The best hombuilt ?

[seagull]

Hey Bill,

How come we are now debating WWII fighters on the 'Homebuilders Corner' thread? Or have we accidently jumped into the big iron territory? So who says the 'best' has to be an allied fighter? Given a reliability of supply chain, logistical support, quality spares and well-trained pilots - (not to mention capable and sane 'senior management') the Messerschmitt 262 gets my vote. Thank our lucky stars that their 'senior management' was incapable, not to mention crazy, or we would have had an impossibly uphill task to win the conflict. On the British side the little-known Martin-Baker MB5 was arguably the best prop fighter but it would have been impossible to change over and re-equip the squadrons given their supply commitment to the later mark Spitfires and Tempests that became their focus from 1943 onwards. (The MB5 prototype also ran rings around the P51 but I'm not supposed to let any Yanks know about that - Sorry).

Back to the thread - let's return the focus on to homebuilts again. The RV series would get my vote but for one important difference. That is kit-set versus scratch built. Its very attractive to embark on a fast build using prefabricated kitset and off-the-shelf components and/or sub-assemblies. It is also true that there is a lot more 'mana' to building everything off a set of plans, although it takes a lot longer. Put this another way - the scratch-builder has a larger set of 'Cojones' (to scratch?). I've never really cared one way or the other. I just find it healthy for our sport/pastime/interest/hobby/passion - call it what you will that there's a Heck of a lot of people around the world just doing it for fun. And that's what really matters to me.

Yours Truly - (a scratch builder with a big set)

(of plans)

Barry