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4 is a family of high-performance FAI Open Class gliders designed by Klaus Holighaus and manufactured by Schempp-Hirth Flugzeugbau GmbH in Kirchheim, Germany. The Nimbus-4 first flew in 1990.
The Van's Aircraft RV-10 is a four-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplane sold in kit form by Van's Aircraft. It is the first four-seat airplane in the popular RV series. The RV-10 first flew on 29 May 2003, and the first kit parts were delivered to a customer in September 2003.
The Van's RV-6 and RV-6A are two-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplanes sold in kit form by Van's Aircraft. The RV-6 is the tail-wheel equipped version while the RV-6A features a nose-wheel. The RV-6 was the first aircraft in the popular Van's RV series to feature side-by-side seating and the first to offer a nosewheel option. It was first flown in 1985. Over 2700 kits have been completed and flown.
The Van's RV-9 and RV-9A are American two-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplanes sold in kit form by Van's Aircraft of Aurora, Oregon. The RV-9 is the tail-wheel equipped version while the RV-9A features a nose-wheel.
The Van's RV-3 is a single-seat, single-engine, low-wing kit aircraft sold by Van's Aircraft. Unlike many other aircraft in the RV line, the RV-3 is only available as a tail-wheel equipped aircraft, although it is possible that some may have been completed by builders as nose-wheel versions. The RV-3 is the genesis design for the rest of the RV series, all which strongly resemble the RV-3. The RV-4 was originally developed as a two-seat RV-3.
The Van's RV-12 is an American two-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplane eligible for the U.S. E-LSA category, sold in kit form and as a complete ready-to-fly aircraft by Van's Aircraft of Aurora, Oregon.
The AMS-Flight Carat A is a single-seat, high performance motorglider. The sailplane was originally designed and built by Technoflug in Germany and is now manufactured by AMS-Flight in Slovenia.
AMS Flight is a manufacturer of gliders, motorgliders and ultralight aircraft. It is based in Begunje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia.
The Scheibe Bergfalke is a German glider designed by Egon Scheibe as a post-World War II development of the Akaflieg München Mü13 produced before and during the war.
The Stits SA-3A Playboy is a single seat, strut-braced low-wing monoplane that was designed by Ray Stits for amateur construction. The aircraft was designed and the prototype was completed in a three-month period during 1952. The design went on to become one of the most influential in the post-war boom in aircraft homebuilding.
The Aviastroitel AC-5M is a Russian mid-wing, single-seat, T-tailed motor glider and unmanned aerial vehicle that is produced by Aviastroitel, now Glider Air Craft.
The Aviastroitel AC-7M is a Russian mid-wing, T-tailed, two-seats in side-by-side configuration motor glider that was designed by Vladimir Egorovich Fedorov and produced by Aviastroitel, now Glider Air Craft.
The RV-1 is a Stits Playboy that was constructed with modifications by Richard VanGrunsven. The aircraft was the first of a series of Van's aircraft that became the most popular homebuilt aircraft produced.
The Van's Aircraft RV-14 is an American aerobatic kit aircraft designed by Richard VanGrunsven and produced by Van's Aircraft. It was introduced at AirVenture in July 2012. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.
The Aerola Alatus is a Ukrainian mid-wing, single-seat, glider and motor glider, designed and produced by Aerola of Kyiv.
RV-5 is Richard VanGrunsven's designation for a one-off proof-of-concept prototype airplane. Although the designation is the 5th in the Van's Aircraft "RV" series, the RV-5 was never intended as a production aircraft, only as a project for VanGrunsven and fellow members of his EAA chapter.
RV-2 is Richard VanGrunsven’s designation for a proposed single-seat tailless glider with all-wood structure and a 40-foot wingspan. The airplane has same configuration as the Backstrom EPB-1C and Marske XM-1D, although with a swept vertical stabilizer similar to that of the Marske Pioneer.