Why a Harmon Rocket?

Admittedly, an HR-II is a big step up from an RV-9A, which I built in 2006.  I love flying the RV-9A which is an excellent x-country machine.  I have found, however, that more than 50% of my flight hours are in formation and I don't go long distances x-country.  This puts me squarely  into the "fly for fun, not for transportation" category.  So the HR-II is for even more fun!  As a tandem, it will be better for formation work and the extra horsepower can't hurt.

But let's get serious.  There is no justification for having an expensive, fuel guzzling airplane.  I'm using it as a mule for several avionics devices I am developing, but that's just an excuse to build another airplane.  I like to build, I like to fly and I like to design avionics stuff.  I'm already planning my third aircraft project.

I bought the HR-II as a work in progress from a gentleman who had 10 years into it.  He took it to the stage where some important customization decisions had to be made, then stopped.  This was perfect for me.  I had no desire to put 10 years into a project to get it to the quickbuild stage, and the F1 Rocket (QB only) was out of production.  Ironically, I searched the entire world for a kit like this.  I ended up finding it less than a mile from my house!  Karma, me thinks.

Milestones

• November 11, 2008.  Purchased HR-II kit.  Project is at quickbuild state and inspected by MD-RA.  Builder lived less than a mile from my home, and after scouring the world for a project in this state of completion, I found it nearby.  So far, so good.