"Bob Martin" wrote in message
...
I'm still a few years away from being able to start building, but I'm
already looking into possible kits.

What I'd really like, but would probably be unable to afford, is an RV-7
or -8. I could try to scrounge it all together,as one guy in my dad's
hangar did; he built a -6A without ordering a single part from Van's. Came
out a lot cheaper, but it probably took him longer and was fairly
stressful. So, failing that, do you guys have any recommendations?

What I'd be looking for:

Two-seat, sbs if possible
Available as taildragger
Fast (160-180mph)
Rated to 6G (even if that's at a reduced weight)
All-metal preferred
Efficient
Able to at least mostly keep up with a flight of RV's

The KR-2S looks interesting, but it's wood and composite; I don't know
much about how these hold up and I've never worked large-scale with either
of them.

I've looked into some smaller kits; something like the sonex would be
nice, but it's rather ugly and slow. Fixing the former would be somewhat
involved, but how much of an improvement on the latter could I expect by
adding fairings, flush rivets, etc?

If you want RV performance, why not build an RV? With careful scrounging, I
believe it is still possible to build a -6 or -6a for $35k. You'd have to
find good deals on unfinished kits on the internet and TAP, wouldn't have a
fancy panel, and might have to go with a mid-time engine, but it can be
done.

Beyond that, you could probably find a decent RV-4 for the same $35k. The
back seat isn't for big people, but it is a real 200 mph airplane that meets
your other criteria.

Regardless of what the people at Rand-Robinson say, the KR simply doesn't
haul much weight (i.e. two people is rather frightening, according to
friends who built KR's) and isn't as fast as advertised. If the design met
its claims, there would be lots of KR's at every fly-in, but the truth is
you'll see a lot more unfinised KR's on ebay than you'll find complete KR's
at fly-ins. And those unfinished KR's will be cheap. There is a reason.

The Sonex is a nice design, kind of an RV-minus. It is more of a 1+1
aircraft, in that the airplane will carry a passenger, but at a serious cost
in elbow room and climb performance. Also, unless you're willing to spin
the engine faster than Jabiru recommends, the aircraft doesn't meet
performance claims.

Looking at your desires, you might also consider a Thorpe or a Mustang II.
They are usually underpriced when compared to similarly equipped RV's.

KB