I have been working on my RV-8 for about a month now and just finished with the horizontal stabilizer, so I thought it would be a good time to officially introduce myself and create a build post that I can update from time to time. I also have an EAA build log (link in signature) that will have all build entries when I get the time to add them.
A little about myself--I live in NYC and am building in a roughly 20’ x 25’ area of the basement of my townhouse. I am an instrument rated pilot and have been interested in aviation my entire life due, in large part, to several great influences. My uncle spent 20 years as a loadmaster on a C-130 crew, took me to my first airshow, and always encouraged me to fly. My grandma’s cousin was a colonel in the Air Force whose claim to fame is that he led a low-level recon mission that got photographic evidence of Soviet surface to air missiles in Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis, for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross and was featured in Life magazine. And growing up, I enjoyed helping my grandpa, who had his pilot’s license (but said he couldn’t afford to fly and have a wife), build and fly RC airplanes.
When I was 8 years old, my parents took me to an amusement park where I rode the same airplane ride at least 10 times. I went home and immediately began working on a 2x4 and plywood biplane that unfortunately never made it off the ground. Since then, I always wanted to build a plane and now 30 years later I’m much closer to that dream.
I am a first-time builder and so far I’m really enjoying building (some parts more than others). I am happy with how the HS came out, after having to replace some parts twice due to stupid mistakes. I plan on dedicating a good amount of time to this build and hope to finish within 2 years. I will mainly use the plane for leisure flying in the area and longer cross-country flights to see family and explore areas I have always wanted to visit. My wife says she will never fly with me (let’s see) and that I can’t fly with our two small kids, so I will mostly be doing solo flying. I may do the occasional light aerobatics, but that’s not a high priority.
I am doing the standard build fuselage and quick build wings. While I’m still making my mind up on some things, I do know that I am going to keep the standard slider canopy and not do the fast back. I also plan on making it highly IFR capable with a full Garmin setup. And I want a very powerful engine and climb performance, whose additional weight I plan to offset with aluminum gear (which I already bought) and a composite prop.
Thank you all for making this forum such a great resource. It’s been very helpful so far. I hope to contribute as well and some day to meet some of you in person.
A little about myself--I live in NYC and am building in a roughly 20’ x 25’ area of the basement of my townhouse. I am an instrument rated pilot and have been interested in aviation my entire life due, in large part, to several great influences. My uncle spent 20 years as a loadmaster on a C-130 crew, took me to my first airshow, and always encouraged me to fly. My grandma’s cousin was a colonel in the Air Force whose claim to fame is that he led a low-level recon mission that got photographic evidence of Soviet surface to air missiles in Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis, for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross and was featured in Life magazine. And growing up, I enjoyed helping my grandpa, who had his pilot’s license (but said he couldn’t afford to fly and have a wife), build and fly RC airplanes.
When I was 8 years old, my parents took me to an amusement park where I rode the same airplane ride at least 10 times. I went home and immediately began working on a 2x4 and plywood biplane that unfortunately never made it off the ground. Since then, I always wanted to build a plane and now 30 years later I’m much closer to that dream.
I am a first-time builder and so far I’m really enjoying building (some parts more than others). I am happy with how the HS came out, after having to replace some parts twice due to stupid mistakes. I plan on dedicating a good amount of time to this build and hope to finish within 2 years. I will mainly use the plane for leisure flying in the area and longer cross-country flights to see family and explore areas I have always wanted to visit. My wife says she will never fly with me (let’s see) and that I can’t fly with our two small kids, so I will mostly be doing solo flying. I may do the occasional light aerobatics, but that’s not a high priority.
I am doing the standard build fuselage and quick build wings. While I’m still making my mind up on some things, I do know that I am going to keep the standard slider canopy and not do the fast back. I also plan on making it highly IFR capable with a full Garmin setup. And I want a very powerful engine and climb performance, whose additional weight I plan to offset with aluminum gear (which I already bought) and a composite prop.
Thank you all for making this forum such a great resource. It’s been very helpful so far. I hope to contribute as well and some day to meet some of you in person.