RV-12iS: IFR Operation and Training

Enabling Advanced Flight Training in the RV-12iST

In Summer 2018, Van’s Aircraft introduced the RV-12iST, a trainer configuration of the RV-12iS SLSA focused on what flight schools had been asking for: Enhanced durability plus the ability to perform an expanded set of flight training, including Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) training for Private Pilots.

Today, that capability remains in the 2026 RV-12iS as well as previous RV-12iS models properly configured — meaning fitted with an approved IFR navigation source.

Operating IFR vs. Operating in IMC

The RV-12iS SLSA is a great platform for meeting both the long cross country requirements and shorter, skills-based instructional flying. Filing IFR and operating/training in the IFR “system” is perfectly fine and is allowed if the airplane is properly equipped and the crew meets the training/certification requirements. By operating under IFR, you are simply participating in the ATC system under the established instrument flight rules. Doing so does not necessarily imply that you are flying the airplane in the clouds.

The current regulations preclude entering actual Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) in any SLSA airplane. While the FAA does not directly/specifically object to it, the ASTM committee’s LSA standard states that the aircraft must be placarded including a statement that flight into IMC is not allowed (but notably makes no exclusions on IFR operations – or operating “in the system” with air traffic control). Because the FAA accepts and adopts the ASTM SLSA rules as written, this becomes a regulatory issue. Conversations between Van’s staff and the FAA have confirmed that these restrictions “live” completely in the LSA standard, and that no such restrictions are found directly within the FAA regs. In other words, it is up to the ASTM committee that governs the SLSA standard (called “ASTM F37”) to determine and dictate what is allowed and what is not.

What about MOSAIC

The so-called MOSAIC rules set to go into effect in July 2026 will allow the 2026 version of the RV-12iS to be operated in IMC. There are additional requirements to meet the ASTM standards that underpin this approval, including adequate electrical capacity and a heated pitot head, among other things.

All of which will make the RV-12iS a terrific IFR trainer that can be used in IMC, as well as a personal airplane with more capability than ever.