Well, the damn boat sold. I'm unbelievably broke but starting to get wound up tighter than a G string about an airplane. I was just about settled into a Taylorcraft and then I made the mistake of talking to one of our finer members here (MSgt in AF issue Nomex) and now I'm thinking Avid IV, Rans S6 or who knows. It's just got to be LSA and cheap. Hold me back, hold me back.

Hangars are incredibly expensive and rare around here so the folding wing thingy has me paying attention to the AVID, Rans, KitFox etc. I suppose a CH701 two stroker would pump me up too. I don't really give a rat's really. I just want to get airborne again.

Is there a question in there counselor? Yeah, if you had $20K ish to spend and lived at 4661' where it gets hot in Summer but pretty cool most of the year, do you have a favorite?

EB

Get a Highlander!!

Steve

How 'Big' are you.....?

lc

size, weight?
mostly solo?
most 'missions' (likely use)??

Littlecub wrote:How 'Big' are you.....?

lc

size, weight?
mostly solo?
most 'missions' (likely use)??

I'm a little dude. 5'7" and 150lbs. I'll be flying around here and out to Austin, over to California for the Central Valley circuit, joining up with AkTahoe and the folks for the Northern and Southern circuits, solo most of the time but with my 130 pound beloved or the dog other times. If at all possible I'd like to do Johnson Crick this Summer but would take several trips if I had to. I know all that stuff is possible with the Rotax 582 Avid because AvidFlyer already does all that stuff and he's bigger than me. I have an abundance of time but not much money.

There is still the 85 hp Taylorcraft out in Colorado too but it's wings don't fold on purpose.

EB

taildrgfun wrote:Get a Highlander!!

Steve

Nuts! (spendy, good though)

EB

If you watch the boards and talk to people you can find Kitfox IV's with a 912 in it for $20k. It will most likely need some TLC, but they are out there. When you find one you gotta jump on it 'cause it won't last on the market.

Av8r3400 wrote:If you watch the boards and talk to people you can find Kitfox IV's with a 912 in it for $20k. It will most likely need some TLC, but they are out there. When you find one you gotta jump on it 'cause it won't last on the market.

I just noticed over on the AvidFoxFlyers site that you got two of them. And you've flown with the MSgt too. Thanks for the input. I'll keep a sharp eye out. I don't have any money but boy do I got good credit.

Emory Bored wrote:..... I don't have any money but boy do I got good credit.

Isn't that what got you into trouble before??

The added value of the folding wing in your equation changes my previous advice slightly away from a Taylorcraft. As good as the T-craft is in both value and performance, if you are in a "premium priced hangar" neighborhood, then the extra few hundred a month in hangar rent adds up to a lot of missed flying.

So at a $20K trigger point I would also have to throw my vote towards the Avid/KF/Rans area. If you find a 3/4 built Highlander for that kind of money jump on it and finish the airplane, but I think they will be out of your price range even 3/4 built. Thanks to its jaw-dropping capabilities as demonstrated by a certain BCP member, the Highlander is now a very valuable aircraft, head and shoulders above its competition.

Before you settle for thinking that your choices are limited to what you find in Barnstormers and Trade O' Plane, I'm going to turn you on to a fantastic resource. Find a copy of "The Aviators Bulletin", which is a small mom and pop publication out of Ojai, CA. There are 20+ pages worth of photo classifieds, and I have found many many good deals there. My current airplane came from there, and I damn near STOLE it. It is mostly a western US publication, which is in your favor where you are. Find someone in your area who has a copy, or get a copy of the paper from the publisher. I believe it will be well worth your effort.

One thing to strongly consider is actually staying within your budget. Going out of the budget on credit or savings means you will have a nicer airplane that leaves you no money to fly it. IMHO make that one trap you REFUSE to fall into.

That being said, there are a LOT of really CRAPPY homebuilts out there, and making sure you get a safe, well built KF or Avid will take more effort. Take Joey or courierguy or one of the other guys here with experience with you and don't be afraid to turn down what looks like a good deal. Also, forget about cosmetics EXCEPT where it is an indication of poor workmanship elsewhere. All airplanes are gorgeous when looking out the windshield, especially since you can "winter project" the cosmetics as long as you have a safe and straight flyer.

Single most important thing to do by far... spend an hour flying in whatever type of airplane you are considering, with an independent pilot not involved in any potential deals, BEFORE you go to look at one for sale.

Good luck, and let us know.

Hygraded this off the SCF

Aviators Bulletin
116 Bryant st
Ojai, Ca 930023

805-646-6042

they take visa

GT

taildrgfun wrote:Get a Highlander!!

Steve

Is 20K enough. I guess EB could take it to a big hill and dead stick it for fun.

taildrgfun wrote:Get a Highlander!!

Steve

Steve did you get Zane to buy a kit?

Cessna 140s are very inexpensive. If you get one that is all aluminum you can just get a cockpit cover and just tie it down outside. Cessna 150's are even less expensive. These planes are easy and inexpensive to maintain, are proven, certified aircraft and if cared for cannot really go down in value anymore unless GA dies completely.

certified aircraft

To some this is the major rub!!
GT

You could buy an awesome tcraft for 20k... You need to find a buddy with a big hangar so you can keep it at the airport. Folding wings and loading it/unloading sucks and will keep you from flying as much as you'd like.

Just about all 2 stroke airplane owners, including myself, secretly lust for a 912. As stated above, trailering is a lot of monkey motion. Those two things, however, are what makes flying affordable to me.

You better have the $20,000 cash in hand before you start watching the adds. Better yet, save for a while longer...prices are not going up anytime soon..until you have $25,000. Then start watching the adds and a model 4 kitfox will pop up with a mid 20's price tag. You have to make a deal the first day the add appears or you're too late.

tcj wrote:Better yet, save for a while longer...prices are not going up anytime soon..

That's the truth, it's just battling that patience and having some cash in hand that makes it tough.

M6RV6 wrote:

certified aircraft

To some this is the major rub!!
GT

Atta boy on the new Avatar GT. Cessnas are not LSA. None of them. Too bad. But the tie down outside with a cockpit cover is a my style. That's what makes the 701 a possible. It's time to crunch some numbers and see what's what.

Half a hangar at N86= $166 tie down $50
Insurance w/hull on TD=$70
Fuel 10 hours= $300 100LL and $200 E10 mogas (I say 10 hours from previous experience. BCP might be more, I dunno yet)
Maintenance and engine fund= Forget about it, it's not a Maule 235

So $500 a month to fly one of these little airplanes. Not too bad. There's a place here that has a Decathlon.

The boat soaked up $2200 a month over the last 6 years. You do the math. I had to carry back a $#&%&@# note to get the blighted SOB to take it but I still cut $1800 out of the budget. As HotRod mentioned, no loans on this caper but it's nice to be able to write a check from a line of credit and then sort things out after. That's what I meant by I'm broke but I got good credit.

First things first. BFR this week or next!

So the Highlander is of course a great choice. So's a Stinson, Pacer, Maule, 170 and on and on. For now, it's LSA and it's about getting airborne without breaking the bank. One of the guys that Joey and GT knows has his Mark IV for sale. He's an apprentice A&E in Canada and I've talked to him. It's $15K. That leaves a few bucks for incidentals if the need arises. The thing is I've never rode or flown a Rotax two stroke. I really need to take Flaps advice on that. I could fly to Alberta and have Darcy come get me and get to know the airplane that way, but it's not the best way to go, especially as I can't legally fly the damn thing home. So trailer or ferry it home. More bucks.

Charlie suggested I go look at this: http://www.barnstormers.com/classified_ ... +2200.html

I don't know anyone personally or impersonally that has had what you would call a terrific experience with any Jabiru engine. What if it's already fried and that's why it's on the market? I dunno. I'm going to call this guy today and shoot the breeze to see if it's cooling properly. That airplane was designed for Rotax 2 strokes. I would not be happy if the Jabiru ended up being a POS.

The Super Sky Raider kit is $14K. There is a list of options but it's not a great big list you know? Cute. Like a 7/8 scale S-7. I love their video where it talks about the "slotted" ailerons. They just look like beg "gaps" to me. What the heck is a slotted aileron?

There's also a 912UL powered Rans 6ES on Barnstormers with 1300 hours on the engine. Too much money to overhaul I'm told. Out of budget but he's had it listed awhile.

But this is fun. Whatever I get won't be my last airplane see? Just a go flying deal to replace the Harley that I'm already tired of.

EB

EB
A fellow that is almost as big as I am bought a used Sky Raider last year and is flying the hell out of it, PM me and I will give you his Phone #
GT

If you decide on the two stroke be sure to get some pointers on operation by someone who has successfully ran one for several hundred hours and I don't mean snowmobile time. Get someone who knows what cold seizure is on takeoff and how to prevent it and how to avoid the same induced seizure during rapid cool down in decent. EGT's are much more critical on the twos. The entire care and feeding of an aircraft two stroke is much different than the four. They can give good service but are not as idiot proof as the fours, including the Jab.