On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 18:09:18 GMT, john smith wrote:

A good share of these stories are about factory built certified
aircraft. Most kitbuilt aircraft now days are very safe.

The majority of problems with homebuilts occur within the FAA designated
testing phase and are fuel system related (getting the fuel from the
tank to the engine).

During the 1998-2000 period (inclusive), for those accidents attributed to
mechanical failure, 9% were due to engine mechanical failure, and 6% due to the
fuel system.

For the engine mechanical failure, about 6% were engine internals, and the
remainder were engine-system such as the magnetos, oil lines, etc.

For the fuel-related accidents, 2.2% were firewall-forward, and the rest were in
the fuel delivery system.

21% of homebuilt accidents occurred in the first 40 hours of operation. About
6% of homebuilt accidents occur on the first flight.

Statistically, there is an 0.8% chance that a first flight will end in an
accident.

Ron Wanttaja