The fleet.

There are seven, and every one has a glass panel. Four are Van's RV-12s: N903S and N492VT, 2023 RV-12iS trainers equipped for instrument flight with dual Garmin G3X Touch displays, a Garmin GTN 650 and an autopilot; N812EJ, the orange 2023 RV-12iS with dual G3X Touch and an autopilot; and N272VA, a 2014 RV-12 upgraded with a G3X Touch and a Garmin autopilot. N355MM is a 2009 Aerospool Dynamic WT-9 with dual G3X Touch, and N542SC is a 2016 Czech Sport Aircraft SportCruiser with dual Dynon SkyView HDX displays. For the multi-engine rating there is N977GV, a 2018 Tecnam P2006T twin with a Garmin G950 glass cockpit and retractable gear. Each tail has its own page with photos, the full avionics list and its handbook cruise speed, and every one is available to rent on your own after a checkout.

Every Rotax-powered trainer in the fleet, the four Van's RV-12s, the Dynamic WT-9 and the SportCruiser, rents for 165 dollars an hour wet, which means fuel is included in that number. The Tecnam P2006T twin used for multi-engine training is 415 dollars an hour wet. My instruction is separate and is the only price I control: 75 dollars an hour in the air and 50 dollars an hour on the ground, the same in every airplane, and I do not bill for preflight or postflight. So one hour of dual instruction in an RV-12iS comes to 240 dollars all in, with no fuel receipt to add afterward. The FAA knowledge test, the examiner and the medical are billed by others. Every tail has its own page with photos, the full avionics list and its handbook cruise speed, so you can pick the airplane before you call.

A checkout is the set of flights an aircraft owner requires before they hand you the keys to fly their airplane by yourself. It is not an FAA test and there is no examiner. You and I fly together until you can start it, run the systems, work the avionics, handle the airport and land it consistently, then the owner signs you off to rent it solo. How long it takes depends on what you have flown before. A current pilot coming from another glass-panel light sport airplane can often be done in a flight or two, while a pilot moving from older round-gauge airplanes usually needs a little longer to get comfortable with the Garmin G3X or Dynon screens. Once you are checked out in one RV-12iS, the others feel the same. The Tecnam twin requires a multi-engine rating first. Checkout flights bill at my normal hourly rate, the same as any other lesson.

Because it makes the number honest. A wet rate includes fuel in the hourly price, so the number you see is the number you pay for the airplane. A dry rate leaves fuel out, so you pay the hourly rate to the owner and then buy fuel separately at whatever that airport charges that day, and the real cost only shows up afterward. Every airplane in this fleet is quoted wet: 165 dollars an hour for the Rotax-powered trainers and 415 dollars an hour for the Tecnam twin. The Rotax engines are part of why that works. Van's handbook for the RV-12iS shows roughly 4 to 5 gallons an hour at typical cruise power, a fraction of what a traditional four-seat trainer burns. Add my instruction at 75 dollars an hour and an hour of dual in an RV-12iS is 240 dollars, with nothing to reconcile at the pump.

For most new students, one of the RV-12iS trainers: N903S, N492VT or the orange N812EJ. They are modern two-seat light sport airplanes with fuel-injected Rotax engines and dual Garmin G3X Touch displays, they cruise at about 118 knots in the handbook on around 5 gallons an hour, and they rent for 165 dollars an hour wet. If you think you will want an instrument rating later, starting in N903S or N492VT means training on the same IFR panel the whole way. N272VA is the original RV-12 at the same rate. The WT-9 and the SportCruiser are good second airplanes that broaden your experience, and the SportCruiser shows you Dynon avionics as well as Garmin. The Tecnam P2006T is for the multi-engine rating once you hold a private certificate. Tell me your schedule and your goals on the phone and I will tell you which tail to book.