RV4 - the making of - (Experimental Aircraft)

[hotrod1968hemi]

Great video! Thanks for taking pics of all your progress. You rarely find start to finish videos such as this. A big thumbs up on the finished product as well!

[markawbolton]

Beautiful work there and very tidy. Do you regret painting it after you flew it ?

[PhilharmonicLights]

My God, this is really something! Knowledge, creativity and hard work is everything. Great set of skills and knowledge proves that you not necessary lots of money, special labs and conditions to build complex thinks such as Airplane. Taking in account that is just one off. Only large companies with lots of resources can build prototypes of airplanes, or you need to be individual with lots of recourses in your head... in short... genius... well done!

[HIllCarver]

very nice video, beautiful plane, just gorgeous. Thanks for sharing!

[mesoronery]

You are a true craftsman sir. Well done on a fantastic looking aircraft and a great video.

[pyrexia2]

Dedication !

[kansastwista]

beautiful plane, I hope you get years of fun out of her. love the name as well

[JIMMYLINE]

great work! I must admit, at the 9:15 mark I almost cried when I saw the bird coming apart....then I saw it was being painted, so I started to smile again! :)

[talfly]

amazing!!!!!!

good work!!

[flyboyy77]

hellz yea good motivational video for a student graduating next week in Aviation Maintenance Technology, this video was bad ass

[omfgolo]

It was a kit!? Bah, trip down

[taylorwolfbrandt]

Very nice work, flush rivets and all. My dad's best bud just finished one two years ago, and loves it. I haven't had a ride yet, someday.

[jvn1111]

Great job man !!!

[FightingHerk]

It must have felt so good for you to see that thing lift up off the ground!

It almost looks like an Extra 300

[man4mac]

phenomenal man. I would love an RV4, but I already have too much coin to pay off for all my ratings...some day some day.

[tdfitch03]

Awesome job!! Great video.

[g1h23]

Congradulations on your build. Ive always wanted to build an rv4

[flysigma]

Respect for the awesome work from a Kitfox driver.

[OhLuckyMan]

wow! i'm just sitting here with a dumb grin on my face after watching the vid....thanks

[malanga13]

i loved the video! i know this is going to make me look like a fool, but one question: how do you keep the rows of rivets so straight? and at the same time, what is the purpose of them being there, then at some point are going? what happens in between? maybe glue drying time? thanks.

[gbh903]

Beautiful!

[RageboyTornado]

AcDC and Bosshoss man ....

Eine Frage wofür sind diese abstehenden Bolzen ? Weil die kommen jah logischerweise eh wider ab und deswegen versteh ich den Sinn nicht so ganz.

Gruss

Nick

[Schlichtenhorst]

Das sind clecoes, kleine Dinger, die die Bauteile anstatt der später verwendeten Nieten zusammenhalten. Man kann sie wieder entfernen, um das ganze Zeug wieder auseinanderzunehmen und zu lackieren, danach kommen dann Nieten in die Löcher.

[olympussound]

did you make everything? thats amazing! are you an engineer?

[Schlichtenhorst]

..not an engineer, just dedicated :-) To be honest, I sell cellphones, just like that ugly guy from the UK, but I won't make that lot of money with my songs,LOL

[icebonesridesagain]

Great vid man, Im saving up to buy a RV-4 kit myself, what kind of engine is that? Looks like a lycoming 360 series.

[Schlichtenhorst]

It's an Lycoming O320, converted to aerobatic specs with Christen Aviat inverted oil system an an Ellison Throttle Body Injector (aerobatic carburetor). More than enough for this little aircraft, lot's 'a fun...

[FunPlacesToFly]

Great Video! I can't wait till I my RV-9A finished! This is great movitation!

[gur2ys4me]

Great video...great songs to go with it...and picked up a few tips on how to possible build my wings. I like those sticks put in as well, that seemed to make some very tight skins. I've saved up enough for a kit, and was wondering with the prepunched wing skins on the 4 now, and a few other things Van's has done, do you think the hourse will hopefully be less than yours, and still have a great plane?

[Schlichtenhorst]

Jep, don't get into details and don't try try to invent the wheel, just build per plans and you're done under 2000 hours :-)

[fastmachone351]

Great Job, you can be proud of your acomplishment.

[elminz]

Awesome. A whole lot of work, but damn that's a sweet plane.

[terraformingbiopunk]

I downloaded your vid..really cool!!!!

[DrMotorDude]

Schlichtenhorst, Is that zinc chromate or epoxy primer you used?

[Schlichtenhorst]

Hazardous stuff only, zinc chromate. No children planned...you have to be carefull with this, serious stuff, but the most effective corrosion protection.

[DrMotorDude]

I know it's being phased out but there's still plenty to be found. OUTSTANDING for metal protection.

[SickAudi]

damn good job, u have a lot of patience and very detailed love it 5 stars

[Kurdy1986]

Goodjob guys.

[Bertoffski86]

Beautiful airplane! I love the paint choice as well. Two thumbs up!

[Ucaklar]

like how much could u sell that 4???? u wud probs get like 1m?

[SickAudi]

probably 50k to 100k

[motorbreath302]

That's awesome. Whole lot of clecos. At least you got your money out of them. Good work.

[cristianomaddog]

Great Plane!

Exelent building!!!

You payed a lot of attention on the detail! Thats owsome!!!!

I wish some day i could do something like this!

By the way, exelent video! The final song (Quee) perfect for the moment!

Good flights with your baby!

[sardosfish]

goooooooooooood!!!

[cuhlik]

Thank-you for making the Internet a richer place. Great video and even nicer construction job. Looks truly first class!

[ianchard]

Amazing stuff!

[joesabido]

I wish I was rich to do a project like this :(

[Schlichtenhorst]

It would have made things a lot easier for me, too :o)

You don't have to be rich, you have to be obsessed!

[jbfive71]

Beautiful plane and great video!

[RDWit]

Most excellent! Nice web site as well.

[ajjs02]

wow.he must be a wealthy german.Did you see that house. Fr sure that's worth more than a million us.Excellent work. Rv's r a real lil hot rod of a plane.;)

[Schlichtenhorst]

...well, I've done most of the construction of the house by myself and property is cheap here, so your your number is way off LOL. But it took 10 years to recover and start the RV project....

[jl49lo]

What an absolutely beautiful piece of craftmanship!!!!

[luisfoli]

...very good!

I like people with determination, careful and metódicas.

[kbilyak04]

Very nice craftsmanship, but we expect that from you because you are German :)

[likein69]

Excelent work ethics= exelent outcome,

Nice job!!

[planemaker554]

cool!!

[flyergp65]

Its looks like you made a serious mistake on one of the spars.... AS A FAA inspector I would like to talk to you!! ha IM kidding.... It looks damn GOOD...

[bazook77]

wow. home made plane! if only there are space for me to build one in Singapore...

Great work there... :)

[2degucitas]

your wife is um....very patient.

[NamelessFTW]

the paint really makes a difference... how much added weight was that?

is it aesthetic only or does it prevent corrosion as well?

[NSResponder]

Did you really keep your shop so neat for the whole process, or did you tidy up when you were going to take photos? ;-)

-jcr

[nascarbabe24]

sharp looking RV. I would rather fly then build, so I will stick with my wood, and fabric beast for now.

[trahanoebalos]

wonderful!

[RinaldiMeteoric]

Wonderful job. What was your motivation to do it? You were driven by what? Along the way did someone helped you, even just encouraging you?

Thanks.

[mitzmic]

Mann, das war ja der wahnsinn. Gluekwunsch, nur das kann ich sagen. Du weisst ja nicht wie ich mir gefuehlt hab allein beim zusaehen. Der wolle hammer! Ich wuensch dir noch viele lange tolle jahre flugzeit :P in deiner Lady Godiva! ;)

[mitzmic]

'Der wolle hammer' hab ich NICHT geschrieben. Hahaha. Das war nicht von mir, haha!:P:P Ich weiss nicht was ich damit sagen wollte...

[rahj8786]

hi! may i know what engine did you use? or did you make your own engine?

[Schlichtenhorst]

It's a standard Lycoming O320 as you could find in nearly every Cessna 172. 160HP, 4-cylinder aircooled boxer engine. No fancy stuff here :o)

[rahj8786]

may i know where did you purchased the engined?

[Bazanteria]

Does this set include building manual for Americans ? If it does, it must be at least billion pages :D

[Aerolipe111]

Great job

[bodybager]

This is an amazing tribute to what one determined man can accomplish with a little help from those around him. The finished product is superb. I hope it gives you years of joy.

[JohnyCanuck796]

Congrats!! nice job, Are those modified wing tips or am I smoking crack?

[Schlichtenhorst]

I installed RV7-wingtips, so your stuff is OK, keep on smokin'.

[shakaloso83]

teach me, I am building my own to fly from hawaii to the states. wish me luck

[Schlichtenhorst]

I'll do!!

[oishi222]

how far from cali? too lazy to look...

seems like more than 400 miles which is about as far a plane this size can take you on a full tank of gas

[Myran39]

So dam` impressed! Incredible nice bulilt!

[archerrobinhood]

im gonna build a plane with under 2000 bucks..

[Schlichtenhorst]

..and I'll bring Democracy to Iraq within the next 5 days...

[archerrobinhood]

its possible at least..vw beetle engine, aluminium sheets, wood, glue, canvas, paint, all comes in very cheap.

[robinphillips]

possible yes.........wise no ;-)

[dukeofharuson]

Hehe, well said! :))

[mjok2004]

You could buy a coffin cheaper than that :)

[Schlichtenhorst]

But a coffin won't fly that high...

[the1bigace]

good luck and dont die XD Im finding that you could buy a nice sports car for the same price, but is a sports car as fun? hell no :) so just get it financed and tell your wife you dont need that Grand Prix you always wanted :)

[Ecka0007]

well done

[mjok2004]

IT's a long way to the shop if you wanna sausage roll

[buckmetta]

beautiful construction...very nice ! I`m a pilot of airbus 320 in Brazil and I`d fly in this machine for sure...safe and sound. totally aproved - great job.

[GrayGamut]

Awesome video!

[antoniolagos]

Sehr gut. Soll geflogen werden jeden tag.

Selbstbauen macht viel mehr spass.

Gratuliere dich fuer so ein erfolgreiches

Project.

[carlosr428]

this makes me wanna make one, wait i already wanna make one lol, kiack ass dude! im 16 and so is my freind we both wanna make one but with a mazda rotary engine found on those old rx7's make an aluminum tubing frame and wrap it with canvas, so yea thanks for this vid bro!

[talkingparrot]

el avion es lindo .. pero no esta hecho artesanal .. prefabricado .. cumple sus objetivos .. pero .. hubiera sido mejor artesanal ... felicitaciones por hacerlo ... the airplane is pretty. but this prefabricated artisan fact.. does not fulfill its objectives. but. it had been better artisan... congratulations to do it

[Guinnie]

Toll

[0RandomHero]

WOW! i am impressed i wish i could shake your hand that was amazing! always wanted one do you mind me asking what it cost you? looks like a lot of work but tons of fun!

[the1bigace]

well, the Kits for the rv-4 costs about 14,000 I dont know if they supply a Engine and avionics with the kit though, so at the end it may cost 20,000 Not bad considering cars cost more and get much less gas mileage. And transit times not to mention more fun than a corvette :P

[hyper4lifedude]

you know, i might do this on day...

(10 years later) i did it!

(20 years later) its been written-off! :-(

LOL

[the1bigace]

yeah. I hear ya man.

[paradoxbox1]

if you use a rotary engine in your rv4 (or any other vans aircraft) you can have a good solid powerplant for under 5grand for a 3rotor, or under 2grand for a 2 rotor.

[renotsttam]

I have been looking into building one. The RV-4 will cost a minimum of about $35,000 all said and done, and can go over $50,0000 if you go nuts with a new engine, constant speed prop, advanced avionics, custom paint, etc. The basic airframe kit is about $15,000, and can be ordered one section at a time to spread out the cost. It's a hell of a plane for the money though, if you have the time.....

[renotsttam]

Oops, I meant $50,000.

[the1bigace]

yeah, Im planning construction of one, the sad thing is with me being in the Marines I'll have to rent a hanger and keep it there for working on my vacation time XD.

[cwil757]

amazing job man, im actually a USAF sheetmetal troop working on F-16's and the attention to detail extremely impressed me, after seeing some of the hack jobs the young airman do around here.

[flightbase]

Awesome!

[criticalmass181]

There's nothing like good craftsmanship.!!! Beautiful job. It brought a smile to my face, to see you baking stuff in the oven. I used to do that with my race bike parts. Drove my Wife MAD !!!!!! Congratulations on a job well done. It looks great. Hope it fly's well.

[the1bigace]

may I ask what it acompliches? is if for tempering the metal or making it bendable for shaping?

[criticalmass181]

It's just to bake the paint on. Some paints need to be cured under a good deal of heat. To temper, or bend the metal would take more temperature.

[the1bigace]

oh yeah paint, okay I get it thanks.

[ncreery]

Congratulations. Thinking of doing it, but seems very long time to spend.  It takes a special person to work on something like that. Well done!!!!!

[coldfustion]

Well done! that is truely amazing. loox a bit like an extra 300 or something

[djmaxpataxo]

construção de um avião experimental em alumínio

[robmill54]

Absolutely first class workmanship. A wonderful achievement to be proud of. Awesome!

[locker123xxl]

Wow, after working with this metal, you must still be able to remember the feel of it any time you want.

It's a remarkable construction.

[ChuckManiac]

Wow you can build your own aircraft? Do you have to obtain a liscense for that?

[Schlichtenhorst]

No. Right now there are 5438 completed RV's (Vans aircraft designs, RV3,4,6,7,8,9,10,12)around the world and tenthousands of other homebuilt aircraft. No licence required, only patience :o)

[ChuckManiac]

How about money wise? It's obviously an expensive hobby.

[NorcanDiaboli]

its worth to mention that you need a license to fly it, and it has to pass some tests.

if you build a microlight (or is it ultralight?) you dont need a license to fly it in many places.

[ChuckManiac]

Cool. Thanks.

[koksivsg]

Great work. I'm jealous !

[aurora2k]

impressive! are you an engineer/pilot ?

[Schlichtenhorst]

Engineer? No. Even in Germany you don't have to be an engineer to build your own aircraft, it just takes passion and the will to learn. Pilot? Meanwhile Yes. I had no licence when I started the project and achieved it 'on the way'. Well worth it, it's so much fun to fly this little aircraft :o)

[aurora2k]

its beautiful i love the plane and wow i wonder how many people working on this project ..

[Schlichtenhorst]

...basically just me (and a whole brewery to keep me motivated LOL)

[tocamadera]

best picture is your face at the D Day. Nice video. Sure the cleanest works Ive ever saw .Hope you will enjoy thowsands of hours of it, Ha , and you can always fly throw "my air"

[bedeone]

That is just plain nice =)

How much did it cost =D

[Schlichtenhorst]

As with all projects: Finished faster and paid less ...LOL

To keep frustration low I quit adding somewhere in the middle. But it definately cost some hair, too :o)

[bedeone]

Oh well I'm 15 so i've got some tipe =P

[Jaroszmm]

Great video. I'm currently building RV3 but only RC version, 1.5m wingspan. Still, gives me a lot of pleasure as well :)

[Madrandomize]

Grats you are best .I wish i could do something like that :(

[pricey0708]

well done mate. love them both. I love planes. The name is great.

[paintballfreak678]

Nice

[Omaga]

great more plesure craft to put more toxic sht in my air its not only your air your burring u know

[Schlichtenhorst]

...just have to burn as much gas as possible before the Chinese will. I'll avoid flying through YOUR air...

[mbitsko25]

I was debating whether to put a smoke system in mine. You just made the decision for me. Thanks!

[tlundby]

Quit yer bitchin! You and Bono to take the train, I'll fly over your grey joyless world.

[Buckeroo44]

Awesome! Congratulations on your accomplishments (the airplane AND the video...)