SantosDumont
Well Known Member
I'm a relatively new pilot / Mooney driver. Got my PPL in 2016. I'm up to about 800 hours now and I'm to the point where I want to be more hands on with the airplane maintenance, but you know, certified.
Mostly I'm concerned about being able to control the quality, and I figure the only way to do that is to do it myself. There are a lot of things that I would do different, and a lot of mistakes that I would rather be my own, than someone else's that I just have to tolerate. So I'm ready to get started on building my forever plane.
So far my missions seem to be 90% solo XC, 5% passenger, 5% training. Probably 1% of my flights are IFR, shooting an approach through the marine layers in CA.
I signed up for one of the RV Builder intro classes in January, and if that doesn't scare me off I'd like to pull the trigger on an empennage kit and get started.
But I can't decide which kit I should actually build.
I have 3 boys, ages 11,9,7. Right now they would rather play Minecraft than go flying, but I'm expecting that could change in a few years. 10-20 years from now I see the need to have a XC machine for the wife and I to cruise around and visit the kids in college, see grandkids, etc.
The Mooney has really spoiled me. It has 100GAL tanks, and while I usually only fill the inboard tanks to 64GAL, if I'm doing a long 600 mile round trip XC I can fill it all the way up and not have to worry about fuel for the whole trip, there AND back.
Here's my thoughts:
RV-8.
This would be my "All about Me" plane. It's the fastest, best looking, most sporty. It could meet my 90% XC mission, but it doesn't really seem like a XC plane. Only 40 GAL tanks, kind of cramped cockpit, and not a super great experience for a passenger in the back. Doesn't seem like it would be great for IFR. The most I think I'd want to do in it is 2hr legs. I live in Vegas and a sliding cockpit would be great for summer taxiing. If the kids ever got interested in flying, it would be a long, long time before I ever let them fly it.
RV-10
This can haul more stuff and has more panel space. 60 GAL tanks gives it a similar range of the Mooney. Seems like the most comfortable. But I still can't fit my whole family in the 10, so I'm not really sure I need all the space. Probably too powerful for a trainer, but something the kids could quickly graduate to.
RV-14
Similar characteristics to the 8. Not as sporty but can still do aerobatics. More roomy than the 8, side by side seating = more comfort, especially for passengers. 50 GAL tanks = 1 more hr range than the -8, but 1 less than the -10. Side by side seating means it could be used for training if the kids wanted to use it.
One other consideration in looking at the cost of the kit, why is the -14 $10k more than the -8? The -3 to -9 kits all seem to be similarly priced. Is it just because it is bigger, newer, easier?
At $2k for the starter kit, the -8 seems like an easy impulse buy... although the -10 or -14 isn't out of reach, but I would have $2k more to spend on tools to get started.
I'd appreciate any insight on the different models that anyone is willing to provide.
Mostly I'm concerned about being able to control the quality, and I figure the only way to do that is to do it myself. There are a lot of things that I would do different, and a lot of mistakes that I would rather be my own, than someone else's that I just have to tolerate. So I'm ready to get started on building my forever plane.
So far my missions seem to be 90% solo XC, 5% passenger, 5% training. Probably 1% of my flights are IFR, shooting an approach through the marine layers in CA.
I signed up for one of the RV Builder intro classes in January, and if that doesn't scare me off I'd like to pull the trigger on an empennage kit and get started.
But I can't decide which kit I should actually build.
I have 3 boys, ages 11,9,7. Right now they would rather play Minecraft than go flying, but I'm expecting that could change in a few years. 10-20 years from now I see the need to have a XC machine for the wife and I to cruise around and visit the kids in college, see grandkids, etc.
The Mooney has really spoiled me. It has 100GAL tanks, and while I usually only fill the inboard tanks to 64GAL, if I'm doing a long 600 mile round trip XC I can fill it all the way up and not have to worry about fuel for the whole trip, there AND back.
Here's my thoughts:
RV-8.
This would be my "All about Me" plane. It's the fastest, best looking, most sporty. It could meet my 90% XC mission, but it doesn't really seem like a XC plane. Only 40 GAL tanks, kind of cramped cockpit, and not a super great experience for a passenger in the back. Doesn't seem like it would be great for IFR. The most I think I'd want to do in it is 2hr legs. I live in Vegas and a sliding cockpit would be great for summer taxiing. If the kids ever got interested in flying, it would be a long, long time before I ever let them fly it.
RV-10
This can haul more stuff and has more panel space. 60 GAL tanks gives it a similar range of the Mooney. Seems like the most comfortable. But I still can't fit my whole family in the 10, so I'm not really sure I need all the space. Probably too powerful for a trainer, but something the kids could quickly graduate to.
RV-14
Similar characteristics to the 8. Not as sporty but can still do aerobatics. More roomy than the 8, side by side seating = more comfort, especially for passengers. 50 GAL tanks = 1 more hr range than the -8, but 1 less than the -10. Side by side seating means it could be used for training if the kids wanted to use it.
One other consideration in looking at the cost of the kit, why is the -14 $10k more than the -8? The -3 to -9 kits all seem to be similarly priced. Is it just because it is bigger, newer, easier?
At $2k for the starter kit, the -8 seems like an easy impulse buy... although the -10 or -14 isn't out of reach, but I would have $2k more to spend on tools to get started.
I'd appreciate any insight on the different models that anyone is willing to provide.