Community

We caught up with former F 14 Tomcat pilot, Peter Chmelir who tells us about his experience owning and flying a Van’s Aircraft RV-12 S-LSA.  Check out the video:  http://youtu.be/CIoz3dMMjfY

Congratulations to Mitchell Peterson of Sisters, OR who soloed at Redmond Airport (KRDM) on August 1, 2014!  Mitchell wanted an airplane in which he could learn to fly, and chose the RV-12 S-LSA.  He says he is enjoying the plane immensely and has now put nearly 40 hours on it.  When he’s passed his checkride, he and his wife plan to make regular visits to their home on the Oregon coast.

Conni and Maury Lehmann from Friendswood, TX (near Houston), are the proud new owners of the the first Green RV-12 S-LSA produced by Van’s Aircraft. They planned quite an adventure along the route heading home to the Houston area including stays in Yosemite and Yuma, AZ. Connie is a university professor and Maury works on the Orion Space Vehicle Program in the Houston area. According to them “We LOVE our plane and have gotten lots of compliments on the color. It really stands out on the tarmac 🙂 Thanks to all of you at Vans Aircraft!”  You can follow their trip home on their ‘Tumblr’ site: www.theflyingprof.tumblr.comYou can also read the very special story of how they chose their N# here on the Van’s Facebook Page Congratulations to Conni and Maury – we wish you both many more adventures in your RV-12!

In January 2014, Dan had the chance to fly the RV-12 for the first time. Here’s what he had to say about the plane: “It delivers all the good things you’ve ever heard about the legendary handling characteristics of the Van’s line-up. You do not steer this airplane so much as wear it. Think about turning and it turns. I had only been “on the stick” for maybe 120 seconds, and already I was mastering the microscopic control adjustments needed for turning, climbing or descending. I have never experienced such intuitive handling in an airplane. Frankly, it was a little freaky…as if the airplane just knew what I wanted it to do. Chalk this up to fine engineering from a company that has developed a very pleasurable airplane that is a joy to fly.” Read Dan’s full report.

Chuck is a retired Professor of Sociology at University of Oregon, who made his first solo flight in an RV-12 S-LSA on 8 April 2014 at Eugene Mahlon Sweet airport. Welcome to the wonderful world of flying, and of Van’s Aircraft!

Lane Aviation Academy bought two airplanes from our first batch, and they’ve been a big hit with students, instructors and maintenance staff alike. On October 28th, Kevin Fairley became the first student to solo and is pictured here sporting possibly the largest “RV grin” ever seen!

Another first solo photo, and this time it’s one of our own, Mike Schwartz of the Van’s Aircraft engineering staff. Mike has gone on to complete his full FAA Private Pilot Certificate flying the prototype S-LSA, N112VA. Kevin and Mike are the first of many, we believe the RV-12 has a big part to play in the future of flight training.