When I went to OSH in 2002 to make the decision about what airplane to build, I made the rounds up and down the road and finally decided Van's was the place for me. Along the way, I was wishing for a fast high-wing airplane to keep the ground (sight-seeing) visibility that many of us grew up with flying rented Cessnas. The only one that was in my price range had this big round tube main spar that was badly placed in relation to my head, so that was out of the question. I also rejected the Velocity 173 for the same reason, roll bar and potential head collisions.
Van's airplanes are well engineered or we would not be here having these discussions. As for the high-wing designs of Cessna making a transition to Van's designs, that has some appeal for those of us who like surveying all that lies below our vantage point in the air. To date, I have flown ONE and only one airplane not made by Cessna, and that was a Beech Skipper (low-wing) for just one flight of 1.2 hours. I thought about sitting above the wing and the view I will get from my RV-9A now nearing completion. I also thought about the extra speed my ECI Titan O-320-D1A will provide in the RV compared to its cousins hauling around the many 172's I have flown.
As for the future? Van's has a good array of models for the sport aerobatic pilot and guys like me that just want to get there quickly without the loops and rolls.
Jerry K. Thorne
East Ridge, TN
N2PZ
www.n2prise.org
Rv-12
Linear Mode
