It's no different than buying any other airplane. First you need to define your mission. How many passengers (and weight), how much baggage, how far, what's the purpose of the flights, etc.
There is a ton of online content on homebuilt aircraft. Kitplanes magazine is a good source. Also, join EAA, that'll give you access to all of their online content, including about 50 years of Sport Aviation magazine, which is the gold standard in that aviation niche.
www.kitplanes.com
So my main goal is to be able to see my daighter in Alabama and bring her back to Midwest. This about a 1300 mile car ride (800 nautical). Is this too far for a kit?
Not too sure I care about value holding vs. It holding up hahaLook to see what is available used on barnstormers.com - that will give you an idea about what is out there and how values hold up.
Lots of brands out there - start with one that seems to be the what you want to build then research the company. There are way too many options to just list them. Though if you had not said "kit" I would have said T-18 or Tailwind.
Nice! Thank you for that
People have flown homebuilt airplanes around the world.
So as Dana stated, E-AB aircraft are just as capable as their standard certificated counterparts. You’ve partially defined your mission so now you need to look for an aircraft that meets those parameters which appears to be a cross-country cruiser. I would suggest further refinements with regard to speed, range, and payload. That said building a kit E-AB might not be the best solution as building adds layers of dedication, cost and time. Buying a nice used aircraft, be it E-AB or standard certificated, might be a better option to meet your stated goals.
Nope. My Velocity XL had an 1,100nm range. There are many kits which have that range.
Balsa USA in Menominee (MI) has lots of choices.
We fly from mid Michigan to Shreveport Louisiana a couple times a year. It is about the same distance. We stop a couple times along the way to walk around, stretch, and take a leak. It is door to door faster than commercial and more fun for sure. You have to be ready for delays for weather. Last trim it took me 3 days to get home but all it did was add to the adventure!
Some of the most fun experiences I've had flying have been things that happened after all my plans went out the window and I had to wing it and make up a new plan on the fly.
I was traveling with my granddaughter so I wasnt taking any chances. The first day on the trip home we made it to 1.2 hours from home. It was raining between us and home so we spent the night. The next day we hung around the airport for about 3 hours then found an opening. We made it to 15 min from the airport but I was not comfortable flying through the rain the last little bit so we backtracked to a town 40 min flight from home for another night. The next morning we finally made it. We had a good time going out to eat and swimming in the hotel pools. Worth every minute to have a couple more days with my granddaughter.
True, but being able to file provides options that aren’t available to a non-rated pilot. Also he hasn’t stated a preference for any particular make/model although his stated mission points to a x/c cruiser that’s moderately fast. If he goes the RV route for example, most of which are more than capable of “comfortably” handling his stated mission, a long x/c in IMC isn’t a showstopper nor particularly uncomfortable especially if appropriately equipped. I fly a few long x/c’s (1000nm+) a year, all IFR, and I can say that typically less than 10% of the total time is spent in IMC. As a bonus being rated often affords a better understanding of the weather and airspace that a VFR only pilot might not appreciate which contributes to ADM for a given trip.
You can add these features to Home built planes? Still really new and I have only seen one plane that didn't have instruments and one that did and it was much bigger of a plane. Just didn't know if you have to have a bunch of certificates to be able to even add that. Professional/certified have to install and/or certify yearly?
So lots to unpack here so I’ll make it simple. The short answer is yes. The aircraft’s OPLIMS (which are part of the Airworthiness Certificate) have to state the IFR flight is authorized if properly equipped IAW 91.205. Then of course you have to equip it IAW said paragraph plus have the avionics required for the route to be flown which are the same requirements for any standard certificated aircraft. Finally you have to have the 91.411/413 inspections done every 24-months as well.
Been wanting to fly since I was little, had a neighbor that had a crop duster and always flew around and took off next door to us, we lived in a little ghetto neighborhood outside of city limits that was surrounded by wheat and milo fields. Bunch of trailer houses. Getting medical examiner on the 25th and will probably need some sort of evaluations and what not because of my past. But very mechanically inclined and have been lead of maintenance for many industries from auto, grain elevators, facilities and produ tion machinery. I want to get my 3rd then bounce to BM to be a CFI locally to pay for my 1970s cessna 4 seater once I find one!
She's 4
Yup that's why it's scheduled. It's not any medical issues it's past convictions issues. But yeah I think I'm beyond capable of building a plane.. I have machined engines, disassembled major industrial equipment, as well as fabricatored specialized equipment to work within grain elevators. We would engineer it and then welding it, make it and then take it apart and install it. The elevators, using very limited tools as... well grain elevators explode if you do **** wrong. Built several custom motorcycles and custom cars. Welding frames and machining engines for racing purposes... I think airplanes would be pretty simple, especially a kit. Thanks for everyone's insight!
I was right. College kids ARE much younger nowadays.
