The Fullfillment of Perfection

With a fuel price of $7.40 a gallon for AVGAS, flying become unaffordable in Germany. There is tax on AVGAS, it was invented about 20 years ago. General aviation is declining in our country. There is some homebuilt activity but compared to many other countries Germany is of secondary importance.

If somebody plans to build an airplane, the German Experimental Association OUV takes care of the homebuilder. There are similar constraints and restrictions; the process of certifying a homebuilt is somewhat different.

We have to present a flight handbook in German language because you can sell your airplane and the new owner may not be able to read the manual. The Sequoia handbook is perfect and the translation is easy with today’s tools. In addition, I added electrical drawings and technical schematics including pictures of the instruments controls, etc. The manual has to be according GAMA specification.

My Falco has empty weight of 1,313 lbs. Omitting the inverted oil and fuel system, full wheel well doors including clamshell doors for the nose wheel and lighter interior lining would save some weight. The wood inside is completely sealed with polyurethane. Saving at least 50 lbs would be possible, but I rather keep my own weight down so we both look good.

I planned to fly after five years building time. I missed the target quite a bit. Actual building time was around seven years. A few weeks ago, I started with high-speed taxi tests, on two occasions I was intentionally airborne for about five seconds.