I've been having this debate with myself for the last 5 years or so and as such haven't pulled the trigger on anything. I'm getting to the stage now that I should be lisenced by the spring, and the idea of having to hire the club plane for an hour here and there isn't really why I got in ti the sport. I want to get out and play.
So here are my requirements:-
Mandatory:-
Single seat deregulated microlight (UK rules)
This is to keep my cost of ownership and operation down as low as possible to get as many hours in as possible. My wife is up for coming along now and again, but on those occasions I can hire the club plane.
The rules are max take off weight of 300kg for a single seat land plane and 330kg for a single seat float plane. Stall speed 35kts max, fixed pitch prop, fixed gear unless amphibious.
Ideally:-
4 stroke
On floats
High wing
Aluminium or composite
Cruise upwards of 80kts
Climb rate upwards of 1200fpm
So here's the factors influencing my decisions:-
Aluminium cost in Europe is around 3x that in US,
Timber cost is reasonable but difficult to find good quality timber. Composite is easily shipped and there's a good few suppliers here. My experience is with wood - I'm a carpenter and have a fully kitted out workshop with panel saws, spindle moulders, thicknesses, surface planer etc etc. But even then I'm not keen on modern timber as an airframe material.
So here's my 3 options as I see them:-
Build a minimax eros to get myself in the air quickly and start building hours and experience while I continue to deliberate over building something with all the 'ideals'
Build a single seat version of a zenith CH701 - narrow the fuselage, maybe clip the wings, ditch the slats, add floats. Availability and cost of the Aluminium, chromoly, rivets etc is quite prohibitive. Also re-engineering half the plane will result in re-engineering the majority of it, which leads me to my next thought.
Scratch design and build a composite aircraft to suit my needs - this is the long route, but perhaps the best one to satisfy my requirements and need to tinker and experiment. I've got a few conceptual designs on the drawing board.
Any other suggestions?
So here are my requirements:-
Mandatory:-
Single seat deregulated microlight (UK rules)
This is to keep my cost of ownership and operation down as low as possible to get as many hours in as possible. My wife is up for coming along now and again, but on those occasions I can hire the club plane.
The rules are max take off weight of 300kg for a single seat land plane and 330kg for a single seat float plane. Stall speed 35kts max, fixed pitch prop, fixed gear unless amphibious.
Ideally:-
4 stroke
On floats
High wing
Aluminium or composite
Cruise upwards of 80kts
Climb rate upwards of 1200fpm
So here's the factors influencing my decisions:-
Aluminium cost in Europe is around 3x that in US,
Timber cost is reasonable but difficult to find good quality timber. Composite is easily shipped and there's a good few suppliers here. My experience is with wood - I'm a carpenter and have a fully kitted out workshop with panel saws, spindle moulders, thicknesses, surface planer etc etc. But even then I'm not keen on modern timber as an airframe material.
So here's my 3 options as I see them:-
Build a minimax eros to get myself in the air quickly and start building hours and experience while I continue to deliberate over building something with all the 'ideals'
Build a single seat version of a zenith CH701 - narrow the fuselage, maybe clip the wings, ditch the slats, add floats. Availability and cost of the Aluminium, chromoly, rivets etc is quite prohibitive. Also re-engineering half the plane will result in re-engineering the majority of it, which leads me to my next thought.
Scratch design and build a composite aircraft to suit my needs - this is the long route, but perhaps the best one to satisfy my requirements and need to tinker and experiment. I've got a few conceptual designs on the drawing board.
Any other suggestions?
