Planes that should have been built

Racerx said:
Except the Bo is 42" wide compared to the 10 at 48, plus retractable. I think the model to emulate would be the Cherokee. Look at how they made the 28 into the 32. Widened the fuselage, which wouldn't be necessary in the 10. Add a front baggage compartment to hang the weight off the front and stretch behind the rear seats. I believe the wings are constant cord in the 10 but would probably want those a bit longer. I don't think there would be that much tooling change to make it happen.
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Great observations. If vans were the ones to consider this, I think staying as close to RV-10 performance as possible would be their goal. Same for other experimental kit companies with current 4 seaters like sling, lancair, etc.

Overall, I think a high performance 6 seat experimental would be very appealing if it can fall somewhere between the performance of a bonanza, rv-10, sr22 and the useful load of pa-32. I would prefer a simple aerodynamic fixed gear.

Like you said, the requirements for a stretched rv-10 shouldn't be very much. I wonder what powertrain would be best for this idea.
 
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skier said:
WACO Ariatorcraft. One of the most beautiful prototypes ever built.

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If I had one of these, I'd have to paint it to look like Brian...
751372c9-d88f-40ea-b221-63695ececb3e-jpeg.91800

briangriffin.jpg
 
labbadabba said:
Doesn't the Turbo Arrow and the Turbo Dakota use the same powerplant?
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I had forgotten about the Turbo Dakota, which I believe is essentially a fixed gear Turbo Arrow.

I was thinking of a 540 powered normally aspirated Dakota - something that would compete with the really capable 182RG.
 
Zeldman said:
Cessna 407

cessna407e.jpg


407 1960 = 4pClwM rg; two 1410# de-rated Continental 356; span: 38'4" length: 32'2" load: 4690# v: 480/362/x range: 1595. Corporate jet evolved from T-37. POP: 1 prototype [N60407], performed well in tests, but Cessna was unable to find buyers.
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Looks like a re-purposing of the A-37 Dragonfly:

A-37 (2).jpg
 
Lowflynjack said:
If I had one of these, I'd have to paint it to look like Brian...
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kayoh190 said:
I approve!! :)
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Well, they say that planes eventually look like their owners, and owners eventually look like their planes...

That reminds me, I need to ask my doctor about this "strut" looking thing under my arm... :)
 
MarkH said:
This is 5 years old, but at least one Aerostar Jet exists.

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...but if you set it at the cruise detent you'll see about 400 knots..

Such a cool airplane.

If you go to Aerostar's site they have a picture of it but nothing written about it

"we're working on certification now but we're just doing it at the speed that we can afford to do it at" <- times like this I wish I had Musk money.. or that we still had a contemporary version of Howard Hughes alive
 
Tantalum said:
...but if you set it at the cruise detent you'll see about 400 knots..

Such a cool airplane.

If you go to Aerostar's site they have a picture of it but nothing written about it

"we're working on certification now but we're just doing it at the speed that we can afford to do it at" <- times like this I wish I had Musk money.. or that we still had a contemporary version of Howard Hughes alive
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Or if the certification process didn't cost 25-50 million for part 23... LSA meanwhile cost roughly 150k. Never understood the whole light sport category as far as speed, passenger, and weigh limits.
 
Racerx said:
25-50 million for part 23
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yeah that's a pretty serious barrier to entry!

I wonder what the Aerostar folks have in mind for price. I imagine their biggest competitor would be TBM, M600, SF50.. the challenge is, while the plane is awesome, it's not the biggest or most comfortable cabin and is ultimately based on an old design. It would be hard to sell someone on the Aerostar vs a used Mustang.. for example.. or any of the other 3 I mentioned

The "cool factor" would have to be a big selling point for the Aerostar jet
 
Tantalum said:
yeah that's a pretty serious barrier to entry!
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Everyone is excited about MOSAIC possibly raising the light sport limits so they can fly a 172 without a medical, but the easier certification for 4 seat planes would likely be a bigger bonus.
 
Zeldman said:
Cessna 407

cessna407e.jpg


407 1960 = 4pClwM rg; two 1410# de-rated Continental 356; span: 38'4" length: 32'2" load: 4690# v: 480/362/x range: 1595. Corporate jet evolved from T-37. POP: 1 prototype [N60407], performed well in tests, but Cessna was unable to find buyers.
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Barely any rarer than the 406.
 
I'd love to see what a retract Tiger could do, especially if you added a tuned IO360. Given that there are already 150+ knot fixed gear, carburated Tigers out there, M20J drivers might see Tigers chasing them down and leaving them in the dust.

The 180 HP Grumman Cougar/Tangara would be a fascinating airplane. Would give a Twin Comanche or DA62 a run.
 
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