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Considering buying a Starduster Too

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Joined
Mar 24, 2024
Messages
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Location
San Diego
Hi all,

New member here poking around for some information. I was browsing barnstormers and found some pretty cool SAs and I am seriously considering making a purchase. I currently own an RV-6 but I am hoping to get something with more speed (Lancair or Glasair maybe?) but I would also like to have a cool weekend flyer as well. Living in SoCal, I feel like there are few days that flying open cockpit up and down the coast doesn’t seem like a dream come true. I am still on a steep side of the learning curve of all the configurations with these planes and as a 0 time biplane guy, would love to hear any input or thoughts from someone with more knowledge of these airframes.

A quick background of flight experience.
Private pilot SEL with about 250 hours. About 80 hours in my RV-6 taildragger. Also flown cubs and citabrias a bit.

The information I’m really hoping to get some feedback on:

How difficult it is to land these birds? (Taps vertical fuel gauges flashing red) I know visibility is, well, peripheral only.

Insurance issues?. I was surprised at how much the insurance on my RV-6 is. Just came up for renewal and was quoted $1800. Thought it would be a little cheaper and I am wondering how different a SA would be for an annual premium. Maybe slightly harder to fly but hull value is significantly less. The big reason I don’t want to jump into a lancair is the 10k premium but maybe I need to shop around more.

Engine selection. The specific bird I’m looking at has the 0-540. Defiantly a thirsty version of the SA but since I’m only going to do weekend coastal flying I don’t really care.

Prebuy. Anything specific I should be on the lookout for? I’m still sorting out the landing gear configurations but I am aware it’s a focus point on these machines.

All (useful) feedback is appreciated!
 

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