Quote Originally Posted by Olympus View Post
I have a 6 acre piece of property with about a 150 yard flat and wide strip that I believe would be great for a UL. (...) My doubts are that I'll wish I had more range than a 5gal fuel tank can provide. I'm not a speed demon, but cruising at 55 to 60 into a headwind may get old quick.
(...)
Not to mention the LSAs are a lot higher than the ULs. I'm looking at a total budget of absolutely no more than $13k total. So that's either $13k for a UL or $13k for a sport license and whatever is left for a LSA.
I think you did a good consideration already and you know that buget, speed/range, and STOL requirements fight each other. A modern STOL LSA would do, but they are all above $80k (perhaps $65k used). A smaller engine and lighter weight make it cheaper, but when you get under $13k, you lose a lot of speed and range.

I think that in your case the best would be something like a second-hand Kitfox with a 582 engine. Or something unconventional, such as a weight-shift trike.