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Hi Bob,
Sorry.. I did forget to mention that I'm eyeing the 20B figuring that the XL5 needs something in or near the 300 HP range.
As for the build time.. I'm figuring 2-3 years. Maybe optimistic.. maybe not. I figured 2000 hours over 730 days (2 years) which comes out to ~2.75 hours/day. In reality I won't work on the plane every day. The day long to week long business trips that happen occasionally will get in the way, also family time, other administrative time, and lets not forget the occasional trip to Afghanistan that comes in at about 12 days minimum which all take away from build time. On the other side, my work situation is such that there are periods where we're as busy as can be, and periods where we're sitting around watching the winds blow through the trees. I get paid the same regardless of what happens. Right now we're in a slow period but it's rapidly ramping up and we'll continue to be strong through at least March of next year and likely later. The point is that when I'm at work with not much to do that I can use that time to work on the airplane as well and hopefully offset the periods where I don't have much time to work on it. I've read the stories of people taking 8 or 10 years (or more) to finish their planes, and I've read (less) stories of people completing their planes in a few years. I'm going to be optimistic and hope for the few years scenario. If it goes longer, there's not much I'm going to do about that and I accept that the possibility, maybe even likelihood, exists.
Thanks for the suggestion on the quick-build kit. I've been eyeing that possibility. I need to firm up the design of the plane first before deciding if I have the budget to do the quick-build. I'm looking at hopefully starting in a bit less than a year from now.
I'll definitely check out the other lists. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Cheers,
Ryan
On Oct 20, 2009, at 6:16 PM, btilley@mchsi.com wrote:
Ryan'
Welcome to the flyrotary list!? You didn't mention your engine choice so I have to "assume" it's a rotary. Are you here to choose which rotary will best fit your needs? You have a couple years to decide if you are going to be building an XL5. That seems like a good fit for your needs. Here (Rotary list) you will probably need a 3 rotor or a 2 rotor that is pushed near it's limits. But since you have a couple years you could wait for the new 16X engine that Mazda is supposed to be bringing out.
Now to the XL5, You should join the Canard Aviators list along with the many Velocity lists. You will find a lot of good info there. You also sound like you want to "get her done" sooner than I think what will be possible. You should seriously consider buying a partially completed project. If I were starting with the info I have now I would probably go that route. Hope this helps!
Bob Tilley
Cozy MKIV
Albany, Ga
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