I've been considering building one of Van's models for more than 10 years, but numerous relocations have kept me from taking the plunge. Now that I've settled down for awhile in Illinois, however, it was time to get the ball rolling. I was leaning toward the RV-8, but I liked the cargo space available in the RV-7. A demo in Van's RV-7 during AirVenture 2005 finally confirmed that this was the one for me!
I enrolled in an RV builders' class in September (Troy Grover of Grov-Air in Indiana) to get a feel for the skills necessary, and the empennage was orderered in late November. I had a lot of work to do first, however, as my garage was not ready for the project and I did not have any of the necessary tools. December and January were dedicated to shop set-up, including a compressor purchase and piping the air. Construction started in February 2006.