The very first kit to build is the empennage (that’s the tail end of the plane) and straight away I was thrown into learning new skills. It’s all very well having read the book, watched the you-tube tutorials, and owning a bunch of shiny new tools, but its al...

Finally after nearly 6 months since placing the order, my empennage and wing kits arrived safe and sound in NZ, and I was relieved to see no sign of any damage to the 3 rather large crates. Not bad considering they came from the factory in Aurora, Oregon, via...

One thing you find out pretty quickly about building a plane – you need lots of new tools 🙂 . All said and done it is quite a financial investment in itself unless you already own an aircraft factory, so it was good to have the time before the...

With the decision made to build an RV12, I placed the orders with Vans for the first 2 kits – The empennage, and the Wing Kits in May 2020. Given the lead-time for the kits (which was increased due to Covid, and also wildfires in the area of the...

That’s the question my wife Tina asked me once I had told her there was a new item on top of my bucket list, and is a question I asked myself lots of times before I finally placed the order for my first kit from Vans Aircraft back in...

Welcome!! You’ve stumbled upon (yet another) RV12 build site. My main aim with this blog is to document the build of a Vans RV12-is aircraft from start to finish, and share my aviation journey along the way. Given I’ve never built anything more complex than an Ikea wardrobe I...