Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
#1861354
If Cessna got it wrong and ditched their last high wing outfit - will Vans do any better ?
Farmers have seen the light - Landrovers are out, Toyotas and Isuzu are in.
I had a Landrover many moons ago, was struggling through a bit of snow one winter and a bliddy Mini (old type) went snoring past me. Prior to that, when in the mob, standing by a new build boat in Barrow, I had an old Mini with most of the floor pan rusted away, went through significant snow going over Long Hill near Buxton.
Not only in London, but up here too I see pickups with snorkels fitted - as if they negotiate 3ft deep fords in rivers. Daft extra expense.
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By nallen
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1861357
skydriller wrote:Say "Ive got an RV" to any pilot and they think "efficient sportsplane, allrounder, aerobatics to fast cruising". They dont think "rugged bushplane".

I hope it works for them, but they are completely different design philosophies. But then they have a 4 seater and micro now dont they?


But we live in a world where Aston Martin and Lamborghini now make SUVs … (although in the latter case, this could be regarded as a return to its roots).
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By MichaelP
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1861371
Maybe it’s a face thing.
Some of their staff have been naughty. Rather than fire them, put them in another place and make them build a high wing aeroplane.
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By TheFarmer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1861375
@Bill McCarthy has it spot on.

Farmers don’t really buy Land Rovers for work any more. We often have an example of the original ones though, for warm weekends.

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For work, we buy Japanese vehicles that are reliable and have a 5 year warranty, like this.

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A back country Vans? Maybe. But it’ll have to be tube and fabric to outperform it’s competitors, and I can’t see Vans doing that somehow.
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#1861381
Rob P wrote:On the RV15. I see it will be 'back-country capable'

Has anyone noticed we are a little short of back country here in the crowded Great Britain? Scots and Welsh can demur if they wish
.........


I doubt the UK market even factors in their thinking...
#1861383
personally, I think Vans peaked at the RV-8, the RV-9 is okay, but started to go downhill when they put a nosewheel on them.

The current crop of designs do nothing for me, all a bit samey. Maybe a change of direction/thought is needed, but like others have said, 15 minutes with a pack of crayons would have produced an "artists impression", we can all guess roughly what it will look like.
By Rjk983
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1861412
skydriller wrote:Hmmm.

Say "Ive got an RV" to any pilot and they think "efficient sportsplane, allrounder, aerobatics to fast cruising". They dont think "rugged bushplane".

I hope it works for them, but they are completely different design philosophies. But then they have a 4 seater and micro now dont they?

Regards, SD..


But imagine if you could think “efficient sports plane, all rounder,aerobatics, fast cruising, 4 seat, rugged bush plane” :thumleft:
#1861439
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I saw this on a Vans forum a while back. It is photoshopped but shows effectively a RV7 with the wing up top and some bigger wheels. It kind of reminds me of the Wittman Tailwind, which has early Vans’ performance, here is an example:

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So my money is on something like the above for the RV15. I think I like the idea too…
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#1861442
It will be interesting to see what the design finally looks like. The Glasair guys had a similar idea - adaptable bushplane, but the end result whilst a nice enough aircraft really did not get anywhere near the 4x4 off-road hero that they talked about.

The Tailwind is probably close to the Vans current offerings in terms of performance - but 4x4 country capable - no. Given the popularity of the oof-road / STOL scene in the US it might be that they can surprise us.

In the UK it might mean no beach is safe!
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