ET wrote:
Cal Vanize wrote in
:


Thinking of building. Have been looking around and not found the kind
of selection I though was available. Found Zenith, Sonex and Vans.
Of the three, I'm looking a little harder at the two seaters from Vans
(RV-7 and -9) and Zenith (Zodiac XL). Obviously different performance
but costs don't seem that much different.

Would anyone be willing to share their experiences with building kits
from these companies? Any comments on flight characteristics of these
planes? Reliability? Any information to share? Reputation? Etc?

I stopped flying a little over 30 years ago but have ~ 1200 hours and
a CASMELI.

I'm in the midwest U.S.

TIA,

CV



An RV is a terrifice plane, any one of them... They will cost more
(different recomended engine) and take at least twice as long to build
(driven rivets) so be aware. The RV is MUCH faster, but doesnt qualify
for Sport Pilot if by the time you've actually finished building you
don't have your medical anymore.

I like the Zodiac, but I've yet to meet a Zodiac owner who claims his
plane actually goes as fast as the Zenith brouchure claims .. (& I keep
an eye on the major email group) Of the three the Zodiac will likely
take the least time to build. The other upside to building a Zodiac is
it MAY be worth more at resale since they are actually producing factory
built sLSA Zodiacs for $75K+.. So someone considering one of those may
have an interest in yours for say $45K, and you've invested perhaps
$35-40K


Worth more than what, an RV? Probably not, also I also question your
assertion about the building time. I built my old slow built RV-6
in 20 months from start till first flight. I also had a full time job
while building, so different strokes for different folks. I just hate to
see faulty information spread around like this. I looked seriously at
building a Zodiac after I built the RV and found that they would cost
right at the same as a RV and did not have the "Total Performance" that
an RV does. BTW I have been flying my RV-6 for 17 year now and never get
tired of it.

Sonex actually will go as fast as the factory says it will,

Are you saying a RV won't?

is the
least expensive when you are all said and done, but if you and your
wife/flying partner are on the large side, it may be a little tight.

Having been flying all of my life first with my father
and then getting my pilots licensee while in high school in the 60's I
can tell you that comfort makes all of the difference in the world
on how much you will enjoy flying.

Disclaimer... I'm building a Sonex from scratch... Will take as long as
building an RV from a kit.. current total budget approx $16K.

Will you be flying in 20 months from start to finish?
I had $21,000 in my RV-6 at first flight, I know that was in
1988 dollars but you can still build one very reasonably by careful
shopping.

Jerry