I'm a pretty big fan of the Turbo Raven. I have a 1/3 scale Turbo Raven that took a year to complete. I wish I would have gotten to see the full scale fly before it crashed. I have read a lot about the T Raven on the net. Wayne had the idea for the plane but, Oracle basically paid to build the plane. (Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle is a big time aviation buff and good friend of Wayne.) I believe it cost around $600,000 to build and I think $150,000 - $200,000 of that was just to purchase that engine. (He had to have the military version because it had inverted fuel and oil systems on it.) I used to wonder everyday why someone else hasn't built something similar to the Turbo Raven or even rebuilt the Turbo Raven until I found that article on the net that said what the T Raven cost to build. I would have to say that's the main reason we haven't seen a full scale plane "hover" or another plane like the Turbo Raven. Money....or I should say lack of it. Wayne was really lucky to have the connections he had. You can't tell me that Sean Tucker or Jim Leroy and a lot of other pilots haven't thought about. You know they have. Who wouldn't want to be the next one to have a plane like the T Raven but, I don't see any of them spending their own money to build one. Heck, it's not like you have to go back to the drawing board. The T Raven was the most awesome airshow plane of the time and proved itself. All it will take is someone with money or connections or both but, it's just a matter of time before we see another full scale airshow planes hovering. I also think that Turbo Prop engine that Wayne used is still the way to go because of the power it puts out compared to it's weight. Believe it or not, back in the mid 70's there was someone who had the crazy idea of putting a turbo prop on a Great Lakes Biplane. Check it out here. http://www.airbum.com/pireps/PirepGreatLksTrbn.html


Gary Hess