Interesting to see how this thread has been resurrected and taken on a new life. I am surprised to see the anxiety over / animosity towards a punched-hole RV-3 kit. I'm certainly a traditionalist in some ways but I don't try and deny technological progress. For example, I choose to fly behind steam gauges, but I don't advocate against glass panels. I also shift my car for myself (never owned an automatic), but I have to admit the new dual-clutch gearboxes are pretty cool, and my next car might have one, not because I've gotten lazy, but because it might actually be better at shifting quicker than me yet still letting me decide when to shift.
One of my thoughts has always been that a matched-hole kit would produce a better flying, longer lifespan airplane in less time. Some experienced builders have supported this idea, some have suggested otherwise for the -3.
But in the end, what's wrong with a matched-hole kit? Does it invalidate the work you did on your airplane? Should everyone have to build it the same way? I totally get that if you have to fab parts, drill every hole, drive and buck every rivet, you learn more about the airplane, but the same could be said if you designed the wing or smelted and alloyed the aluminum yourself (its really not that hard once you know how, I've seen Russians without high school educations do it - smelt and alloy aluminum, not design wings). If you get the satisfaction from doing all of the fab work yourself, then do it. I appreciate it in RVs and hot rods, the execution of the details, but that's not my idiom - I want a well-built airplane that I understand and is good enough, and I won't feel like I'm missing out if I don't jig the wing myself. (Our Rods aren't showcars - they're meant to be driven. Daily.)
Isn't there room for more than one viewpoint? Aren't things allowed to evolve? That's what I see the matched hole -3 as, an evolution of a kit from Van's. I also see the -12 and -14s more integrated production "system" as an evolution as well. Can the -3 evolve, or is it doomed to stand still and potentially perish?
TODR