Mitch Lock pilots his RV- 12, the first E-LSA kit to fly.
Kent Misegades
The RV- 12 avionics subkit comes with this unique prewired
avionics module that saves builders time and reduces the chance
of errors.
Spar pin with spring-loaded plunger that
prevents flight if
wings are incorrectly
attached.
Courtesy Mitchell Lock
Joe Czachorowski
To the delight of builders, Richard VanGrunsven came to Oshkosh with major RV- 12 news: on the previous Monday, the FAA had issued S-LSA (special light-sport aircraft) certification for the latest RV model, making
it the 100th LSA. On the following day, Mitch Lock, Van’s
East Coast representative and the designated “guinea pig”
builder, received his E-LSA (experimental light-sport aircraft) signoff for kit number 1, N912VA. The next morning,
Wednesday, July 22, he made the first flight of an E-LSA
RV- 12, taking off from his home base, St. Mary’s County
Regional Airport (2W6) in Leonardtown, Maryland.
To a casual observer, the RV- 12 looks much like a scaled
down RV-9A. The - 12 is intended for more sedate sport
flying compared with the company’s earlier aerial hot
rods like the RV- 3, - 4, - 6, - 7, and RV- 8. As described by
Mitch Lock and Van’s Chief Designer Ken Krueger, the
RV- 12 represents quite a departure from earlier designs in
many respects. From the outset, the airplane was designed
assuming no previous knowledge of homebuilding and
only modest flying experience on the part of the builder/
pilot. A great effort was made to keep the construction
process simple and foolproof, and to provide an airplane
that is safe and affordable to build and operate. The ASTM
standards requirement that the E-LSA be essentially a carbon copy of the original S-LSA prototypes designed and
built at Van’s Aurora, Oregon, facility allowed the company to simplify many aspects of the airplane.
Mitch described his experiences building RV- 12 kit
number 1: “I joined Van’s in March of 2008 after having constructed several RVs for myself. When I started
my first RV- 3 back in 1987, all you got was essentially
a glorified materials package; there is no comparison to
this kit. The plans are even better than what one receives
with other RVs, since we assume they are being read by
first-time builders. All of the step-by-step directions and
details are included on the large 11-inch by 17-inch drawings for each assembly, and it is hard to make a mistake.
The builder’s guide includes a 20-page primer describing
construction techniques, a list of needed tools, and suggestions on how to set up your shop.”
