technology is what really impressed me the
most,” he said. “Ten years ago most kits
didn’t come pre-drilled, and the pieces
weren’t computer-operated cutouts like they
are today. My Zenair was more or less a set
of plans and a box of aluminum that I had to
fabricate and drill the parts from. With the
Van’s RV- 12, it’s all pre-cut, pre-punched,
and pre-drilled, which not only makes con-
structing an airplane a whole lot easier, but
you will get to enjoy the fruits of your labors
even that much sooner.”
Four years ago, Ben bought an RV- 6 and
was immediately hooked on RVs. After flying
A- 7 Corsairs in the Navy in the late-1960s
and ’70s and flying the MD- 11 for Federal
Express, Ben got back into flying smaller
aircraft. “It took me over a mile to make a
normal turn in my A- 7, but in my RV, I can do
that maneuver in a little over 100 feet—it’s
that quick,” he said.
Another thing Ben likes about the RVs is
that they slow down to a crawl, so landings
are nice and easy. “Take it from a former jet
fighter pilot, the RV-1 2 might not smash any
speed records, but it will give you an economical fighter feel all day long.”
RV- 12 BUILDING PROCESS
Like every great relationship, each person
has a defined role as they work together,
striving for the end result. It was no different
for Jim and Ben as they set their sights on
building and flying the RV- 12. The first
pieces of the kit began to arrive in Georgia in
November 2008. The wings were tackled
first with de-burring, cleaning, and riveting.
It took the team about 100 hours to complete this milestone, or at least that’s what
Jim’s stopwatch said.
“Every time I entered the workshop I hit
my stopwatch,” Jim said. “If I went to lunch
or someone stopped by looking at the proj-
ect, I clocked out until they left. I only
counted actual building time because I really
wanted to see if it took as long as the manu-
facturer said it would.”
Jim and Ben were able to build the RV- 12
in a small hangar while using a standard set
of sheet metal tools, like metal files and cut-
ting snips. “One of the nicest things about
building the RV- 12 is that it doesn’t take up a
lot of room, and you don’t need a hangar full
of expensive tools to complete it,” Jim said.
Both of them recommend purchasing a
Four-point shoulder harnesses come standard in the RV- 12.
Jim and Ben were able to
build the RV- 12 in a small
hangar while using a
standard set of sheet metal
tools, like metal files and
cutting snips.
The 100-hp Rotax 912S fits snugly in the RV- 12’s
engine compartment.
pneumatic rivet puller and a hand squeezer
for the solid rivets.
With step-by-step instructions, the building buddies concentrated on one area of the
project at a time and, with stopwatch in
hand, progressed through the tail kit, landing gear, avionics kit, engine kit, final
assembly, and painting. Overall, both agree it
was straightforward; that is, until you bring
up the fiberglass with Jim.
“I really didn’t have much experience
with fiberglass,” he said. “I followed the
plans step-by-step until I finally got used to
how the epoxy mixed together and every-
thing worked out fine—after I got all the
fiberglass dust out of the hangar.”
In working together, Ben learned that
Jim had an eye for details. “When I thought
everything looked good to me, Jim would
point something out that he thought was
‘just not right’ and began taking it apart to
do it all over again,” Ben said. “I am very
proud of this airplane, along with the excel-
lent workmanship and the creativity of Jim
with all the extra attention to detail he has,
including the design of the paint scheme.”
Jim will be the first to admit he likes mil-
itary paint schemes; his Zenair is painted in
the U.S. Navy Jolly Roger colors. For the
RV- 12, Jim designed a pseudo-World War II
fighter scheme, complete with a black-and-
yellow checkered tail. Jim also wanted to
honor Ben’s Navy A- 7 Corsair flying days
with VFA- 87 Golden Warriors, so he applied
the squadron’s emblem to the tail. Not only
does the RV- 12 look “fighter ready,” but it
also offers great visibility for other airplanes.
With the paint applied and the 100-hp
Rotax 912 ULS engine installed, the men
were quite impressed with the 21st century
glass panel instrumentation that lay before
them. A Dynon D180 electronic flight information system provides both flight and
engine information, and a Garmin 496 GPS,
Garmin SL40 radio, and Garmin GTX 327
transponder safely take them on their
merry way.
“These fancy instruments took some
getting used to,” Jim said. “I have round
‘steam gauges’ in my Zenair, and I have
already been bugging my wife that I need to
totally upgrade that instrument panel to
equal the RV- 12’s. It’s hard for me to believe
how far technology has come in just a few
short years.”
