I would like your opinion about the following two questions, thanks! As someone instrested in homebuilt aircraft and the like, what would be the 3 most important features of an airplane you would want to know before you knew anything else about the airplane? (example: price, cruise speed, engine type)After learning thoese three things and likeing them what other important information would you want to know about airplane? (example: climb rate, glide rate, weights, etc...) thanks for your opinion!

I think first would be what are you attending to do with the aircraft then the other factors would fall in line with your ranking of importance in an aircraft.

I'd say first to know how many seats you need and if you need baggage/camping gear etc. That will restrict the list to only what will work for you... all the other items will vary under that type of aircraft.

I second what Chris says, the most important point is your intentions for using the aircraft, do you want to take family/friends on touring trips? If so how many seats will you want? Do you want to bore holes in the sky with an aerobatic capable aircraft?The next key question is how long does it take to build? Everyone I know who has built their own airplane has invariably stopped flying whilst they are building, mainly because of the vast time commitment involved.Lastly, take a look at a Vans RV. This is the yard stick with which to measure others against. http://www.vansaircraft.com

>Lastly, take a look at a Vans RV. This is the yard stick with>which to measure others against. http://www.vansaircraft.com Just what I was going to say...L.Adamson

Over 5,000 RV's completed and flown.There's been an RV in my future for a long time. :-)DannyCZBB

RVs are pretty small inside- fast and whatnot, but I cannot sit comfortably in one. In fact, the one I've sat in (my friend Rick completed it last summer) has a fuse panel below the normal panel, so my knees are basically shoved into the panel. I'm 6'3" so I would say anybody 6' or under would be fine, but I would never want one.If you do fit, they are nice planes- little screamers. He's even got an angle of attack indicator which is very Top Gun.

>RVs are pretty small inside- fast and whatnot, but I cannot>sit comfortably in one. In fact, the one I've sat in (my>friend Rick completed it last summer) has a fuse panel below>the normal panel, so my knees are basically shoved into the>panel. I'm 6'3" so I would say anybody 6' or under would be>fine, but I would never want one.>>If you do fit, they are nice planes- little screamers. He's>even got an angle of attack indicator which is very Top Gun.My panel has an additional angle 2" below the standard panel. But I have no center console, which allows more leg room, as you can bend your knee sideways. Width wise, I believe my 6A is an inch wider than a Cessna 172, as I remember. I'm 6' 1.5" tall. There are also seat adjustments and cushions to add or remove.........that helps.Advantage over the Cessna's and Pipers, is that the RV will usually have at least three times the climb rate, and fly's 60 knots faster with the same engine as a newer 172. L.Adamson