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Production vs Experimental aircraft
In the quest to find a decent airplane fitting our mission profile, you either have to dig deep in your pockets or choose the "do it yourself" route. In the wake of litigation lawsuits in the 80's, traditional planemakers essentially stalled innovation. The main reason being, something that's worked for 20 years will be harder to blame for an accident and therefore suing the manufacturer will be less successful. For example, most small aircraft engines are technically stuck at 1960's technology...
The possibility to add cutting edge avionics at a decent price is another big plus for experimentals. Since we're both interested in computers and very much used to them, it would be a shame to step back to "steam gauges". Not to speak of comfort items. Assume you want to have an mp3 car radio in your panel... Symbolically speaking, in a production aircraft you would have to buy one which is approved so it costs at least double, is several years old plus you need to pay a professional mechanic to hook up a couple of wires and have him sign some papers...
Also, many production airplanes that are used for sport flying were originally designed for travel, to replace cars on long distances. These aircraft do not exactly keep up to their "sport" promise, most of them have awkward "control wheels" and less than perfect visibility. On the other hand, designed for extreme "sport" airplanes can't do much but aerobatics and are expensive due to their powerful engines.
In fact, money is a big factor. Acquiring a production aircraft with comparable performance would probably cost three to five times of what we'll end up paying. It doesn't end with aquiring though... Maintenance for an experimental that you built yourself is a LOT cheaper. Since you as a builder will get a limited "repairman" certificate for your airplane, there are very few things you can't do yourself on an experimental.
Read on about our mission profile...
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