Kecin, thanks for the info. I'll have to check out the Lancair and the
Aerocomop though I am not familiar with the latter. You are right, the
purpose of IFR is just in case. I would keep my skills up.

Unfortunately, I don't think anything short of a big piece of jewelery on
the other end of the trip would get my wife into the plane. Even then, once
she got it she would rather walk back.

Thanks

Barry



"Kevin O'Brien" kevin@org-header-is-my-domain-name wrote in message
news:2005081902353243658%kevin@orgheaderismydomain name...
On 2005-08-08 16:57:27 -0400, "Barry" said:
Barry, that is a good, logical list of requirements. Only you know,
though, how you prioritize them. For instance, some of the other responces
seemed to assume you would be flying hard IMC a lot. That's not what I'm
getting -- I'm getting you want to be legal to fly in the system and
current to shoot an approach if you need to to visit the grandkids.

Bear in mind that instrument flying is a highly perishable skill. You
gotta be sharpening it all the time or it gets dull on you.

This is routine. Lancair Kit has had a lot of builders through their (very
excellent) Builder Assistance program, where they build major parts of the
plane on site with factory jigs and professional help as required. And all
but one of them (including Legacy FG builders, "the bottom of the line")
put in IFR panels.

The January 2005 Kitplanes has a breakdown on autopilots for
experimentals.

One specific plane I have been looking at is Van's RV-10. Any comments
on this? Really have not come across any other options.

The Lancair ES meets all your requirements. The comments others have made
about a high landing speed are also true. You can keep it down a bit by
building it as light as you can. The canards are the same way, high
landing speeds.

Aerocomp builds a number of kits that are ugly but strong and surprisingly
fast.

One advantage of the RV-10 that can be adduced from other Van's products
is, that it is likely to have good resale value. Kit aircraft generally
have poor resale value and sell for little more than the value of the
motor and other certified/TSOd parts.

However, there are few RV-10s out there. Bear in mind that even good
designers occasionally lay an egg (as Chris Heintz did with the CH810).

Several others have suggested that if you want to fly, not to build per
se, you may be better off buying a plane. A Cirrus SR22 meets most of your
requirements, and with the auto-like interior and the emergency parachute,
you might even get your wife into it.

cheers

-=K=-

Rule #1: Don't hit anything big.