Eileen Bjorkman’s RV-8 | Eugene, OR RV-8 #83465

Eileen Bjorkman’s RV-8 flew for the first time. Here’s more:

I took my RV-8 into the air at 10:27 this morning (June 1) at the airport in Eugene, Oregon and flew for about 30 minutes. The plane flew very well overall except for some right wing heaviness. The low-pitch stop on the propeller also needed adjusting. Both minor issues that are easily fixed.

I’ve been wanting to build an airplane since 1994 and I purchased the RV-8 tail kit in 2014. But life got in the way, and by the time I finally started building in earnest in 2024, I realized I was getting too old for a 5-10 build program if I did everything by myself. I instead used the builder assistance program by Cascade Aircrafters in Eugene to help shorten the build time to two years and about 1,000 hours. It’s been quite the journey, and I’ve learned so much along the way (isn’t that the point of building an airplane?). Many thanks to Van’s for designing such wonderful airplanes and kits, to Cascade Aircrafters for their assistance, and to Ray Beverly for being my additional pilot on the first flight. Sometimes it takes a village to build an airplane!