Anyone own an RV-7A or -8A near Tuscaloosa, AL?

(x-post from the General Discussion forum)

I am looking into buying either an RV-7A or -8A, but since I determined this solely based on online research, I'd like a chance to actually see how it handles before making such a big purchase (it'd be my first aircraft).

So if you are near Tuscaloosa, Tupelo, Columbus, Memphis, etc (I'm willing to drive pretty far!) and willing to take someone up for a flight (I'd bring my credentials obviously) I'd really appreciate it!

[Please do not cross post, your other thread has been deleted; S.Buchanan]

Attend any of the weekly Saturday morning breakfasts in the North Alabama/Southern Tennessee area on a day with nice weather and you will see several RVs.

A list of local events is on the TVRVBG website:

http://tvrvbg.org

And...welcome to VAF!

Southeastern Regional Fly-In at Evergreen in about three weeks.

http://serfi.org/

There's lots to owning an experimental, lots more than owning a certificated aircraft. It's not just the flying, it's also the maintenance. The saying, a half-truth, is that "It's an experimental and you can do what you want." The rest of the statement is that there may be unforseeable and severe consequences.

I've own(ed) RV-4, -8, -8A, and -9A. All of them were well-recommended before purchase. If I were to give them letter grades, though, they'd get A+, A, C, and D. Some of the deficiencies would not have shown up on a detailed pre-buy inspection, but only on disassembly.

Homebuilts are not for the uninformed or the passionless, end even for the conscientious and careful, there can be surprises.

The -8A fishtails a little in turbulence, and although you might not notice it up front, I've had a CFII buddy in the back want to call it quits after less than an hour because of queasiness. And although the back seat of an -8A is roomy enough, there's not much wiggle room.

Send me your phone number and we can talk.

Ed

Sorry about the mis/x-post! Appreciate your help, and thanks for the welcome! I can definitely make it to one of those Saturdays. The other fly in might be a bit far, but I'll see!

Also, thanks for the info on the -8A. I'm not trained on tailwheel aircraft so I wasn't even considering it, but maybe it'd be worth the training if the difference is significant. What made the -8 get an A rating in your book compared to the -8A?