Hi I not too long ago finished building a Mini Max which started out life with the thought of being a Hi Max but the owner stopped, I got it, made it an open cockpit flat top Max, and sold it. Now I am looking at the information sheets on a CA-2 which bears a lot of resemblance to what a flat topped open cockpit Max made out of metal would look like. It is all aluminum with flat lines, no curves, need only a sheet metal brake and tubing bender. I am going to price out the materials list to approximate what it would cost for just the aluminum in this crazy world we are in. The plane is supposed to be modest in performance, docile, safe, and supposedly can make weight with as much as a Kawasaki 440. I am sure not that many of these were built but I was wondering if any of you folks have had any experience with one.
I am not familiar with it so did a little googlin'. Looks like 250 lbs with a Rotax 277. Isn't that 5 lbs over legal? Also looks like the Kawasaki WILL be over weight.
"The prototype is powered by a Rotax 277. Heavier engines can be installed on the CA-2, however, the aircraft will no longer meet US FAR 103 weight requirements for ultralight vehicles. Other engines used include the Rotax 377, Rotax 447, 1/2 VW, Hirth F-33, Kawasaki 340 and Kawasaki 440-2A."
I'd be curious to hear what your material estimate comes out to.....no, maybe not, I cant afford to build another plane.
I don't think the plans for the CA-2 are currently being offered. The Wikipedia page for the airplane describes it being sold by various companies over the years. The link to the official website goes to an archived page. The website is defunct.
The plans are available from Adams Aeronautics, $150, I had asked them to send me the bill of materials so I could approximate pricing, they sent along a nice introductory greeting and info pack. I have not gotten far in the pricing out of materials yet, long sheets of thin aluminum is the logistic issue, can be done, sent rolled apparently. Aluminum is like everything else in this covid/post covid era, pricing has gone crazy. My interest was mostly in the building methodology, pretty much all riveted and bolted aluminum with no compound curves. Other than that the plane is very much like an open cockpit flat topped Max. I probably will shy away from it for the reason it is the same as the open cockpit Max i have already done in terms of design, performances, open cockpit issues, engine choices.
Metal prices and shipping is nutz today. And wasnt there a big price hike in metal 10 years ago, and the excuse was something like "China is experiencing a building boom and buying up all the steel".
I've heard a saying about real estate pricing...."If you dont like the cost today, wait ten years, you will love it." I guess we could substitute "real estate" with metal, aviation, or anything really. If only wages could keep up with inflation, grrr.
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