[Tim Hancock]

Aren't those all "kit built"? If so, obviously you will want to be careful and make sure everything is up to snuff before going up in one of those.

I am all for the whole build your own airplane thing, but I am leary of all helicopters as I just can't get over the thought of a main rotor coming apart due to a bad ball joint or metal fatigue. The certified helicopters often have mandatory time in service replacement parts, but if the scorpian is homebuilt, you may be rolling the dice.

Homebuilt airplanes do not scare me like the thought of homebuilt helicopters do. I guess I figure in an airplane, a typical problem might involve an engine failure, but I have a chance at making an off airport landing. If the main rotor comes unglued from a helicopter, you are screwed.

A local guy who operates mainly R22's had a whole rotor assembly depart his Enstrom once, luckily for him, he was only about ten feet off the ground. As he collected his wits and shut the engine down, he looked up and saw the main rotor assembly spinning back towards him like a boomerang. It missed him, but he swore after surviving the intial crash, he was going to get taken out by the d@mn rotor!

Just be cautious!