Here are some more related links, to complete the list:
I've been strongly considering a RV-12. For me, a big feature of it is the removable wings, described by Van's thusly:
The wings are quickly and easily removable. Using methods proven over decades in high-performance sailplanes, two people can have the wings off an RV-12 in less than five minutes, making the airplane easy to transport on a trailer and keep off-airport.
Well, I ASSumed of course that meant "easily transporting the plane on a trailer and keeping it off-airport" was actually feasible. From reading all these threads (mostly older, from around 2008), it seems to me there are 2 distinct types of RV-12 people; those who hangar the plane at an airport and plan to make little or no use of the "removable wings" feature, and those who would like to use the feature, but are finding that a design to actually transport (particularly any distance) and store the plane off-airport is proving to be more difficult than designing the plane.
Several people have indicated desires like mine - to essentially treat the RV-12 like a glider (as I assumed from Van's description was feasible).
Glider people at my airport (VSF) and other local airports routinely transport their glider cross-country for events, and they keep their gliders stored and protected in their trailers, either at home or at the airport. If I could do that, then I could sell my hangar. Being bi-coastal, it would also allow me to take the plane to Southern California for half the year and be able to use and store the plane there; a major reason I decided a -12 would be better for me than a -7. Hangars are expensive and/or difficult to get into in many places; impossible and/or insanely expensive in or around Orange County, CA.
Yet, it appears that (especially with the problems of accomodating the wide wheel stance and horizontal stabilizer) this is still in the "ideas-only" stage. Quite surprising and quite disappointing. I'm going to have to reconsider my RV-12 purchase until trailering one becomes feasible. I hope someone can come up with a design that actually works. Cost isn't even that much of an issue for me, not because I'm wealthy, which I'm not, but because I figure any good trailer design that lets me repeatedly transport it safely across the country and store it safely and securely is going to be a heck of a lot cheaper than any hangar anywhere.
For me, I'd want a trailer that not only transports the plane, but also provides secure storage, just like I see with all the glider people. I certainly wouldn't want to trailer the plane home, take it out of the trailer, put it in the garage, then pull it out, reload it, and take it back to the airport to fly it. I want something I can LEAVE the plane in, safely and securely from weather or people, either at home or at an airport that allows such trailer storage.
Is anyone producing anything like this? Apparently not - but I sure hope that changes. I'll be watching and hoping. It seems there's a fair amount of demand for this, and for me it's the practical application of the easily removable wings. Otherwise, why have removable wings?