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The man himself flew!!

S

SteinAir

Well Known Member
Even though there are at least 12 of you that beat him to the punch, it appears that Van himself had his first flight and a congratulations is in order. He may not participate directly in these forums, but I do know he ends up seeing and hearing what goes on here, so I'm just starting a thread to say Congrats to Van on yet another one of his many first flights!

We shouldn't forget that were it not for him, none of us would be enjoying this entire "RV" phenomenon! I still think it's really great that he chooses to build a plane himself - we know the factory can do it, it's nice to see the "legend" still get his hands dirty. Says a lot - especially since I know he built it himself....

Cheers,
Stein
 
Well, as someone who just recently completed my RV, I'll jump on the bandwagon and add my congrats to The Man Himself.

Congratulations, Van. And thanks for designing such great airplanes!
 
Congratulations, Van!

Stein,

Thanks for starting this thread! Do you know where there are any photos of Van's RV-12? The one photo I found on Van's web site is only 3K - too small to display here.

Don
 
Here it is...

I like the paint scheme:

Van_lg.jpg
 
Impressive

He never ceases to amaze.

I have to say I am impressed, but not surprised. This seems to be in keeping with his nature. He seems to be one of those guys who do more than they talk.

On a related subject, I won't forget how pleasantly surprised I was when he, Ken and the crew helped me load my fuse onto a rental truck after OSH a couple years ago and then he thanked me for buying the plane. I was quite honestly very surprised at his humility and how genuine he was. I guess I'm pretty jaded by corporate America where the CEO of a company usually barely takes time to acknowledge you much less sincerely thank you for your anything.

Congratulations Van!
 
Nicely Done!

Beautiful paint job! :) Congratulations. :D

I hope to join all you finished builders with air under my RV-12 tires in 6-8 months.

Everyone done with your -12's ... enjoy your aircrafts and be safe.
 
Last edited:
Is that the plane Van flew in or did someone change threads in the middle of congratulating him? Could there be a completed sticky thread that displays all the completed RV-12's so we can admire them, like this beutiful one?
 
Thanks for the photo, it makes for a nice desktop background.

By the way, is it me or is there something poking out the top of the tail?
 
lawspud said:
Thanks for the photo, it makes for a nice desktop background.

By the way, is it me or is there something poking out the top of the tail?
Click to expand...

and the spinner, had i heard that there is an airspeed tube sticking out of that?
 
Yeah, that's the pitot. It looks to me like a strobe housing on the v-stab, though, which isn't currently part of the plans. I could be wrong, though...
 
Paul said:
Is that the plane Van flew in or did someone change threads in the middle of congratulating him? Could there be a completed sticky thread that displays all the completed RV-12's so we can admire them, like this beutiful one?
Click to expand...
Paul: I've started a thread: "RV-12 First Flights: Photo Album" in this RV-12 section of the VAF Forum. It has one or more photos of most of the 13 RV-12's now flying. The photo of Van's RV-12 here is the same plane as posted on Van's web site today.

Don
 
doncarljones said:
Thanks for the beautiful photo, Rob! I've added it to the other 12 in the thread: "RV-12 First Flights: Photo Album"
Click to expand...

Thanks Don, Van's personal RV-12 is the latest 'First Flights' entry on the MotherShip website. If you click the thumbnail it will take you to the large photo.

I've been pondering how to use the minimum amount of paint to cover the fiberglass parts but keep the maximum amount of aluminum available for polishing. It appears that Van went the same direction and did a really nice, somewhat retro scheme.
 
The plane looks amazing!! My congratulations!! And my thanks for a great plane. The plane flies like a dream. Now we need a photo with the man himself next to or in that beauty!
 
Whew That Was Close

I'm just glad I snuck in at 12th. Thanks Van for sucking it up and being 13th...takes a man to face down superstition! Now who's flyin" this Friday, November 13th?
 
I have a certification inspection scheduled for this Friday, (13th).
I'll let him tell who he is, if he's not superstitious.
Obviously he's not, or he wouldn't have scheduled it.
 
Congratulations are in order for Van it is a fine looking aircraft. In addition to the apparent strobe on the tail, I noticed the very interesting sun shade in the canopy, that would be a great addition here in Florida.

Best regards,
Vern
 
Congratulations to Van and thanks for such a nice airplane. The red bird also has one of those sun shades installed.
 
Peterk said:
I'm just glad I snuck in at 12th. Thanks Van for sucking it up and being 13th...takes a man to face down superstition! Now who's flyin" this Friday, November 13th?
Click to expand...

Friday the 13th is only unlucky if you don't fly! ;)
 
Van's Personal RV-12

Nice job, Van. I openly admit I plan to pretty much copy your paint job.

John at Salida, CO
RV6A flying
RV-12 to be flying July 4th, 2010
 
InsideOut said:
Thanks Don, Van's personal RV-12 is the latest 'First Flights' entry on the MotherShip website. If you click the thumbnail it will take you to the large photo.
Click to expand...

Rob, thanks for your tip on how to see the larger photo on Van's First Flight page!

I went back to Van's First Flight page and found the large, flashing, magenta message "Click on the small photos to view a larger image"

My problem: That message was too close to my nose. I appreciate your tact when pointing it out.

Does anyone have a photo of Van in or beside his new RV-12?

Don
 
RV-12

Congrats to you Van and to all those who helped make the 12 a reality. How much we all owe to you for your many creations through the years.
 
I saw the sunshade on the factory demonstrator so I assumed that it was standard on all RV-12's? Isn't it included? I guess one could argue they all have to be built exactly like the original and without it, well you know...
 
Strobe

lawspud said:
Thanks for the photo, it makes for a nice desktop background.

By the way, is it me or is there something poking out the top of the tail?
Click to expand...

In the article Van says he had one lying around so he installed it .... or something to that effect.
 
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