Homebuilt with performance similar to Cheetah / Tiger

[Mike Switzer]

The other day I resigned from the club I have been a member of since May of 1996. Several reasons, most of which I don't want to get into here but I figured as maintenance officer I have worked nearly 150 hours this year (and paid monthly dues for the privilege) which was time I could be spending on my business, or on the homebuilt design I have been trying to work on for several years & I don't seem to be making any progress.

Which leaves me without anything to fly. If I buy something to fly near term I would like to buy an experimental so that I can do the maintenance. My question is, is there any readily available homebuilt that comes near to the performance of a Cheetah or Tiger (with comparable 160 or 180 HP) that won't cost an arm and a leg to buy? For that matter something similar in performance to a 172 with the same engines would probably do the trick. I need at least 2 seats plus baggage, or a 2+2, but I really need at least 750lb useful load, over 800 would be better. Also, I am 6'2" with broad shoulders so anything much narrower than a 172 would be tight.

[deej]

Hi Mike,
A Glasair Aviation Sportsman 2+2 might fit your needs. I have a kit for sale if you are interested:
http://deej.net/forsale/
If you don't want to build, you might be able to find some that are already flying for sale. More info on the aircraft can be found at:
http://glasairaviation.com/

-Dj

[Mike Switzer]

Thanks Dj I want to build what I have been trying to work on for several years, so if I buy I want something flying or that is a fairly easy project. That does look like it might work though - most of the 2 seaters only have around a 5-600 lb useful load.

[deej]

You may also consider a Glastar, which is the little brother to the Sportsman. Only two seats versus the four, but you can still carry 250 lbs of baggage. Plenty of flying Glastars on the market for reasonable prices. I ended up buying a Glastar which is why my Sportsman project is for sale. It is "close enough" to the Sportsman capabilities for my needs.

-Dj

[Mike Switzer]

Wikipedia says the Glastar is steel tube frame, is that correct? I was under the impression that both the Glastar & Sportsman were composite.

If their website says anywhere I cant find it

[I_FLY_LOW]

The 2 seat Cougar is in the plans.
http://flypanther.net/

[deej]

Both the Glastar and Sportsman are steel tube frames surrounded by a fiberglass shell, with aluminum wings and tail. The construction on the Glastar and Sportsman are very similar. If you want to see details of how it is put together, you can take a look at my builder's log at http://deej.net/sportsman/

-Dj

[martymayes]

There's a lot of parts.....
http://glasairaviation.com/pdf/GlaSt...ed%20Small.pdf

[Mike Switzer]

That is a long list of parts

[cluttonfred]

Off the top of my head, there are not a lot of aircraft that come to mind to fit your criteria. The closest to a Cheetah/Tiger might be the Van's RV-10, but it's a lot more power than you mention and a lot of money. My suggestion would be the Zenair CH640: http://www.zenair640.info/