Escapade vs. Highlander

[fly'nhi]

Hi Folks,

I was wondering what the advantages are of the Highlander over the Escapade.  As near as I can tell, the speed is about the same, you get a better useful load with the Escapade if you wanted to stay with the 1320 lb LSA gross weight.  I actually like the look of the tail on the Escapade better than the Highlander.  It look to me like you have your choice of two airplanes with close to the same power, but one is quite a bit lighter.  I was curious if anyone has thought of putting a Jab 3300 and the vortex generators on the Escapade and just go with that?  I understand the choice to go with a Highlander if you wanted to use the higher gross weight, but according to factory info, you can still haul around 700 lbs off the ground with the Escapade, right?  The interior is just as wide, but I think the Highlander has more baggage room?  Even if that is the case, I think that the Escapade is still way ahead of the LSA class in room and useful load.  Looks to me like a 100 or 120 hp engine would make the lighter of the two fly better.  I can't see what a guy wanting an LSA would be sacrificing by staying with the Escapade.  OR, am I all wet?  Does it fly   that much better?  Seems to me that when you compare the short field performance of these two planes, you are splitting hairs.  Besides, my flying skills are nowhere near good enough for me to try to get into a field that the Highlandr could get into that the Escapade couldn't.  Please tell me what I am missing here.  thanks.

[Johnny C!]

Hey,
 I split the difference. I'm building an Escapde, but
with the Highlander wing.
 The frames are exactly the same, with the exception of the
door hinges. The Highlander tail feathers are larger, of course.
Baggage space is the same for both. The shorter wing gives you
a higher roll rate, but the longer wing is still very spirited, if
you want to fly it that way.          
 Others have already built the hybrid, & Jamie says it gets a
little better cruise because of the increased wing area. It
gets up on plane better, less angle of attack, better cruise.
But the approach speeds a significantly slower, so I decided to
err that way. I want to clean the plane up & tweak it for good
cruise. I'm going to use the Jabiru 2200 & the ground adjustable
Sensinich (sp?). I'm also adding a third seat in the back, so
I will approach gross, so I wanted the longer wing for that
reason, as well.                
 Enough rambling. Build what you want & enjoy!


Johnny C!