Home  RV-8
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Written by Adam Oke
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Monday, 01 December 2008 |
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 Who? I do not have any partners in this build. I am sure friends and family may chip in here and there though.
What? "Total Performance" as the RV quote goes. Which is mainly the reason why I chose the idea of an RV-8. Some things I require out of my future first plane: - Taildragger
- Tandem Seating
- Control Stick
- XC capable
- Mild Aerobatics
- Enough STOL to get in and out of short grass strips
- Easy enough for a first time builder
- Proven design
- Minimal parts fabrication
- Minimal Jigs
- Decent Price
Van's RV-8 fits all of the above. The RV-8 is now all "match holed" and pre drilled. No jigs required! Thus when the holes line up, the aircraft/part you are working on will be square and true. There are tons of builder and flying RV's that communication between the builder groups is frequent and common.
I have plenty of time to finish, so this will be a 'slow build' and not a Quick Build Kit.
Where?
For now I have taken over my family rec. room in the basement! I will start building the empennage in this room and move on to a garage for the wings and fuse. Sisters garage maybe? Only time will tell...
When?
I do not have any particular "finish time". This will be a "pay-as-you-go" project and hopfully I can afford to be broke for the next 5 years. A rough plan I tell everyone is I am planning to budgets $10k for the next 5-6 years ... with hopes it will be around 50-60k when complete.
Why?
I NEED to own a plane. I can not afford to pay for one up front in one large sum. I do not want to go in debt just for an aircraft. I see this as a "payment plan" towards ownership. I have always thought about building an aircraft and finally pushed my thoughts further. This will teach me the in's and out's of an aircraft even further. I hope this will also teach me a great deal about engines when the time comes.
How?
Slow and steady :)
RV-8 Specs
| Exterior Dimensions | | Span | 24 ft | | Length | 21 ft | | Height | 5 ft 7 in | | Wing Area | 116 sq ft | | Weights | | Empty Weight | 1067 - 1120 lbs | | Gross Weight | 1800 lbs | | Loadings | | Wing Loading | 15.5 lb/sq ft | | Power Loading | 12 - 9 lb/hp | | Powerplant/Systems | | Engine | 150-200 hp | | Propeller [in prototype] | Fixed or C/S | | Fuel Capacity | 42 US gal | | Other | | Baggage | 125 lbs |
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