On 15 Aug 2006 06:52:46 -0700, "Bret Ludwig"
wrote:


wrote:



You have time to build, you have time to solve problems. Don't want to
experiment? Buy a Cessna.

If everyone thought like you, planes would still use wing-warping for
roll control.

OTOH, since some people have put their R&D effort into areas other
than engines, most do not.

Of course few homebuilders do any R&D. The term 'experimental'

I've known a couple of them who got killed doing that and some that
had planes with rater strange handeling characteristics. Of course
like building, flying one with no break out force or stick gradient is
a challenge:-)) Then installing a 6 cylinder IO-540 with a 3-blade
hartzell in place of a IO-360 and 2-blade prop that required moving
the wing forward to get some semblance of a reasonable GC, or adding
wide profile tires that required a thicker wing root of a different
and symmetrical airfoil to accommodate the gear which required a
different angle of incidence for the outboard wing sections to
maintain sufficient lift...

airplane is quite a misnomer. Which is the reason why, IMHO, one
should not recommend that a homebuilder use an engine that has
never, or almost never flown successfully. If the homebuilder is a
genuine gearhead, they'll already have their own ideas, if not, they
ought to avoid breaking new ground unless or until they become
one.


If you aren't a "gearhead" why the hell are you thinking about
BUILDING AN AIRPLANE????

It's cheaper?? It isn't.

Cheaper? Are you kidding? By the time I finish the G-III (If I ever
do) I'll have more than twice the price of the Deb in it and that is
going with a used engine and prop.

OTOH price is a relative thing. If you build it you can economize
where ever you'd like or, go hog wild and get the best of everything.
You can use a minimal panel with steam gages, or the latest in glass
panel and technology.

We just have to remember that every airplane is a group of compromises
flying in formation.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com