Would you

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evapilotaz

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Would you fly in experimental. I never flown in one and never had a chance. Something about owner building an airplane In their garage or hanger give me the willies. I guess I don’t trust people’s building skills. Is it just me?
 
I flew in one. a lotta fun. I trust the builder.
 
It's just you.

Granted, there are some sketchy experimentals, but there are some sketchy standard aircraft, too. And many experimentals far surpass production aircraft in build quality (and performance).

I seriously doubt I'll ever own another airplane that's not an experimental.
 
In my bucket list

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evapilotaz said:
Would you fly in experimental. I never flown in one and never had a chance. Something about owner building an airplane In their garage or hanger give me the willies. I guess I don’t trust people’s building skills. Is it just me?
Click to expand...

Alternately, why would you ever fly in a certified airplane? They guy on the production line who built it knows he'll never have to fly in it. The guy who builds the experimental knows he'll be the one flying it. Who's more motivated to do it right?

The reality is that there are some poorly maintained certified aircraft out there and there are some poorly maintained and/or built experimentals out there. Look at the airplane, consider what you know about the pilot (skill, common sense, ADM, etc.) and make the decision. There are some pilots I wouldn't ride with in a 172 on a clear day, and there are others who I perceive as good enough that whatever and whenever they are willing to fly, I'm game.
 
Yep, I bought a Glasair 1FT and flew it back and forth to work everyday for about two years. It was the first airplane I owned - but I didn't build it myself (everyone always asks). I plan on building something after I retire from the USAF.
 
Are you willing to fly on a certified eclipse jet? I'm not and I worked the production line. They are built like crap. Ever look at the rivets on a hawker jet? Tons of bad ones. I have a RV7 that I built but I'm anal about airworthiness and have 40 years as a A&P and lots of sheet metal experience. Can't say that for the hillbillies building Gulfstreams or their inspectors. Thing about most homebuilts is that bad ones are usually obviously badly built. At least to someone that knows what they're looking at.
 
Yes I would. Getting a ride in an RV is still on my bucket list.
 
Definitely,flying is fun. I have gone up with the original builder ,who I had great trust in his skills.
 
I flew an RV-12 built by a dude with curled up fingers, some of which had been amputated due to severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. No idea how he pulled it off, but it was a slick little LSA. Probably the most fun I've ever had at the controls of an airplane. I had less than 50 hrs. at the time.

The moral of the story is that a disabled dude on social security with gnarly fingers can produce a plane of better overall build quality than the boys and girls at Cessna, Piper, etc.
 
Knew a old guy in a wheelchair that built some sort of wood and fabric homebuilt and it was a beauty
 
When I read the thread title i didn't see this topic coming...my mind was somewhere else entirely.\

And yes...have lots of hours in experimental aircraft.
 
And I would fly it over a boat.
And I would fly it with a goat...
And I will fly it, in the rain.
And in the dark. And over a train.
And over a car. And over a tree.
They are so good, so good, you see!
So I will fly it with a box.
And I will fly it with a fox.
And I will fly it over a house.
And I will fly it with a mouse.
And I will fly it here and there.
Say! I will fly it anywhere!
 
I have owned and flown the crap out of all these Experimentals....
Skybolt
Staudacher S-300D
Several Christen Eagles
Pitts Model 12
2 Pitts S1's
Breezy
I prefer experimental over certified. Right now I own 3 certified and 2 Experimentals.breezy hangar.png
 
Yep. Getting ready to go fly one later today. Like Dana said, I seriously doubt I’ll own anything other than an EAB from here on out...unless I win the lottery.

Nothing wrong with certified. My first aircraft was an AA5 but the intent all along was to eventually go EAB. It wasn’t that much of a leap going from the AA5 to the Glasair 1 because the AA5 is a pretty fun aircraft but it still couldn’t compare. I went from climbing out at 70 kts and 700 FPM to 110 kts and 1500 FPM. Went from 115 kts cruise on 38 gals to 168 kts cruise on 45 gals. It’s not just about the numbers either. Light control forces, aerobatic, great visibility and in my opinion, look better than most certified.

I guess the primary concern is the aircraft coming apart in flight. Well, if it’s a quick build kit, the important structures such as the wing spars are already made at the factory. The builder would have to be a special kind of stupid to mess up a quick build. If it’s flown for several hundred hours, you can bet it’s been put together right. My Glasair is rated for 6 Gs and my Velocity 9 Gs. The Glasair being approved for acro also. I trust the strength of their structures more than a 50 year old certified metal aircraft.

Now, some plans built EABs, I’d have some concern. The majority of those are good designs though so a quick review of the builder’s logs and a thorough preflight should ease one’s fears.
 
Yes, I have the same amount of faith in most experimentals as most certified.
 
I've flown in several. The way I see it, compare the work you do yourself with the work you hire out. Every time I hire out something I can do, I'm unhappy with the results. I pay more attention to detail because its my project. I have the feeling airplanes are the same way. Someone building their own project is going to be more careful and more attentive than someone working for the Man. That said, the dude working for the Man has good QC, something I suspect a lot of home builders lack.
 
I'm going to be the odd man out here, but I'm much more comfortable in a production aircraft. I flew in an RV a friend built several years ago, and I had no problem going up with him. He is an incredibly detail-oriented person. Until then I was under the impression that kits arrived with instructions and you just put tab A into slot B, etc. When he showed me what really arrived I was impressed. I know the percentage of kits bought to kits built is really low, but I'm surprised the number is as high as it is after seeing what the kits really are.

And airplanes are one thing, but read the stats on Rotorways and you'd never, ever get me in one of those. I'd rather spend more time flying that maintaining.
 
Experimental is where it’s at. My neighbor is getting close to having his RV14 done. That thing is gonna be incredible. He is incredibly detail oriented. My other hangar neighbor has an RV8. Flew with him and it was maybe the coolest thing I’ve done. We did some aerobatics, low level flying (yes I know this is relatively risky), etc. Granted he was a 20 year F16 pilot and now a SW airlines captain so I trusted him haha.

He had a midair at Reno Air Race this year...ripped the aileron off and part of the wing...landed it safely. Nuts. He thought he was gonna die.

RVs are simply awesome.
 
I had a Pitts guru do a prebuy on an amateur built 2 seat Pitts I was thinking of buying. He declared the quality far higher than the 2 seat Pitts coming out of the factory. That's about as apples-to-apples as you can get.
 
Not once did the builder of my RV work on the airplane after a long week at work while thinking about the few hours left until he could get outta there for the weekend!
 
I rented, then owned and flew Certified for many years. For too many reasons to list here, seven years ago I went Experimental. Never is a big word, but I doubt I'll ever go back to Certified. By the way, a first Experimental ride probably won't happen for someone who says they're suffering from the willies. Education is key.
 
I think it's just you. The aircraft and inspections are done well enough that it's difficult for really bad building to get passed. There is always the idiot factor, but they're pretty rare. If the builder is done building, flown off the time and has gotten current in their new aircraft, I'll absolutely fly with them.
 
Actually can't wait to get in an RV.

FAA certification might help, but it doesn't make, or keep a plane safe....nor a pilot.
 
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I've seen better work from EAB/home built than from certificated mechanics.

I was in the business for over thirty years and have seen both sides of the coin. Some have the ability, others don't.
 
CC268 said:
Experimental is where it’s at. My neighbor is getting close to having his RV14 done. That thing is gonna be incredible. He is incredibly detail oriented.
RVs are simply awesome.
Click to expand...
If I were to go RV, the -14 would be it. Love them!
 
Velocity173 said:
I guess the primary concern is the aircraft coming apart in flight. Well, if it’s a quick build kit, the important structures such as the wing spars are already made at the factory. The builder would have to be a special kind of stupid to mess up a quick build. If it’s flown for several hundred hours, you can bet it’s been put together right. My Glasair is rated for 6 Gs and my Velocity 9 Gs. The Glasair being approved for acro also. I trust the strength of their structures more than a 50 year old certified metal aircraft.
Click to expand...

I think I'd be more concerned buying a composite experimental second-hand...don't know if I could trust the structure under layers of filler and paint. But good documentation during the build could do a lot to assuage those concerns.

The Van's stuff has a great safety record regarding structural failures. On the -9A's wings (and a lot of other Van's planes), the holes for the spar stub and spar receiver (both very beefy assemblies) are pre-drilled and pre-matched at the factory, whether it's quick build or not. Each side is attached with 10 close-tolerance bolts...four of them 7/16"...that fit so snugly they have to be tapped into place with a hammer. Really hard to mess that up.

One of the more critical assembly steps is drilling the attachment points for the horizontal stab. Gotta take a lot of time to get the edge distance right through the fuselage longerons. The empennage is a good place to spend a good chunk of time during a pre-buy inspection!

Even so, I have no interest in putting excessive stress on the airframe, precisely why I went the non-aerobatic route with the -9A. Sporty 45-degree banked turns and 1500-fpm descents are plenty for me. :)


Shameless pic of the aluminum mistress:

IMG_2945 (1).jpg
 
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^Nice. :)

I've seen a variation with "it exceeds them" tacked onto the end.
 
Yes, I was the 4th owner of the glider I sold last year that was an amatuer built experimental completed in 1974. I put almost a 1000 hours on it. Plane I replaced it with is also an experimental glider, but was built in a factory in Germany.

Brian
 
I think of "production" airplanes as more-or-less handmade aircraft as well; low volume production, lot's of hands-on attention, not all that much automation in assembly, etc.
 
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