9 or 9A question
 

I'm in the process of getting my license so I could spend more time with the family because of work and been looking at the 9A but in keeping the cost down I could fly out of a grass strip a lot closer to the house and was thinking a taildragger would suit this better. So to build a 9 or 9A? This build I was thinking of 2 to 4 years.

Welcome to VAF.
Are you training in a tailwheel plane? If no, call an insurance agent (I recommend Gallagher) specializing in RVs and ask how much tailwheel training/time they will require for a new pilot. These numbers change all the time but you don't want to be taken by surprise. This may influence your choice.

Being the owner of a RV9 I can assure you that it is one of the easiest most forgiving tail wheel aircraft I've ever flown. I have over 2900 hours in 14 different tail wheel models from a J3 to a DC 3. With that in mind I assure you that given your experience level you will be better served with the 9A. Your training will go much faster and you will fly the 9a on days you would not even consider taking the 9 out.

After you get the insurance quote you'll see they don't think it's such a good idea either. As for the grass strip, not a problem for the 9A, just ask Vlad. He collects then routinely.

I've flown before a friend of mine has a Cub and several Seaplanes I've taken off and landed both it's just been about 6 years. I have more time in seaplanes. I should have gotten my ppl but just didn't have the funds to do it but I do now. In landing I found it was harder to land the seaplane than the cub. The only thing I was concerned about was the nose wheel on the grass.

Michael welcome! Bill Repucci has a nice signature line - build aircraft you want not what others tell you. So we are a bit biased here. :)

I built my 9A before I had pilot license and I chose "the training wheel". I sometimes go to some unimproved strips my buddies don't even think of landing their TW there. Recently I gave a ride to a foreign guest who bought an RV7 but never flown an A model and he was pleasantly surprised. He said he might think of losing some appearance and convert. Or so he said... :D

That's a beautiful picture Vlad!!

You can convert from the 9A to a 9 later in life if you so decide. Will cost you about $3k to do the conversion but you can recoup some of that by selling the parts. I converted mine at about 220 hours, now have almost 800.

Greg

The nose gear on grass is NOT an issue. My 9A lives on a 3K' grass strip. Going on 6 years now with at least one landing of every flight on grass. The plane doesn't know the difference. The pilot is the factor when landing on grass. Learn the in's and out's of landing your aircraft in any environment and you will be fine whichever way you choose to go.

one more option
 

all good ideas; since you are building, you can prepare for an easy conversion to tailwheel if that's your eventual goal.
I think some TD training and the insurance should be tolerable after you have 100 hours on type.
Why not build the 9A, with 10 gear? Quite a few folks have put larger main tires ( 6.00x6") and the -10 nose yoke with a 5.00x5" tire/wheel.
There aren't too many places you can't go with those.

I'd lean towards a constant speed prop so you can get full takeoff power from a 180 hp to get OUT of those soft, short strips that you so easily go IN to! :)

Get your license, then an hour or to two in tail wheel aircraft, THEN decide what YOU want. You don't have to commit until you order the fuselage... That may be a while.

Insurance shouldn't be significantly more once you have your tail wheel endorsement hours plus your transition training in a tail wheel RV, the latter I did with Mike seager in his RV 7. That's all the tail wheel hours I had, about 14, and only about 200 hours overall.

Like someone else said above, the -9 is a piece of cake to fly, it has NEVER wanted to go a round on me. But it's just challenging enough to make every landing more fun than than it used to be on nose wheel aircraft. It's added a new dimension to my flying, in other words.

If I were going to be landing on grass every day, I would be much more comfortable doing it with a tailwheel, though others have shown that the nose wheel versions, with or without the antisplat nose gear mod, can generally handle grass just fine too with proper technique.

Again, though, finish your ppl, get a couple tail wheel hours, then decide. Good luck.