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Rotax 912-Class Light-Sport (LSA) Checklist

A free, printable Rotax 912-Class Light-Sport (LSA) checklist — 20 sections from Preflight Inspection to Carburetor Ice, free to edit, sized for a kneeboard.

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Flight Design CTLS light-sport aircraft on the grass
Photo: André Gerwing / CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons, cropped
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What a Rotax 912-class LSA is

There is no single Rotax 912 airplane. It is a family of two-seat, fixed-gear light-sport aircraft that share the engine and little else: Flight Design CT, Tecnam P2008 and P92, the Sling 2, Van’s RV-12, some with a recovery parachute and some without. The 912 is a small geared four-cylinder with liquid-cooled heads, spinning faster and running cooler than the big-bore Lycomings and Continentals most of us trained behind. It comes carbureted (912ULS) or fuel-injected (912iS), and that split drives the checklist: choke, carb heat, and carb-ice risk belong to the ULS only. This one is the ULS baseline in a CT-family airframe, sequencing cross-checked against the Sling 2 and RV-12 POHs. Cessna reflexes do not carry over.

I built this as a skeleton, not a finished checklist, because “LSA” covers too many airplanes for one to fit them all. I centered it on the carbureted CT-family Rotax because that is what people ask me about most. Rebuild it around your own POH before you fly it.

Normal procedures

Walkaround through shutdown in order, with a Flight Design CTSW-representative V-speed table. Four items earn their place on a Rotax 912 startup checklist that a generic light sport aircraft checklist template misses: oil and coolant checked together (the heads are liquid-cooled), choke instead of primer, run-up at a higher RPM than a Lycoming, and a deliberate gull-wing door-latch check. Carb-heat lines are marked “if fitted,” because availability varies by airframe. Print it for the kneeboard, or keep the PDF on a tablet.

Emergency procedures

Memory items are in bold. The section covers engine failure on the takeoff roll, engine failure after takeoff, engine failure in flight with a restart attempt, engine fire, electrical fire or smoke, an alternator abnormal, and carb ice for carbureted 912ULS installations. There is no ballistic-parachute deployment here on purpose: plenty of airframes in this class carry a chute and plenty do not, and deployment is a memory item that has to come from your POH and its placard.

Verify it against your POH

One template, a whole family of airplanes, so more than usual depends on your serial. Check these against your approved POH/AFM:

  • 912ULS vs 912iS. Carb heat, choke, and carb-ice risk apply to the carbureted ULS only; the 912iS is fuel-injected with a different electrical architecture. Do not reuse one checklist for the other.
  • Whether carb heat is fitted at all. Airframe- and even airplane-specific; some builders omit the control.
  • Run-up RPM and ignition/lane drop limits. Vary by POH edition and model year, so no number is published here.
  • Idle RPM after start. The general Rotax warm-idle pattern was not confirmed against a specific POH.
  • Short/soft-field technique. Flap settings and rotation-speed offsets are airframe-specific; none is invented here.
  • Alternator procedure. General light-GA practice, not from a Rotax-LSA POH. The dual-stator switchover sometimes claimed for the 912iS needs POH-level confirmation.
  • Ballistic parachute (BRS). Deliberately not drafted. Your POH and placard only.
  • Fuel selector at shutdown. OFF or ON varies by POH.
  • The V-speeds. CTSW-representative. CTLS/CTSL and other airframes differ, and flap speed schedules vary by model year within one family.

Why not just print a static PDF?

  • It's free with no caps — build, edit, save, and print as many as you want.
  • You can add your own tail number and logo, so the checklist matches your airplane.
  • Every page size is here — half-letter, A5, letter, and folding trifold or 2-up.

A PDF from the internet doesn't know your tail number, your panel, or your instructor's habits. Build your own in the time it takes to read this page — still free.

What's inside

  1. Preflight Inspection
  2. Before Start
  3. Engine Start
  4. Before Taxi & Taxi
  5. Run-up & Before Takeoff
  6. Takeoff
  7. Climb
  8. Cruise
  9. Descent
  10. Before Landing
  11. After Landing
  12. Shutdown & Securing
  13. V-Speeds (Flight Design CTSW, typical)
  14. EmergencyEngine Failure on Takeoff Roll
  15. Engine Failure After Takeoff (Low Altitude)
  16. Engine Failure in Flight (Altitude Available)
  17. Engine Fire in Flight
  18. Electrical Fire / Smoke in Flight
  19. Alternator / Electrical System Failure (Abnormal)
  20. Carburetor Ice (Carbureted 912ULS Only)

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Questions pilots ask

Is there a printable Rotax 912 LSA emergency checklist here?
Yes, as an adaptable baseline. The emergency section covers engine failure on the takeoff roll, engine failure after takeoff, engine failure in flight with a restart attempt, engine fire, electrical fire / smoke, an alternator/electrical abnormal, and a carburetor-ice flow for carbureted 912ULS installations, with the memory items in bold. It deliberately omits any ballistic-parachute deployment, because that is a safety-critical memory item that must come from your aircraft's POH and placard — never a generic guess.
What speeds are in the Rotax 912 LSA checklist?
The checklist carries a Flight Design CTSW-representative table. CTLS/CTSL and every other airframe in this class differ, and flap-setting speed schedules vary by model year even within one family, so reconcile every number against your serial's POH rather than trusting the sample.
Which airplane is this checklist actually for?
It is a generic starting point centered on a carbureted Rotax 912ULS in a low-wing, gull-wing-door CT-family airframe, cross-checked against the Sling 2 and RV-12 POHs for sequencing. It is meant to be adapted, not flown as-is. If you fly a Tecnam, a Sling, an RV-12, or a fuel-injected 912iS airplane, use this as scaffolding and rebuild the type-specific steps from your own POH.
What is the difference between an LSA and a private pilot aircraft?
For checklist purposes it comes down to the paperwork and the hardware. Airframes in this class are light, simple, and usually two-seat — fixed gear, a fixed-pitch or ground-adjustable prop, a geared Rotax 912 instead of a big-bore Lycoming — and most are special or experimental light-sport aircraft flying behind a manufacturer- or builder-written POH rather than an FAA-approved AFM, which is exactly why procedures differ so much between two airplanes that look alike. A 172 or a PA-28 is a standard-category airplane with an approved AFM, so its flows are stable across the whole fleet in a way these are not. Who may fly what, and on which pilot privileges, is a regulatory question that has been rewritten more than once — check the current rule and your own aircraft's operating limitations rather than a checklist page.
Why is there a coolant check on the preflight? My old trainer didn't have one.
Because the Rotax 912 is liquid-cooled for the cylinder heads, not purely air-cooled like the Lycoming or Continental you may have trained behind. That means the preflight is a dual-fluid check — oil AND coolant — and it is one of the most commonly skipped items by pilots transitioning from conventional GA singles. The checklist puts them next to each other on purpose.
Does this airplane have a parachute, and where's the deployment procedure?
Some do — a ballistic recovery parachute is a common option on several airframes in this class, notably the Flight Design CT — but many do not. There is deliberately no parachute-deployment procedure on this checklist, because that is a safety-critical memory item that has to come from your specific aircraft's POH and its parachute placard. Do not improvise one.

New to checklists? Read our guide to building an aircraft checklist →

Need the official numbers? Rotax 912-Class Light-Sport (LSA) POH & manuals →

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