I can't help but throw in a few comments here, too. I'm building a 7A and I can't imagine how one could do it for less than $30K. As someone already pointed out, the kits from Vans now cost over $22K, and I'm talking slow build. And that doesn't include shipping and crating! Perhaps if you pick up a partially completed kit somewhere for a huge discount, and scrounge for used stuff you might come closer. The key is getting lucky with the engine. Have you priced new ones lately? You can spend more on the engine than on the entire kit. They're well over $20K just on the engine. The demand for engines these days makes it hard to find used ones at a bargain. I got very lucky with my engine but still spent well over 5-figures on it. And I'm not finished... I still need an alternator, starter, exhaust system, and lots of other items. Plus a prop, instruments and radios. And nobody has mentioned supplies, or tools... you're going to spend a couple grand on the tools you need, if you're a new builder like I was. Ohhh... and what if you have a big "ooops", like I did when I cracked my first canopy? Yikes, there went a wad. I didn't plan on that.
I'm a working guy like others here, money has always been an issue with me. Nobody wants to save a buck more than me. I have scrounged, bought used stuff, taken advantage of sales whenever and wherever possible, and I have compromised on a number of things. I do everything myself. I drove down to Vans to pick up my kits and didn't even buy the crates. I realize not everyone can do that. When (and if) my plane gets painted, I'll probably do that myself, too. I can't spend $6 or $8 Grand on a paint job. So when I read something like this, I can't help but think, where did I miss it? A finished RV for $30K? Are you kidding me?
Lest anyone think I'm complaining, I'm not. I've never done anything so rewarding in my life! I'm not the fastest builder around, but I am enjoying this journey, and the pride of ownership that comes with doing something this big and this amazing. I have hammered every rivet in this airplane. I have managed to pay cash along the way for everything I've done so far. This is more important to me, than a certain dollar figure. Spreading it out over time. I'd rather take a bit longer and save up for my next purchase, than be tied to payments plus interest. One area I am choosing to spend a bit on is in my panel. If I want the latest glass panel, I'll save up for it and go for it. But it will be single-screen. And VFR. At least for now. I can see it would be fun to fly old-school, with little more than an altimeter, airspeed, and a whiskey compass. But what's your mission? This machine is our freedom vehicle. The getaway vehicle for my wife and I. We've waited all our lives to do a bit of traveling. Long cross-country trips are on our bucket list. I want situational awareness and ease of workload. I want that autopilot. But I scrounged and bought used servos. I'll install and wire my electrical and panel myself, including cutting the panel myself. I don't know how to do any of this, but I'm learning. After all, it saves money!
Now when it comes to saving weight, I'm all on board for that. I have carefully cut every ounce of weight whenever possible. But I don't see how a 7A can come in under 1000 lbs. unless I missed something there, too. The only comment I may make here is this. I hope I'm not stepping on anybody's toes. It occured to me one day while pounding rivets, that this plane will never fly by itself. The pilot is a part of the plane. Always. So why do we weigh just the plane? The weight number that really matters is the weight of the aircraft
plus the weight of the pilot. So the quickest way to shave a lot of weight off of the flying aircraft is to look in the mirror. We're not talking ounces here, we're talking many pounds! I wasn't happy with what I saw. I had a gut to lose. That comes right off the gross weight of the flying plane! It was then that I realized the futility of shaving an ounce here and an ounce there, if I didn't also, at the same time, do something about the pilot. I realized the easiest way to lighten up the whole package is to lose my gut! So thanks to this airplane and our future dreams, my wonderful wife has joined me in a new health kick that we're on. Not to cause thread drift, so I won't go into detail. But I lost many pounds off of my gut and she has lost a fair amount herself. And the added benefit of better health is the hope of keeping the medical much longer, since we're both about to enter our 7th decade.
Bottom line... I wouldn't be this healthy now if it wasn't for the newfound motivation that came from this wonderful project! Is that thread drift? We are talking about weight here.
So, I am very grateful to Van and his team, for creating these marvelous kits, and to the whole homebuilding community, and VAF. What it has given an ordinary guy like me, is a ticket or pathway to aircraft ownership, and the wonderful lifestyle that aircraft ownership brings to you, by being able to build it myself. If not for kits and homebuilding, the traditional pathway to aviation, that is, buying a finished certified airplane, especially one with this kind of performance, would be completely out of reach for me.
