In the non-certified category, I am really impressed with the LX7. Not only the design, but the attention to detail at the factory. Might be worth taking a tour. I would feel very comfortable flying one, but my overall impression is that this airplane requires a little more pilot than some of the certified planes. Just a little more complex, and maybe bites a little more at the edges of the envelope. Probably not a great first or second airplane. But for someone that has no trouble with flight discipline, staying on speed especially in the terminal environment, it is a lot of plane for the money.

Definitely would need some training to transition from a Baron not only for speed but I’ve never flown a turbine

Coming from an A36. Speed is a change. But one thing a turbine is not is complicated to operate. You have six levers. I move one in a meridian. Engine management is easy. Move lever forward till 1300 is on torque gauge. Move back at cruise. Move back more to descend.

What is your budget?

It's always puzzled me that people tend to compare prices of used certified only against building a new experimental, rather than used vs. used. A wise builder once told me that the only reason to build a plane is if you want to build a plane. If you just want a homebuilt plane, buy one someone else built. You save a bunch of time, and the going rate is typically less than the cost of the kit so you get the builder's labor for free. That's especially true at this end of the market. Given the demographic of those with the time, money and experience to build our dream planes, a higher-than-average percentage of those planes wind up on the market every year, lightly used, due to health issues. At Oshkosh, I heard of at least 3 flying Evos for sale, all at substantially less than the price quoted for a new build of either an Evo or an LX7.

No hesitation, I would get a MS.760, the ultimate twin engine, four seater, personal business aircraft.

https://www.aircraft.com/aircraft/20083 ... -paris-jet

No real budget set, just figuring what I would need to spend after the sale of the Baron.

First, you have a really nice plane and it’s one of the reasons that I’m looking at this route. I don’t suppose I would be against buying someone else’s build but honestly I am torn on this as I would love to build my own. However, time is going to be the factor on this. My mind goes down the road of things wrong with the plane when I see a low hour experimental for sale like build quality/issues. To your point I’m sure there are good ones out there people have to let go but not wanting to.

I think the Evo's are great. But I've always had some hesitation with buying someone else's homebuilt aircraft. I built an FX3 at the Cubcrafter's factory and had someone looking over my shoulder the whole way. On a factory build-assist airplane, I think the risk is low. But on a purely homebuilt aircraft, I think that the mileage may vary...

The earlier serial Evolutions were somewhere in between a garage project and a build assist but there were three incidents over 80+ airframes (I might be off a bit on these numbers) and even JMB had to do a significant review of all the parts and systems as part of their shift to a build-assist program at their factory. The used Evos on the market are cheaper than a new build for sure but the provenance isn't as clear.

To be clear, I would buy Dave's airplane tomorrow if he was selling it for 1.2-1.3 million! It's all about the builder in the end... a good inspection is key and you really have to do your homework on a used experimental. Not that I wouldn't do it, but it's not for the casual buyer in my opinion.

Cheers!

PS - I really enjoyed my factory build assist experience at Cubcrafters and would do something like that again. But I would not build an airplane from scratch on my own... I just don't have the skills and you need to be honest with yourself about that sort of thing.

A new homebuilt version of the paris JET using a JT15 would be perfect!

It would be easier to build a homebuilt Citation 501. The huge canopy of the Paris Jet is non trivial to design/build.

How about the Flaris? SEJ. It had a JT15D for the prototype, but I think they are going with FJ33 for final design.

https://flaris.pl/aircraft/

There are actually some well thought out parts of this design, like a properly aligned thrust vector (unlike SF50) and not having a stupid V tail.

Mike C.

Also, re: 'properly aligned thrust vector', I think something mounted with the engine axis & thrustline more in line with the CG will probably yield better HQ than the 'jetpack' style mounting. Serviceability concerns aside, it also looks cooler.

Check out the Stratos Jet:

https://www.stratosaircraft.com/

Stratos has been at OSH the last couple of years … it was not immediately clear to me from their booth about any real progress. I might have missed the Flaris jet but I haven’t seen them at OSH recently but I could easily have missed them ….

The Paris Jet always fascinated me.
A friend is restoring one of the German 4 seat Fouga jets called the Heinkel Potez. We ferried it back from the East Coast (debacle, lol). Has stadium seating! Fuel flow?: Oh yes!

A thing: If insurance is your type of deal it can be problematic on 4 seat turbine conversions or Experimental aircraft.

Does the Paris jet really go 400kts?

That’s a revelation.