The 14?
Hi Pete,
When I first saw the 14 on this site I was quite excited, initially. But I decided against it for a few reasons.
I want a slider, not a tip up canopy and a tailwheel version. I know the info says that the tip up has a new hinge to allow it to get out of the way when open, but I can?t see any proof of this.
I've tried a tailwheel tip up and it definitely was in my way and made things a little awkward.
Also a tailwheel 'will be developed', but they don't say when.
The pictures look very nice and the performance figures look o.k. but there is no information on cabin height. Sitting down with a straight back my torso is 41 inches tall, from the bottom of my bottom to the top of my head. The info doesn't give any idea of measurement in this regard.
But the cruncher is that they are very vague on delivery, availability dates of sub-kits and costings. Wing kits available in Sept 2012 (maybe), and it might cost around $9,000. If I was showing a product, all this information would have been worked out in advance so that when the product was displayed to the public the website would have that info straight away, so that potential customers would know all the details quickly and up front.
It?s almost like Vans is testing the waters so to speak. A few I?ve spoken to around me say that they wouldn?t build a 14, but they?re not my size. I don?t have a problem with it being a ?two seat 10?, or a ?big 9? that can do aerobatics. It doesn?t worry me that the tail ?is a 9? and the wings ?from a 10?.
I do like a few ideas from the 14, wing attach bolts outside the fuselage, in my opinion that?s where they should have been from day one. From my days as a mechanic I often cursed a designer making things much more difficult than they needed to be. The modularity of the construction, hoped for faster construction, all are good.
But why 210 hp? Why not 180, or, 200? I?d like to choose. I know some people on here want to hammer around the skies at 200+mph, but I?m happy to do 180, for instance.
Most feel that the costs will be closer to the 10 by a fair margin, than an 8, or 9. So why build a 14, when for a bit more you might be able to build a 10, have more room and four seats.
The cost speculation, I?m sure isn?t helping the 14, this could have been stopped dead in it?s tracks, if it was on the website, but there aren?t any pages like the previous models have on the website. Anyway the 10 is way above my price range (when built), so if the 14 was ?up there?, it would be out of my reach.
Apologies for this being so long-winded