Starduster One pros and cons

Greetings,
I've been looking for an open cockpit biplane to have fun with (already
own and fly a 172) and was curious what opinions are about owning and
flying a Starduster One. Especially with an O-290G to D conversion. How
good or bad are their taildragger habits, what to expect from a
maintence standpoint (any problems to be aware of), problems with the
O-290, etc.
I just got my taildragger endorsement (in a Cub and Cessna140), so I'm
leery about getting something too hot to handle, part of the point is
to build up taildragger experience for the future (when I buy my
Nieuport or Fokker replica!)

Thanks for any opinions.
Ryan

In article om,
wrote:

Greetings,
I've been looking for an open cockpit biplane to have fun with (already
own and fly a 172) and was curious what opinions are about owning and
flying a Starduster One. Especially with an O-290G to D conversion. How
good or bad are their taildragger habits, what to expect from a
maintence standpoint (any problems to be aware of), problems with the
O-290, etc.
I just got my taildragger endorsement (in a Cub and Cessna140), so I'm
leery about getting something too hot to handle, part of the point is
to build up taildragger experience for the future (when I buy my
Nieuport or Fokker replica!)

Thanks for any opinions.
Ryan

The O-290s use the same top end as the O-435 straight valve engines. As
such, nobody makes replacement cylinders; valves, pistons, rods and
bearings are still available.

As a first-generation (wartime manufacture) engine, the heads tend to
crack more than contemporary engines, so you can look forward to
replacing some cylinders.

wrote:
Greetings,
I've been looking for an open cockpit biplane to have fun with (already
own and fly a 172) and was curious what opinions are about owning and
flying a Starduster One. Especially with an O-290G to D conversion. How
good or bad are their taildragger habits, what to expect from a
maintence standpoint (any problems to be aware of), problems with the
O-290, etc.
I just got my taildragger endorsement (in a Cub and Cessna140), so I'm
leery about getting something too hot to handle, part of the point is
to build up taildragger experience for the future (when I buy my
Nieuport or Fokker replica!)

Thanks for any opinions.
Ryan

The Starduster series are beautiful airplanes, but rather tedious to
build. It's not uncommmon to see 10-15 years of work in the
completions in KITPLANES and Sport Aviation. Based on what I've seen
and read, you would be finished and flying a Graham Lee Nieuport
replica by the time you finished the first wing of a Starduster if
you're a first time builder.

The O-290-G conversion was good in it's day, but that day is past.
There is not a vast supply of cheap core engines left, and if you found
one, it's been sitting now for over 40 years. Think Corvair for planes
of this size if you're trying to cheap it out. Any of the biplanes
that flew with an A-65 would fly nicely behind a Corvair.

Another planes for you to think about: Easy Eagle
http://www.greatplainsas.com/eespecs1.html