Rahul,
One of the beauties of Thunder Gulls is the simplicity of construction, which
makes the plane easy for someone with a basic tool set and easily-obtained
materials to repair. Yet it is fast and efficient. There are other
ultralight/light sport planes that also are simple and easy to work on but they
are not so fast and efficient. And there are experimental planes that are fast
and efficient, but not easy to build or work on. RV aircraft and Lancair models
come to mind.
One of the things I love about my Gull is that it is obvious to me that a lot of
thought went into each component, including the use of rivets and lexan for all
that glass. Wouldn't have worked with acrylic, for instance. My plane is 13
years old. It has lived in the desert nearly all of that time, subject to a lot
of dirt and dust. It is hangared but our hangars have dirt floors, although most
of us have spread remnants of old carpet on top of the dirt. The wind blows hard
nearly every afternoon and dust gets redistributed inside the hangar. The
"glass" isn't quite "like new", but it is just fine. And when I do decide to
replace it, I'll be able to do it without special skills or special tools. My
wrist might get tired squeezing the pop rivet gun. I'll just rest for a bit if
that happens.
Dick O'Reilly