I no longer own N558RL, it was sold in early 2004, but not before flying it 368 very enjoyable hours. I sold it to start another project, this time a Van's RV-3B. I have put up a web site documenting that project also... RV-3 Works.

An RV-8 is a sport aircraft built from a kit purchased from Van's Aircraft.  It is registered with the FAA as an "Experimental - Amateur Built" category aircraft. Legally, Van's is not the manufacturer, the builder is. RVs are not funky unreliable contraptions waiting to fall out of the sky. Rather they are robustly designed, aerobatic capable, sport aircraft powered by the same Lycoming engines that power Cessnas and Pipers. RVs however will travel much faster on the same power due to their lower aerodynamic drag and less weight. See the links section for access to more detailed information, but they look like this...

• Lifestyle commitment - First off you need to realize that you're not just taking on another hobby. Building an aircraft is a much more immersive experience. It will take up much more of your time and thought than you may realize. Then, after completing it, you'll be actively involved in flying and maintaining it. Because of how deeply you become involved there will likely be other things in your life that either take a back seat or get eliminated altogether. You'd be well advised to take a look at your lifestyle before you start and make a reasonable amount of room for your new commitment.
• Monetary commitment - Building your own aircraft is not cheap, but it may not be as expensive as it seems on the surface. It's true, you'll invest anywhere between $50-80,000 for a well-equipped VFR ship (Of course you CAN spend MUCH more if you'd like. You could easily drop $30k into the panel alone!).  But there are two factors which will tend to make it more "doable". First, because of the lifestyle commitment, you simply won't have the time or want to spend disposable income dollars on some of your former activities, or those that you would if you had idle time, which you now won't. Second, because RVs are built in stages over time it gives you the ability to spread this investment out over several years. Getting started is almost the easiest part — twelve hundred bucks for the tail kit and maybe fifteen hundred for a starter set of tools.
• Basic technical skills - May of the sales brochures say that "anyone who can pick up a screwdriver can build an airplane". Well, I wouldn't necessarily agree with this. If you have some hand tool experience, have a least a modicum of mechanical aptitude, then you'll probably be ok. There are some people however that have truly never built anything and have no mechanical aptitude whatsoever. Seriously, if you're one of these then my advice is to buy an already-built RV which are readily available.
• The most important thing - There is simply no question that the most important thing in building any aircraft is a network of other builders in your vicinity. I simply can't emphasize this enough — you can have all the money in the world, but if you're sitting there by yourself there are things you won't be able to figure out, and many steps that require a helper, period. Spouses may suffice, but someone who is also building and has developed the same skills and understands what you're doing is invaluable. We love our spouses, but unless they are also builders they generally will not have the same enthusiasm or interest. A network of builders groups has developed around the country, loosely called "Van's Air Force". Living here in the Portland area, home of Van's Aircraft, I am involved in the Home Wing of Van's Air Force. Our group is very active and has nearly 150 members. We have monthly meetings, a monthly newsletter (that I publish), and an annual fly-in. You can find information on this group in the Links section.
  As valuable as a builders group or local EAA chapter can be, having a friend or two whom you can exchange help with on a regular basis is the best resource of all. I've been fortunate enough to hook up with two other guys that live within a couple of miles of me who are also building RV-8s, Jeff Jasinsky and Randy Griffin. We've become good friends along the way and share parts, assistance, and research constantly. I've put up a brief page for each of their projects as well so be sure and check them out... Jeff's Project, and Griff's Project.
• How long does it take - While I did keep an accurate log of activities and dates — a builder's log — I did not log my time. That would seem way too much like work. I truly enjoyed the building process and wanted to keep it that way. So if you ask me "how much time do you have in it" I would respond "I really don't know". I can tell you that I averaged two three hour evenings and one eight hour weekend day over the construction period. So, the answer to the question for me was three years six months. Be advised however that in comparing notes with other builders, this seems to be fairly fast for a non-quickbuild and for someone with a full time job. Overall I would estimate between 2,000 and 2,500 hours, very close to what Van's estimates, and I did extra work with my cowling and doing the painting myself. Once you're flying however the job is not complete. I found it took nearly another year of making changes and improvements until I considered the plane "done". Be advised though that the first flight does not mean the aircraft is done. Having watched many builders bring their projects to conclusion I would estimate that it takes approximately a full year after you first fly your aircraft to truly get it "done". There are both bugs that need to be corrected and likely some things you want to change, therefore anticipating this time seems wise.

There is a wealth of information on the Internet about building and flying Van's RV series aircraft. There are many sites with comprehensive links so rather than trying to replicate these I'll simply provide a few references where you can find out more. If you'd like more information on RV-8s just check out these sites...