Homebuilt Aircraft and Maintenace
I am toying with buying a completed homebuilt. I've got a pretty good feel for Insurance and Tie-down costs. I'm looking for expert opinion on the following:
My two big questions are performing regular and annual maintenance, and using auto gas.
1. I believe if you are the original builder, you can perform any maintenance on an aircraft. For the annual, it must be signed-off by an A&P.
But what if you buy one built by another?
2. I'm interested in using auto gas. This would be for either an O-320 or -360 Lycoming. I know an STC is available, but have been told that for Expeimentals, the STC is not required.
Multiple sources say that any Ethanol is a strict no-no, as it can disolve sealants either in the fuel tank or carburetor.
Unfortunately, many sources say that state governments are passing laws to require all auto-gas to contain Ethanol within the next 5 years. Ostensibly to "make us green," it is really the lobbying power of Archer-Daniels-Midlands.
So, do people think there will be a continued source of non-ethanol fuel?
This plane would be for commuting (when weather was good), and I would put about 200 hours a year on it. Besides overhead such as insurance, tie-down, and TBO, own-maintenance and auto gas gets it down into the $65-70 an hour to operate. But, with AVGAS and A&P for all maintenance, it starts to get into the $90-100 an hour range, and I can't really rationalize it.