Hovan's RV Web Page - RV Heaven!

John Hovan's Home Page - RV Heaven!

Dedicated to building, flying and dreaming about Van's RV Aircraft.



Rob "Smokey" Ray - Golden Gate bridge the other day. Taken by swift owner, "Ozzie" Nelson.
Let's meet John Hovan...


What's an RV?
Due to product liability lawsuits filed in the 1960's and 1970's many light aircraft manufacturers such as Cessna Aircraft ceased production of all such aircraft. In turn, passionate pilots looked for other sources to obtain modern general aviation airplanes. Thus, the homebuilt aircraft industry was born! Today, there are over 500 homebuilt aircraft models on the market. Some statistics show that more light aircraft homebuilts are being produced than production piston engine airplanes. The December issue of Kitplane magazine is considered one of the most complete sources for reviewing all aircraft kits available. You can find anything from World War II Mustang replicas to your own BD-10 private jet aircraft capable of breaking the sound barrier with a whopping top end speed of 926 MPH! What used to be a two day trip to Grandma's house could definitely be done in hours with this machine.

Van's Aircraft is one company that produces a line of airplane kits called RV's. RV's are one of the most popular kit planes on the market with over a thousand planes currently operating around the world. Van's Aircraft reports that a newly completed RV is being flown for the first time every three days. There are four models to chose from: The RV-3 (Single Seat), RV-4 (2 Seat Tandem), RV-6 (Taildragger, Side by Side Seating) and the RV-6A (Tricycle Gear, Side by Side Seating). Although on March 15, 1995 Cessna aircraft announced plans to resume production of light aircraft due to a change in the product liability laws, (They are only liable for the plane 18 years after the sale under the new law) the 200 MPH performance offered by RV's will always be an attraction since a completed RV can be built for under 40,000 US dollars. Fighter pilots, airline pilots, test pilots to even a Space Shuttle pilot have all come to appreciate the fine handling qualities of an RV. On this Web page, you will also find pilots such as Bob Seibert who has flown his RV-6 to the Bahamas. So, take a look and see what all the excitement is about since these planes look as good as they fly!
RV Information Sources
RV Building Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Completed RV Pictures RV Projects Van's Aircraft Information Tools/Parts RV Specifications and Pictures from Van's Literature Frank Justice Manual Addition (Last updated on 4/13/1997)

Send mail to Frank Justice

Mike Talley Panel Drawings and Wiring Diagrams Mike Talley's Vision System Engine Instrumentation Diagrams

RV Seat Drawings by Ken Hitchmough - Adapted from Tony Bingelis Drawings,J.Ken_Hitchmough@magic.ca Building Tips, Tricks and Information RV Accident Reports (Provided to promote safe flying) Other Home Pages with Homebuilt Aircraft Information The pictures above were scanned on an Apple Color OneScanner and processed with a Power Mac 8100/80AV RISC Computer manufactured by Apple Computer. Frank Justice's manual was converted from a 3.5" DOS disk via a PowerMacintosh 8100 and MacWrite Pro.

The information on this page is strictly for my own indulgence and does not necessarily represent the beliefs or products of Apple Computer, Inc.
Pages by John Hovan Copyright 1995, All Rights Reserved
Comments and feedback welcome, please send to... jhovan@swbell.net