I've spend a silly amount of time over the past few years looking at various kits to build. I love building and maintaining things, so it's only natural that I would even consider building a plane.

With the number of kits and plans out in the world, there remains a crucial question: Which one to build?

General Requirements

So, I'm starting this because of three reasons:

1. Ran out of money!
2. I'm not waiting 10 years to come back to aviation (even though a plan's build might take that long).
3. I like building things!

That means we have the following minimum requirements for my first project:

1. The plane has to be pretty simple to fabricate and build.
   1. I eventually want to get back in the air, so I definitely don't want to take on more than I can chew.
   2. A simpler and smaller design means less materials as well.
   3. Pulled rivets means not having to find helpers!
   4. Likely a two-seater.
2. The plane needs to be pretty popular. Meaning: the company should be well known and the plans executed by a bunch of builders. The more eyes and hands on it, the more resources I could reach out to for advice.
3. Should be a material I'm familiar with. In this case, an all aluminum plane.
4. Inexpensive in total cost.

Composites aren't a good first project for me either. I don't have familiarity with the materials. Not to mention no knowledge of how to shape airfoils correctly and whatnot.

I'm not really interested in cloth planes either considering I live in a place where it gets to 120 degrees. It would be fun to try if we moved somewhere less hostile!

This also means I can rule out projects that involve mainly bucking rivets. Van's comes to mind unfortunately (the RV-12 is also too expensive).

Larger complex builds? Also a no go. The Rans S-21 would be perfect for a backcountry flier that can also cruise. However, I also don't have 50k to drop on the kit let alone the cost for sub kits.

Mission Requirements

My mission for this aircraft is to mainly take advantage of what Arizona has to offer: amazing terrain and plenty of places to explore. While my partner doesn't have an interest in traveling vast distances like me (mostly due to motion sickness), she does love getting out and exploring. Most of her interest is in backcountry flying.

So that means three main things:

1. Being able to cruise at a decent speed. My Rans' TAS is usually around 136mph at altitude (8k feet...150mph-ish around 16k). Without wheel pants (my preferred way of flying right now), IAS is usually around 120mph.
2. Being able to do some Short Takeoff and Landing work. I don't have a need to land in 100ft, but I do want to be able to land on a mesa, washes, forests, and all kinds of neat areas. So...probably <500 feet?
3. Tons of visibility in the cockpit! Being able to see the horizon helps a bunch with motion sickness.

As some secondary requirements:

1. Highwing. Partially for STOL-type work, but also so folks with mobility issues can come fly with me.
2. Cargo space. Needs to fit camping gear and a 40lb cattle dog!

I remember seeing some school planes with vortex generators to help reduce stall speeds, so maybe I can leverage something like that...

Plans

So now the question becomes: are there any plans that meet all these objectives???

Sonex Model A

The Sonex kits are pretty much the pinnacle of inexpensive kit planes. Their whole mantra seems to be around building an inexpensive sport plane.

The Model A is their legacy kit, and is smaller than the B model if I recall correctly. There's not a whole lot of info regarding folks building these at this time. Same for any spec sheets on Sonex's website.

However, Sonex does sell components as well as raw stock. So that's a pretty cool perk.

If I was looking for more of a lightly aerobatic cruiser, the Model A might be the ticket.

Zenith

Another company that's very popular with builders is Zenith. Every plane they sell - with the exception of the CH750 Super Duty...still no plans at this time - can be scratch/plans built.

Like Sonex, their kits are pretty inexpensive. However instead of pushing for aerobatics and speed, Zenith seems to like backcountry aircraft instead. Most of their line is high wings with STOL capabilities being the main offering. Their CH650 is similar to my Rans S-19 though, which is pretty darn cool.

The CH750 Cruzer looks like a winner though. It has a pretty decent cruise speed with an O-200, can land and take off in 350 feet, cargo, highwing, bubble doors, etc. I imagine with vortex generators on the main wing and elevator, it could be a pretty decent cruising STOL machine.

In fact, I found a builder with a blog who did just that! (TODO: add a link here)

Misc

The rest of the planes I filtered through Kitplanes turned up kits that I haven't ran into yet. While they're probably fine kits, I think I'm going to lean towards ones I've seen out in the wild.