r/homebuilt

After spending a good chunk of the build deep in wings, it's a little surreal to have a whole new box sitting in the garage.

Episode 18 is the empennage unboxing — unloading it, doing the full parts inventory, getting eyes on the major components, and a preview of what the tail build is actually going to look like. No major disasters to report. Yet.

If you've gone through a tailkit arrival yourself, I'd genuinely love to hear what surprised you most when you got into it. And if you're earlier in your research phase like I was not that long ago, hopefully this gives you a good look at what to expect.

[Video linked in comments]

Today I bring a thought experiment for designing the ideal home-built family aircraft. It shouldn’t be too big or too expensive, but should have room for about six adults, a decent amount of cargo, and plenty of fuel for good range without breaking the bank. To start narrowing things down, we can rule out two engines as they’d be too much hassle for most people, and skip turboprops and jets since they’re too costly—so a larger single engine it is.

In my opinion, the best family of aircraft for this purpose is the Piper 6, specifically the 32 and 32R. I’d also be open to discussing how the same ideas apply to the Cessna 200 family—excluding the 208, of course. The 205, 206, 207, and 210 are all high-wing counterparts to the Pipers I’m talking about today, but anyway, back to the topic.

The main drawback of these two aircraft is that you can’t realistically use their full seating capacity with average-sized adults. Ideally, increasing the maximum takeoff weight for the Pipers to about 4,000 pounds would be perfect. With 100 gallons of fuel, that would allow you to carry six 200-pound people, each with 25 pounds of cargo—pretty practical for vacation trips, I’d say.

Add a bit of extra headroom for the rear row, a more modern cockpit, and that leaves us with the big issue: the engine. If my calculations are correct, 350 hp is the minimum, with 400 hp being more realistic. That means at least a turbocharged IO-540, possibly an IO-720 for commercial production, or a larger V8 for an auto conversion. Anyway, what are your thoughts and suggestions? What would you want in your ideal family airplane like this?

Researching the build on a 750 SD and have questions for those with experience. My mission is Idaho, Arizona, Utah, flying home base out of West Texas. My wife will travel at times, camping, etc., So I want to keep the useful load 800lbs. With that said:

1. I would be building WITH the quick build kit, working FULL TIME. I've got a window of 6-8 months to complete the build for reasons I won't go into, but wanted to hear from experienced builders if this is feasible.
2. My understanding is if you keep to a straight-forward build, little customization and the 912 rotax, that this is entirely possible.

Am I'm giving up performance with the 912 to complete it quicker versus a 914/915 which adds to build time and cost? High DA in a 912 in Utah doesn't sound like fun, but then again, I want to hear real world experience with a 912.

3. Want to keep within a budget of 120k.

My background: former navy pilot, no previous build experience but mechanically inclined. My short coming is the electrical phase. I've heard the air-frame is the easy part and can be quickly completed. Complications and time are spent on FWF, engines, windshield, panel, electrical which can extend the build time significantly.

I'm just guessing here, but my concerns with 6-8 month build time, there will be real concerns with burn out, momentum, setbacks, etc... Has anyone done it in that time frame?

For those with experience, I'd really love to hear you're feedback with the above. The alternative is to buy a used one, go vintage 182 and deal with those potential cost. Not sure if builder assist is a desired option, but, I'm open to it. I really just want to build it myself and make it mine. I'm going to give Zenith a call to get their thoughts, but figured I'd ask owner/builders first. Thanks.

I'm buying a CH750 kit and having it shipped to my country in a 20ft container is there any useful or good upgrades I should get? i dount want to make multiple shipments i just want to make 1 or 2.

I will be operating out of my own 500ft grass strip.