Radial-Engined RV-8 First Flight

January 21, 2016 - We were thrilled to congratulate Brian Kelly, EAA 578554, whose unique RV-8R made a successful first flight last week at the Spruce Creek airpark in Florida. The airplane, which Kelly calls a “poor man’s Hellcat,” bears a Navy paint scheme and is powered by a Rotec R-3600 radial engine. We’ll be publishing the full story in a future issue of Sport Aviation magazine, but, in the meantime, here’s a look behind-the-scenes at the workmanship that’s gone into this remarkable project.