1936, November - Karlis Irbitis begins work on his I-12.
1937, June 26 - Irbitis completes the prototype of the I-12, first flight takes place at Spilve.
1937, July 15 - Bandenieks and Berzins take the I-12 to Paris for demonstration flights.
1937, July 30 - Aug.1 - Bandenieks enters the I-12 in a "flight around France" contest and wins the 2-seater class.
1937, Aug.21 - Bandenieks enters the I-12 in the Thanet Air Races at Ramsgate, England, placing 5th.
1937, Aug.29 - Bandenieks enters the I-12 in the Wakefield Pocal, an international handicap race, at Lympne airfield in England.
He finished 2nd to a Klemm KL-35 being flown by an experienced race pilot.
1937 - In response to the success of the I-12, VEF officially establishes an aircraft branch in its mechanical section and sets about building a series of ten I-12s.
1938, May 14-22 - International Aircraft Exhibition in Helsinki, with VEF I-12 YL-ABO prominently on display.
Two other I-12s (#17 and #27, built for the AA) attend to serve as demonstrators. On May 17 AA pilot Karlis
Lesinskis, with a Finnish pilot on board, is demonstrating I-12 # 17 when it spins at an altitude
of approx 200 metres, striking the ground and killing both pilots. It is unknown which pilot
was at the controls at the time of the crash.
1938, July - Philip d.W. Avery flies the original I-12 nonstop from London to Riga in 9 hrs and 5 minutes, breaking the previous record by an hour and 40 minutes.
1938, Sept.30 - four I-12s for the AA are delivered.
1938, October 1 - Rudzitis and Makars, flying VEF I-12 #37 in the "Flight Around Latvia" competition, suffered a broken tail skid
when landing at Jelgava. The aircraft was able to continue in the competition, but repairs had to be made overnight and he caught up with the other aviators
the following morning.
Also competing were Bandinieks and Kalnins in VEF I-12 #27.
1938, October 30 - A VEF I-12 is destroyed in Gailitis' fatal crash at Spilve.
1939, January - VEF delivers their sixth I-12 to the AA.
Each I-12 cost the Aizsargi 17,500 Lati.
I-12 YL-ABS is flown to England. As it is receiving airworthiness certification, war breaks out and it is parked in a warehouse. Its subsequent fate is unknown.
