Musings - why build an airplane, and what to build?

In the spring of 2003 I got bit by the homebuilt-airplane bug. According to "them what has done it already," the first step in building an airplane is to decide:

• Why I want to build an airplance in the first place
• What kind of flying I intend to do in the airplane
• What kind of airplane to build

Here's what I think I want, and why:

• Closed canopy - Open-cockpit flying is romantic and all, but I live in Minnesota. 'nuff said.
  
  
• Wooden construction - All the normal reasons for building with "nature's composite" apply - strength, light weight, low cost, forgiving, smells nice, etc. Also, I've worked with metal, wood, and composites (non-aviation related) and of the three I'd rather trust my life to my woodworking skills.
  
  
• Low wing monoplane - I've flown in and helped rig a Stearman. Biplanes are neat-looking, but there's twice as much wing to build, visibility is limited, and rigging is a pain. Most of my flying time is in high-wing planes. The cabin is shady and you can see the ground well - important in VFR pilotage - but I don't like the poor visibility in turns. So, I'm leaning toward a low-wing design (pardon the pun).
  
  
• Two place aircraft - though I may consider building a single-seat, as there are a LOT more options, and the cost is significantly lower. My wife does not like to fly, not even in commercial jets. (Her only failing.) So we're probably not going to spend our golden years putting across the sky in search of the perfect airport burger. The kids like the idea of flying, but there are four of them. So if we take family trips, it's in the van. (I've no particular desire to fly twins, anyway.) So family transportation is not the goal - it's boring holes in the sky, doing loop-de-loops, and eating fly-in pancakes. I think I'd like the option to have company.
  
  
• Middling performance - say, a 150 kt cruise, with a 60 kt clean stall, stressed for +6/-3g. I don't need 250 kts in the flight levels, and I don't intend to perform competition aerobatics, but I do want to be able to outpace the interstate in a moderate headwind, and do a few loops and rolls if the notion strikes.
  
  
• Low price - quality, performance, price: pick any two. I know, I know. But with four kids and an engineer's salary, I just can't afford a $50,000 airplane. Ideally, I'd like to get airborne for $20k or less. Wooden construction and a VFR-only panel will go a long way in this regard. A VW or Corvair engine will reduce costs, too, but it may not be possible to fly two people on 100 hp. The engine choice is going to be a biggie - in many ways.

And why do I want to spend several years, thousands of hours, and thousands of dollars building a flying machine, with the ultimate goal of placing my life literally in my hands? I have no good answer, except that I think that I can do this great thing - with my own hands construct a machine that will enable me to slip the surly bonds of earth and soar on laughter-silvered wings. Pretty good for a mortal.

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