Quote:
Originally Posted by sixbanger
People die in home built kits. I wouldn't do it.But if you love flying?
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True. But the RV series have an excellent record of kits being completed and flying.
Lots of factory support, great engineering- Though they are fast, they also handle slow speeds very well, and can use very short runways.
Many homebuilt kits outside of the RV series are never finished. Plenty of partially-built airplanes for sale. Either parts are missing, plans are incomplete, or lots of fabrication is still necessary. The RV's come with very good plans. You're basically assembling pieces- Not fabricating.
The "hot-rod" homebuilts tend to have nasty traits at the slow end that lead to too many accidents. High stall speeds, very abrupt stalls that quickly develop into spins, things that make them need long, smooth runways.
The founder/designer/engineer of the RVs flies his out of a short grass strip to get to work at the factory. He designed them to be nimble and fun, yet have benign stall characteristics. One of the few kits that would probably pass FAA standards if he decided to sell completed airplanes.
Most kits would never pass FAA testing.
That's why I'm thinking of an RV.