Original RV-5 Coming to Oshkosh

July 11, 2019 - The original RV-5, which is in the midst of a restoration being carried out by Van's Aircraft employees with the help of members of EAA Chapter 105, will be on display at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019.

Plenty of RV aircraft will be in attendance, but this will be the only RV-5, as only one has ever been built. Designed by Richard VanGrunsven in the mid-1970s as an investigatory, conceptual design intended to — among other things — address the fuel crisis at the time, the RV-5 was built by people from the local community including members of Chapter 105.

"The RV-5 is a unique airplane," said Van's Community Director Greg Hughes. "This is a project that our chief engineer, Rian Johnson, has been working on as a personal project for quite some time. It was only fitting to ask some of the folks from EAA Chapter 105 to help with the project during our work parties. We've had members participate who are as young as 15 and as old as, well, let's just say they'd already been members of Chapter 105 before the airplane was originally built."

The RV-5 is extremely light, weighing just 315 pounds including the engine, and is unique compared to Van's commercial line of aircraft due to its mid-wing configuration. The ultimate goal of the restoration is to get the aircraft airworthy and flying again for the first time in decades, although it will not fly at Oshkosh.

People interested in seeing the RV-5 can drop by the Van's Aircraft booth, which is located in the Homebuilt Aircraft Display in Booth 604, or you can learn more about the airplane during a Homebuilts in Review presentation scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. across from Homebuilders Headquarters.