Van's Aircraft RV-12IS
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The RV-12iS is the current version of Van's light sport two-seater, with the fuel-injected Rotax 912iS Sport in place of the carburetted 912ULS, a revised panel and interior improvements. The injected engine is more economical still — around four gallons an hour — and removes carburettor icing and mixture management from the pilot's workload entirely.
It is an efficient, well-built, pleasant aeroplane and an expensive one for a two-seater. The Rotax remains a different proposition from a traditional aero engine: high rpm through a reduction gearbox, liquid and air cooling, a preference for unleaded mogas, and calendar-based as well as hours-based maintenance intervals. It needs a Rotax-trained mechanic and not every field has one. The registration category question matters as much as with the earlier RV-12 — factory-built special light sport and amateur-built experimental versions have different maintenance privileges and different resale. At 545 lb useful load, two adults and full fuel is the practical limit and baggage is minimal.
Variants of the Van's RV-12 and RV-12iS
- RV-12 · 2009 · 577 active
- RV-12IS · 2018 · 367 active · this page
Also consider
- Grumman American AA-1Score 25.3/50 · 2 seats · 118 kt
- Sling LSAPartial 23.7/30 · 2 seats · 115 kt
- Tecnam P2008Partial 22.5/30 · 2 seats · 115 kt
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One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Rotax 912iS Sport |
| Horsepower | 100 hp |
| Fuel | mogas-approved |
| Certification basis | LSA |
| Production start | 2018 |
| Production end | current |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 119 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 | 545 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 425 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,320 lb |
| Empty weight | 775 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 | $1,250/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 | $120,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $170,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $20,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $30,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 377 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 367 |
| Median year built | 2023.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 7 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 2 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 19.071 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 13.622 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 135 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 36.783 |
| 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 367 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 367 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 367 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 9.8 of 103 |
| Support | 9.6 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 9.3 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | Partial: 28.7 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)6 |
These record scores treat Van's Aircraft RV-12IS as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 12 aircraft registered under Van's Aircraft; includes 2 aircraft registered under CHARLES L SMITH; includes 1 aircraft registered under JACOB BORACCA; includes 1 aircraft registered under RICHARD VANGRUNSVEN. 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