Looking to jump in feet first - but don't want to land on my arse

"Ed Wischmeyer" wrote in message
...
You might look into the O-360 Lycoming for this airplane too.
The XP-360 is a lotta bang for the buck.

If it were me (and it almost was), I'd do the O-320. You don't have
enough tanks on the -9 to properly feed a -360, and you don't need the
extra weight. Plus, the -9 has enough wing that you don't need a ton of
power to drag it into the air.

Ed Wischmeyer

Yeah, I think I'm with you on that one, Ed. The O-320 E2D with dynafocal
mounts and 150 HP would be a good engine and you could gas it up with mogas
if you needed to. Or does Van object to mogas?

In article , "BoscoBob"
writes:


I am looking to start a homebuilt project in 2004. My new career keeps me at
home with much free time during the day, and a two-car garage at my
disposal.

I have researched many different companies and aircraft
(http://www.homebuilt.org/kits/kits-acftdesc.html) and have pretty much made
up my mind to go with an RV-9A.


Good choice.

My dilemma is that I know next to nothing about homebuilding and aircraft
engines. It seems that to start building an aircraft, that you need to know
which engine (not an auto conversion) and which instruments will go into the
aircraft before starting (leaning towards the BMA EFIS/One). Is there any
literature that would make the process of choosing go any easier? I have
read almost everything I can and everyone seems to have an opinion. I am
looking for factual information to help me make the correct choices. My
first (correct?) choice was to look for a plane which suited the type of
flying that I would be doing and that I felt that I could complete.


There is no shortage of opinions on everything and you will get a lot of them
from this post. The most important thing to learn is that this is not an
instant project and will probably take you several years to complete. The
choice of aircraft you have indicated is a good one for several reasons but the
most important is the built in support group available from Vans and all those
who have already built their planes. Don't be too concerned about the subjects
listed above right now, you will have plenty of time to study and learn what
you need to know and to make those informed decisions on engine and
instrumentation. From what you have said above, I think you have already made
a good start.

This will be a large investment for me and I really don't want to end up as
many homebuilt projects seem to...18,000 pieces of an airplane jammed into
the corner of a garage, gathering dust, so any help is greatly appreciated.



Nothing is going to guarantee that you won't end up with a dust collector.
Life happens and things change which may make your project take a lot longer
than anticipated. The only thing you can really do is make the commitment and
try and set a schedule that you and your family can live with.

Good Luck and happy building.



Bob Reed
www.kisbuild.r-a-reed-assoc.com (KIS Builders Site)
KIS Cruiser in progress...Slow but steady progress....

"Ladies and Gentlemen, take my advice,
pull down your pants and Slide on the Ice!"
(M.A.S.H. Sidney Freedman)