Van’s Aircraft has delivered its first ready-to-fly aircraft and it seems like there will be a lot more to follow. George Longino took possession of his Signature Series RV-12 S-LSA at Van’s Aurora, Ore., manufacturing plant on May 31. He flew it back to his home near Dallas with a transition training pilot. Van’s did a production test run of 12 RV-12s and they were all spoken for within hours of the announcement, but there will be one available to Sporty’s customers.
Sporty’s bought one of the positions and is offering the aircraft as its Sweepstakes airplane in 2014. The drawing will be held next May 17. The Signature series aircraft is a fully tricked out model featuring two-axis autopilot, Dynon Skyview with ADS-B and custom interior. The test run is nearing completion and deliveries will continue through the summer. Van’s will evaluate the program in the meantime and decide whether to enter the ready-built market for the long term. Recent AVweb coverage of the RV-12 program is here.
