Hankerin' for a -10

Guys:

I'm having a lot of trouble here. You see, the problem is I really want a -10. I really like my -7A and the only problem I have with it is a lack of seats. I now have a little 4 month old and since we're planning on probably a max of two kids it would be really nice to have the extra two seats.

My wife LOVES flying with me over driving with me so this puts me in quite a bind.

Some practical questions here. I'm thinking mostly in terms of cost. Basically this question is for the guys that have a -10 that have built/owned other RVs.

1) Is the -10 REALLY that much more $$$ to operate?
2) Is it REALLY that much more $$$ to build?

Seeing Scott Scmidt's photos of his family trips really makes me drool.

Cost

Cost of operating the RV10 will definetely be higher than the 7, Consider weight alone, not to mention engine size. There ain't no free lunches.
But consider operating say a 182C or a Saratoga, the RV10 is a miser. Not to mention the performance envelope, or even including parts prices for the factory planes.
You're a lucky guy for having a family that will fly, at least in the future. My wife tolerates flying, my daughter loves it and my son hates it. Still for me, the -10 was a no brainer after operating a Piper Arrow, which I dearly loved. Even as an A&P/IA, the certified plane lacked performance, an maintenence was not cheap. The letters helped save a few bucks, but parts, wow.
Go for it, better still keep 'em both.
TT
RV10-N968TP

Yes.. most of these 10's that are coming off the line have more in panels alone than what most of us have in our two-seaters altogether..

Just about everything seems "double the price" of a two-seater component (eg engine, kit, panel, interior...)

Jamie said:

2) Is it REALLY that much more $$$ to build?

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Radomir said:

Yes.. most of these 10's that are coming off the line have more in panels alone than what most of us have in our two-seaters altogether..

Click to expand...

Figure the engine will run upper 20's to 40K, instruments in that same price range, prop, kit and all of a sudden you are over budget.

It's more, but you have options

The -10 is definitely a bigger airplane, more work and more $'s. I don't know what $ figure you have in mind, but I know of one -10 that is VFR, a rebuilt carburated 540 (that you probably couldn't find today for the same price). It's stock and built per plans with little/no modifications however it is a VERY attractive plane, and I believe the builders have aprox $125-130 invested. They did virtually all of the work themselves (interior and final paint excepted)That's the lowest I've heard of, that is still a very attractive and well built plane. I would also mention that this particular plane is the exception, and it is much more likely to find builders with $150-$175 invested and some with over $200k. apart from the cost of the kit, supplies, etc. you have a lot of options on how you finish your -10. It's true that most of the -10's are being finished on the high end. The -10 is a 'comfortable airplane, and most of it's builders are opting to finish it accordingly, and that drives costs/time.

hmmmm

I think I should buy your -7a and then you could still fly it and build a 10!
Best
Brian

I have the same doubt.

Build a 7 or a 10?

Construction costs depends on what you want to install in it, so my question is:

Operation cost would be about 50% increase? More or less?

I don't find the IO-540 in my Rocket to that much more expensive to operate than the 360 in my RV-6 was. You can operate the larger engine very economically. You can also burn a lot more fuel if you choose to by the way you operate it. I have tuned fuel injection and I religiously run LOP and my fuel burns average 10-12 GPH. THis is more than my RV-6 (about 6.5 GPH) but I'm going faster or in the case of the RV-10, you are carrying more people and baggage.

In terms of build expense, you can put a -10 together for less than $100K but the tendency is to outfit the machine for cross county traveling which usually means a hefty panel. If I were to budget one for my use, I would plan on $110K to $130K.

re: cost

Deems, I think I know the airplane you're talking about. Those two guys told me at OSH last year they had 110K in it. I really think that's about what I'm going to have in mine. I found a really good deal on the engine. With what I got the engine for & the work it needs, I'm still going to have less than 11K in it. Granted, it's is only carburated, but still can't hardly beat it. Initially, I was shooting for under 90K, but with price increases & having to slow down on building due to some embezellment from my business by an office manager, it looks like about 110. Dual Dynons, basic radio & transponder, & a few backups will be all I have in the panel.

Marshall Alexander
RV10
N781DM