Vans RV-12 S-LSA

[Jack Tyler]

The suggestion to 'mine' the VAF website is a good one, and not just because you'll find helpful threads on almost any topic on almost any Vans model...and much of it from folks who've put their hands on the product, have a background in flying other aircraft, and who seem to network with others pretty widely. Another thing about VAF that I've found helpful is that you can follow up on a given topic with one or more builders/owners who have experiences (or perhaps have very limited experience) just like you. It's a wonderful resource.

Re: the nose gear strut, this has always been somewhat of a discussion topic among Vans owners. In the more recent models, the wheel fork/strut assembly and the bracing at the firewall have been strengthened and a retrofit kit has also been made available for earlier kits. I saw these changes on an RV-7A now flown by (but not built by) a friend at my airport. The basic issue, which no doubt applies to the -12 as well, has been a concern related to landing on a turf/gravel/dirt/sand surface. A gopher hole, divet or other abrupt depression in the surface 'catches' the nose gear, the strut is unable to accept the load and so folds, and the a/c somersaults onto its back. (In the never resolved/always interesting debate about choosing a flip-up canopy or a slider, dealing with this circumstance is one of the reasons some builders favor the slider). After looking at a variety of LSA's in the past few years, I don't see the RV-12's gear as being significantly different in ultimate strength than many of the other tricycle gear models, which is to say that it probably belongs on improved surfaces and with the pilot avoiding heavy sideloading, porpoise-ing or 'carrier' landings.

[designrs]

From Van's. They are very responsive and open to questions.
[email protected]

"We have found that the RV-12 is very well suited for training environments: One of the largest flight schools here in Oregon, Lane Aviation Academy, is currently using 2 RV-12 S-LSAs as primary trainers and has had great success."

[Big steve]

insurance from eaa for my slsa rv-12 was 2200.00 with 115k hull insurance. i'm also a low time pilot with only 150 hrs. i've got 43 hrs on it now which includes the trip back from Vans to WI.

[theskunk]

Steve - you have an SLSA?

WE NEED PICTURES!

[Big steve]

i can barely post comments here, much less download pictures. all 12 of the slsa are identical . great picure on sporties catalog also of rv-12 that you can win. My friend Tim in Milwaukee also has same plane that he purchased used from a guy in CO that decided that flying wasn't for him. Maybe we can do some formation flying when get alot more experience. I've used this website for about 2 years for my research on Light sport and found that the shared knowledge was invaluable in making decisions. Origionally I only wanted steam gauges, forget that fancy stuff, but after a few demo flites in Mt Vernon, i was a convert for glass ! Skyview has a great system with everything integrated into the main display. It takes a little bit of time to learn the seperate systems, but it is coming together. I try to keep my focus on the windshield 90% of the time.

[designrs]

Game on! Van's just released the lottery. Email or FAX order. Checks due in 5 days. Or immediately via website. Good luck to all.

PS. I am not ordering, but I am excited about the RV-12 S-LSA offering and the furtherance of LSA!

[FlyingForFun]

Delete

[drseti]

Without contributing to major thread drift...

Aw, go ahead, drift away, Richard.

Paul, how durable is your SportStar gear?

Two different issues here, nosegear and main landing gear. Both are somewhat different between the SportStar and the RV-12.

As for the nosegear, it's a bit more robust in the SportStar. It has to be, because it's steerable (whereas the RV-12 uses a much simpler castering design). There are still quite a few nosegear damage accidents, usually because someone tried to force the plane onto the runway, nosewheel first. They usually result in a crumpled firewall, resulting in a major repair. The best antidote to this kind of landing accident is to get taildragger training, and then land the SportStar as though it were a taildragger. I suspect the same goes for any tricycle gear LSA.

The main gear leg in the SportStar is composite, vs. aluminum in the RV-12. This would tend to make the SportStar main more robust, and in fact I know of no main gear leg failures in a US fleet of nearly 100. There is a history, however, of washers failing in the gear leg to main spar attach hardware. The somewhat frangible washers appear to take the bullet for the much more expensive gear legs, so that's a good thing. I think the aluminum used by Van's has more spring to it, so should be pretty forgiving, but I'm not sure the hardware would necessarily fail first, saving the gear legs, in a really hard landing.

[FlyingForFun]

Delete

[drseti]

Hmmm... Never thought of making washers out of fresh bread before. Cookies make more sense, because when they fail, you can see the crumbs on the hangar floor during preflight, and the damage is less likely to go unnoticed.

[3Dreaming]

Broken or damaged gear legs are better than damage to the attachment points. I'm not sure having hardware break away to save the gear leg is good thing, because if it departs then you have damage to the airframe.

[designrs]

So, did anyone on this form submit a RV-12 S-LSA purchase order/request?

[designrs]

Just received a follow-up email from Van's customer service, asking if all my questions were answered to my satisfaction and if I had send in a deposit and order. So it is reasonable to assume that:
1) they have good sales customer service
2) they probably did not sell all 12 planes
3) you can probably still get one now!

I hope they do well!

[FlyingForFun]

Delete

[Nomore767]

From the EAA:-

Excerpt:-

"Wally Anderson of Synergy Air said aircraft deliveries in the second batch are expected to occur in the four- to six-month range. The first batch sold out in about 80 hours and informational packets were e-mailed this past week to those who expressed interest in purchasing one of the airplanes.

"It's really fun to be an American manufacturer," he said, stating that Synergy Air has grown from four employees last year to 18 today. Eventually Anderson says the production rate will ramp up to about 50 airplanes per year from its current production rate of about 30."