There are not many homebuilt aircraft designed for short takeoff
and landings. In fact there's not many true STOL aircraft out there
period with performance that can make them really useful for mixed
missions. Here are the aircraft that I short listed yet failed to
meet my criteria. These are good aircraft and are a good choice
for anyone considering STOL missions. Noted below each are the
reasons I rejected the aircraft and also the most compelling features
of the plane. I considered carefully my intended purpose but did not
let that exclude other aircraft worthy of investigation.
Avid Magnum
The Avid range are great planes but there are
ongoing problems with the supply of kits and plans. The company
has moved recently and I'm not sure they are going to reappear.
Still the guys flying Avids love them and I think they are a good
design of a bit small for us taller units. Update: 2005 Airdale is now supporting some of
the Avid designs so check them out.
Murphy Maverick Great little plane by all accounts but too
small for my mission. Only a small two seater and available only
as a kit. Very good STOL and an extended wing option for even
better performance.
BushCaddy series Great looking planes. Would be near
the top of my list but for the fact they are relatively new to the
market and are also only sold as a kitset. If I had the money I
would definitely take a closer look. Closest thing to a Cessna
180 would be the L164
yet it probably performs better than the Cessna!
Piper SuperCub variants Cub
Crafters New Cubs - Expensive as all heck and still a
genuine Cub SmithAviation
- Greatquality kits
at very reasonable prices. North Star - Another
evolution of the SuperCub design. A very good one by all accounts
but not a plans built and its still essentially a SC.
Don't get me wrong but the Cub is too slow and light for longer flights
in windy conditions. The airfoil will never let the plane fly
much faster and I don't enjoy too much tandem seating. Please
don't flame me I LOVE cubs but
not for this application!
Slepcev
Storch - Now kit only but a neat plane with great STOL
characteristics. No good for those longer flights though and also
very tricky to land in windy conditions apparently.
Zenith 701
& 801 STOL The Zenith 701 STOL is a unique aircraft
built for very short field missions. I have spent a lot of time
looking at the 701 and had pretty much settled on it as my
aircraft. I viewed an example of the 701 and came away quite
dissapointed as there were a couple of things I just couldn't live
with. While the cockpit size can be jigged about a bit by moving
seats etc. I hit my head when I entered the cockpit and my knees hit
the instrument panel. I wasn't sure I could satisfactorally alter
those things. The other thing that really became an issue is the
lack of airspeed in cruise. In New Zealand you have to fly in the
wind or you don't fly at all. The 701 could be flown backwards in
a serious wind without trouble. It has a very low stall speed but
its cruise at around 100 MPH could be a real problem if you hit a head
wind.
Bearhawk
Patrol
The Patrol is another of Bobs designs that is being redesigned for the
LSA category also. Its a tandem 2 seater with better than Cub
performance and lots of endurance. Visit the website for the
details but I had decided to go with the 4 seater by the time I had
really taken a good look at the Patrol. For another mission I
would not hesitate to build this machine though.
