On 19 Sep 2003 14:21:56 GMT, Lukas wrote:

Insurance (and liability), is that the biggest cost factor in owning a
homebuilt plane? If you compare home-building to buying a used production
aircraft, are the insurance costs a lot higher for homebuilts?

Both are only high if they catch you. :-)

Seriously, I suspect insurance doesn't cost that much different than
elsewhere. I pay ~$450/year for liability coverage, and not-in-flight hull
and in-flight hull would each run about 1.5% of the value of the airplane
per year.

And, as has been discussed in this group before, the liability fears are
more of a potential than a real-world threat. Even then, it could only
potentially be a problem when you sell the airplane and if the airplane has
an accident and if you're still living in the states and if the person who
thinks they are due damages can find an attorney who'd think the odds are
good enough to justify taking the case on a contingency basis. The odds of
actually getting sued are incredibly slim.

Ron Wanttaja