This is my third aircraft project, after completing a Van's RV-8A in June, 2001 and a Sparrowhawk gyroplane in October of 2005. On a recent trip from Memphis to Charleston and back, my wife, Mary got a little grumpy sitting in the back all that time. I've been thinking about a new airplane project for some time anyway, so, on May 8, 2006 I ordered the empennage from Van's and made a deposit on the fuselage and quickbuild wings. Van's kits have improved over the years. With match-hole drilling, the construction of jigs is no longer necessary when building the major components. The quickbuild wings will save me more work, while building the slow-build fuselage will save me $4,100. It should be obvious that I love building as well as flying. Once a person completes one of these projects he (or she) has all of these skills and knowlege that are just wasted if not used again. Now my wife can share the flying duties, since she also has a pilot's license. Also, I can now sling mud from both sides of the "tailgear vs nosegear" debate!

Speaking from experiance, building an airplane as a project is incredible. Building a second one is..... well, just plain weird!

Here is a great tool from Bob Collins - an RV-specific search engine.