I’d been looking for a project to keep me busy during my retirement days that would result in a very fun airplane to fly. I found it in Titusville, Florida.
VANS R4 serial number 4090 is a plans-built kit with quick-start wings started in 1996. The airframe was largely completed by the original builder and then finally sold to the second owner/builder in 2023.
The second owner added a complete modern Garmin GTX with a GN650ix radio/navigator. The second owner also overhauled and added a Lycoming 160 hp O320 engine and painted the airframe and all associated parts white.
In 2025, the second owner decided to sell the plane and put it on Barnstormers and Trade-a-Plane. That’s where I found it with a brief description and three photographs. After several conversations with the owner I decided to buy the highest priced and non-flying RV4 on the market.
In December of 2025 my brother and I flew commercial to Orlando, Florida and Ubered to Titusville. After a few hours of inspection, we loaded the airplane into a 26’ Penske moving truck and drove 40 hours to St. George, Utah and unloaded the airplane into my garage and the wings into a nearby cargo trailer.
Several pictures follow of the plane in the second owner’s hangar, the drive home, and unloading the plane into my garage.
