What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

RV-12 Instructor at KAWO (Arlington, WA)

rtlongdon

Active Member
Does anyone have any recommendations of an instructor at or near KAWO- Arlington, WA?

It appears the wife and I will be the owners of an RV-12 within the next week and now I just need to learn to fly again!

I haven't flown in 20 years, but lots of time in turbines, taildraggers and other fun stuff. Only thing close to an LSA I've owned or flown are Champs, T-crafts, luscombes, C-120/140's... I can promise it should be a super entertaining BFR for one with the intestinal fortitude to take it on ;) :D :eek:

Regards to all! :)
 
The absolute best would be Mike Seager in Oregon, but you would have to travel to him and train in Van's RV-12. Not bad, but he is booked up pretty solid most of the time.

You could try AFS at AWO, they have, or used to have a Sting Sport and may have some instructors familiar with LSA, or know some who are.

The RV-12 flies like most purpose built LSAs (only better). Since there was no RV-12 training when we completed ours I flew in a Sportstar and then a Tecnam Sierra to prepare.
 
Thanks, Steve!

I'll give AFS a shout and see what they have to say.


Cheers :)
 
Last edited:
You might also be able to train in a Sling 2 in Reno, NV. Contact Paul Hamilton... a Sling 2 is very close to a RV-12 in performance, also in the S-LSA class.
 
I'm hoping to do it in my own airplane, but I'm open to possibilities.

I did see that Twin Oaks near HIO in Oregon provides instruction in an iS.

That's about 4 to 5 hours drive and might be reasonable as well. Just seems a shame to rent someone elses- but you do what you have to do!

Thanks for the reply!
 
Thanks Stitch462.

At this point Boise would also be doable- their operation looks pretty respectable from a quick look at the website.

I did find a couple more local people, but they are retired and after discussion, it appears a BFR could drag out for a couple months with scheduling and such.

I'm kind of starting to think that what you guys are suggesting, travel and git 'r done might be the most effective solution.
 
I would still check with Mike Seager even though he is busy. He might squeeze you in considering you have a plane and are waiting on transition training. I did my tailwheel endorsement and RV7 transition training with him a few years back and enjoyed every minute even though it was a real challenge for me to take it all in.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the ideas. Unfortunately, my situation is a bit more complicated. If you read my original post, I haven't flown in 20 years, so I have no way to get myself and the airplane to Mike.

Also, I have to arrive at 5 hours dual minimum for insurance, but I have personal goals that may extend beyond 5 hours (even if the CFI thinks I'm ready). I'm sure I'll be past that by the time I'm done!
 
Thanks for the ideas. Unfortunately, my situation is a bit more complicated. If you read my original post, I haven't flown in 20 years, so I have no way to get myself and the airplane to Mike.

Also, I have to arrive at 5 hours dual minimum for insurance, but I have personal goals that may extend beyond 5 hours (even if the CFI thinks I'm ready). I'm sure I'll be past that by the time I'm done!

You might just try getting up to speed with Arlington Flight Service. Then, reach out to Terry Burch and see if he can give you the RV checkout.
 
RV12 instructor

Dave Cowan CFII taught me to fly my RV12 from 1WA6 (Fall City). He works out of Renton and Boeing fields but drove out to meet me at our field. Private messenger me if you want to know more about him.
 
Does anyone have any recommendations of an instructor at or near KAWO- Arlington, WA?

It appears the wife and I will be the owners of an RV-12 within the next week and now I just need to learn to fly again!

I haven't flown in 20 years, but lots of time in turbines, taildraggers and other fun stuff. Only thing close to an LSA I've owned or flown are Champs, T-crafts, luscombes, C-120/140's... I can promise it should be a super entertaining BFR for one with the intestinal fortitude to take it on ;) :D :eek:

Regards to all! :)

I was in a similar situation, not having flown in years and bought a plane out of state. I found it less expensive to pay a CFI's expenses including hourly instruction rate, meals, hotel room and airline ticket.

If you have to travel and pay the hourly rental rate for 5 hours or more for an RV12, things can get pretty expensive.. I really liked getting up to speed in my own plane..

I can give you the info on the CFII I used if you're interested. He has a pretty open schedule, so it was pretty easy to coordinate schedules.
 
I've flown with Cowan before, I can easily recommend him :) I teach out of BFI / TIW as well and would be happy to fly up to AWO. I have a lot of RV time but only 6 hours in the RV12 so your insurance may or may not find that sufficient.
 
Thanks Joe and Martin,

Ben Barron connected me with David Cowan. I spoke with David at length yesterday, and it looks like things will work out.

I can't say how much I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond and help me out, one of the many things I have missed about aviation is the great people!
 
Back
Top