Hello,
Years ago when I first decided building an airplane was something I wanted to do, I was quickly drawn to the RV-8. As I started researching what it would take to build one, I started realizing that cost to build and the complexity was probably more than I could chew. I found myself migrating over to the Sonex, and after a Sonex builder took me for a quick hop around the patch, I was sold. It had great performance for the price and I was able to see past the somewhat odd look and overall lack of fit and finish.
Fast forward a few years and I am part way through a Sonex tail kit but have started to have a lot of apprehension about finishing. This is mostly due to my lack (and others in the Sonex community) of confidence in the AeroVee VW conversion. With the Sonex B models, the factory will now support several other more proven engine installations (Rotax, UL power, etc.) but that takes an airplane I was looking to spend 30-35k to get airborne to more like 50-60k. While I still feel the Sonex is a great little airframe, I can't see paying that kind of price for it.
So, I've come full circle back to the RV-8, which has always been the plane I wanted to build in the first place. I am going to order a set of preview plans and the practice projects and figure out what extra tools I'll need now that I can't just pull a bunch of pop rivets. Any other building advice/suggestions for a soon to be former Sonex builder would be appreciated.
Looking forward to the journey!
Years ago when I first decided building an airplane was something I wanted to do, I was quickly drawn to the RV-8. As I started researching what it would take to build one, I started realizing that cost to build and the complexity was probably more than I could chew. I found myself migrating over to the Sonex, and after a Sonex builder took me for a quick hop around the patch, I was sold. It had great performance for the price and I was able to see past the somewhat odd look and overall lack of fit and finish.
Fast forward a few years and I am part way through a Sonex tail kit but have started to have a lot of apprehension about finishing. This is mostly due to my lack (and others in the Sonex community) of confidence in the AeroVee VW conversion. With the Sonex B models, the factory will now support several other more proven engine installations (Rotax, UL power, etc.) but that takes an airplane I was looking to spend 30-35k to get airborne to more like 50-60k. While I still feel the Sonex is a great little airframe, I can't see paying that kind of price for it.
So, I've come full circle back to the RV-8, which has always been the plane I wanted to build in the first place. I am going to order a set of preview plans and the practice projects and figure out what extra tools I'll need now that I can't just pull a bunch of pop rivets. Any other building advice/suggestions for a soon to be former Sonex builder would be appreciated.
Looking forward to the journey!