My Little Plane?

Fantasies of flitting around in the summer air over green fields and stark deserts have been playing in the theater of my mind this week.Here is an Ercoupe 415C. Will this be my plane? Maybe. That is the best I can say since there is no way for me to afford $25,000 to $30,000 for one right now. At the end of the year, perhaps. Right now, no way.

Yes, there is still interest in building a plane myself but several things are playing in the background with my interest in the Ercoupe. Let's just state that there are no small, inexpensive planes to train in here. The cheapest is a little Cessna 150 that rents for about $64 per hour dry.

There seems to be a lot of interest in the Sport Pilot certificate here but no planes. Perhaps that will change?

Getting Busy with Getting Busy

When a dream is in focus, over analyzing does nothing but delay.

Last night the sound of spinning wheels struck the inside of my cranium like so much black rubber on a gravel road. Rocks and dust flying every where, with plenty of fun to be had, but the vehicle was just doing doughnuts.

I was spending so much time analyzing airplane plans and budget accommodations and calendaring out my training schedule that the goal was obscured by a very low ceiling of dust. So, early this morning I pulled up my list of craft, combined it with the list from the EAA's Sport Pilot E-LSA list and made three choices:

1. My initial craft of choice is the Rand KR-2 or the KR-2S. They are both wood and composite construction, sturdy, have side-by-side seating in an enclosed cockpit, enjoy a large active following of builders and pilots, can utilize several flavors of VW powerplants and is relatively inexpensive. There are some drawbacks: neither match the E-LSA requirements because of their higher clean stall speed; and it is reported that the real build time can be three years or more. There are active discussions on-line about making the KR-2 E-LSA compliant, and several builders have managed to get the stall to within 10 MPH of the LSA required 45 MPH.
2. I need something sooner than two or three years. If all goes well, I will have my Private Pilot's License before the end of the year. There is NO desire to pay $100 + per hour to rent a Cessna or Piper to maintain my abilities until my KR is done, so I need something else. I need a small, simple one seater to fly. Speed does not matter and neither does construction. So, this weekend, I will locate something that matches these requirements.
3. Just one hour ago I joined the EAA. Almost every builder who is a member seems to say that the $40 to join is worth ten times that.

So, this weekend - Airplane number one. Any suggestions? It needs to be small, simple, carry typical avionics including a mode-c transponder, reliable and inexpensive. Anyone??? Anyone???

The Mission

The mission of my hypothetical plane is not something thrown together. These thoughts have been bouncing around in my brain for years. For the first time they are recorded on a media that is more permanent.

The Requirements
There are a few items that are required. There is no discussion or giving in on these things. And that's that. Well, probably anyway.

• The powerplant will be a VW engine of some sort. They are relatively small, widely used in homebuilt aircraft, supported by several commercial interests, and seem to be rather fuel efficient. Yes, they are not terribly powerful; that's OK.
  
• The canopy will be enclosed. I have flown in an open canopy ultralight before. Not doing it again.
• VFR Only - This is not going to be a complex glass panel airworthy icon of high-tech aviation.

Now for the non-required items. The weightings are all very subjective and are up for argument. 1 ~ Likely Not; 2,3 ~ Probably Not; 4-6 ~ Several Levels of "Don't Care"; 7-8 ~ Probably; 9 ~ Hell Ya! (mostly)

• Two Seats - 8 - Solo motorcycling is the only way to travel on the open road. Solo flying sounds SO good. That not withstanding, there are several women who I would be honored tohave as 'co-pilot'. (Don't worry Black, the gin will be right under the seat!)
• Side by Side Seating - 9 - See previous item.
• Speed - 6 - Vc should be a moderate 90MPH or so. Perhaps 20 MPH faster or 10 MPH slower would be OK.
• Economy - 9 - Tops! This plane will be for long distance, not too fast flying. Low fuel consumption and general economy is very important.
• Cross Country Comfort - 9 - I don't like "numb butt syndrome."
• Luggage Carrying - 4 - I travel light. A computer, three or four days of clothes and something to read is good for me.
• Comfort on Non-Asphalt Runways - 7 - This plane will likely need to handle gravel and turf runways.
• Conventional -vs- Trike - 7 - Conventional, mostly because conventional gear is easier and cheaper to build.
• Sport LSA - 7 - The specifications defining an LSA sound moderate yet functional for my purposes.
• Wood Frame - 7 - I like wood and it is easy for me to work with.
  
• Steel or Aluminum Frame - 4 - I trust it fine, but welding and metalwork is not in my resume.
• Metal Skin - 1 - See above.
• Cloth Skin - 6 - Very 'old school' and easy to work with.
• Composite Skin - 8 - Seems easy to use, durable, very flexible, and utilitarian.
• Available Kit - 5 - It's is my plan to build this from scratch using plans and the help of online resources. However, it may be helpful to have parts of the plane in kit form.
• Build Time - 7 - I have no desire to be working on this plane in ten years. Three to four sounds good.
• Build Cost - 8 - I am a poor divorced man with a daughter in college. Needless to say, money is tight.
• Number Flying - 7 - The plane I select should have several in the air.
• Active Builders Group - 8 - There should be an active builders' group.
  
• Night Flying - 5 - Not so much.
• Overall Simplicity - 7 - Simple airplane for a simple flyer.
• Range - 8 - As stated above, the goal of this bird is to fly relatively long distances.
• Over Water Flying - 2 - Not Really.
• Sitck -vs- Yoke - 7 - Stick control is much easier to implement and maintain than a yoke. Plus it is cheaper.

So, the general mission of this plane is to be an economical, not necessarily fast, cross-country machine. There seems to be quite a few to select from. Let the research begin!