| As I'm sure happens with just about every builder, I get asked
"Why build an airplane?" quit a bit. The reasons
probably differ for each individual builder, but mine is fairly simple: It's
the only way to get what I want.
I'm a geek, I admit. I've been doing computers, and working
with Windows since the 0.9 beta back in '86. I want a glass
cockpit. Besides thinking they look cool, and loving the gadgetry,
I just like the displays better than old analog gauges. Maybe it's
because I've spent so much time in the various fighter sims over the
years, and that was always the type of display they had. I dunno
about that, but I do know that it's what I want.
That means I had three choices:
- Buy an older plane, and retrofit the panel to have what I want.
- Buy a new plane, such as a Cirrus, that has what I want installed.
- Build a plane, installing the avionics I want.
I didn't like #1 for a couple of reasons. The first of which is
that a 30 year-old airplane with a new panel is still 30 years
old. I had a Bonanza P35. Great airplane, absolutely loved
it. Always something breaking though, just do to fatigue.
The second reason is that I'd never have a chance to recover the cost if
I ever sold the plane for any reason. #2 is expensive! I
don't have a 1/4 mil to spend on a new plane. (If I did, I might
have looked at a Lancair, lol). #3...hmmm, I can afford it (well,
over a couple of years anyways), and I get a new plane with exactly what
I want in it. Downside? Time, of which I have more than
enough. I just made the choice to give up one hobby that used to
consume 20-30 hours a week for another one.
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| This one is a little tougher. There are a number of fine kits
out there. It all came down to the 'mission'. That's what
folks call defining how the airplane will be used. If you want to
land on water, that's one mission. Aerobatics is another, as is
x-country. I want a plane that does all three, goes 200mph (the
Bonanza spoiled me), and does it on 5gph. If you find one, let me
know. Sooo, back to reality.
I live on a lake. Yes, I can keep a plane on it. Problem
is, there aren't that many other lakes in the area. That means I'm
trading valuable payload in order to park a plane in front of my
house. Uh-uh, I want to pull the weight, so that was
out.
I know I'll use the plane for x-country flying. A LOT. I
also want four seats. Besides my wife, we have two munchkins that
are dying to sit in the back. Once they grow up & move out,
then I'll have great baggage capability (my wife likes to shop).
Aerobatics? I drool at the thought. The little I've done
was fantastic! Unfortunately, there aren't too many 4-seat
aerobatic airplanes. Oh well.
So on to the choices. I looked at 3, primarily: the Velocity
XL-RG, the Murphy
Moose, and the RV-10.
The Velocity was the front runner for a while (before I'd heard about
the -10), but when I read about the high-density performance, and about
the amount of runway needed in high temp, high altitude conditions, it
was outta there! The fact that it can't handle non-paved strips
was also a big negative. We have a lot of dirt/grass strips in the
Northwest, and I want to be able to get into them! 3000' of runway
to t/o just wasn't going to work.
I liked the Moose, I really did. With the M-14P radial sitting
up front, it looked very similar to one of my favorite airplanes, the
Beaver. It has GREAT payload capacity, and the construction is
fairly simple (relatively speaking). It would have been terrific
for getting into the small strips hereabout, and if I ever decided that
I wanted something on floats it would have been an easy
conversion. Unfortunately, my primary mission is going to be
x-country, which is why I want a fast plane. The Murphy has a lot
of great qualities, but fast isn't among them.
That brings us to the -10...
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