Ken and Sherry Dietz’s RV-12iS | Alexandria, NJ RV-12iS #121162
Ken and Sherry wrote in to let us know about the first flight of their RV-12iS! See their report:
After roughly five years of building in our spare time, N190KS received her airworthiness certificate on November 12th, 2024. We were beyond thrilled, and at the first good weather window, Ken did the first taxi testing and high-speed runs down the runway at Alexandria Field (N85), where we live. It’s an airpark community, so our driveway is also our taxiway to the airport – a dream come true in and of itself. Everything was looking good after those initial runs, so that Sunday, November 17th, with a bright blue sky and calm winds, Ken did a full pre-flight check then taxied her over to the airport for her first flight. I set up my position in the grassy area next to runway 26, with the VHF handheld radio in hand to monitor his communications. After doing the run-up, I heard him on the radio… “Alexandria traffic, RV N190KS is departing 26 on her maiden flight…Alexandria.” He back-taxied to the end of the runway, and after settling on the centerline, I heard him push the throttle forward. In just a few seconds the airplane zoomed past me and was airborne! It was an amazing feeling for both of us (in different ways, clearly) to finally have the airplane off the ground, climbing skyward like the proverbial “homesick angel.” Ken climbed her up to a few thousand feet, circling high above the airfield in case a quick return was needed. Thankfully, everything went perfectly. He did some turns and other maneuvers to get a feel for the airplane, and monitored the engine instruments to be sure performance was up to snuff. After about 20 minutes in the air, he brought her down for a nice landing (“squeak squeak!”) and taxied over to near where I was standing. After shutting down the engine and opening the canopy, I got a nice photo of his big wide RV Grin. We had done it – she was a flying aircraft. It was one of the greatest, most significant moments of our lives. We’re looking forward to many adventures and $100 hamburgers in the coming years. Thank you N190KS and Van’s Aircraft!
Our builders’ blog: https://wordpress.com/view/dietzrv12.wordpress.com
Link to first flight video: https://youtube.com/shorts/shTHPzg0MvY?si=DnsuNDKAGhAofkOf
