I thought I would wade in here with my quick story and perspective since I am an older guy, and have spent most of my life being passionate about aviation.
I am 62, and started flying when I was 22, purchased a 1967 Cessna 150 to learn to fly in, since then I have had 4 mooneys, one Grumman tiger, a Cherokee 6 a Piper pacer to learn tail wheel. I have 3000 hours, IFR, commercial, and presently own a mooney for business travel and a Aviat Husky on anfib floats for fun. I still fly about 250 hours per year and live in Michigan. I love flying and have always wanted to build an airplane, finally purchased a TSI kit this year and am making good progress, wings and tail finished and painted, most of the fuselage is complete wiring in, just finishing up the interior and waiting for my engine, prop and fire wall forward. I hope to be flying the TSI in late fall.
I have been going to KOSH to camp every year for the last 24 years, my brother who is a pilot also and I fly in and camp under the wing, I have spent the last 35 years trying to figure out what to build, glasairs were on the list for a long time. I almost pushed the button on the sling 4, but when the 915is came out and the sling TSI it was all that I needed. Computer controlled turbocharged modern engine, good speeds, good looking, pulled rivits to make it easy to build, Modern garmin panel, it hit all the needs that I have and will going forward. My wife is excited that she feels that she could land this TSI if she had to the mooney not so much. The only other comparable plane out there is the RV10 which is a great plane that I have a number of hours in. I have 4 friends that have RV10's but the old school gas guzzling engine is a giant turn off to me. Plus I have oxygen going in the Sling and love to get up high to get above weather , so at 15,000 feet I bet the TSI is going to be faster on half the fuel when compared to the RV10.
As a guy with a bit more experience I wanted to build a plane to replace the mooney that would be as fast, more safe, and less expensive to fly than the mooney or the Husky. I have always owned either one or two planes at a time for the last 35 years, so I understand very well what it costs to fly, most times $ 150 to $ 200 per hour depending on the plane and a lot of other factors, My guess is that the TSI is going to be half the cost to fly per hour than the mooney, and it will be new, safer and easier to maintain.
So that I my story, I am really enjoying the build of the TSI, it is a great motivator when you know that the finished product is going to be fantastic to fly. I have not flown in a TSI yet, I have been renting a sling 2 from mid west sky sports to get the feel of the plane and have about 10 hours on it and really like it. Friends like Evan B who have flown in the TSI confirm that it is fast , and more stable than the sling 2 and has great performance so I am geeked and am enjoying the build process with the knowledge that when I am finished I will love to fly the TSI. I tell my wife that planes are like shoes, there are different styles for different missions (my excuse for having more than one
) The TSI is going to be a great traveling plane, I will still keep the Husky on anfibs because for Michigan flying you cant have too much more fun than a float plane in the summer and skis or fat tires for when the water gets hard.
Build on everyone, and have fun, we are a small but growing group and the sharing of information is what keeps us all moving forward with our builds.