Unless they've recently changed, the "complete" kit doesn't include interior, avionics, or anything in front of the firewall. And it's only a steal if someone else builds it. A person with a normal job and a family could easily work 10 hours a week for a decade before finishing a Glasair III.

Agreed!

OK, just a quick time out here so I can add some clarity from a position of knowledge. I am on the board of the SAAA (EAA equiv in Oz) and was a founding member of http://www.rvflightsafety.org and did a lot of research into the accident rates both in the USA and Australia over a 10 year period, and this was when the FAA/NTSB started their proactive campaign to improve things.

Some points. The cowboy element who likes to live on the edge and have less respect for the rules is attracted to this group so naturally they feature in far too many prangs. The "hold my beer and watch this" brigade are forever present, and recently an RV prang here as well as an Lancair showed that the problem still exists.

The accidents that are VFR into IMC are just as likely to occur in a C182 or A36.....it is not the aircraft category that is the problem.

After the big efforts in the RV community via peer pressure, Dick VanGrunsman found that the accident rate had dropped to be actually better than the GA average in the RV community. So this proved that peer pressure worked and an experimental RV is just as safe if operated properly. I think many RV owners on here would know exactly what I mean.

Unfortunately when the data was studied it was found to be the cowboy element that existed that tends not to exist in the Cirrus or Beech community, or nowhere near as much that forms the difference.


Also training, was an issue for many. That is being worked on as well.

It is true you can buy a good 30 year old Bonanza for about the same cost of a good RV10 and that is around $175-200k, but the choice is yours. An RV / Lancair / whatever is not for everyone. But they can be built right and maintained right and upgraded right, and operated safely.

So can a nice V-Tail or SR22.

Or you can kill yourself in any of them.

Todd (and others) I stand corrected. Thanks, now I've got some reading to keep me busy...

Right on Chris. My son and I just finished torquing the main gear bolts on our RV-8. We will be sitting in it and making airplane noises soon. Building is more about the journey than the destination.

Robert

Not my experience.

You will change your mind once you get the Dash 8 flying

Some people get more enjoyment from building than flying. That's why there are experimentals on Barnstormers with 200 hrs or less.

I'd like to see myself as one of those handy guys, but my RV-building experience strongly suggests otherwise.

I'm in the "buy a 35 and then build an RV" category. Fly now, fly later

Unfortunately, I still work for a living - so the RV is a few years off ..

E-AB is a wonderful thing, But even more than the normal and utility category aircraft you must know everything the airplane is going to do. They are E-AB for a reason and if you are going to play with the CG envelope or flight envelope you better know what you are doing and those that built the aircraft, better understand the same.

Some of these E-AB guys are really, really, scary doing s**t they don't know or understand about. Example flying way over gross routinely without understanding how stress/ strain and fatigue work. If your flying one it would be best to look at them as if they were trying to kill you at every step, and be thankful when they don't.

I am a low time pilot with an aero engineering degree and would fly most anything, but some of those guys are really really really crazy.

John,

Can you point out some crazy examples? From what I have witnessed, you will pass out before stessing a Glasair enough to break it. The useful load is limited by it's ability to climb, not strength.

I have flown a Helicycle, Velocity, Safari, and and Iskra. They all fly differently, but are still aircraft.

I think the limiting factor is the pilot - not the machine. The V-tail previously was known as the doctor killer. The machine was fine, but the pilots were not.

For those purchasing kits and building......let us know how much cheaper it is than a typical V35.....


I bet it ain't cheaper.

Todd, why buy an AA1A instead of an experimental?

I have a commercial student who flies an RV7A, so I got a fair amount of stick time in it. I love it - great airplane! (apart from the flimsy nose gear)

He needed a retractable for the test, and flew my Bonanza. He loves it. He was surprised at how maneuverable and light it is to fly - he expected truck-like handling.

The grass is always greener on the other side

Price and ability to insure it for training. The AA1A was originally built as an experimental by Jim Bede. It was later certified by American Aviation. There are parts available for it since it is such a simple airplane. Also, with the light control forces the AA1A makes for a good training platform to transition a pilot to a plane like a Glasair.

The AA1A is also very cheap when compared to a 152 in the same condition. They have a reputation for being too "hot." As you can see from my simulated emergency landings it is an easy plane to fly.

I like the O-235 Lycoming and the sliding canopy. There is not an experimental or certified plane that I would rather give primary instruction in due to the wide cabin, excellent visibility, light controls, and dirt simple airframe along with proven Lycoming 235.

My fear is part availability in the long term. Granted, my -35 is an extreme example, but my 66 year old airplane is just leading the inevitable for the rest of the 35 line. As the quantities of flying airframes goes down, what is the business model be for Beech, um Textron?

RV airframes are by far the most popular here in central Arkansas. At any given flyin (not type specific), the RVs out number the certified aircraft (yep, they outnumber the C172). And that is just the Vanns RVs...

I'm a relative newbie, but it doesn't take much to see where the trends are. . . . .