For you P38 lovers

[33Vortex]

Uhhh? Not proven??? 

www.rotaryaviation.com

What I said about the Mistral rotaries does not apply to all rotary engines. Just because they chose not to make a all-aspect capable oil system does not mean it isn't possible.

[CAP1]

I think power and drag would be a problem.  The Thunder Mustang is a ~3/4-5/8th scale P-51.  It uses a 650 HP motor to get P-51 performance.  In order to get that type of power for any 3/4-5/8th scale aircraft, the only horizontally opposed motor that gets close is the Thunderbolt IO-720's from Lycoming.  In order to fit that motor into a round cowling, you'd have significant areas of the cowl opening that would simply be an air inlet.  There'd be a lot of cooling drag that you'd have to get around.

I don't know, you'd have to do a lot of analysis to determine whether or not it would be suitable, but that IO-720 motor alone goes for $100,000 so it would blow Golfer's budget out of the water.

i didn't know....thatr's why i was asking....

[Stoney]

My ideal airplane:
-500 mile range
-2 passengers + bags
-Aerobatic
-Cruise near/at 200kts
-IFR capable

That list gets pretty short pretty quick.

I'd say RV-8 is probably the best bang for your buck with that list of requirements.  Ideally, I'd slide the Lancair Legacy in there as the ultimate 2-place.  Those are the only two kits I'd invest time and money in.  RV8 on an Everyman budget, and the Lancair after I win the lottery

[Bodhi]

Know of anything that uses an honest to goodness aircraft engine (up to a Lycoming 540) with reasonable looks with scaling, +6/-4G, 4 hours endurance and 2 seats for 150k or less?

Nope... but, it is worth looking around for at this point, because there are an abundance of deals out there.

Seeing good T-6's selling for under $120k.