The recent move to Utah has made a significant change in aircraft “mission” from regular commuter/family pick-up truck in Alaska to an expensive for “fun” two-place + airplane at the current operating altitude.

I have always wanted to build my own plane, but never had the place to do it, but the wheels have been turning again with the possibility of a hanger in the near future. The wheels have been turning even faster after looking over a beautiful S-7 sporting a Rotax 914 engine that showed up on the ramp this weekend. Flying for “fun” at 4 gph auto fuel vs 8 gph 100LL sounded pretty good. Getting away from PMA parts, field approvals and all things “certified” and being able to do your one annuals sounds even better.

So, I looked through all the S-7 related posts and I am not looking for what other aircraft types I could build, what I am looking for is input from those of you that have built and fly an S-7. I have seen the advertised build times, what is your experience? I have seen the kit / engine costs and, obviously, cost can vary greatly on avionics which are not included in the deal, but what other costs are encountered along the way?

Thanks, Chris

I'm with you Chris….

Call Mark Pringle at Rocky Mountain Kitplanes. They are up here west of Provo. http://www.rmkplanes.com https://www.facebook.com/mark.pringle.3 ... &ref=br_tf He is a Dealer for Rans but not in the sense you think about "Dealers". He's great, helpful, knowledgeable and will talk your eyes crossed about S-7's along with all the costs without trying to dig into your pockets.

There are others here that can share as well, I'll be watching this one for updates.

The S7 i saw this weekend is one of Mark's creations, planning on getting up that way to check out the operation

Or better yet, pop over to Homedale ID and get a ride in a Kitfox 7SS.

I have seen the kit / engine costs and, obviously, cost can vary greatly on avionics which are not included in the deal, but what other costs are encountered along the way?

Depending on experience level and what you already have in inventory;

$1000-$1500 for extra AN hardware, adel clamps, aluminum, fiberglassing materials, gloves, Bondo, sandpaper acetone, etc

$500 for wiring, connectors, cable ties

$1000 - $2000 for tools, stands and fixtures

$200 for extra fabric and adhesive if you make mistakes (Don't know Rans, maybe they are generous with what they supply)

$2000 for a DIY paint job

$3000 for Roberts Bush Gear, much easier to install before you cover

$3000 for Airstreaks


Depending on your personal situation, you may also need to budget a couple of very nice vacations or an extensive kitchen remodel...

Depending on your personal situation, you may also need to budget a couple of very nice vacations or an extensive kitchen remodel...

There has already been some discussion along these lines before the project has even hit the possibility stage

Hard to put a number on the time it takes. Big difference in quick build times as opposed to getting it in a complete kit as an example. Can you stay on task 8 hours a day or is it a weekend project? What kind of work space do you have? Do you want to be covering and painting in your garage and choking out everyone in the house? Rans claims 350 hrs for a quick build. We can't do it that fast, but we don't build several a month either.

The kits are very complete. Rans does a great job with that. There are very few builder supplied items with a quick build anyway, if you went 100% by the manual. There have been a few back ordered parts and only a couple of small mistakes on both the parts kits we've gotten from Rans.

Money: That turbo engine is $30K. It's pretty easy to get north of an $80K build with a standard engine. If I lived in a place where I could get someone to work on it, I would have Mark Pringle or Joel Milloway in Blackfoot, ID, build it for me. But I am more into the flying than the building. You could be the opposite, to each their own in that regard.

There will be those who say that they have $45 or $50K in their build. That could be true in a couple of scenarios: 1. They built it 15 years ago. 2. Those who totally scratch build, use latex house paint, scrounge a used light case engine, cheap prop, no tires, very minimal gauges, etc. 3. They built much of it out of the slush fund hidden from the spouse. Bottom line is you can have a real airplane for what it costs, maybe 2. The nice part is when you're done you can work on it and not burn much gas. You just can't haul as much.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling. Anything I can help with let me know.

Edit: another thought would be to buy one someone else has already sunk their fortune in. You'll save money and time if you find one you like. They are out there if you're patient.

Thanks GB,

I know most projects run over budget, just trying to get a sense of where the overruns might be. Quick build kit plus the engine should land you around 66,000 plus avionics. Since I still get to work, this would be an after work/weekend project. If I was co-located with Mark, like the pilot whose S7 I saw recently is, I would be best to be able to work with his crew on it. But I want to do the work and build it. I prefer to keep the flying time above the wrenching time whenever possible, but I have been involved in all my current planes annuals / upgrades and like to know my way around my planes, it's been beneficial when living in the middle of nowhere

On your S 20, are you going to leave it the single factory color or are you going to paint?

My partner, the engineer, has gone a step further and organized parts alphabetically with corresponding priority number on a spreadsheet. It was quite a time consuming endeavor, but man it was so worth it! Offered to share with factory, kind of got a blank stare. Anyway, anybody wants it let me know. Have both for S7S and S20.

If this project moves forward, I will take you up on you're offer for the S7 spreadsheet and likely shamelessly copy you're bin idea for organizing the parts

Chris

You're welcome.

Even with factory paint, there is still painting to do. Doors, cowl, boot cowl, wing tips, and lots of small parts, trim pieces, etc. My pard did a bad thing and went against my recommendation and got metal flake paint. Not easy to match. The S20 is going to have a "unique" look to it, meaning he is never going to sell it on the paint scheme. No matter what, stay with conventional, basic paint layout. [emoji1]. You might want to sell the SOB some day, and paint sells.

Chris: I built then flew an S7 from 2006 to 2011. 5.25 year build time. Production pretty much ramped linearly upward throughout the period. I built with young kids and full-time job. Caused some marital stress towards the end: wife coined her the "mistress". Now bliss has returned and I'm flying her and kids all over on snow, ice and grass. Standard kit. I pretty much designed and built it with all of the bell and whistles: ABWs, BRS, Trickair skis, Dynon Skyview. Absolutely love the plane and company. My spreadsheet tells me I've got $70K into it. Sold all my toys and found creative ways to generate $$. Paint was an unexpected costly item which I hadn't fully appreciated. Loved the build experience; did stuff I never thought I was capable of. Once was enough, though. So get your man cave dialed in: insulation, heating system, tune system and cold beer and go for it!

Rob