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SO
YOU WANT AN AEROBATIC AIRPLANE?
Rob Dorsey IAC 389
Let's face it. The task of choosing an acrobatic airplane is a fantastically
daunting one. Faced with the myriad of choices and the
economic fact that few of us can afford what we really want, it is
a wonder that more of us don't just walk away. While it would be pre-sumptuous, bordering on
impudent, to attempt to cover such abroad subject in any sort of
comprehensive way in a magazine article, we can at least try to
give you some guidance for starting the search and perhaps some
food for thought.
Ask Yourself Some Questions
However, before you even pickup your first copy of Trade-A-Plane, you desperately need
to make a few decisions. Whatever you do, don't treat these
lightly. You will be stuck with the out-come and 'airplane hopping" is
a particularly expensive way to find out what you really want.
What are your ambitions? Are you interested in a recreational,
multi-use airplane for weekend flying or do you see yourself
interested in competition and, if so, to what level?
What are your skills? Since money is always an issue, there is
a bit of a trap laid for the newbie in that some of the most
attractive and affordable acrobatic mounts, headed by the Pitts S-1series of
homebuilts, are
demanding and unforgiving both on the ground and in the air. If you
have no tailwheel time, be prepared for a significant transition to
master these little monsters. If you do, however, the rewards in bang
for the buck are significant.
Do you need a two-place airplane? The cost goes up rapidly in
the move from single to dual seat configuration. Weigh the added
utility against the costs and don't be overly swayed by the
facade of making your wife think that it's really for both of
you.
Are you interested in building your own airplane? Don't even
consider it if you think that you will save either time or
money. Most homebuilts are sold for less that the sum of their parts and
NO credit is paid for your wonderful craftsmanship. Also, if you sell your homebuilt there are
some significant legal liabilities that go along with sale, so
assume that you will never be able to sell your creation unless you are
so well off that you can fight off litigation arising from a
post-sale accident or you are judgment proof. This is not
paranoia. So long as we live in a society that believes if you
stick a screwdriver in your eye, then Stanley tool company
should make you and all of your relatives wealthy, there
exists a danger of loosing the farm to the estate of that fool
who decided to try his first snaproll on takeoff in your airplane.
Instead, build if you have an enduring dream, you want to realize
that dream and building is the only may do it. Building allows you
to customize your airplane to the max but you will probably
need to live with the results.
Do you feel that you need a certificated airplane? Personally I
have owned quite a few homebuilts which I purchased rather
than built and generally found the quality to be equal to or better than factory. (Did you know,
for instance, that factory Pitts have galvanized steel firewalls?
Most homebuilts have stainless.) But if you have thoughts of
instructing in your airplane or renting it out, under the current rules, you
need a certificated airplane.
So, we can distill it down to a few good rules:
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Be honest with yourself about your skills and abilities.
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Have realistic goals.
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Make the decision early whether you want a single- or two-place airplane.
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Don't be afraid of building but do be aware of the time
required to complete your dream, then double it.
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Unless you are dedicated to cost control, building can cost
as much or even more than a flying airplane.
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If purchasing a homebuilt, have a pre-purchase inspection
done by someone competent and familiar with the type.
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As the acrobatic capability of an aircraft increases, its
suitability for other uses decreases. Don't expect a multi-role aircraft to
be hyper-aerobatic. Likewise don't expect a world-beater to be suit-able for weekend touring.
The job here is to be honest with yourself. I personally have
known folks who have spent years building their "dream"
airplane only to be disappointed, either by performance or handling qualities
or both.
Homebuilts
Amateur built aircraft, built either by you or someone else,
perhaps offer the greatest value per dollar in an acrobatic
air-plane as long as the construction and finish are kept to
at least production aircraft standards. And, if you build it,
you are the IA! You can do your own maintenance and annuals.
If you have the yearning, (and the skills) you can also design
your own aircraft (as we did) or modify an existing design.
Homebuilding provides a freedom of expression that production
airplanes don't, if you're up to the task.
Trying
to cover the range of successful, acrobatic homebuilts would
take far more space than allocated here. But, you might
consider a couple of suggestions. The classic Steen Skybolt
is, if properly built, a safe and able first acrobatic
airplane. In he larger engine versions it is capable of flying
through the Advanced category of competition, although
probably not competitively, and is docile and without any bad
habits. Prices are very reasonable and it pro-vides two place
utility coupled with decent cross-country speed. The second
seat is often a requisite for selling the owner-ship idea to
that significant other. Other biplanes like the EAA Acrosport
II and Stolp Acroduster II are similar incapability and
performance. The Skybolt may carry a slight edge, though,
since it shares the same airfoils on its upper and lower wings
with the Pitts.
The new
generation of kit air-planes with at least some aerobatic
capability like the Van's series of all metal monoplanes,
offer the recreational acrobatic pilot a fine cross country
machine with short field potential. They are capable of
recreational aerobatics in careful hands but their clean
airframes which provide all that speed and efficiency, coupled
with light, responsive controls can lead to overstresses if
rough hands encounter a blown maneuver or split-S.
Factory
Built
New or older, certificated air-planes offer the utility of
being able to be used for instruction at the cost of the
regulatory requirement that almost all work on the airplane be
done by an A&P plus the added joy of trying to find a
qualified IA for the annual. Factory built air-planes also
tend to offer higher resale and value retention.
Any discussion of factory built airplanes, of course, brings
to mind two groups, the Pitts series of single- and two-place
biplanes and the Citabria/Decathlon family of high wing
monoplanes. These airplanes could not be more different in
performance or flying qualities. The Citabria and Decathlon
designs based on the old Aeronca Champ 7-AC are docile
trainers capable of com-petition with good cross-country
capability. They also have excellent investment value. I
personally bought a 1974 Decathlon in 1978 for $16,400 and that
same airplane, wearing the same fabric and with a 1,000+ hour
engine is bringing close to three times that amount!
The Pitts series of biplanes, which includes both single and
two seat versions, are capable of Unlimited level aerobatics
but at the price of much more demanding pilot skills. The
Pitts also retains its value well.
Vintage
Aircraft
Mostly biplanes, reeking with nostalgia and the joy of
parts hunting, the vintage types offer the pride of owning a
piece of aviation history coupled with safe, low-G,
challenging aerobatics. Fun to own and fun to fly, these old
birds often make the perfect choice as a multi-role airplane.
The most obvious
types are the Stearmans and Wacos which were produced in such
large numbers. These have the advantage of being able to
scratch three itches. They are aerobatics, antique warbirds.
They allow the owner to fit into all three categories of sport
aviation including competition through the Sportsman level-in
all a good choice.
 On the
edge of the availability circle are the fantastic Bücker
Jüngman and Jungmeister. These are the best of the vintage
aerobatic types and have handling qualities that set them
apart from all others. The Bückers, products of the marvelous
mind of Carl Bücker who designed the two for the German
Eierman Luftsportzenbande (sport flying clubs) in the
mid-thirties, they became the Luftwaffe's primary trainer
throughout the war. They were built by the Czechs and Spanish,
as well the Germans, and therefore can occasionally be found.
Most American Bückers have been
converted to a Lycoming four cylinder engine for added power
utility and, while both of those goals are achieved, the
lovely lines of the inline European engined version are
changed.
While on
the subject of vintage European biplanes we must mention the
Belgian Stampe. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, this two-place,
all wood-trainer won the hearts of the entire continent and
even today the center of a dedicated aerobatic competition,
the Coupe D'Anjou, a contest in France for Stampes only. Soft,
docile, and easy to fly, the Stampe is an excellent choice for
an entry level acrobatic airplane. If you want to see some
Stampe flying, rent a copy of the film High Road to China, in
which two Stamps masquerading as WWI Fighters, flit all over
the Hindu Kush. They were flown in the film by Eric Miller and
David Perrin (who lost his life during filming in a liaison
helicopter accident).
In this class, too, fall the wonderful clipped wing Cubs and
Taylorcrafts. These modification of classic American light
lanes are our best offerings for maximum bang for the buck inn
acrobatic mount.
Foreign
Aircraft
With the break up and democratization of the former Soviet
Union, the West suddenly found a number of wonderful aerobatic
airplanes available at reasonable prices. These magnificent
machines are capable, exotic, and fine examples of an all-out
state effort in engineering and manufacturing, and resigned to
WIN. They are, however, not U.S. certificated and as such must
be licensed in the Experimental Exhibition category which
carries with it some restrictions. Experimental Exhibition
aircraft are operated under Operations Specifications issued
by the FAA. At the very least you can expect a "practice
area" out of which you may not venture without notifying
your local FSDO. These are normally quite large, 300 nautical
miles in radius or so and the notification can range from
dropping them an e-mail or fax to advise of your plans to a
formal request for approval.
Rarely,
some Operations Specifications have allowed a tiny practice
area or a 50 mile radius but that is not the rule. Still, the
utility of your air-plane will, to some extent, hinge on the
deal you cut with the FAA inspector who grants your Ops Specs.
But, don't be dissuaded. All the Yak 55s and Zlins are
operated under these certificates and the FAA has become more
reasonable on the lower powered (under 800 hp) foreign
aircraft.
The higher
performance vintage acrobatic types like the wonderful Zlin
226, 326, and526 series of airplanes can be flown through
Advanced although generally outclassed as many in this
category are flying world-class plastic. We used to use the
metaphor "iron" in talking about our airplanes but
it now hardly seems fitting.
We cannot
possibly cover the myriad of choices in such a short time, We
can only give you enough information to ask informed
questions. IAC is here to provide you with some answers. We
have, within our membership ranks, hundreds of years of
combined experience in just these types of airplanes. You have
but to ask.
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