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I'm searching for that "perfect" airplane to build... help me find my "wooden wonder"

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RFloyd90

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
14
Location
outside Myrtle Beach, SC
One thing I am certain of is that short of designing my own aircraft from scratch (something I have neither the experience nor the knowlege, skill, or intelligence to do, I'm afraid, without likely leaving my children fatherless), I am likely not going to find that "just right" combination of elements that make up an ideal first homebuilt project, and compromise is going to be the key when it comes to selecting an airframe....

Part of me would love a single-place open cockpit barnstormer to just have fun with in my spare time as I get older. A Flybaby, maybe! make it a biplane!

But then I never get to take a son/daughter/wife on trips to all the places we've never been, so a two-seater is a must.

"Open cockpit?" my wife asks? "No way am I flying open cockpit!" So a canopy is a must it seems....

I want to stay on the smaller end of the scale powerplant-wise, O-200, or better yet Corvair powered. A cruise speed of around 120mph to 130mph would be ideal for cross country flight, doable with 100hp I think.

Low wing, fixed gear (simplicity, cost), ability to carry 350 pounds of humankind plus a couple of bags without going over weight....

Simple enough, right? Several aircraft immediately come to mind, Zenith 601, Sonex......

I want wood and fabric.

I've worked with wood all of my life. I'm comfortable with it. I like it. I've never built an aircraft, but I've spent 25+ years woodworking.... I'm not scared of it, I guess. It's not completely new to me....

All of my looking and reading has brought up a few possibilities:

Giuseppe Vidor's Champion V looks like a perfect candidate, other than I'm concerned it's a little light with a gross weight of only 993 pounds... with myself, my wife, and a full fuel load we're already over weight.

Homebuilt Homepage - Kits & Plans - S. Littner - Champion V

Aside from the weight, apparently only a couple of Champion V's are either built or under construction in the US... I don't know a lot about it, and info seems to be scarce.....

The Falco is gorgeous, but a little bigger, faster, and more expensive of an animal than I want to consider.

Is there some other design that I've not discovered that would combine all of these qualities?

I bekon forth the vast knowledge of this community...... help a madman feed his obsession!
 
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