If you must have an aluminum plane, check out Jim Bede's new design, the
BD-18. This is an update of Bede's BD-1, which became the Grumman Yankee.
It's lighter than the Yankee with a smaller wing and can be powered by a
Jabiru orr Lycoming. The plans are $500, but I understand Bede's plans are
among the best in the business.
http://www.bedecorp.com/designs/bd18/intro.htm


I'm glad someone mentioned the Emeraude. Another venerable wood and fabric
design is the Jodel, which is similar to the Emeraurde but has a unique
"bent" wing. Some of the smaller simpler models ones can be built in 1000
hours or therabouts.

Cruise speed is probably not going to match the Van's models but stall speed
will be lower and Jodels are famous for being some of the nicest flying
planes in the world. The are noted for their great stability and make a fine
IFR platfroms.

One unique thing about Jodels is that they are certified designs that can
also be built by amateurs from plans. You can still get the plans from the
original firm that built thousands of certified Jodels, most of which are
still flying in all corners of the world.

Jodels are very popular with homebuilders in Europe and Australia where the
rules for homebuilt airplanes are much tougher and designs must be
"approved" by the authorities. The official Jodel website is here (in
French) http://www.avionhttp://www.avions-jo...m/s-jodel.com/

This website is in English and is a great reference for Jodels.
http://www.jodel.com/index.asp

The Canadian Falconar series is derivative of the Jodel designs:
http://www.falconaravia.com/

There is a very lively Jodel group on Yahoo, with hundreds of fanatical
Jodel owners and builders around the world. There are probably more Jodels
flying worldwide than Van's RVs. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jodel/

One of the advantages of wooden airframes is that they soak up noise and
vibration quite effectively. If you ever get a chance to fly in a Jodel,
Emeraude or Falco, going back to a spam can will seem like quite a step
down.

Regards,

Gordon Arnaut
Ontario, Canada