Tony Kirk’s RV-12iS | Temperance, MI RV-12iS #121611

Tony Kirk literally needs no introduction — but we’ll give him one anyway. Multi RV builder, former Van’s factory rivet pounder, and instigator of one of the more unusual paint schemes ever. Now’s he’s completed an RV-12iS. We’ll let him tell the rest:

After building an RV-6A (FF 2005) and a Bronze Lindy winning RV-7 (FF 2021), building the RV-12iS was as easy as assembling a model airplane. The Kit Assembly Instructions for the RV-12iS are light-years ahead of the previous kits, and the final-sized, pre-punched holes take away all the tedious match-drilling and deburring, making the RV-12iS the easiest Van’s kit to build.

I had my granddaughter, Anna, helping with most of the kit build. She learned so much that she has enrolled in an A&P vo-tech program at the Toledo Public High School. She has also gone with me to Oshkosh for the past 3 years.

The first flight in my RV-12iS was a non-event, as all first flights should be. Everything worked perfectly, as expected, and I had no squawks. The Phase I flight tests using the Production Acceptance Procedures (PAP) went smoothly and I had all the test flights done in 3 days. Anna was my first passenger after the PAP testing!

Immeasurable thanks go to my wife, Jan, who has been super supportive of my aviation addiction, including moving to Oregon while I worked for Van’s!

I have flown 12 Young Eagles so far in my RV-12, bringing my total to over 225, all given one at a time in my RVs.

I built a 12′ x 24′ paint booth in my hangar and the last week of September I had John Stahr come up to Toledo and we painted the 12 in my hangar. We collaborated on the design and I think it came out great! It was one long week of hard work but it totally transformed how the aircraft looks. She went from an ugly duckling to a beautiful prom queen! Get in touch with John if you want to do a cool, unique paint design on your RV.

Then N number is “a twelve for (four) Tony Kirk” N124TK.

I hope to build another RV at some point, but I’m planning on enjoying this one for the time being.

Thanks to everyone at Van’s (past and present) who helped make this dream come true!