The VEF I-12 was a

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

, two-seat

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...

Kārlis Irbītis Kārlis Irbītis (October 14, 1904, in Limbaži municipality, Lāde parish, Governorate of Livonia – October 13, 1997, in Saint-Laurent (borough), Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada) was a Latvian aeroplane designer. His greatest successes, for the ...

and produced by VEF in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Design and development

The single engine,

, two seat I-12 was a development of the similarly laid out I-11, strengthened for aerobatics. It was an all wood

low-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

, entirely

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

covered apart from the tail control surfaces and with a fixed,

conventional undercarriage Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Ter ...

. Its

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

wing was built around a main and an auxiliary box spar, both made from

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

and plywood. The short wing centre section was integral with the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

, with the main undercarriage legs on it. These and the wheels, fitted with brakes, were faired. Outboard, the wing panels tapered to rounded tips, carrying both the balanced and slotted differential

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

and hand-operated camber-changing split flaps. The fuselage was a rectangular box formed from spruce

longerons In engineering, a longeron or stringer is a load-bearing component of a framework. The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural frame ...

, with a ply roof behind the cabin, where a long, multipart canopy enclosed the pilot and passenger's seats. The pilot sat at the rear; both had removable sections for access. In front of them the Blackburn Cirrus four cylinder in-line, inverted engine was mounted on steel bearers, driving a wooden propeller. At the rear of the fuselage the

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

was conventional, with the

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lift (force), lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters ...

mounted on the

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

above the fuselage line and braced from below with a steel strut on each side. The

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

s were hinged forward of the

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

, which carried a

trim tab Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger Flight control surfaces, control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aerodynamic forces and stabilise the ...

, but were shaped to allow its movement as it extended to the keel.

Operational history

The I-12 first flew on 26 June 1937, the first of twelve units built. The first prototype, on a European tour begun in July 1937, made several demonstrations in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In the UK it raced at

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

, coming fifth in the handicapped Thanet Air Race at

, as well as winning first prize for the best turned out aircraft. Late in August it came in second in the Cinque Ports Wakefield Cup races at

Lympne Lympne (), formerly also Lymne, is a village on the former shallow-gradient sea cliffs above the expansive agricultural plain of Romney Marsh in Kent. The settlement forms an L shape stretching from Port Lympne Zoo via Lympne Castle facing Ly ...

. Its tour ended the following July, and it was flown back to

by P. Avery in a record nine hours, non-stop from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Avery flew another I-12 in 1939, coming fifth in the London to

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

race and competing in the Isle of Man competition in May. The I-12 was enthusiastically reviewed by the British aeronautical press and Rollasons were designated as distributors after the I-12 had been adjusted to meet UK certification requirements. It was also offered for sale in the UK by D.R.P. Engines at £750 but no examples reached the UK civil register. At least four were purchased as

trainers Sneakers ( US) or trainers ( UK), also known by a wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual wear. They were popularized by compani ...

by the

Aizsargi Aizsargi (; officially – , or LAO) was a volunteer paramilitary organization, militia with some characteristics of a military reserve force in Latvia during the interbellum period (1918–1939). The Aizsargi was created on March 30, 1919, b ...

in early 1938, most surviving to the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

occupation of 1940.

Replicas

An airworthy replica of the I-12 was built in 2009 by retired sports teacher Juris Grīnbergs after a seven-year long project. The maiden flight of the replica took place near Iecava in 2010. It was put on display at

Riga International Airport RIX Riga Airport (; ) is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to 107 destinations as of September 2024. It serves as a hub for airBaltic, SmartLynx Airlines a ...

in August 2023. VEF I-12 cockpit

Operators

; *

Latvian Air Force Latvian Air Force () is the aviation branch of the Military of Latvia, National Armed Forces. The first air force (AF) units were established in 1919 and re-established in 1992. It has no air combat capability, thus the defense of Latvian air spa ...

Specifications (I-12)

References