Decisions, Decisions

My first interest in aircraft started with a primary school project on how planes fly. The interest surfaced from time to time over the years, but never in any active way. About 3 years ago I saw a picture of the new Vans RV-10 on the cover of a magazine and thought "Wow, That's beautiful". I bought the magazine and from that moment, I became a Vans fan.

The Mission
What I want to do with this plane is cross country flying. When I was involved in sailing, I never enjoyed racing or just going out for a 'blast'. My interest was in 'seafaring'; planning and executing a voyage from one port to another. I have the same view of flying. The only kind of flying that I look forward to is going places - the further the better. So I need a plane that will eat up the miles and make the most of every weather window.

Two or Four Seats?
I have a five-seater car but the only seat with a shine on it is the driver's seat. I began to realise that the same was very likely to be true of any plane I might own. However, I don't want to be anti-social so I have compromised on a two-seater and, because I think tandem seating is still mildly anti-social, that has to be a side-by-side two-seater. Besides, a four seater costs half as much again to build and operate.

Building space restrictions
Space to build was a huge obstacle. I live in a terraced townhouse with small gardens front and back, no off-street parking and only pedestrian access to the back garden. Unless I took over all of that back garden, I could only afford space for the equivalent of a one-car garage. That is barely enough to build the two-place Vans range and it confirmed my decision to abandon the RV-10.

Too hot to handle
Like about half of the members of the local Society of Amateur Aircraft Constructors (SAAC) who are still building, I am not yet a pilot. I don't see this as a problem. I intend to take an intensive PPL course about one year before I finish the project. It does mean that I will be a very low-hours pilot and this means that I need a plane that is especially easy to fly and suited to the trainer role, while having enough performance to continue to be interesting. That is the essence of the RV-9 concept. I toyed with the idea of a more powerful, popular and aerobatic RV-7 but flight instructors specialising in RV conversion training tell me that the 7 is appreciably more challenging to fly (though not by any means difficult) so I am going to take the more conservative option.

Getting Type-approval
Mine will be the first RV-9 build under Ireland's permit system for experimental aircraft and it looked for a while as if type approval would not be forthcoming. The application process was simplicity itself but the SAAC were having difficulty in making any headway with our Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). This seemed to be just bureaucratic delay rather than any objection to the Vans design. However, just on the point of ordering a 7 afterall, the approval finally came through. I want to pay tribute to Charles O'Shea, Type Approvals Sec of the SAAC for his persistence and his hard work in achieving this approval.

Airplane slut
Vans are thought of as performance planes. So when Rotax-powered LSAs began to emerge like daffodils in spring, I began to wonder whether my mission could be fulfilled even better by one of these new types. The one that caught my eye was a real beauty called the Sportcruiser. I am ashamed to say that I totally and immediately forgot my love for Vans and fell headlong for this sexy Czech 'babe'. The key feature of this kit is its high degree of completeness as sold. It is supplied as a quickbuild with all of the main construction work done. Some panels are even fitted and temporarily riveted with the intention that they be removed to facilitate the inspectors and then permanently fixed back in place. Most of the work to be done by the builder is in the area of cockpit systems, firewall forward installation, panel and paint. While the British PFA never raised a question about this plane satisfying the 51% rule, the SAAC took the view that it could not possibly comply. I think they are wrong about this and that quickbuild kits are the future of homebuilt aircraft and possibly even of personal aviation. As manufacturing gets more automated and efficient, the time taken for the work done in the factory diminishes and therefore the amount of time needed to make up 51% of the total also diminishes. In the end, the SAAC Chairman kindly pointed out to me that such kits were against the ethos of the society which is concerned with construction, not merely assembly. I decided that you can't fight city hall - at least not yet.

As it turns out, the first group of Sportcruiser builders in the UK are having a torid time with their kits. Apparently, factory fitted options that were ordered are not turning up on the kits as delivered. Wrong options are also being supplied and, worst of all, the factory are not being very good about it. Customer service at this point is, by all accounts, appalling. So it seems that the SAAC have done me a favour afterall and saved me from a fate worse than a stall turning onto short finals. On my part, I reflected that the actual build was at least half of the pleasure to be derived from the project so there was little point in shortening it.

So I returned to my first and truest love, was forgiven for my infedelity and embraced in the warmth of knowing that the Vans products are built and flown by real engineers and real pilots.

I have now ordered my empennage kit and I am breathlessly awaiting delivery.