• 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!

An Affordable 4 Seat Homebuilt Aircraft in 5 Weeks for Under $100K

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

JayKoit

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
116
Location
Los Angeles, CA
I have been working my way through the massive threads "Affordability of Aircraft" and "Cheap Aircraft are Simply Impossible", and I saw this quote and it got me thinking:

Posted by gordonaut:
"The fact still remains that there are many thousands of active pilots who would like to buy a brand new airplane but cannot afford the sticker price...so they buy a 30 year old Cessna or Beechcraft or whatever...or they buy a kit and build their own...and there are more amateur-built airplanes added to the rolls each year than factory built...

A lot of these people would just go out and buy an airplane if you could buy a 4 seater for say $70,000 to $100,000 which is what a lot of middle income families can afford...and what a lot of people spend on other hobby type pursuits..."



So I wanted to discuss this option: a Zenair/Zenith CH 640 (CH 640 Four-Seat Kit Airplane)


I studied this plane for a while because this is what I wanted to build before becoming a father of three -- now we won't all fit so I'm out of luck!


It's all metal, Cherokee-esque, quick build, 4 seat, AND its the only kit plane on the market who's parts -- fuselage, wings, ailerons and flaps and stabilator are assembled on the same jigs as the FAA type-certified CH2000 aircraft. In fact, it's basically a stretched 4 seat version of the CH2000 , a part 23 machine. As a bonus, it's also Amsafe seatbelt airbag compatible. I checked. BRS even said it's possible to outfit the craft with an airframe parachute system if they're supplied with the drawings / C of G information.


I think this is a pretty decent solution for a family hauling four-seater with low purchase price and cheap operating costs. It's all metal so it can be tied down, if built with an ECI Titan engine it can burn mogas, insurance I hear is reasonable, and if you're really motivated to save money you can do your own annuals and maintenance.


Now, I know this is a kit build, but they offer a FAST factory build assist program like Glasair's "Two Weeks to Taxi", albeit a little more time consuming. Let's call it "Five Weeks to Taxi", because that's what it is (here's the link: Aircraft Manufacturing & Development Company). Basically, you pay for 50% of a fast-build kit, $19500, then spend four weeks building the plane with Zenair factory builders. Then you take two weeks off while they do the electrical, cabin upholstery, avionics, and FWF installation, then you go back for a week and fit the wings and tail to the fuselage and do the test flight. Then you fly off your 25 hours. The cost for the program is a MAXIMUM of $85,000, plus $800 for facility usage (on top of your $19500 deposit), and that includes everything: The Quick-Build kit, firewall-forward kit, electrical system kit, basic flight and engine instruments, ELT, and a factory-new Lycoming O-360 engine, and Sensenich metal propeller with spinner.


That puts the total at $105,300 for a brand new, mostly factory built plane, that's basically a 4 seat clone of a Part 23 aircraft. Much more affordable than a Skyhawk/Archer for all the active pilots out there who need 4 seats and want a brand new machine -- and in only 8 total weeks. I've heard that it can take months to get a factory new plane from Cessna, etc. so it might actually get you flying even sooner than going with a brand new ready-to-fly craft...


Now, that overshoots the 70-100K mark that Gordonaut mentioned in the quote above, but that's an easy fix: Attaway Air, for example, (and I'm sure other places around the U.S.), will build you a ECI Titan O-360 Lycoming clone for $20,800. And it can burn mogas too. That should knock a solid $15,000 off the price, bringing you in around $90K.


Does this sound appealing to any of you out there who want an affordable 4-seater? I'd like to hear anyone's thoughts and feedback. Thanks!
 
Back
Top