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DIY Aircraft
Van’s Aircraft has been supplying the public with build-your-own-plane kits for over forty years. The aircraft they produce are well-known for being made from high-quality materials but sold at an affordable price.For experts and first-timers alike, Van’s Rv-12 proves to be one of the best DIY aircraft kits on the market.
This design was made to fall into the realm of light sports aircraft, which significantly lowers the Federal Aviation Administration’s requirements for upkeep and repairs.
The RV-12 kit is designed to be a two-seater, not exceed one hundred thirty-eight miles per hour while in the air, and have a fixed landing gear and weighs less than 1320 pounds.This experimental aircraft already has become a loved airplane, flown by more than one hundred fifty pilots.
The average time a builder will spend constructing this aircraft is 800 hours. Luckily, every piece of equipment needed to complete the project comes included in the sixty-four thousand dollar kit.Ken Scott works at Van’s Aircraft Factory as a tech support specialist and has even built one for himself. What he loves the most about the RV-12 is its lack of complexity.
He claims that the plane he built for himself is less complicated to operate than his lawn mower. The Rv-12 has no problem getting to one hundred twenty-five knots at one hundred horsepower. Ascension can do at the speed of one thousand four hundred feet per minute, which surprises most pilots.
The Rv-12 may give the label of being an experimental aerial vehicle, but that is no reason to doubt its integrity. The Federal Aviation Administration has approved the kit, and it has been praised by the majority of those who purchase it.
Some hear “light sports aircraft” and think of a first plane incapable of doing any fancy technical maneuvers. That’s not true when it comes to the Rv-12.Though it was designed to be easy to fly doesn’t make it any less fun fly. Pilots can steer the plane with just their fingertips on the control stick, and it doesn’t take much pressure on the stick to perform a complete turn.
Since the Rv-12 has a Rotax 912 four cylinder engine with only one hundred horsepower, many pilots don’t imagine it would be able to gain speed as fast as it does.Pressing on the throttle shouldn’t give the pilot whiplash, but it does have a surprisingly quick acceleration.
The engine on the Rv-12 uses around five to five and a half gallons per hour when it’s on the cruise and the tank can hold twenty gallons.That translates to around three hours and forty-five minutes of possible flight time before the plane would need to refuel.
Here is a fact that is very practical. Most pilots that fly for recreational purposes just aren’t looking to cross the Atlantic, and they tend only to travel short distances.
Van’s Aircraft founder Richard VanGrunsven has a special affection for the Rv-12. His home is around thirty miles from his workplace, so he flies to work almost daily.
Since he runs the company, he can choose whatever aircraft he pleases to make the commute. He says ninety-five percent of the time he takes his RV-12 simply because of its practicality.That means a lot considering he is passing up much faster, fancier models almost every day to pilot the Rv-12.
Not only is the Rv-12 is simple to fly, but it is also simple to build. Van Grunsven says that he made his own Rv-12 himself.
Some DIY aircraft kits can come with forty some drawings to aid in putting it together, but the Rv-12 covers every detail in its instructions. With over five hundred easy to understand drawings included at the time of purchase, its light Van’s Aircraft wants to make sure nothing is left to chance.
Other build your aircraft kits may expect the builder to know how to install the engine. Lots of Rv-12 kit purchasers are first time builders, not seasoned professionals. Van’s make sure to include how to set up the motor in their directions so anyone can do it with its confidence.
Pilots can expect to spend anywhere from seven hundred to nine hundred hours putting the plane together. No modifications can do or done, or the FAA will reject it as being an experimental light sports aircraft thus the timeline is very consistent for most builders.
All in all the Rv-12 makes for one great option for anyone looking to get one of the best DIY aircraft kits without spending too much money.