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RV-4 pre-prebuy Research

Gabe214

Member
Hey guys, I’m new to the forums but after doing some long deliberation etc, I’ve come to the conclusion that an RV4 would suite my needs/desires just fine. That’s being said I’ve been approach led by a gentleman interested in selling me his RV4. I live in Mississippi and he’s in Arizona. The aircraft I’m told was built by a guy named George Eddings in 1988. It seems like a nice aircraft, I’m just curious if anyone has any information or knowledge on how good of a builder George was. It may eventually turn into a prebuy but I’d like to know first if it could be a problem child or not. It looks phenomenal in the photos I’ve gotten. Thanks!!! The Tail number btw is N88GE.
 
I bought a -4 kit from a “master builder” who claimed to have built several RV’s. It had a bunch of flaws that weren’t up to my standards and had to be re-done. With that being said, someones work may be acceptable but are they up to your personal standards?
 
Even if the original builder was great, who has worked on it since 1988 and what have they done to it?

Whatever you do, make sure you get a REAL GOOD pre-purchase inspection.

I'm not going to get into the 12 wing spar box bolts I found missing on my RV8 when I bought it after 10 years built, but I'll tell you about the plane I just bought last week. It had a propeller not approved for it, the carb was leaking fuel, the airbox was ripped. the muffler was broken, the engine mount was loose and many more things. Oh, the most important part, the annual inspection had just been signed less than 2 weeks earlier !!!!!

Get a good pre-purchase inspection no matter who built it and how nice it looks in pictures.
 
Pay attention to the service bullitens. I just bought one a couple weeks ago and made sure I knew what I was in for. The biggest ones (I think) to pay attention to are the cracking control surface mounts and the tank slosh. I knew my plane needed to be de sloshed and am in the process of it now. It is a good size job and I'm ok having the plane down for a little bit because I need training before i can fly it and that was booked out a bit too. If you buy it with a list of flight safety issues you may also be down for a bit taking care of them so factor that in.
 
Revisions

Excellent advice so far.
I’ll echo some of it.
I spent the last year refurbishing a four that first flew in 87.
A -4 of that era was one of the first ones started. Since then there have been a LOT of plans revisions. Some of those were major changes: like the change to long gear and the beefed up engine mount weldments.
The -4’s construction manual and plans left a LOT of room for builders to figure things out. You absolutely will find things that are done differently than you would have done them. Know the difference between “odd”, “not quite right”, and “un-airworthy”. Most importantly know your ability to address what you decide needs addressing.
Good luck!
 
I really appreciate all of the input everyone. I'm new to the RV's so this has definitely been a learning process. I've found myself torn between the RV8's and the 4' (I'm definitely more partial to the 8's). I found one semi local that isnt for sale yet but I've been talking to the owner about purchasing the airplane. Now the main question would be who could I contact that can do a good prebuy on an RV-8 before purchase? Is there a list of AP/IA's in states that have that knowledge and experience? Thanks again fellas!

- Gabe
 
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