"Van" Flies His RV-12 LSA Entry...Big Grin

“Van” Flies His RV-12 LSA Entry…Big Grin

bydanjohnson

Monday, September 17, 2007 at 04:03 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Van's Aircraft successfully conducted the first flight of its RV-12 Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) prototype on November 9th, joining Cessna in flying their respective LSA entries.
The RV-12 prototype achieved a respectable empty weight of 714 pounds and offers a useful load of 606 pounds, or 491 pounds for people and baggage with full fuel.
Initial flight reports indicate positive performance characteristics, including easy takeoff, good climb, snappy roll rate, and gentle, conventional stalls, leaving designer Dick VanGrunsven "grinning."

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Van’s RV-12 prototype had 606 pounds of useful load with 19 gallons (115 lb.) of fuel. This gives RV-12 491 pounds for people and baggage. Van’s said this is “about as good as any of our other 2-seat airplanes.” Follow the progress of Van’s RV-12 project.

Cessna shows an LSA. Van’s Aircraft shows an LSA. Cessna flies their LSA. Van’s flies their LSA. Is it a race? Company founder and designer Dick VanGrunsven first flew his RV-12 on November 9th. The largest airplane builder (Cessna) and the largest kit company (Van’s) have now flown their LSA entries, each a product of ambitiously rapid development periods. *** The prototype RV-12 came in at a respectable 714 pounds empty, less than what many insiders thought yet within one pound of VanGrunsven’s prediction. “[Van and RV-12] certainly got off the ground easily and climbed well, passing almost inaudibly over our engineering and tech support staff,” Ken Scott wrote. Roll rate was described as “pretty snappy.” VanGrunsven said it felt at least as quick as the RV-9. Stalls were reported as gentle and conventional. Scott concluded: “We can report that when Van taxied in and opened the swing-up canopy, he was grinning.”