Affordable Single Seater

I flew a light RV-3 for 5 years and IMO it is THE best all-around pure sport plane ever. This from a current Pitts pilot. The RV-3 loses solely on aerobatic performance, but is a much better all-around airplane when you consider all the factors - speed, efficiency, handling qualities, slow-speed handling, short-field landing capability, aerobatic performance, ease of handling, and just plain fun factor. It looks damn good too. :) It's not the best at any single thing, but it does them ALL better than anything else.

This was mine - 125 hp, 690 lbs. empty, no electrics. Lots of folks are loading them up with all kinds of whiz-bang stuff now and making them between 850-900 lbs. With 170 hp and CS props, they're still screamers, but I'd imagine some of that nice light feel must be lost.

24ybyxi.jpg
 
AdamZ said:
This

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Moon...rs_Aircraft&hash=item4d08f6c0e0#ht_500wt_1048
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Without spending 1 hour in Ercoupes, I disagree. The Internet says Alons were the best, and Mooney didn't add anything of value. Despite having less powerful engine of 90 hp, Alon is reportedly faster than 100 hp M-10 because of better matching prop. The Mooney tail does nothing of value, becaue Alon had elevator travel unrestricted, so you can land it in a normal way. Better useful load on Alon, too (well, supposedly). Both Alon and M-10 have conventional avionics bays.

A local flight instructor in Santa Fe just sold an Alon for $15k, great condition, 280 SMOH (coindidentially, he's building an Onex!). M-10 for $26k, I pass. I just came back from look-an-see at Bonanza for $27k, 700 SMOH, Hartzell, no speed restriction on V-tail. Sure M-10 is relatively more modern, but still...
 
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jesse said:
For 10k I bought a Flybaby capable of cruising at 95 mph while sipping 3.9 gallons per hour. Enclosed cockpit with heat, lights for night flight, and as much range as you can stand. 250 hours SMOH.

I don't owe a penny on it which is what made it the perfect airplane for me.

Flybaby is a great value.
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Lincoln, Nebraska? Hell, my grandma was from there. She married a Canuck, so here I am. :D
 
ive never heard of someone with a folding wing plane who actually kept their plane at home in the garage unless it was undergoing major maintenance
 
tonycondon said:
ive never heard of someone with a folding wing plane who actually kept their plane at home in the garage unless it was undergoing major maintenance
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Not going to keep mine at home but in a t hanger( I have the end one with the extra space in the corner) with the Cherokee ,no extra hanger needed. At 6Y9 I can tow it over to the pole barn and put it in through a 9ft. wide door and keep it out of the hail. So kinda at home.
 
el con said:
Not going to keep mine at home but in a t hanger( I have the end one with the extra space in the corner) with the Cherokee ,no extra hanger needed. At 6Y9 I can tow it over to the pole barn and put it in through a 9ft. wide door and keep it out of the hail. So kinda at home.
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Oh, no question about it. If you have an easy folder like Remos GX, it can come extremely handy. I heard from folks who folded their airplane every time (IIRC it was either Kitfox or Aerotrek). But the problem here is the irresponsible advertisement which suggests that one may keep Onex in his garage. It's just not going to happen due to the hassle of transportation. Putting your Kolb into a enclosed trailer is one thing, getting it dragged from airport to the house is entirely different.
 
If I were looking for a single seat for flying fun, I'd buy a VariEZ and call the back seat the baggage compartment.

Fast, Acro, and cheap.
 
Tom-D said:
If I were looking for a single seat for flying fun, I'd buy a VariEZ and call the back seat the baggage compartment.

Fast, Acro, and cheap.
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What's with the nose gear down configuration when parked?:confused:
 
Art Master said:
What's with the nose gear down configuration when parked?:confused:
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I can think of a couple of reasons. But I think (not sure) that it is rather tail heavy without a pilot or passenger in it. It is probably more stable with the nose on the ground.
 
I'd probably go for a Midget Mustang with an O-320 if I needed a single seater. Good speed/performance, etc.
 
Art VanDelay said:
There's always the Mosquito Helicopter !
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Art VanDelay LOL!!!

I was looking into the mosquito helicopter, but here in Canada you have to qualify for full helicopter pilot licensing. It's a good thing, just way too expensive!

Personally I'm not happy that in the USA, one doesn't apparently require any license.

Some level of training is obviously required. But full status pilot? Nope.
 
Art Master said:
Anyone know of a company that makes affordable single seat plane, just for local recreation?
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Have you consider an ultralight? I hang out some with the local UL club, LAFA and have gotten a ride in a trike. Plenty of power with two full-size adults. Great for just wind-in-the-face flying and very reasonable on the used market. Add a ballistic recovery chute and you have that added margin of safety. Holds two so you can share the fun and folds up for transport from garage to field.
 
If you are looking to just fly close to home (100nm) then check out the Quad City Challenger. I have had both the single seat and two seat models and loved them both.
The single seat with a 503 had a GS cruise of 90 MPH and a fuel burn of 4 GPH. The 2 seat with 2 on board was 85 MPH with the same burn rate. You can find single seat models for under $6K and 2 seat ones for under $12K all day long on barnstormers.
 
Dean said:
If you are looking to just fly close to home (100nm) then check out the Quad City Challenger. I have had both the single seat and two seat models and loved them both.
The single seat with a 503 had a GS cruise of 90 MPH and a fuel burn of 4 GPH. The 2 seat with 2 on board was 85 MPH with the same burn rate. You can find single seat models for under $6K and 2 seat ones for under $12K all day long on barnstormers.
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Ok thx!:D
 
alfadog said:
Have you consider an ultralight? I hang out some with the local UL club, LAFA and have gotten a ride in a trike. Plenty of power with two full-size adults. Great for just wind-in-the-face flying and very reasonable on the used market. Add a ballistic recovery chute and you have that added margin of safety. Holds two so you can share the fun and folds up for transport from garage to field.
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Thx. Yes I have.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I'd probably go for a Midget Mustang with an O-320 if I needed a single seater. Good speed/performance, etc.
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I have one with an O-235 and I have around 500 hours on it. You have to be the right size for the plane, they are pretty cramped. They do fly very nice however.:)
 
AEROBAT said:
I have one with an O-235 and I have around 500 hours on it. You have to be the right size for the plane, they are pretty cramped. They do fly very nice however.:)
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What sort of roll rate do you get? The 300 deg/sec listed by Mustang Aero is pure fantasy. That's almost twice as fast as my Pitts. :) Always been fascinated by the MM, though.
 
whifferdill said:
What sort of roll rate do you get? The 300 deg/sec listed by Mustang Aero is pure fantasy. That's almost twice as fast as my Pitts. :) Always been fascinated by the MM, though.
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I don't know which model Pitts you are flying but the M1 is noticably faster than the S2B in the roll, the S2B being the only Pitts I have ever flown. I have flown the RV7 quite a bit and it rolls, at best, 2/3 as quick as the Mustang.

Another plane I have rolled a lot is the Thorpe T-18 and it seemed a tad slower than the RV, maybe 1/2 the roll rate of the Mustang. Initialy I was taught to give full aileron deflection when initiating a roll but with the M-1 you tend to bang your head on the canopy. Now I give about 3/4 stick deflection and it seems much smoother and enjoyable.

I don't know how they come up with these roll rate numbers for aircraft and how you actually time them.
 
AEROBAT said:
I don't know which model Pitts you are flying but the M1 is noticably faster than the S2B in the roll, the S2B being the only Pitts I have ever flown. I have flown the RV7 quite a bit and it rolls, at best, 2/3 as quick as the Mustang.

Another plane I have rolled a lot is the Thorpe T-18 and it seemed a tad slower than the RV, maybe 1/2 the roll rate of the Mustang. Initialy I was taught to give full aileron deflection when initiating a roll but with the M-1 you tend to bang your head on the canopy. Now I give about 3/4 stick deflection and it seems much smoother and enjoyable.

I don't know how they come up with these roll rate numbers for aircraft and how you actually time them.
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I was just curious since I saw this MM1 video awhile back and noticed the fastest roll was around 130 deg/sec. I know this isn't at Vne, but honest 300 degrees per second is only seen in dedicated aerobatic airplanes with big ailerons, modern aileron technology, and very stiff wings that aren't found in metal sportplanes. Just hard to believe the old metal-wing MM1, without huge ailerons and advanced aileron technology could achieve this. But I'd love to see video. :) For reference, the RV-7 rolls about 120 deg/second, and the S-2B about 200 deg/sec. My Pitts S-1S is about 180 deg/sec.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUv8vF8ICcY

BTW, Skip's double roll at 1:23 in the video below was 340 deg/sec. Does the MM1 look anything like this? I've always liked the MM1, but that sure would up my opinion a lot more. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLVXDz9Fg0I
 
whifferdill said:
I was just curious since I saw this MM1 video awhile back and noticed the fastest roll was around 130 deg/sec. I know this isn't at Vne, but honest 300 degrees per second is only seen in dedicated aerobatic airplanes with big ailerons, modern aileron technology, and very stiff wings that aren't found in metal sportplanes. Just hard to believe the old metal-wing MM1, without huge ailerons and advanced aileron technology could achieve this. But I'd love to see video. :) For reference, the RV-7 rolls about 120 deg/second, and the S-2B about 200 deg/sec. My Pitts S-1S is about 180 deg/sec.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUv8vF8ICcY

BTW, Skip's double roll at 1:23 in the video below was 340 deg/sec. Does the MM1 look anything like this? I've always liked the MM1, but that sure would up my opinion a lot more. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLVXDz9Fg0I
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Nice Video. I probably roll at half that rate! I will have to go out and record some and see what it actually is doing.
 
dell30rb said:
He wheel landed it? What a pansy :)
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If you're gonna fly airshows, you must learn to wheel it at 100 mph, get on the brakes and keep the tail up with smoke on until the turnoff. :D
 
AEROBAT said:
I have one with an O-235 and I have around 500 hours on it. You have to be the right size for the plane, they are pretty cramped. They do fly very nice however.:)
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That might be an issue since I'm 6'2", but I'm sure something could be worked out. Either way, if I got one it would probably be for trips not long enough to really matter. For a while I was looking at a job that would've been an easy commute in a Lancair 320/360 or a Midget Mustang but impossible to drive or else required a move I wasn't willing to do, so that would've been a consideration. Nowadays, it's pretty much impossible to justify, and with my lower flying hours I feel I'm best concentrating them on one airplane for proficiency.
 
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