After three years and 1,800 hours of construction, I’m proud to acknowledge the first flight of my Rotax 912 ULS powered Van’s RV-12 E-LSA, serial number 120850, N850VH, on May 20, 2017, at Archuleta County Stevens Field (KPSO) Pagosa Springs, Colorado, field elevation 7,664′ (morning density altitude well over 9,000′).
It is equipped with a single 10″ Dynon SkyView Touch EFIS, with autopilot, SV-AP Panel, SV-Knob Panel and ADSB In and Out, Garmin Com radio and full Flightline interior. All interior aluminum was hand Scotch Brighted and primed with Stewart Systems water-based primer before construction. The exterior paint scheme was designed by Ernest Tulfer. The exterior paint is Sherwin-Williams ACRY GLO and JET GLO expertly applied by Dwight Tulfer of Animas Aero Design, Durango, Colorado.
The construction, initial flight tests, Production Acceptance Procedures, final tweaking and electrical wring-out could not have been accomplished without the able assistance of my friend and hangar mate Craig Taylor, a retired Viet Nam Navy A-7 driver and Van’s RV-8 pilot; Michael Arbuthnot, friend and Glasair III builder and pilot; and my wife Stacey. I also have to acknowledge the assistance, support and timely responses from both Van’s Aircraft and Dynon technical support to my several inquiries. Prior to my first flight, I took six hours of transition training with Van’s Aircraft, Aurora, Oregon. It is highly recommended.
For a more finished look, I added the optional glare shield, wheel pants, full strobe, navigation and landing lighting and USB power for my Ram mounted 10″ iPad running Foreflight. I also added the after-market stabilator tips (now available from Van’s Aircraft) and fully enclosed all of the exposed tooling holes in the wingtips.
The aircraft flies great–thanks Van’s!
–John Vander Horck, Pagosa Springs, Colorado
