http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/01/diy-jet-almost-ready-to-fly/
I can see this being big if it hits the market.
I can see this being big if it hits the market.
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Cheap DIY Jet
- Thread starter Python
- Start date
That is awesome. As soon as i get 60K saved up im game.
I'll be interested to see what the range is, and whether that price tag includes avionics, which aren't cheap. I'm seriously considering putting money away for a homebuilt, and the nearest thing I can think of is the Harmon Rocket III, which trues out at around 310 with a six-cylinder Lycoming IIRC. RVs and canards can get you and a passenger halfway across the US on a tank of gas, too. I wonder what the fuel burn is on that little jet? How much of that little airframe is full of fuel, and how much baggage can you take along?
At any rate, fully kitted out for IFR, you're looking at quite a bit more than $60,000 for a Rocket, Long-EZ or RV. New Lycomings alone go for north of $35K.
And IMO, spending big-time bucks on a VFR-only machine is foolish. Bottom line, it looks fun, but I'd want to read the POH before I jumped.
At any rate, fully kitted out for IFR, you're looking at quite a bit more than $60,000 for a Rocket, Long-EZ or RV. New Lycomings alone go for north of $35K.
And IMO, spending big-time bucks on a VFR-only machine is foolish. Bottom line, it looks fun, but I'd want to read the POH before I jumped.
That's up to the builder and what he/she can fit on the panel. There's some sweet GPS setups out there on the market. But in airplanes as in guns, good glass ain't cheap. Any actual aircraft owners care to chime in on care/feeding costs?
The piston v-tail sonex is a sweet little machine. But I wouldn't say it was ever "huge".
The BD-5J was really cheap, too, IIRC, until the engines became impossible to get. But still only made in limited numbers.
It's a neat idea, but still only appeals to a limited market.
The BD-5J was really cheap, too, IIRC, until the engines became impossible to get. But still only made in limited numbers.
It's a neat idea, but still only appeals to a limited market.
This looks pretty badass, but like nittany is saying...range/payload is everything, if you want anything practical. It's a neat little jet, but this is not how you want to break into general aviation. This thing is for the collector or experimental aircraft enthusiast who has nothing better to blow 60Gs and lots of time on than a sky hot rod.
The day a Harmon Rocket trues-out at 310 (knots OR MPH, your choice), I'll buy 2. And they'll also start winning at Reno again...heck, do any even show up anymore?
Uhhhh, don't get too hopeful about range/payload:
http://www.sonexaircraft.com/research/subsonex.html
They're talking about this only as an expensive toy- lots of fun and about an hour of fuel.
I think the concept is done "right" in the sense that how the wing is designed (hershey bar wing and how the span and area are sized for the jet's weight), which should yield stall and glide characteristics not much different from most RVs (which are really great homebuilt airplanes)... That is another way of saying pilots with more money than ability can still go out and have a lot of fun without getting themselves killed.
http://www.sonexaircraft.com/research/subsonex.html
They're talking about this only as an expensive toy- lots of fun and about an hour of fuel.
I think the concept is done "right" in the sense that how the wing is designed (hershey bar wing and how the span and area are sized for the jet's weight), which should yield stall and glide characteristics not much different from most RVs (which are really great homebuilt airplanes)... That is another way of saying pilots with more money than ability can still go out and have a lot of fun without getting themselves killed.
Just going based on Internet knowledges. I'm going through stick-and rudder withdrawl. Berkuts are too dang expensive, and so much of the homebuilt market is just . . . so . . . SLOW! And the factory- built market seems to be half the bang for the buck! 260, 310, whatever. I'm trying to find something I can afford that won't make me want to stick pencils in my eyes halfway through a XC. How much for the T-45 kit and a mid-time Adour?:icon_tongThe day a Harmon Rocket trues-out at 310 (knots OR MPH, your choice), I'll buy 2. And they'll also start winning at Reno again...heck, do any even show up anymore?
I'm biased: Buy a Lancair Legacy fixed gear and be done with it. $150k, full IFR, glass if you want it, a TRUE 210 ktas @ 15k ft, and at 9 gph.
Oh, and sex on the ramp too...not a rivet in the wing.