Van's RV-12 vs Van's RV-9

Side-by-side specs, range, and real operating costs

Aircraft

Search for an aircraft above to begin your comparison.

Mission Performance

Stall, approach, cruise, range, ceiling and climb — the higher on the chart, the better, on every axis.

Hover to isolate · tap to pin
Mission performance specifications
Specification Van's RV-12Van's RV-9
Stall speed 45 kt49 kt
Approach speed 58 kt62 kt
Cruise speed 121 kt163 kt
Range 472 nm617 nm
Service ceiling 13800 ft19000 ft
Rate of climb 900 fpm1450 fpm
Fuel burn 4.5 gph8.0 gph

Each axis is scaled independently across the compared aircraft and printed in its own units; every vertex sits at the published figure. Higher is better on all axes: Stall, Approach and Fuel Burn are inverted (lower = higher). A missing figure breaks the line at that axis.

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

Tap legend to isolate

Arc represents the climb-cruise-descent profile based on published service ceiling and range. Climb rate annotated on ascent. FL180 (18,000 ft) shown for reference.

Fuel Burn & Range

Range, endurance, and what the fuel costs by the hour.

Van's RV-12 Mogas
4.5 gph
Baseline
472 nm range 20 gal usable 26.9 nm/gal $22 fuel/hr 4h 26m endurance
Van's RV-12: 4.5 gallons per hour at cruise, 472 nautical mile published range, 4 hour 26 minute endurance, 26.9 nautical miles per gallon.
Van's RV-9 Avgas
8.0 gph
Baseline
617 nm range 36 gal usable 20.4 nm/gal $52 fuel/hr 4h 30m endurance
Van's RV-9: 8.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 617 nautical mile published range, 4 hour 30 minute endurance, 20.4 nautical miles per gallon.
Avgas range Mogas range each cell = 1 hr of cruise · width scales with speed

Bars show published still-air range. Endurance is usable fuel divided by the published cruise burn. Estimates only. Always verify against the POH.

Runway Performance

Density altitude adjusted estimates

Outside Air Temp
0°F57°F115°F
Field Elevation
SL4,0008,000 ft
Density Altitude

Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle

Landing ground roll

Base distance DA penalty
Scale: 6,000 ft

FAA 10%/1,000 ft DA rule of thumb (FAA-H-8083-25B). Turboprops and jets are less sensitive in practice. Always verify against the POH.

Estimated Operating Costs

Scale:
Van's RV-12 Mogas
$34 /hr
Baseline
Van's RV-12: $34 per flight hour — fuel $22, maintenance and reserve $12.
Van's RV-9 Avgas
$84 /hr
Baseline
Van's RV-9: $84 per flight hour — fuel $52, maintenance and reserve $32.
Van's RV-12 Piston
$7,217 /yr Baseline
Van's RV-12: $7,217 per year — insurance $2,200, hangar $4,167, annual inspection $850.
Van's RV-9 Piston
$7,147 /yr Baseline
Van's RV-9: $7,147 per year — insurance $1,800, hangar $4,347, annual inspection $1,000.

Estimates only. Costs vary by location, pilot profile, and market conditions. See individual aircraft pages for source notes.

Capability & limits

Each bar stacks your selected occupants against full fuel and the aircraft's useful-load limit (the black line). The open gap between them is spare payload. Add an occupant and the gap closes; once it's gone, fuel has to give.

190 + 30 lb Occupants
×
1
Van's RV-12
2 / 2 seats 20 / 20 gal fuel 425 lb wet payload 545 lb useful 1,320 lb MTOW
Van's RV-9
2 / 2 seats 36 / 36 gal fuel 491 lb wet payload 707 lb useful 1,750 lb MTOW

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each. Fuel at 6.7 lb/gal jet-A, 6.0 lb/gal avgas.

Dimensions & configuration

Representative planforms, drawn to shared scale.

Van's RV-12
26.9 × 20.1 ft 8.3 ft tall
1× Piston Fixed Unpressurized
Van's RV-9
28.0 × 20.4 ft 5.8 ft tall
1× Piston Fixed Unpressurized

Payload-Range Map

Full fuel ← → Max payload

Origin: · two fingers to move map

Cookies and analytics. We use Mixpanel and Google Analytics to understand how this site is used. Mixpanel records session replays (interaction patterns, scroll, and click timing). Page content is masked: we do not see what you read or type. Cookies are set only if you accept. Read our privacy policy.