J

jtrollin

Well Known Member
I am trying to decide between a 7 or a 10. The reason I would want a 10 is to fly my family around, the problem is I have a family of 5. My 3 girls are all under the age of 7 now so they could fit in the back of the 10, but 3-5 years from now when the plane actually is flying will they be able to fit and has anyone actually put three seats in the back. I have seen people asking if it is possible, but have not hear of someone doing it.

If the 10 can not fly my family around is it worth having a four seat aircraft or should I go with a 7 and just fly for fun and not for family travel. If only vans made a 6 seater :)

any input would be great.

thanks,
 
Yes, there are several RV-10's with a bench seat and three sets of belts in the back. However, there will be some point in time, where all three will be too big to fit. With the average 2-4 year build time, it may be sooner than you think.

The RV-10 is still a great aircraft. You can read Tim's or Scott's trip reports and running LOP, you can get great fuel flows, but you can also still carry a lot more luggage and one or two of your kids. Great for the college visits down the road. You can't do that in a RV-7.

Unfortunately, it won't be useful as a family vehicle for vacations by the time they become teenagers.

The bottom line is what are you going to be using the aircraft for the most. The RV-10 is a better cross country crusier because of the additional usefull load and cabin size. However, if it's just local flying and perhaps a little formation and/or acro, then one of the two seaters may be better.
 
by the time your 3 girls are teenagers, you'll be lucky if all 3 are available for family vacation at the same time. At least that was the case at our house as jobs, cheerleading, basketball, student council, french club,......enjoy them while you can.;)
 
Did you think of something else?

One of our chapter members just finished this Murphy Super Rebel. First flight was Monday.

Granted it isn't as good looking as any RV but it can be built with six seats and will haul a ton of stuff!

Here's the company web site.

(The Super Rebel was renamed Moose after my friend bought his kit.)
 
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The Super Rebel is very nice. I think it uses a deHavilland airfoil. I think they are Van's neighbors, aren't they?
 
prkaye said:
I don't see the "Super Rebel" on Murphy's website... do they still offer it?
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They changed the name to "Moose" when they started offering the MP-14 radial option. It is the same plane, just with an IO-540 up front.
 
Choices

Pick up a good Cherokee 6 for the familiy and build and RV for you. When the girls leave, you can sell the Piper and recoup your invesment, at least in part.
TN
 
Go Navion

Tom Navar said:
Pick up a good Cherokee 6 for the familiy and build and RV for you. When the girls leave, you can sell the Piper and recoup your invesment, at least in part.
TN
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Find a good Navion Rangemaster (sweet plane). Holds 5, 1/2 the price of a RV10, and build yourself a RV on the slow plan.

Tom's got the right advice.

You can also get the girls involved with the build.
 
Cost differences

I was deciding between a -9A and a -10, and ultimately decided on the -10. I second-guess myself on the decision all the time, though, because of the large difference in cost. A few points on cost differences, with some rough numbers:
  • Kit price - $20,000
  • Engine - $16,000
  • Prop (constant speed vs FP) - $5000
  • Opportunity cost of the additional build time
  • Insurance (per year) - $3000
  • Training costs (esp. if you don't have HP time)
  • Fuel
  • Higher prop/engine overhaul cost

All that said, the -10 is way more comfortable for trips (the primary mission) and it'll be nice to travel with another couple+bags. Also, though we don't have kids now, if we do, we'll be able to take them along, assuming we stop at 2. For those reasons, I still think we made the right choice.

-Rob
 
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