RV-12iS SLSA

New for 2026, the RV-12is: Upgraded, improved, a better airplane… a better trainer. With style to match its performance.

What’s new?

For 2026, the Van’s RV-12iS SLSA receives significant improvements in utility, pilot convenience, and style — starting with a new Evoke Aviation inspired paint scheme that is anything but ordinary. But, that’s just the start.

Comfort & Convenience:

All-leather seats with upgraded foam for excellent durability and all-day comfort
New elbow rests for pilot and copilot
Updated side panels with additional small-item storage
Redesigned controls including new stick grips, upgraded throttle lever, and throttle friction mechanism.
Parking brake is now standard
Redesigned tow bar/rudder lock
Improved interior lighting
Custom holder in center console holding a canopy-breaker hammer
Improved weather sealing around canopy
Canopy cover
Cargo net

Functional Upgrades:

Pitot tube relocated from spinner to left wing and heated for actual IFR in IMC capability
New alternate air and static sources
Premium Goodyear tires
New Van’s-branded premium tubeless wheels and brakes
Performance Improvements:
Auxiliary 30-amp alternator for increased electrical capacity and redundancy
Upgraded radiator and oil cooler with revised mounting design, offering better hot-weather performance and ease of maintenance
Changes to the fuel system to accomodate new ROTAX fuel pumps, with added benefit of additional vapor lock prevention in high-temperature and high-altitude operating environments

Plus:

ROTAX Care is standard!

Comfort for two

Updates inside the cabin make for a more pleasant experience, whether you’re an experienced pilot, new student, or grizzled CFI. Tip up the large canopy and you’ll find all-leather seats with upgraded foam. They’re more comfortable and durable. Combine them with new elbow rests for the pilot and copilot and new side panels with additional small-item storage. We’ve also updated the stick grips, throttle control, and throttle lock for improved ergonomics. We listened to feedback from owners and flight schools — and made useful improvements based on that.

Modern glass panel

For 2026, the RV-12iS has a Garmin-based all-electronic panel that starts with the G3X Touch display at the center of it all. Fully equipped Platinum versions have two large-format G3X Touch displays, a boon for the instructor on the right and a comforting bit of redundancy. Add a Garmin GTN 650i GPS/COM/NAV radio for full IFR capability, along with a remote-mount Mode S transponder, ADS-B In, a Garmin GMA 245 audio panel/intercom with Bluetooth, and a full two-axis Garmin autopilot with GMS 507 control head.

Ready for IMC

Among the big changes for 2026 is the relocation of the pitot tube from the propeller spinner to under the left wing. This allows use of a heated, angle-of-attack-capable pitot head. That’s one enabling technology that goes along with a new alternate instrument static source, alternate air intake for the engine, and an additional alternator for 30 amps of extra charging power to help the RV-12iS meet the MOSAIC requirements for flight into actual instrument conditions.

There are several features that make it a unique RV:

The RV-12iS meets the certification standards of the Light Sport Aircraft category and the RV-12iS is eligible to be licensed as Special Light Sport (SLSA) for our fly-away, factory-built model!
Extensive and thorough testing has demonstrated compliance with LSA performance and structural requirements. It is what we say it is and does what we say it does, and we have the test data to prove it! Extensive testing means the RV-12iS is not the first LSA kit on the market, but it very well may be the best understood.
The SLSA RV-12iS is powered by a Rotax 912iS Sport 100 hp engine. These rugged little engines have not become the world-wide standard in light sport aircraft by accident. Extended real world experience has shown it to be durable, reliable, and economical with maintenance availability worldwide. It can be run on either unleaded autogas or 100LL.
The RV-12iS is equipped with a ground-adjustable Sensenich composite propeller — light, smooth and affordable. The low empty weight allows a generous useful load — two people as tall as 6’4″, 20 gallons of fuel and 50+ lbs of baggage — something rare in the Light Sport Category

Removable wings

The RV-12iS was designed from the start to be “trailerable.” Light, easily removable wings make it practical to keep the airplane at home, or hangar it in corners where nothing else will fit. To remove the wings, you simply pull a pair of pins located behind the seats and the wings can them come off in just a few seconds. All control and wiring connections are automatic and an ignition interlock electronic sensor sensor system prevents the engine from starting if the wings and spar pins are not properly installed.

Four Stroke, Fuel Injected Rotax Power

The 100 hp four-stroke Rotax 912 series has become the most widely used engine in the world in Light Sport class aircraft. And for good reason — it’s proven itself in all kinds of conditions, all over the world. It’s designed to operate on unleaded auto fuel. The Rotax 912iS Sport fuel-injected engine is computer-controlled for maximum efficiency and performance, which increases performance in all regimes and is especially valuable at higher operating altitudes. A gearbox reduction drive turns the prop in the most efficient RPM range.