Van's Aircraft RV-12
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The RV-12 is Van's Aircraft's light sport two-seater: an all-metal, side-by-side aeroplane with a bubble canopy, removable wings for trailering, and a 100 hp Rotax 912. It cruises at 118 knots on about four and a half gallons an hour, which is remarkably efficient, and it is flown both as a personal aeroplane and as a trainer.
Two things a buyer must understand. First, the Rotax 912 is a different engine from a Lycoming or Continental — it is liquid-and-air cooled, runs at high rpm through a reduction gearbox, prefers unleaded mogas to 100LL, and has calendar-based as well as hours-based overhaul requirements. It is reliable, but it needs a mechanic who knows Rotax, and not all do. Second, the registration category matters: some RV-12s are factory-built special light sport aircraft and others are amateur-built experimental kits, and the maintenance privileges, resale and insurance differ substantially between them. Establish which before buying. Useful load is 570 lb, so two average adults with full fuel is close to the limit.
Variants of the Van's RV-12 and RV-12iS
- RV-12 · 2009 · 577 active · this page
- RV-12IS · 2018 · 367 active
Also consider
- Globe (Swift) GC-1BScore 19.3/50 · 2 seats · 120 kt
- Aviat Aircraft A-1AScore 15.6/50 · 2 seats · 120 kt
- Grumman American AA-1Score 25.3/50 · 2 seats · 118 kt
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- Van's Aircraft RV-12
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Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Rotax 912ULS |
| Horsepower | 100 hp |
| Fuel | mogas-approved |
| Certification basis | LSA |
| Production start | 2009 |
| Production end | 2018 |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 118 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 500 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 900 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 44 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 1,050 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 1,000 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 570 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 450 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,320 lb |
| Empty weight | 750 lb |
| Usable fuel | 20 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 5.6 gal/h |
Estimated cost to own
An estimate, not a quote. Change the inputs to match how you would fly it. Defaults are for a single-engine piston, 1–2 seats.
| Fuel (burn × price) | hourly | $41/h | $4,150/yr |
| Engine reserve (overhaul ÷ TBO) | hourly | $1,150/yr | |
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | $1,500/yr | |
| Insurance | fixed | $1,400/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | $1,500/yr | |
| Hangar | fixed | $6,000/yr | |
| Rental rate, wet | for comparison |
How these estimates are built. Fuel = this model's typical burn x the national average price from AirNav's Fuel Price Report (100LL $7.41, Jet A $7.66 per gallon, 5 Oct 2026; your airport may differ by $2 or more). Engine reserve = typical overhaul cost / TBO for this engine. The remaining lines are class-level defaults, not quotes for this aircraft: annual inspection is the base inspection fee (findings are counted in the per-hour maintenance line); insurance assumes an instrument-rated owner with time in type and a $1M liability limit - less experienced pilots commonly pay 1.5-2x; hangar and tie-down are national mid-tier figures, with rural and metro options; the rental rate is a 2026 flight-school rate for a comparable aircraft, including fuel. Twin and turboprop maintenance defaults are estimates, not published figures. Sources: AirNav, BWI Aviation Insurance (2019-2026), Flying (May 2026), Savvy Aviation, American Flight Schools, published airport rate sheets. Every default is editable - change any number to match your situation. Depreciation, taxes, financing and major upgrades are not included. Depreciation is not included. An estimate, not a quote.
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $65,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $125,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $18,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $28,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 602 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 577 |
| Median year built | 2014.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 13 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 8 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 22.531 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 20.82 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 166 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 28.773 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 577 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 577 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 577 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 6.1 of 101 |
| Severity | 0.5 of 102 |
| Access | 6.3 of 103 |
| Support | 9.1 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 7.9 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 29.9 out of 506 |
These record scores treat Van's Aircraft RV-12 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 64 aircraft registered under Van's Aircraft; includes 1 aircraft registered under ANTHONY D WILCOX; includes 1 aircraft registered under AYAD JACKSI; includes 1 aircraft registered under CLEARMAN ALBERT M; includes 1 aircraft registered under GWOHO LIU; includes 1 aircraft registered under HARJEHAUSEN DENTON DEAN; includes 1 aircraft registered under HYATT MAX G; includes 1 aircraft registered under JOHN SALAK; includes 1 aircraft registered under JOHN W ALTIZER; includes 1 aircraft reg. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 31.56 · 197 models in class.
- Severity: class median 10.
- Access: class median 1,000.75.
- Support: class median 89.
- Liquidity: class median 19.74.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30