When covering the Light Sport Expo in Sebring, Florida, somewhere around 2013, two things were clear to me at the show. Senior pilots (many were career professionals stepping down into GA) liked what they saw in the new LSA market: modern two-placers with far more tech than the average Skyhawk or Cherokee—not bad machines for golden-years fun. The other was that the just-intro’d Van’s RV-12 factory-built S-LSA was a setup for success.
Today, the difficult insurance market is forcing plenty of aging pilots out of retracs, twins and turbines. For many who aren’t ready to quit, stepping down into an LSA makes sense.
This article first appeared in The Aviation Consumer.
To see what the transition training is like, I went back to Sebring, Florida, for a thorough checkout in the later-model Van’s RV-12iS that’s on the flight line at Sebring Aviation. The takeaway: Don’t try it on your own—training could avoid crunches.
S-LSA by the Numbers
A brief review is in order. Before anything else, these are single-engine, unpressurized two-seat lightweights with a max gross weight of 1320 pounds. Check that against the max gross of a Piper Malibu at roughly 4300 pounds, or a Beech A36 Bonanza at around 3650 pounds or a Cessna 150 at 1600 pounds gross.
The max stall speed is 45 knots and the max full-power cruising speed is 120 KCAS. They have fixed landing gear and a fixed or ground-adjustable propeller. Seaplanes do qualify under light sport rules, with 1430 max gross weight limits and they can have retractable landing gear. Same for gliders.
Special Light Sport (S-LSA) are factory-built aircraft that meet industry-developed consensus standards and not Federal Aviation regulations and are issued a Special Airworthiness Certificate. There are also legacy LSAs. These are production aircraft that were built long before the existence of light sport rules and meet the light sport requirements regarding maximum weight and speed. You maintain them per the FARs, but they can be flown by sport pilots. Some examples are model 415-C Ercoupes, Aeronca Champs and J-3 Cubs.
S-LSAs are maintained in accordance with instructions prescribed by the manufacturer (including which tasks the aircraft’s owner can perform unless he holds an LSA Repairman Certificate) and can’t be modified without the manufacturer’s approval. If you’ve always wanted to build an airplane (or have the regulatory freedom of owning an experimental), there are kit-built E-LSA models. Maintain it and modify it yourself as you wish, but after it’s been issued its initial airworthiness certificate by the FAA or a DAR.
Accept that you’ll only fly your LSA in VMC conditions, though when equipped with the appropriate avionics you can use it for IFR training. In fact, many flight schools train from private to commercial certification in LSAs alone. With dual big-screen glass, IFR navigator and autopilot, the Van’s RV-12iS S-LSA I flew was far better equipped than my local flight school’s Cherokees and Skyhawks.
For the majority of step-downs, operating an LSA as an official sport pilot (you can of course fly under your valid private pilot or better certification) is only a matter of obeying the rules of the category. For sport pilots, that means not flying higher than 10,000 feet MSL, over a cloud deck or when flight or surface visibility is less than 3 statute miles. You can fly an LSA if you hold a valid driver’s license or an FAA medical certificate. You must have a current flight review, which can be accomplished in any aircraft—not just in an LSA. If you want to carry a passenger, you must have made three takeoffs and landings within the preceding 90 days.
Training for a Reason
When we look at the subject of LSAs we consistently find that light sport flight instructors outnumber the available light sport aircraft. Part of the problem is cost. Modern LSAs like the Van’s RV-12iS and other Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA) models flirt with $200,000 or more and that’s a lot for many flight schools to bite off. It also means higher hourly rental rates than some other planes that might be used for training. Still, if you’re serious about landing feet-first into your own LSA, try transitioning to one. For me, the training was in preparation for flying my own RV-12, an E-LSA currently in the later stages of assembly.
While I chose Sebring Aviation partly because I wanted to train someplace warm during the winter (and spend time at Lockwood Aviation—the school’s parent company and Rotax service center), there are plenty of other schools with RV-12s on the flight line. Still, I was glad I chose Sebring and its chief pilot Jason Wilkinson. I can’t think of many other instructors with his perspective on LSA step-downs. With type ratings in Canadair Challengers and Embraer Phenom jets, plus lots of experience teaching in LSAs, gyroplanes and in the AirCam twin-engine LSA in both land and sea configuration, Wilkinson has seen all kinds come through the door—from senior astronauts to film stars to jamokes like me.
“We see more and more older pilots who were forced out of their more complex aircraft coming to us for a chance to keep flying for many more years. But these planes do fly a lot differently than what they are used to,” he told me. There’s a big misconception among many pilots stepping down from twins and big singles that because airplanes like the RV-12 are a lot smaller and slower, they’re easier to handle. In reality, they’re far easier to prang and the right instruction teaches a very different approach to landing them compared to heavier birds. Poke around the typical LSA maintenance hangar and you’ll see broken pieces.
If that isn’t incentive to take training seriously, look to the NTSB reports where you’ll find lots of runway prangs in the hands of hamfisted pilots. Busted landing gear, shattered props, bent firewalls—and many more that probably didn’t make the reports because owners quickly stuck them back in the hangar and turned off the lights.
“With an aircraft with a 1320-pound gross weight there really isn’t much inertia. So for pilots coming out of jets and who are accustomed to coming across the threshold carrying lots of speed, pulling the power back to idle and waiting for it to land will stall an airplane like the little RV-12 right into the pavement—pancaking it on and damaging the landing gear,” Wilkinson said. He’s right because the bottom drops out quickly with the power off. The better approach is flying it on like an ultralight—carrying power all the way into the flare. Even taxiing, turning and landing rollouts will be different because many light sport models have a castering nosewheel. That means using the right amount of coordinated differential braking because there won’t be much rudder authority at slow speeds, though the big rudder on the RV-12 can work to your favor in the breeze.
AN LSA Success Story
Sebring Aviation chose the RV-12 as its main LSA training aircraft partly because of the long working relationship it has with Van’s Aircraft, which allows it to provide useful feedback on how well it works as a trainer and how it might be better. Van’s has made a lot of improvements to the RV-12 over time, including ones that beef up vulnerable components like the landing gear, tail section and engine mounts. Then there’s the overall appeal of flying a modern, sporty airplane.
Side-by-side with legacy trainers like the Cessna 150, the RV-12iS wins hands down for built-in tech and ramp appeal—something that helps attract both students and senior owners to the model. Plus, despite the company’s turmoil of late, it’s a recognizable and respected Van’s product, with an efficient all-metal stabilator-equipped airframe that has removable wings for trailering and easier storage.
I found that a big part of transitioning to the airplane was learning its powerplant. Like plenty of other LSAs, the RV-12iS is powered by the 100-HP electronic fuel-injected Rotax 912 iS engine (legacy RV-12s have the 912 ULS engine with dual altitude-compensating carburetors) that seems the absolute perfect blend of performance and operational simplicity.
The 20-gallon fuel tank (Sebring primarily runs its Rotax engines on Swift 94UL) is placed behind the passenger seat, with the two occupants sitting slightly forward of the wings. It really provides good visibility below the aircraft when you look out forward of the leading edge. The big bubble canopy makes for excellent visibility and it can be latched slightly open for good cabin airflow on the ground. And that bubble canopy is friendly to taller pilots, offering plenty of headroom. Visibility over the engine cowling is good and you really can’t see any of it. I wasn’t sure if that helped my generally good landings, or if I was just in a lucky streak.
If you’ve never flown behind a Rotax, expect to be impressed by how easy it is to start and how smoothly it runs. Forget everything you know about stock Lycomings or Continentals. The 912 iS has a dual ignition and during the ignition preflight check, one lane is turned off (with rocker switches on the panel) to make sure the engine runs with minimal RPM drop. It’s much like a traditional magneto check. If you’re not used to the power band of a four-cylinder Rotax, the 4000 RPM lane check (and overall higher operating RPM range) will be different. But with no mixture or propeller control, the FADEC-controlled engine is stone simple with redundancy built in, including dual engine control units or ECUs. There are two modules—both housed on the same mount—labeled Lane A and Lane B. Lane A is the default, with Lane B running in constant standby and able to run the engine entirely should Lane A fail. The two ECUs are virtually identical, except that Lane B lacks some of the sensor inputs that Lane A has. Ignition is provided by two direct-fire type coils per side, with two automotive-type spark plugs per cylinder. The coil outputs are split between cylinders, so either one can run two cylinders on its side of the engine. It has MAP and temperature sensors, EGT sensors for each cylinder and an external pressure sensor. All engine data is displayed on the Garmin G3X Touch screens.
Since the fuel pumps and ECU require 15 amps to run, power is provided by two permanent magnet alternators mounted on the flywheel. The magnets are on the flywheel and the coils are fixed, immersed in oil for cooling. Alternator A has a 16-amp capacity and normally runs the pumps and ECU. It runs entirely independent of the ship’s electrical system and will generate voltage as long as the flywheel is turning. If it fails, a second 30-amp alternator (Alternator B) comes online automatically.
In the end the 912 iS is all about efficiency and when pulling the power back to the ECO setting, I saw a miserly 2.8 GPH on 92 knots.
Flying It
Out of the chocks, the little RV-12iS needs a burst of power to get it rolling and those new to the castering nosewheel should quickly learn how to dance between the left and right brake pedal to keep the plane tracking on the centerline.
Acceleration is decent (considering there’s only 100 horsepower) and pilots transitioning to the RV-12 will quickly realize that it’s easy to overcontrol. Loosen up the grip on the control stick—two fingers work much better than fisting it—and I found the plane easy to trim with the fast-running servo that requires short blips of input from the buttons on the stick.
The controls—thanks to the flaperons—are impressively balanced with no friction and lots of roll and pitch authority. On takeoff and flying the traffic pattern, come back on the power and lower the nose by the time you reach the crosswind leg because the airplane wants to climb and like all clean Van’s models, it builds airspeed quickly. The published 75-knot best rate of climb provides a comfortable deck angle.
Out in the practice area, stalls and slow flight show just how stable the platform really is. No nasty breaks when it stalls and recovery is almost automatic with rudimentary inputs. Plus, with the GFC 500 autopilot’s Electronic Stability Protection (ESP) always working in the background, unusual attitudes are nearly impossible because the servos engage and nudge the airplane back to a less exciting configuration. Do something really wonky and simply press the GFC 500’s Level button to fix it. The airplane’s wing loading makes it feel busy in turbulence, but don’t overcorrect and simply “ride the bull,” as Wilkinson put it.
Back in the pattern for landings my apprehension for breaking the little Van’s turned out to be overdone. Like any airplane it’s all about speed control. The 1.3 Vso approach speed of 53 knots indeed feels slow and Wilkinson suggested using something closer to 60 knots, which worked just fine. The Garmin G3X Touch has a built-in angle of attack system, which helps you get it right.
I was hitting the downwind leg at around 65 knots and getting the flaps in (flap operating speed is 41 to 82 knots). The electric flap controls on the iS is awkward for me and I prefer the manual flaps on the first-gen RV-12. The single-position rocker switch sits just aft of the throttle and the motor moves really quickly, so you’ll need to watch the flap position indicator on the PFD closely, both during extension and retraction.
Upkeep Matters
The ugly side of LSA upkeep has generally been dealing with damaged landing gear components, the result of runway mishaps, a trait that’s haunted the lightweight fleet almost since day one. The RV-12 is no different. In turn, savvy operators might keep spare replacement landing gear struts and wheel fairings in inventory to help expedite the repair. It really comes down to customer service and preparedness and something you should consider before buying.
And what you buy matters, too, particularly when it comes to support, and that’s where fleet size is important. Should you drive your LSA into the pavement hard enough to cause structural damage that other aircraft in the fleet haven’t sustained (or that’s been repaired), the servicing shop can’t attempt the repair until the manufacturer engineers an official fix, or repair instruction. That’s where a larger fleet has an advantage, since there will be a larger archive of previously approved instructions.
An LSA In Your Hangar
With over 900 RV-12s in the field, I think the airplane has an advantage over other LSA models. The growing fleet size could make insurance easier, plus it’s been working pretty well in the harsh training environment. With a starting price of $198,500, an RV-12iS isn’t for low budgets, but for pilots cashing big checks for recently sold high-performance pistons and twins, I think it’s a solid value that does nearly everything well, with a perfectly matched and reliable powerplant.
I can always remember what my instructor said as i trained and got my endorsement in the 182RG. From this point onwards, you’re not wanting to fly anything smaller. He was bloody right. However, due to a situation and circumstances beyond my control, I’m back in the 172’s. Given the choice, I’d rather be in the 182RG. But that’s water under the bridge.
Great article and spot on… I’ve transitioned several ‘aging’ pilots to LSAs and the main issue has been the tendency to over control. Once a seasoned pilot begins to think in terms of applying relaxed pressure to control inputs, they realize that this is a real airplane and the fun begins. I’ve found that it’s easier to transition from an LSA to a heavier aircraft than the opposite… and my theory is that the gentle control inputs one learns in something like an RV-12 are applicable to most aircraft. Just my experience…
Not holding my breath for MOSAIC… I don’t have much hope, but we’ll see.
“You must have a current flight review, which can be accomplished in any aircraft”. Not quite.
For USA pilots, see FAR 61.56(1)(c) which states, in part, “…for which the pilot is rated…”.
We see this a lot in glider training where a rated power pilot, who has nor flown for many years, wants to add a glider rating. He can’t solo without a current flight review because he is not a student pilot (FAA definition) and, therefore, cannot act as pilot in command - even though he has been properly trained in gliders - a rather short sighted rule IMHO.
Fortunately he can pass a Wings program as a substitute for a flight review.
The concerns in my little world are what the expansion of LSAs and MOSAIC may have on the maintenance/repair station industry.
YES!
I have flown quite a few LSAs and none are as easy to fly as a C-150 at first. If nothing else, the high Rotax idle speed will have you way long your first few landings.