I'm an engineer. I consider myself to have fairly decent mechanical skills. I worked on my own cars when I was a kid. I worked on machinery in on destroyers when I was iun the Navy. I have built many RC airplanes and rockets. I have owned a Weedhopper ultralight and a Piper Warrior.
My wife Christine and I flew to Oshkosh in 2004. We camped next to our plane in the grass on the north side of the field. It was phenomenal. I hate camping but everything about AirVenture made up for it. What made it really great was that Christine liked it too (for real).
There were acres of experimentals there. That combined with the classes on building conveyed a sense that home building isn't just for fringe lunatics.
It was becoming tough to go flying with the kids. With them on board I could no longer carry a full load of fuel. The climb rate was anemic. We would need a new plane soon. In late fall we had another expensive annual. Keeping up with this 30-year old airplane was a continuous money pit. All of these things convinced Christine and I that it was time for a change.
My choice of an RV8 was not based anything but pure emotion. I really like RV8s and that combined with Christine being OK riding in the back were the deciding factors. We put the Warrior up for sale (../warrior/Default.htm) and ordered an RV8 empennage kit.