The Case for Thinking Bigger
The RV-9A is an excellent aircraft. The Long-EZ is efficient beyond what its horsepower should allow. But there’s a tier of aircraft above both — designs that deliver 200+ mph cruise, retractable gear, serious useful load, and the kind of cross-country capability that turns a weekend trip into a genuine travel tool rather than a fun excursion. South Shore Flyers is considering whether our founding members want to play in that tier.
Three aircraft define this category for us: the Glasair III (experimental), the Velocity (experimental canard), and the Beechcraft Bonanza V-tail (certified). Each is a serious machine. Each demands more of its pilots. And each delivers more in return.
Glasair III: The Composite Thoroughbred
The Glasair III was introduced by Stoddard-Hamilton (now Glasair Aviation) in the late 1980s and immediately established a performance benchmark in the kit aircraft world that few designs have since surpassed. It is a composite, low-wing, retractable-gear aircraft that looks fast sitting still — and is.
Performance numbers (IO-360 or IO-540 engine):
- Cruise speed: 195–220 mph (170–191 knots) at 75% power — class-leading for a two-seat kitbuilt
- Fuel burn: 9–11 gph at cruise with the IO-360; 11–14 gph with IO-540
- Range: 900–1,200 nm
- Useful load: 600–700 lbs in a well-built example
- Seating: Two, side-by-side
At 200 mph, KMGC to Oshkosh is 65 minutes. KMGC to Mackinac Island is 75 minutes. KMGC to Cleveland is under 90 minutes. The Glasair III compresses the Great Lakes corridor into something that genuinely competes with commercial aviation time for regional trips, without TSA lines or connection anxiety.
The aircraft’s composite construction is well-understood by the Glasair community, and Glasair Aviation continues to support the entire product line. The Glasair Owners and Builders Association (GOBA) provides a strong technical community, and the used market has flying examples with known histories. Build quality varies — inspecting any used Glasair requires a composite-experienced A&P — but well-built examples are excellent aircraft.
Velocity: The Four-Seat Canard at Speed
The Velocity is a canard pusher design from Velocity Aircraft in Sebastian, Florida — a larger, more cabin-friendly evolution of the Long-EZ concept that accommodates four adults in reasonable comfort. It is one of the few canard designs that takes the Long-EZ’s efficiency and applies it to a genuinely practical family aircraft format.
Performance numbers (IO-360 or turbocharged TSIO-360):
- Cruise speed: 180–210 mph depending on engine choice
- Fuel burn: 9–12 gph at cruise
- Range: 900–1,400 nm with standard or extended tanks
- Useful load: 900–1,100 lbs — the most generous in this comparison
- Seating: Four, in two side-by-side rows
The Velocity’s useful load advantage is significant. With four adults and bags, the numbers still work. For a flying club that wants to accommodate members flying with families and wants genuine four-person cross-country capability, the Velocity is the only experimental in this comparison that delivers it credibly.
The Velocity carries the operational considerations common to all canard designs — CG discipline, type-specific landing technique, checkout requirements — plus the added complexity of its larger composite airframe. Velocity Aircraft offers factory build assistance and has a supportive owner community. Kit pricing and used aircraft availability are more constrained than the RV market.
Bonanza V-Tail: The Certified Option
No aircraft in general aviation history is more loaded with mythology than the Beechcraft Bonanza V-tail. The type has been in continuous production since 1947 — the longest production run of any aircraft in history — and it spent decades acquiring the unfair nickname “doctor killer” for accident patterns that, properly analyzed, have far more to do with pilot behavior than aircraft design.
The V-tail Bonanza (Models 35 through V35B, produced through 1982) is a retractable-gear, high-performance certified single that in a well-maintained example delivers:
- Cruise speed: 175–195 mph depending on year and engine
- Fuel burn: 12–15 gph at cruise — the highest in this comparison
- Range: 700–1,000 nm
- Useful load: 900–1,100 lbs
- Seating: Four to five, with a rear bench
As a certified aircraft, the Bonanza operates under different rules than the experimentals. Annual inspections are full FAA annuals. Avionics upgrades require STCs. Owner-performed maintenance is limited. Insurance for high-performance complex certified aircraft requires specific training documentation. The total cost of ownership is higher than for comparable experimentals.
The “doctor killer” reputation deserves direct address: statistically, the Bonanza’s accident history reflects the characteristics of its typical pilot population (high-income, high-confidence, often instrument-rated, often pushing weather) more than any design flaw. A club with structured checkout requirements, recurrency standards, and a safety culture built from the start is not the accident profile the statistics describe. Well-trained pilots fly Bonanzas safely every day.
The practical question for South Shore Flyers is whether the certified aircraft’s higher total cost of ownership, less flexible maintenance, and avionics limitations are worth the familiarity, parts support, and insurance accessibility that certified status provides.
Comparison Table
| Aircraft | Type | Seats | Cruise (mph) | Fuel Burn (gph) | Useful Load (lbs) | Est. Acquisition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glasair III | Experimental | 2 | 200–220 | 9–11 | 600–700 | $90K–$150K |
| Velocity SE/RG | Experimental | 4 | 185–210 | 9–12 | 900–1,100 | $100K–$175K |
| Bonanza V35B | Certified | 4–5 | 175–195 | 12–15 | 900–1,100 | $150K–$280K |
| RV-9A (reference) | Experimental | 2 | 160–170 | 6–7.5 | 510–630 | $80K–$130K |
Pilot Proficiency: What These Aircraft Demand
The high-performance tier is not for pilots who fly 50 hours a year and let recurrency slip. Retractable gear, high approach speeds, complex systems, and — in the Glasair’s case — a hot landing speed that requires discipline all demand genuine currency and a structured checkout process.
South Shore Flyers will manage this through rigorous type-specific checkouts with experienced instructors, minimum currency requirements, and a club culture that treats recurrency as an asset rather than a compliance burden. The aircraft in this tier are absolutely within reach of the club — but they come with a responsibility to build and maintain the proficiency to fly them well.
That’s not a reason to avoid them. It’s a reason to be thoughtful about choosing them.
What Founding Members Decide
The founding members of South Shore Flyers will determine which tier makes sense. The RV-9A is the accessible, proven, affordable choice. The Glasair III is for founding members who want maximum cross-country performance and are willing to pay for it and train for it. The Velocity is for the founding group that genuinely needs four seats regularly. The Bonanza is the path for a group that wants certified aircraft familiarity and can accept the higher cost structure.
There is no wrong answer — only the answer that best fits the people who are actually going to fly the airplane.
Join the South Shore Flyers Founders List. The aircraft selection conversation is happening now, and your seat at the table — and your vote — requires getting on the list. This is the decision that defines what the club becomes.
