{"id":27850,"date":"2026-03-05T14:40:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T22:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vansaircraft.com\/?post_type=vans_first_flight&p=27850"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:40:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T22:40:24","slug":"shannon-carters-rv-7","status":"publish","type":"vans_first_flight","link":"https:\/\/www.vansaircraft.com\/first-flights\/shannon-carters-rv-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Shannon Carter’s RV-7"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shannon Carter’s RV-7 flew for the first time. Here’s more:<\/p>\n

I’m please to inform you that N526SJ (kit #72463) took to the skies on a clear and beautiful day. I purchased the tail and wing kit (along with tools) from Tom Maxwell in February of 2008. Although it’s been a somewhat slow build, I’ve enjoyed it, and can hardly believe it’s done. I received the Special Airworthiness Certificate on Wright Brothers Day 2025 and have spent the last couple of months in transition training. The plane flies great and I look forward to being a flyer\/builder. A big thank-you to wife, Jan who put up with having airplane parts in the basement, garage, and elsewhere (until she insisted I get a hanger). Although I did the vast majority of the work myself, no one builds one of these by themselves (Hanger neighbors, Websites, Van’s Air Force, magazines etc.).<\/p>\n

As others have said: “Keep pounding them rivets.” It’s worth it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":27851,"template":"","class_list":["post-27850","vans_first_flight","type-vans_first_flight","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nShannon Carter's RV-7 - Van's Aircraft Total Performance RV Kit Planes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vansaircraft.com\/first-flights\/shannon-carters-rv-7\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shannon Carter's RV-7 - Van's Aircraft Total Performance RV Kit Planes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shannon Carter’s RV-7 flew for the first time. 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