Earlier, Netgeek wrote:

I've been searching quite a bit for
something equivalent or similar to an
RV-9 but available as a plans-built...

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that all of the RVs are
available as staged kits - that is, tail, then wings, then fuselage,
then finishing kit. That helps spread the cost out to some degree.

Cost-wise, I think that the RVs compare favorably with
scratch-building. Especially when you figure in the time it takes to
track down all the different materials and the costs to have them
shipped. You also have to figure in the time it takes to make blanks,
forms, dies, and jigs, and tweak them to make usable parts. And you
need to figure in the inevitable scrap parts that aren't
flight-article-worthy.

Back when I did cost-analysis on the HP-18 sailplane kit, I can
remember comparing it to the more refined RV-4 kit and wondering how
Dick V. could deliver so much for so little. The answer, of course, is
volume...

Thanks, and best regards to all

Bob K.
http://www.hpaircraft.com/hp-24