• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

Aircraft alternatives

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

wardo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2016
Messages
51
Location
Putney, VT
Hello all,
After getting a variety of input in a thread I opened in the safety forum on the relative safety of various materials, I've done more thinking and am ready to ask more specifics about potential aircraft. For background, I attended Embry-Riddle, was an NFO in the Navy (P-3's) for 7 years and owned an RV-4 that I helped (in a limited fashion) build. I sold the RV when I lost my medical on a technicality 18 years ago, and stepped back from aviation until recently. I am currently working on getting my medical reinstated which I anticipate wont be a problem since I am in excellent health. Once I get the medical straightened out, I plan to transition to an LSA and Sport license so I don't end up in the same situation as 18 years ago. My requirements/goals are:

-I discovered while flying the RV-4 that what I really enjoyed was just cruising around and looking at the scenery. I had done my tail dragger training in a '49 Piper Clipper, and in a number of ways that probably suited me better than the RV. I don't anticipate doing long cross country flights, but maybe occasionally flying around the New England region. Most flights will begin and end at the local field.

-My favorite thing to do back then was to find out of the way grass fields and check them out. I was living in Oregon at the time, so there were a lot of options.

-I am reasonably light, 175 pounds, and will fly alone 80% of the time. My wife is petite, and all my friends are roughly my size (we are all bicycle racers), so don't need a ton of payload. I imagine it might be fun to go camping, but the odds of this actually happening are low given the realities of life. I probably really only need a 1+1 seating, kind of like the RV.

-The aircraft should be as simple as possible. I don't need a lot to accomplish my intended goals, so in the interest of time and cost, would like the aircraft to reflect that. My budget is probably $20k to 25k or so, way less than the RV.

-The build should be straight forward. I am very handy, have a full wood shop, basic welding skills and an overall good mechanical aptitude. I don't want to take more than a couple of years of part time work to complete the project, and prefer to avoid really fussy projects. I have a good space to build, the insulated basement of my wood shop.

-Vermont is heavily forested and mountainous, so reliability is a concern. Unless I were to fly in a pretty restricted corridor (following the Interstates for example), my forced landing options will often by limited.

-I want a traditional high wing, tractor configured plane with an enclosed cockpit. Cabin heat would be nice.

Edit: -Folding or easily removable wings since I'll need to keep the plane at my house and transport to a local grass strip.

-The plane should have low fuel consumption. If I were to build a kit, for a powerplant I am particularly attracted to the HKS 700e (and possibly the 700i variant that is rumored). This obviously limits my airframe choices considerably.

-I have not ruled out buying a project or completed plane, I have seen a few Avids, Kitfoxes and CH701's that approach my budget and requirements. Having said that, there is a very real appeal to building my own.

I am sure there is much more that can be said, but I can't think of it at the moment. The kits I have looked at are mostly driven by the above requirements and my desire to fit the HKS. I really like the Ridge Runner III, but have read numerous unfortunate things about the seller, so unless someone can convince me otherwise, my first choice is off the table. Following that, I like the yet to be released Belite 2 seater, followed by the FFP Super Koala.

So, here we come down to the real point of my post. Are my criteria unrealistic or flawed? Are there other good kits given my criteria that I should consider? What other advice would you offer?
Thanks in advance for your input.

Regards,
Ward
 
Last edited:
Back
Top