1st Question

[flyboy]

I'm a newbie with lots of questions. I've had a slight interest in Vans for years. The quickbuild kits increased my interest. My flying experience is mostly in turboprops and light jets, no tailwheel time. Should I be considering just the 'A' versions or can you teach an old dog to fly a taildragger - safely - and affordably (insurance)?

[DeltaRomeo]

This gets discussed pretty passionatly on both sides. The myth-busting truth is that the tailwheel RVs are real tame and no real trouble to T/O and land. Build what you want and you'll learn what you need to do.

No worries.

B,
D

[flyboy]

Did I read that right, at the bottom of your reply? Was that $1550 paid on insurance for an RV6? That can't be for a year. is it?

[jcoloccia]

Originally Posted by flyboy

I'm a newbie with lots of questions. I've had a slight interest in Vans for years. The quickbuild kits increased my interest. My flying experience is mostly in turboprops and light jets, no tailwheel time. Should I be considering just the 'A' versions or can you teach an old dog to fly a taildragger - safely - and affordably (insurance)?

Once you get your tailwheel endorsement, you'll be left wondering "so what the heck's the big deal??".

[flyboy]

How much more is insurance for an 8 compared to an 8A?

[DeltaRomeo]

Yes. Remember, I have 500+ hrs in type and I only insured it for 75K.
B,
D

Originally Posted by flyboy

Did I read that right, at the bottom of your reply? Was that $1550 paid on insurance for an RV6? That can't be for a year. is it?

[osxuser]

Dats cheap. Our cardinal is $1400 with 270 in type for two pilots.

[Hawkeye7A]

While I build my -7A I'm flying a '59 C172 that I made my first solo in, completed my PPL training, passed my checkride in, and have accumulated 700+ hours in. I have it insured for $30K hull, $1 M liability and when I renewed last June the bill was $628! (Yes, that's for an entire year.) I know the RV will be more; I just hope it isn't too painful. And yes, I plan on getting transition training.

--hawk
RV-7A (finishing)
N728E (reserved)

[N941WR]

Funny, I just posted this over on the -9 forum:

Originally Posted by N941WR

This thread got me to call my insurance company to get a rough idea of what this thing will cost me. (I won't post the company name because they said they can do better when the time comes so these numbers might seem high.)

2007 (Expected completion year)
RV-9
400+ TT
100+ Tail wheel
5 in type (After I go for transition training.)
SEL rating, no IFR
Aircraft equipped for D/N VFR
$65,000 Hull (Hey, I'm using an engine I rebuilt myself to keep the costs down.)

$2,139

If I was building a -9A the premium would be $1896.

If an when my wife wants to start taking lessons in it I'll have to mortgage the house as the premium goes up over $5,000. OUCH!

There seems to be a $300 discount once I get 100 hours in type so the trick will be to put 100 hours on it before I have to renew.

As for TW vs NW, flying a TW airplane is really easy. It is about like learing to flair for the first time and takes just about as long to learn but once you figure it out, it is no big deal.

Build the airplane you want and get some good training be it a an "A" or not and go out and enjoy yourself.

[flyboy]

Thanks for the feedback. As they say, nothing about an airplane is cheap, but a couple thousand $ a year is a lot less than I expected.