RVBottomly
PATRON
Asotin County Washington (KLWS)
I’m a new guy here with a serious problem. First, a short bit of background:
I got my private pilot license in 1983 when I was a dreamer and a rancher in Montana. I learned in a Tomahawk and that was fun enough, but I was smitten by tail draggers. I got to fly a Super Cub but, even then, I couldn’t afford it. I almost bought a Citabria 7ECA with a mighty (or mitey?) O-200, but in summers it made even a Tomahawk look like a rocket. I would spend Saturday mornings reading the yellow Trade-A-Plane and talking airplanes. I then almost bought a Taylorcraft.
But the ag business was real hard in the mid to late 80s—back to back droughts, etc. I never lost money, but I rarely netted over $4 or 5 thousand in a year. I was custom haying and harvesting on the side, and I spent some time working with an aerial applicator, which led to me flying an Ag-Wagon (not commercially) for a little bit. The owner was trying to sell his business to me, and I almost went for it before he crashed. Flying eventually fell by the wayside. I then had a tractor accident in early summer of 88 and spent the rest of it watching the crops burn up while my leg healed. So I applied to law school.
Here it is more than 25 years later. I’ve been a big-city lawyer and now I’m a small town public defender in Eastern Washington. And I’ve got the flying bug back and it won’t go away.
My medical is scheduled in two weeks and I’m in good health. I’ve got a BFR (in my case it should be a bi-decade flight review) scheduled next month. My trial schedule has been insane and I’m scaling all of that back so I can fly some.
So here’s the problem: I’m an inveterate project builder. I finished a 20 foot wooden fishing boat last January after a year’s worth of part-time work. My wife and I have been fishing essentially every week since January 2017. It’s very fun. But I don’t have a project now.
When I realized I had the flying bug back, I started innocently looking at kits. The Zenith CH 750 looked enticing, especially for my projected “mission” of taking my wife fishing to some of the Idaho lakes nearby. The various cub kits looked perfect, but too expensive. Then I stumbled on Marty’s 2+2 Wagaero and Christian Sturm’s Super Cub, and I felt the unmistakable pain of a firmly-set hook in my jaw.
So, I’ve ordered Wag Aero plans, I already have the Northland drawings, I’ve spent a huge number of hours reading forums, I’ve even started making space in my shop to fiddle with making wood spars (just to see what it’s like, nothing serious….). I used to be a pretty good Oxy-Acetylene welder and I have tanks and torches.
Wait, STOP. What am I getting into. I don’t even know what I’m building!
So, that’s help request number one: is there any cure for this silly urge?
Issue number two is more specific: I love the Super Cub, but I’m set on side-by-side seating so my wife can see what’s going on. I vacillate between a 2+2 Sportsman and a Wagabond Traveller design. If I went with the 2+2, I’d make it a 2-place. I like the idea of the longer wing and I’d probably go for 150 hp.
But the Wagabond has its charm, is lighter and probably a bit less expensive to run. It reminds me of that Taylorcraft I longed for in the 80s. But…will it do as well in higher density altitude grass strips?
So, if anyone cares to, help me out. First, talk me down from this madness. Second, tell me, if you know, is a 2+2 much harder in the long run than a Wagabond Traveler?
I got my private pilot license in 1983 when I was a dreamer and a rancher in Montana. I learned in a Tomahawk and that was fun enough, but I was smitten by tail draggers. I got to fly a Super Cub but, even then, I couldn’t afford it. I almost bought a Citabria 7ECA with a mighty (or mitey?) O-200, but in summers it made even a Tomahawk look like a rocket. I would spend Saturday mornings reading the yellow Trade-A-Plane and talking airplanes. I then almost bought a Taylorcraft.
But the ag business was real hard in the mid to late 80s—back to back droughts, etc. I never lost money, but I rarely netted over $4 or 5 thousand in a year. I was custom haying and harvesting on the side, and I spent some time working with an aerial applicator, which led to me flying an Ag-Wagon (not commercially) for a little bit. The owner was trying to sell his business to me, and I almost went for it before he crashed. Flying eventually fell by the wayside. I then had a tractor accident in early summer of 88 and spent the rest of it watching the crops burn up while my leg healed. So I applied to law school.
Here it is more than 25 years later. I’ve been a big-city lawyer and now I’m a small town public defender in Eastern Washington. And I’ve got the flying bug back and it won’t go away.
My medical is scheduled in two weeks and I’m in good health. I’ve got a BFR (in my case it should be a bi-decade flight review) scheduled next month. My trial schedule has been insane and I’m scaling all of that back so I can fly some.
So here’s the problem: I’m an inveterate project builder. I finished a 20 foot wooden fishing boat last January after a year’s worth of part-time work. My wife and I have been fishing essentially every week since January 2017. It’s very fun. But I don’t have a project now.
When I realized I had the flying bug back, I started innocently looking at kits. The Zenith CH 750 looked enticing, especially for my projected “mission” of taking my wife fishing to some of the Idaho lakes nearby. The various cub kits looked perfect, but too expensive. Then I stumbled on Marty’s 2+2 Wagaero and Christian Sturm’s Super Cub, and I felt the unmistakable pain of a firmly-set hook in my jaw.
So, I’ve ordered Wag Aero plans, I already have the Northland drawings, I’ve spent a huge number of hours reading forums, I’ve even started making space in my shop to fiddle with making wood spars (just to see what it’s like, nothing serious….). I used to be a pretty good Oxy-Acetylene welder and I have tanks and torches.
Wait, STOP. What am I getting into. I don’t even know what I’m building!
So, that’s help request number one: is there any cure for this silly urge?
Issue number two is more specific: I love the Super Cub, but I’m set on side-by-side seating so my wife can see what’s going on. I vacillate between a 2+2 Sportsman and a Wagabond Traveller design. If I went with the 2+2, I’d make it a 2-place. I like the idea of the longer wing and I’d probably go for 150 hp.
But the Wagabond has its charm, is lighter and probably a bit less expensive to run. It reminds me of that Taylorcraft I longed for in the 80s. But…will it do as well in higher density altitude grass strips?
So, if anyone cares to, help me out. First, talk me down from this madness. Second, tell me, if you know, is a 2+2 much harder in the long run than a Wagabond Traveler?
Last edited: