Re: Now Hear This. This Group Is Linux Advocacy.

On Tue, 24 Jun 2025 15:12:53 -0400, -hh wrote:

IIRC, the common appeal of the kit airplanes was because of their much
lower purchase price.  Apparently, much of the cost savings is because
of lower liability insurance overhead:  in the event of aircraft
failure, the kit company is able to pass it off on the DIY assembler.

It's up to the builder to get the air worthiness certificate which can be
a PITA. Considering a new Cessna 172 starts at $400,000 saving can be
attractive. They haven't made 152s in 40 years but even a timed out 45
year old 152 is going to run $60,000+.

It's too bad the sport pilot classification turned out to be a flop. That
may have been by design. The maximum gross takeoff weight seemed to have
been carefully selected to screen out 150s and Tomahawk, leaving even more
elderly taildraggers eligible. Cessna's 162 fizzled and I don't know how
many are left in the new market. I believe a home built can classify as a
LSA and be flown with the sport pilot ticket.