Cost of ownership/operation Certified vs Homebuilt

Henning said:
The long and short of it is cost is not a valid reason to go ExAB; having a plane that has the mission capability you want, you enjoy tinkering with and modifying machines studying and learning them, those are are valid reasons for going ExAB.
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Yes. Agree.

Another item I forgot to mention. My -10 with IO-540, CS prop, two batteries, lots of oversized wiring only weighs 1654 lbs(light for an IFR -10). Paint/filler weighs 28 lbs. Very close to the 172S I learned to fly in. It is a true "four place" if you have under 600 lbs of people and under 100 lbs of baggage. That is just one of the reasons we went with the -10.

But remember, light weight=you better make pretty nice landings. You might get away with stalling in from 12-18". Anymore than that and you will bend metal permanently. Light weight=no plastic/leather/heavily insulated interiors if you want to haul a family. Light weight=60 gal of fuel which is more than enough. Light weight=bare interior metal, okay where I am at, not so much for salty air.
 
This is great feedback guys.. Thanks a bunch.

I like getting peoples first hand experience =)

I also really like the idea of building, but I don't have the place to build right now. My wife and I are looking to move in the next year and having a workshop style area to build in is on the list of requirements, but for now it's just a dream.
 
painless said:
I can only speak for RVs, and from second hand experiences. There being a large, dispersed "community" of RV builders/pilots, it is not uncommon to hear of RV pilots who need mechanical assistance while traveling putting out a call for help via the Vansairforce website or by directly calling local members of that forum and receiving the help they need to get back in the air. Everything from providing necessary tools to "loaning" parts to providing a place to stay have been known to occur. A brother/sisterhood so to speak.
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The "support community" for RVs is a huge plus. One of the import factors for my choice in buying one. I've helped friends build four of them, and probably put in enough work to have built one complete for myself, but I chose to buy an already flying RV-6 because 1) I'd rather fly than build at this point in my life and 2) I personally know the builder of mine and it's a primo specimen built with superb craftmanship.

As to cost of ownership, this plane cost literally double or more than my old Cherokee to buy. Insurance is double as well. I do all the maintenance myself and the builder agreed to do all the annual condition inspections on it as long as he's still alive and capable. The cost to maintain is basically the same as my old Cherokee cost me each year, maybe a little less. Cost to operate is less since I can go much faster on significantly less fuel burned, especially when I throttle way back and putt-putt around at "only" 140-150 mph on 5.2GPH :D. The amount of fun I have in this plane is easily double the fun of flying the old Cherokee.
 
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Henning said:
The long and short of it is cost is not a valid reason to go ExAB; having a plane that has the mission capability you want, you enjoy tinkering with and modifying machines studying and learning them, those are are valid reasons for going ExAB.
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What he said.

I can't see ever going back to TC'd aircraft. I have too much fun with Exp/AB. I've owned 3 .. 2 I built .. one I didn't. I've tinkered with mechanical stuff my whole life .. so I don't have a hard time maintaining them. I spend more time inspecting things closely on the Exp's.
There's a lot of satisfaction in flying something you built. It's just not something everyone does.

It's nice that the only thing I'm required to involve someone from the outside is for a BFR.

As for cost .. I don't know if that's a good justification. If you build .. I think you're going
to have a hard time getting your investment back if you sell it. You're usually going to invest more in it than it'll bring on the market. Of course if you consider the cost of paying for annuals and maintenance and the flight time .. maybe it's a wash.

RT
 
RogerT said:
What he said.

I can't see ever going back to TC'd aircraft. I have too much fun with Exp/AB. I've owned 3 .. 2 I built .. one I didn't. I've tinkered with mechanical stuff my whole life .. so I don't have a hard time maintaining them. I spend more time inspecting things closely on the Exp's.
There's a lot of satisfaction in flying something you built. It's just not something everyone does.

It's nice that the only thing I'm required to involve someone from the outside is for a BFR.

As for cost .. I don't know if that's a good justification. If you build .. I think you're going
to have a hard time getting your investment back if you sell it. You're usually going to invest more in it than it'll bring on the market. Of course if you consider the cost of paying for annuals and maintenance and the flight time .. maybe it's a wash.

RT
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I agree with the satisfaction of something you built. As someone who does all of my own work on the ground vehicles and a life-long tinkerer, I've always found the rules of working on my certified aircraft annoying. However, a 4-place piston single just doesn't do it for my mission, and the Epic LT is way out of our price range. Actually, for that matter even most of the 4-place piston single experimentals that would come close are also out of my price range.

Since there's nothing out there that really does what I want, my only option is to either build something completely from scratch (not happening) or rebuild a certified aircraft as experimental, and make the modifications I want. The latter one is on my to-do list, but not until kiddo gets old enough that we can do it as a family activity. Or else when he gets old enough that mom and dad aren't interesting and he's off doing his own thing. :)
 
I've owned a certified plane for about 5 years now. I get by with wrenches better than most. I used to get the dog cars from dealer trade ins, pop a head gasket on or what not and resell, had a side business overhauling and repairing small engines and know my way around a tool and die shop. With tht being said, I've never paid an A&P for one second of his time that I thought was unnecessary. I understand there are expensive parts on certifieds, I haven't had to buy one yet. Avionics is a clear win for exp though.
 
I have to admit what really interests me is the tinkerfactor and the uniqueness of doing something that very few folks do.

Plus as you pointed out, I have to think the satisfaction of flying something you built and know from the inside out must be incredible.
 
Palamedes said:
I have to admit what really interests me is the tinkerfactor and the uniqueness of doing something that very few folks do.

Plus as you pointed out, I have to think the satisfaction of flying something you built and know from the inside out must be incredible.
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Welcome to the dark side. Come on over, we got cookies! :D
 
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