Well, I've been considering my options, I plan on getting my Sports Pilots license and eventually my PPL over the next year or two, but in tandem with that..I'd actually like to start working on building my own airplane.  I wanted to post my thoughts and see what people had to say if anything:

The Kit:

 Zenith Zodiac XL (601 series)

The Powerplant:

The 100HP Corvair (engine mount, cowling and all that are also avaliable to go with the engine from that same website, I think I'm looking forward to converting the engine as much as building the plane )

Those are of course the basic to it, I know there will lots more money to spend getting the electrical, avionics, paint, and all that sort of thing to spend.  All in all, I think I can have a very good high quality two seat plane for about 30 grand which while is a lot of money...well..if I got what I really wanted (the four seat CH 640 + 180 HP engine)..all of a sudden the price jumps to a whooping 55 or 60K.

Don't suppose anyone knows of a 180 hp engine that is quality yet inexpensive like the corvair is?

At any rate, I'm planning on taking a few years to do this easily.  In my mind, maybe it will be done as fast as three or take as long as 10.  I'm not really in a rush, the journey is half the fun.

Any feedback is welcome.

Jason

*grins*  I think thats a winning combination, at least as far as I can tell anyways.  I'm curious about something, I've been reading as much as I can, but there is one thing that I keep coming back to cause I am unsure how to assess the cost. 

For someone who only flies during the day and with clear skies (good visiblity), what is the minimum necessary instrumentation?? I"m assuming that the panel would hold engine reading information like a car would, tachometer, fuel, temperature, speed, that sort of thing.  But what else besides that is either required or maybe as a pilot you have some preferences that you would feel were absolutly necessary?  A radio of some sorts would be good.  GPS?  I look at some control panels and wonder what the hell a two seat plane is doing with that many buttons and levers and screens. 

Got any ideas on that? 

Jason

Jason, you might consider an older certified plane. You can get some very good deals on older projects. I am building a 66 Bellanca 260 (Viking) into an Experimental. I paid $6,000. for the complete plane less most instruments and radios. I can have it done for less than $30,000 or so depending on how far I want to go. The Mustang II is a very nice plane that you can get done for less than $30,000. and yet go 200 mph on 150 HP. The problem I ran into is that I would still only have a 2 seat plane for the same price I could have a 4 place. As far as instruments it depends on where you fly. You may need a transponder if you go into controlled airspace. You need a compass. You should have a radio even though it is not required. An air speed indicator is another instrument that you should have. If you are flying over 3000' you need an altimeter. You have specific altitudes to stay at over 3000' AGL. A good plane would be a Stratomaster Ultra. For $1,000 you would get all instruments for flight and all instruments for engine you would have to get probes and sensors extra. But it is a far cry from the things that go into a certified plane. You would be better off getting a hand held GPS than a panel mount.

Dan