QED II still for sale

[Slick Goodlin]

A hell of a homebuilt:
https://www.platinumfighters.com/invent ... ss-qed-ii/

Price has been reduced to $100k USD which is basically stealing though once you have it I bet she’s a real treat to feed gas to.

[Colonel]

What would it cost to build today?

Not sure I understand the constant complaints about fuel burn.

In it’s entire life it has flown less than 50 hours? At 50gph that’s a total lifetime burn of 2500 gallons so far.

I pay $5/gallon for 100LL so that’s only $12k spent on an airplane that cost a million or two to build?

Tell me where I went wrong with my arithmetic. I think we’re looking at one percent?

[Slick Goodlin]

Not sure I understand the constant complaints about fuel burn.

Because it’s a lot? I fly light airplanes for selfish reasons that don’t include (much) ego and I prefer to keep my fuel burns down so I can fly more for the same money.

While this QED II meets enough of my definition of a simple airplane that I’d just get in and go, it gets excluded from the list by virtue of looking like it’s an absolute beast. Maybe it’s a total pussycat, I’ve never flown it, but I’m guessing it’s not and it can’t be tried out before buying as I’ve heard the landing gear is disassembled pending further engineering. My best guess is it demands the kind of competence that only comes with staying very current so not only is it expensive to feed, it’s prudent to feed it often. Those are the choices that drive my decisions and others are fine to suit their own different priorities. Hell, I support that.

[Nark]

Slick:
You’re a sensible aircraft flier.

There are countless neglected aircraft at every aerodrome sound the continent, hell even in South America where I frequent… That were purchased at a reasonable price but are simply too expensive to keep.

Then you get the dumb owners who try to sell them for what they think they’re worth, not what the market bears.


Anywho… I digress.

Everyone needs multiple airplanes. Bonus if they all are airworthy!

[Colonel]

Maybe I’m wrong but this thing would get wrecked by the new owner long before they ran out of money for gas.

That’s the problem with a taildragger more challenging than a cub. The new owner is almost certain to wreck it.

Smell the Venn diagram. A tiny circle of pilots competent to fly it. A larger circle of rich twats with leather jackets and no skill. No overlap.

FWIW I tried to get people here to buy into it - I offered up cash for a decent share. Not one taker. Not one. $100k is peanuts to people here. Said hi to a buddy today, haven’t seen him in a while. Bought a Tesla Plaid for his daily driver.

PS i can never sell a taildragger. I don’t want to see it wrecked , sorry.

[Slick Goodlin]

I kind of dig it and think I could handle it in good conditions to start, slowly opening up what I’m comfortable with. Thing is, I genuinely don’t have the money even to buy a share in it right now, probably can’t even get a loan, and any resources sucked up by the QED would be hindering finishing my other plane… or starting my other other plane. Priorities, right?

Anyways, I see the lottery jackpot went up so the bad news is I didn’t win. Maybe the good news is I’ll win even more next week and can afford to buy this thing and have it shipped to someone like Steve Wolf to sort it out.

[David MacRay]

My favorite part is how that thing is well beyond over 99% of pilots and it’s the tame Gee Bee.

[Slick Goodlin]

My favorite part is how that thing is well beyond over 99% of pilots and it’s the tame Gee Bee.

I mean the tame Gee Bee would have to be an A-model, right?


Followed, I assume, by a D or E. Incidentally if I were ever offered the chance to fly either of those I’d probably pee myself with excitement.

The Super Sportsters (Z, R-1 and R-2) I guess were the scary ones but IIRC none came to grief when under the care of the Granvilles. Far as I can tell those airplanes were much better designed and built than they generally get credit for. The Z was lost to an in-flight breakup after having a much larger engine installed and a runway excursion that had a wing and fence post meet the day before the accident. Of the R-1 and R-2, one of them was lost when its umpteenth owner put an auxiliary fuel tank behind the cockpit that moved the CG so far aft it was said to climb with full stick forward until enough of that fuel weight was burned off. The original QED ended up killing its pilot when a loose rag in the cowl got sucked into the carb. None of these things had anything to do with the original designs of the airplane. They were made to be world class fast airplanes (which they were) and it turns out they were owned and operated by people who were always in a hurry.

I think with some respect for what they are any of these airplanes could be lived with in our modern world. Runways are smoother and longer than they used to be, and there are no max performance-based goals worth pursuing so you’re not stuck racing weather/night, adding tankage in weird places, or using 1500 foot dirt strips at full MTOW.

This QED II looks like it wants you to fly from a long runway on a nice day, know enough about the engine and fuel system that it doesn’t quit, and probably wheel land it. At least in lieu of talking to someone who’s flown it that’s what I’d start with.

[Colonel]

Wheel landing a radial engine is my happy place.

Lower the tail slowly and all will be good.

[Slick Goodlin]

To date I’ve had precisely one (1) wheel landing I was happy with. Luckily all the others shaped up better than whatever happened with that poor Waco.