I'm not sure that I can help you figure it out but I can tell you what
worked for me. I assume you are a low time pilot. As a low time pilot I
purchased a C172 and put a 1000 hours on it until my airplane requirements
were locked down, almost 7 years. The other step was to join a flying club
so I could fly floats and other airplanes. The only thing that I would
change is instead of a C172, I would go with a C182. These airplanes hold
their value well and you can have lots of fun flying now.
Al
Moose, N526AP
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Wagner" <WagnerB@mjss.ca>
To: <rebel-builders-d@dcsol.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2005 12:54 PM
Subject: Rebel /Elite landing gear
I'm the guy in Calgary who was planning to build a Moose. When I met
with Darryl in July, he suggested that, since I haven't any flying
experience, I should either (a) get a smaller certified tailwheel
aircraft to get proficient on, or (b) build something smaller before
tackling something like the Moose. I'm cool with that advice - I don't
want to bite off more than I can chew, and my wife & I don't have kids
yet (though this will happen sooner or later...).
Option (a) costs a lot more than (b), and at age 34, I'm still young
enough that there's time to do both. So I'm weighing the pros & cons of
the Rebel, the Elite, and, to my own surprise, the RV-9 taildragger,
which is supposed to be really easy to fly.
However, I hear the RV just isn't a soft field plane, and frankly,
that's where I want to end up, eventually. There are too many good
fishing holes out in the backcountry, and not all of them have an
airstrip located conveniently nearby.
Plus the stall speed of the Rebel is slightly better. Useful load is
better. You can put the O-360 on the Elite. Floats are an option that
I'd like to hang on to, so Murphy wins that test, too.
On the other hand, the RV seems to be a "one-stop shopping" experience
(the kit is really complete, and by all accounts very easy to put
together), and comes in about, oh, I would guess $10,000 cheaper than
the Elite if one is building a basic day-VFR plane. And it's hard to
argue with a 180mph cruising speed if one is flying in the Rocky
Mountains. I know, I know: apples to oranges.
One thing I can't figure out - why do Rebels seem to outnumber Elites 10
to one? Is it because the Elite is a newer design? Are Rebels easier
to fly? Help me out guys, because on paper, the Elite seems to be the
one to build: it's all metal (no dope on the flaps & ailerons), it
carries 100lbs more useful load, you can put the O-360 into it, et
cetera.
Darryl was also a big fan of the Elite, saying that, by the time you put
all the options people usually choose (e.g. spring gear) into the Rebel,
you might as well have the thicker skins and other plusses of the Elite.
So I have a question about the spring gear, too. It's *aluminum*
spring??? What's better for soft fields - the standard cub-style bungee
gear with tundra tires (and a Scott 3200 tail wheel, of course!), or
spring gear and 8x6.00 tires?
Or spring *and* tundras (can this indeed be done)? I ask because I have
heard that the Cessna 180 is not appropriate for tundra tires due to its
*steel* spring gear, which makes me wonder if one can indeed put big
wheels on the Elite?
Can you guys help me out, Rebel vs. Elite? I don't want to start a war,
but I would appreciate any recent advice on this topic. Also, any
advice you can give about the Rebel vs. RV-9 quandry would be of
assistance, too!
Bill
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