Van's Aircraft Celebrates 50th Anniversary With a High-Wing Design

The Aurora, Oregon-based company, Van’s Aircraft, announced the first flight of the engineering prototype of the Van's RV-15 this week, a high-wing design intended for the backcountry.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at 04:35 PM ET

Verified

The first takeoff of the Van's Aircraft high-wing prototype for its new RV-15 model. [Courtesy: Van's Aircraft]

Key Takeaways:

Van's Aircraft, celebrating its 50th anniversary, announced the first flight of its RV-15 engineering prototype, marking its first-ever high-wing, all-metal kit aircraft design.
The RV-15 is specifically developed for backcountry flying, featuring robust landing gear and will initially be available as a tailwheel-equipped model.
Currently an engineering prototype, the RV-15 is undergoing test flights, and Van's Aircraft is prioritizing perfecting the design over a set timeline, thus not yet taking orders.

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Can you imagine celebrating your 50th anniversary with a new baby? In a manner of speaking that’s what Van’s Aircraft is doing. The Aurora, Oregon-based company announced the first flight of the engineering prototype of the Van’s RV-15 this week. The company has been producing all-metal kit airplanes since 1972.

“This is the first high-wing design by Van’s,” notes Greg Hughes, Van’s vice president. “We began flying it last month and it flies well, but I want to stress that it is the engineering prototype so it is functionally pretty close to the final design.”