"Peter Dohm" wrote in message
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"rich" wrote in message
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I'm just finishing mine, it's in the paint shop finally, but after 18
years fo work. (Glasair) I keep up with another homebuilder friend of
mine out on the west coast in Stockton, which is a good GA airport.
Lots of homebuilts under construction, good infastructure for GA on
the field, etc. He told me no one is building composite planes out
there anymore. It's like the word is out on how much work and how long
it takes to build the things, and it's becoming a thing of the past. I
just wonder if that trend is just in that area, or nationwide? I know
in the present economy, homebuilts are probably down anyway, but what
he said about that trend started before the economy tanked.
If not many are building composite planes, then the only other ones I
would think are being built are metal (RV designs) and tube and
fabric. I doubt wood designs will come back, they're just as much work
as composite designes are, or more. (I've got one of those too
Rich

Just as one person's observation as an onlooker--since I have yet to
embark on on my own airplane building project--composite kits never really
provided their anticipated advantage over plans.

From what I have observed from a short distance, the composite kits that
were popular in my local area required nearly as much work to build as a
comparable built aircraft. They appear to be a little lighter, and to fly
a little faster, but the advantage would not justify the price if I was
the builder. Therefore, if I chose to built a composite aircraft, I would
build it from plans (or even as a custom built) rather than purchasing a
kit.

Meanwhile, the metal kits manufactured with their stamped ribs, spars and
stringers--and precision drilled rivet holes--provide a TRULY DRAMATIC
improvement and plenty of real value for the money spent. You also end up
with an aircraft with which most mechanics will feel comfortable and
familiar--which could be an advantage if you grow weary of performing your
own maintenance or decide to sell the aircraft.

I can offer little opinion regarding wood or cloth, except to say that
there are still some that I might consider. Most of a wood and/or fabric
project involves far less fumes to breath than composites!

Just my $0.02
Peter

Our club has both composite and aluminum. Frankly, the composites get more
air time. A lot of our members have built and bought planes. At least the
consensus of our membership is this... It seems to take about the same
amount of time to complete either type of aircraft. With the composites,
you get the advantage of getting to a point more quickly where you can sit
in something that resembles an airplane and make plane noises but it will
take you longer to do the finish work. With the aluminum planes, it takes
you longer to make plane noises, but the finish work doesn't take as long.
Finished price seems to be fairly equivalent for similar capacity and
performance. You might see more aluminum planes because there are a lot
more aluminum companies. I would also guess that, from a manufacturing
standpoint, it would be less expensive to set up shop to produce aluminum
kits than composite kits. Having never bought equipment for either, that's
just a guess. But metal working machinery has been around for a long time
and you can get some good deals on used equipment. You can also produce a
lot of different designs with the same equipment. For composites, there are
the autoclaves and forms, and all the other stuff. The material handling
needs are a lot more exacting with composites and quality control may be an
issue that adds expense.

For a builder, it all comes down to preference on airplane style you prefer
and the materials you're comfortable working with. Personally, I've always
been intrigued with flowing lines and compound curves - they just seem more
organic to me - which makes me lean to composites. I've also spent a lot of
time in my youth working on the family boats. I got really tired of
hammering rivets after a long day of skiing. And when we made the switch to
fiberglas boats, I learned other lessons. For instance, I learned that you
don't want to try to lay fiberglas when you're swimming in the water and the
boat is suspended over the boat well in a sling. Resin floats and WILL
harden while floating on the water...DAMHIKT... ;-)