Inexpensive solo cross-country machines?

[BlueRidge]

Anglin Spacewalker 2 (later called Warner Revolution). Can be scratch built, or pre-welded kit.

Modifying this design slightly would make a good simple airplane for adventure touring.

1. designed as a tandem two seat, fly it from the front seat and convert the rear cockpit and baggage compartment into one large cargo area. c.g. will allow 250lbs of gear.

2. build a taller turtle deck that covers the rear cockpit / cargo area, and add a bubble canopy to the front cockpit.

3. a common modification is wing leading edge tanks that pump fuel to a 15gal(?) fuselage gravity fed tank. add as much fuel as you need. 85-115hp Continental or Lycoming.

4. taking a two person airplane and converting it to one person + gear + extra fuel, allows a lot of flexibility without overloading the airplane.

5. the designer was an accomplished machinist and airplane builder. they just had trouble running a business and keeping up with non-aviation demands. shame really, his planes deserve a
wider following.

6. most Spacewalkers out there are seriously overweight and suffer for it. built simply as designed and kept light, an O-200 would surprise you. it has a thick high lift airfoil, so 100mph is an economical airspeed.




Anglin Aero and Warner are no more, but an unfinished plane or plans could be found.

 

[rbarnes]

You could probably do a scratch build Zenith 650 with a corvair engine cheaply and easily

 

[Rockiedog2]

>>>most Spacewalkers out there are seriously overweight and suffer for it.

That can be said about many(maybe most) of our homebuilts, regardless of type. Take a good design and ruin it with thoughtless weight addition. Some sort of emotional compulsion to add unnecessary stuff.

Phooey!!!

 

[rv7charlie]

Now might be a good time to comment on flying qualities (well, preferences, I guess).

I won't claim to have hundreds of designs in my log book, nor am I anybody's piloting gift to mankind. But I have flown a few different designs, including some mentioned here, and some I liked, and some were, shall we say, unpleasant, to fly. Not all would agree with my opinions on flying qualities, but that's kinda the point. If you don't enjoy sitting in it for at least two hours at a time, and enjoy *flying* it (in bumpy air) for that long, it probably isn't a good choice. Note that my bias is toward the RV-x/T-18/M-II/Tailwind corner of the box, but I should also say that the reason I like them may make them unpleasant to some, for cross country use. Some other designs I've flown were unpleasant to me at approximately the time I took the stick. 'Fly before you buy' is always a good idea.

Charlie

 

[Michael Silvius]

Actually my own first suggestion was a Sonerai II flown solo. I’d be interested in learning more about that DA-2A.

Hi Matthew.. Let me send a couple emails out to my friend and see if I can get some pictures of it and some info for you.
edit- just found some pictures I took of it last year.

 

[David L. Downey]

Please note that after paying for them I have heard nothing in more than 2 months after purchasing plans and the book from the new owner of the Davis designs. Perhaps he has an explanation but has never replied to any of my inquiries. no phone that I can find so limited to web based contact (worked well to extract my money though?)! About to try and get the payment back.
Too bad the later 3 seat version never really went anywhere. And a "round" windshield like Roger Mellema developed form the BD4 would help in both the performance and looks department.

 

[Chip W. Erwin]

Chip, welcome to HBA. Merlin is a great offering for UL. Do you also plan on bringing the two seater from tech pro aviation to the US?

For now we offer this Merlin single-seat E-AB aircraft. We also just introduced a Part 103 ultralight that is similar to the Merlin but lighter and slower to meet the USA UL rules. I see no point in bringing in another over-priced 2-seat LSA to compete the the 160+ already out there selling few aircraft. I will leak out that I am designing a new, bigger, faster 750kg gross aircraft to meet the new LSA rules in progress with the FAA.

 

[CRG]

Same, though I was refunded (new Davis plans website).

 

[blane.c]

Volmer VJ-22, nice video at link but I don't know if it is a good site to purchase plans from or not.

It is a little slower @ around 85mph and correspondingly less range but otherwise?

 

[TarDevil]

Matt, what not the HN 700 Ménestrel you posted on another thread? It meets your speed and range criteria and a wooden plane is a scrounger's delight. And you can't get a cuter airplane.

 

[mullacharjak]

High wing Wood aircraft.Maranda AMF S14.2 seat.0-320 engine/Toyota IUZ V8 engine with Airtrikes SPG5 gear box.

 

[unclecameron]

I have a Quickie Tri-Q200 airframe that's very close to flyable and registered, definitely cross-country worthy, just added a few speed mods (smaller cowl inlets, streamlined wheel pants, etc.), should work, but you don't get to build from scratch :/ Focused on other projects currently, MIGHT sell it perhaps, drop me a line if there's an interest.

 

[Victor Bravo]

In the first post, the OP said:

long cross-country adventures,
fun flyer that can cross long distances and make good time
existing homebuilts
*minimum* performance like this, though more payload and speed would be desirable.

• Total budget (flying and fully equipped to night VFR levels) under $25,000
• Cruising speed at least 100 mph (162 kph)
• No-reserve range at that cruising speed at least 500 statute miles (760 km).
• Payload with fuel for that no-reserve range at least 300 lb (136 kg)

The W10 Tailwind, with an O-235 or O-290, will accomplish these parameters and give you another 50-80 miles an hour of cruise speed for when you want or need it. Interestingly, you might be able to keep under this budget with a scratchbuilt, a half-built U-finish project, or a flying airplane that can use cleanup and TLC.

That sets the bar pretty dang high for this discussion in my opinion.

 

[norm_parm]

Please note that after paying for them I have heard nothing in more than 2 months after purchasing plans and the book from the new owner of the Davis designs. Perhaps he has an explanation but has never replied to any of my inquiries. no phone that I can find so limited to web based contact (worked well to extract my money though?)! About to try and get the payment back.
Too bad the later 3 seat version never really went anywhere. And a "round" windshield like Roger Mellema developed form the BD4 would help in both the performance and looks department.

Good luck with getting the plans. Also, my understanding is the AC develops lift from the fuselage, and any alterations would negate that lift. If you look at the side view of the AC you can see airfoil shape.

 

[Hephaestus]

So - I can't help but notice - the KR2 wasn't mentioned. Fast, pretty well developed at this point in its life cycle... Lots of engine options, configuration options... Build it as a fat 1 seater, center stick, theoretically fit 2 but sit in the middle of a spacious bench seat

Colin hales shows it's possible to do some SERIOUS x-country time in one (just don't stop in japan).

But yes you're doing some fiberglass - Fairly appropriate as an outer layer though.

Kept thinking about how similar the MX18 and KR1 are in overall (ignoring wing aspect ratio), an updated MX18 mite built a little more in the KR2 style could be pretty sweet. Dump the retracts and flaps, use a belly board, ditch flap/trim mixing. You should be able to get a mite down to under 350lbs fairly easily by using more updated methods/ideas.

 

[Speedboat100]

How long can AVG pilot hold his/her bladder ?

 

[Brünner]

I have the homebuilt version, it saved my pants - and my car - in a nasty traffic situation.

 

[Victor Bravo]

I can't remember if I had ever mentioned (here on HBA) an old story from my soaring days, about a nurse who told me she had something they used in hospitals called an "external urinary catheter". She said that using one of those, attaching it to a tube under my clothes, and then having a collection bag attached to the hose down by my ankle, would allow me to fly safely for many hours.

It was something like a triple thickness condom, with an instrument fitting sized hose barb on the end of it to attach the tube. I was all set to use this setup at a regional sailplane contest, somewhere around 1984 or so, and I went into the bathroom after the pilots meeting to install it. When I opened the package, I got scared to death, because the first thing I saw was a big roll of double-sided tape!

 

[Hephaestus]

How long can AVG pilot hold his/her bladder ?

Everyone's different. I think the common answer around here is 3 hours is good time for a leg stretch.

I got roadtrip trained young by grouchy parents, and construction site outhouses taught me to save it for lunch/end of day... I don't mind a 5hr leg, by 6 at my usual coffee consumption rate - Teeth are floating...

 

[Speedboat100]

Everyone's different. I think the common answer around here is 3 hours is good time for a leg stretch.

I got roadtrip trained young by grouchy parents, and construction site outhouses taught me to save it for lunch/end of day... I don't mind a 5hr leg, by 6 at my usual coffee consumption rate - Teeth are floating...

So in comfortable 3 hrs one flies let's say at 150 kts about 450 nautical miles....at 100 mph just 300 miles.