Unfortunately I have a problem: I really need to buy an aircraft due to lack of fun local rental aircraft with good availability. My current rental needs to be pre-booked 1 to 3 months up front if I want to fly in the weekend... if weather is bad that day I can't fly for at least a month. That's not fun and not safe in the long run. The better available aircraft are C150s etc. I did my license in 152/172 and don't want to go back after flying low wing bubble canopies
Maybe it's my love for WW2 fighters, or simply that I want to see the clouds, or the runway when I turn in the circuit.
Anyway, as it's my first time buying an aircraft I want to buy exactly the right thing: fun for local trips, capable of 2 hours cross country flights and back again in the afternoon, capable of operating out of 630m asphalt, run on mogas, and after proper training I'd like to do loops and rolls now and then (not in the Katana of course). Speed over 100 knots is not a priority.
I have close to 50k euro cash to spend, and I'm currently saving a few k each month, so financially I'm ok. If the bank is willing (or I wait another year or so) I can afford a 100k aircraft, but I prefer to keep it in the 50k range. If I'm going to spend a lot of money I'd rather have it being my own than a shared aircraft.
My short list mainly consists of a used Katana, but I'd consider any similar aircraft with bubble canopy (preferably without any obstructions in the view). I've been reading a lot, and many people are very fond of the RVs. I must admit that the RV4 looks great, and I really like the tandem seating with a single cockpit up front on the center line, and a passenger in the back. But it's hard to find any RV close by, so trying one out is difficult.
So is an RV (4) good for a low time pilot like me (less then 75 hours)? I would obviously need a tailwheel endorsement and transition training, but how are the other handling capabilities compared to a Katana? Or is it better to first buy a Katana, gain a few hundred more hours and then transition to RV?
I'm not planning to build it myself, and most maintenance will be done by trained mechanics anyway (lack of knowledge and time on my end), so the maintenance cost is comparable, that's not an argument for going experimental for me. Everyone seems to get an RV and stick with it for many years due to all of its good qualities, so I'm just wondering if it's a good move for a low time pilot.