I spent a considerable amount of time considering the various Vans aircraft when I decided that going experimental might be the best option. Honestly, I didn't really consider any of the other brands, though - mostly because the popularity of the Vans kits meant tremendous resources both online and in my local EAA chapter - resources I was sure I would need.
Van's site does an excellent job of addressing the very real question of which Vans to build by taking site visitors through a decision tree of sorts that focuses on narrowing down the mission
1) Do you need four seats?
Maybe? It's not so much of a need as it is the fact that two seats or four seats will define the mission itself. I have a wife and twin (currently) nine-year olds. When I joined my current flying club I had visions that we would take a lot more family trips via GA than we've ended up doing. A couple of problems have limited this - namely: 1) Even with an instrument rating, I've had a lot of weather cancellations in the last six-months; 2) My flying club is so large that you have to book way in advance to get a plane - and sometimes things change while you're waiting, or they schedule maintenance over your trip; 3) My kids get motion sick very easy - and I'm not sure they even really enjoy flying.
They both got sick about 30-seconds after I took this photo
That being said, two-seats really limits the mission. Now if we do a trip we can't all go. Or of I have a couple who wants to go with my wife and I, I have to rent a plane. Also, we have a 10-month old, 50lbs dog - am I going to board him every time I want to take a trip? Seems like two-seats makes my flying recreational, whereas four-seats are required to make the airplane what I want it - a traveling machine.
2) Side by side or tandem?
I'm sure tandem is cool and all, but it's not my preference. I like having my right seater next to me - easier to involve them as a crew member and more enjoyable all the way around.
3) Do you want to do acrobatics?
Not really. Stalls and spins weren't my favorite part of training, and I'm primarily looking for a cross country flyer - not a roller coaster alternative. I appreciate folks who like aerobatics, and wouldn't mind doing some aerobatic training at some point, but not part of my mission.
4) Cross country flying or local barnstorming?
Maybe it's the fact that I've wanted to be an airline pilot since I was a kid, but my enjoyment in flying comes from completing a trip. Taking off from once place and landing another - hopefully in a more efficient and timely manner than driving.
While I usually end up doing more local flying practicing approaches or touch-and-go's, that's only to stay current and fresh so I can do more cross country flying. Sure, cruise flight can be boring, but since my mission is to transport us to interesting places where the point of destination in my logbook is different than the point of origin, I'd prefer a long distance flyer - preferably a fast one.
Based on these criteria, I had pretty much narrowed it to either the two-seater -9 or the four-seater -10. More on that decision in a subsequent post.
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